There is one league in the United States – the National Football League or better known as the NFL. As with basketball, there is the NCAA Football College Championship, which compares teams from all colleges in America, which are divided into conferences and divisions.
We will focus on the NFL because college football is tough to watch due to many games. The NFL football season begins with 4 preseason games and ends with the Super Bowl, one of the most-watched sporting events of the year, usually in early February.
More about the game
The regular season consists of 16 games for each team, divided into 17 rounds (each team rests in one of the rounds – this is called a bye week). Thirty-two teams in the league are divided into 2 conferences – AFC and NFC, and each conference has 4 divisions. The teams that finished 1st in each of the divisions and the 2nd teams from the conference, which have the most points of all the other teams, continue in the playoffs – this is called the wildcard. Some teams are more popular than others, and they often use content marketing to promote themselves.
The teams ranked 1st and 2nd among the 4 champions of each division get a break in the first week of the playoffs, and the teams ranked 3rd, and 4th meet the teams 6th and 5th, placed with a wildcard. The teams in the first 2 places are also the hosts in the next games – in the playoffs (except in the Super Bowl), the team always hosts them with a higher position before the playoffs.
So, 2 teams must remain on the principle of elimination – the winners of the playoffs in the two conferences, NFC and AFC, which meet at the Super Bowl to determine the NFL champion and trophy winner Lombardi.
Betting Opportunities
Handicap bets
Handicap betting is the most popular betting on American football because it is similar to football and basketball – the favorite team is given a handicap with a negative sign (-) and the appropriate number of points that are “deducted”. After the end of the match, the outsider has a handicap with a positive sign (+) and his points are added at the end of the match.
The points are always the same for both teams in the game – for example, the New England Patriots (-10.5) against the Miami Dolphins (+10.5). If the New England Patriots win 30-10, those who bet on HC -10.5 win the bet. The chances of this type of handicap range from 1.80 to 2.05.
The final outcome (Moneyline)
There are also markets for the final outcome, but in most cases, the chances of favorites are low. This type of market is popular mainly in uncertain matches, conference finals, or the Super Bowl. The options are a victory for the host or the guest because the draws are not in the standard bets but are usually in a “special” part due to the rarity of this outcome. The chances are different, and this market is analogous to the 1X2 market in world football.
Total number of points
The third popular market is the one for the total number of points of both teams. It represents the sum of points that both teams won during the match because LESS and MORE are almost always with odds of 1.90 or 1.95.
The only variable is the “line” of points, and for each match, it is different – in most cases, between 35.0 and 55.0 (of course, there are games in which the “line” is below 30 or above 55). By default, the total number of points is between 40.0 and 50.0 for matches. The rules for LESS and MORE in other sports also apply here.
Other types of bets
Less popular bets are bets on team points, winning difference, the first team up to 10, 20, 30… and at half time. Also, some of the bookmakers offer bets for some matches and for individual performance – the most yards run, the most yards at the pass, and the most yards when passing. These markets are extremely unpopular and are intended only for the most demanding gamblers.
To Sum It Up
Even though American football is not as popular outside of North America, there are still some great betting opportunities. Learning more about the game and the way it works could be a great winning opportunity.
