Understanding Football Betting Lines

By Author: Charlie Jones
Total Articles: 13
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At the core of all football wagering is the sports betting line that is offered. This line determines which teams are the favorites and which teams are the underdogs. The point spread sets the stage for the decision making component of wagering on NFL games. Why is this? Well, the better will look at the football betting lines and then make a determination as to which team would be the better one to actually place a bet on. If the football betting lines are neither fair nor accurate, the better would be placed at a very difficult position since winning may prove elusive. This is where football betting lines come into play.
What exactly do these football betting lines involve? Basically, they are designed to aid an air of unpredictability to a football game's outcome. For example, if a team that is 12 - 0 were to face a team that is 2 - 10, the odds are enormously in favor of the former team. Yes, long shots do occur but in the world of football, a dominant team on a win streak will assuredly defeat a team with a terrible win-loss record. As such, it becomes necessary for the sportsbook accepting wagers on such a game to ...
... present a price on the game that makes the outcome less predictable. Therein is the rational being football betting lines.
The way the sportsbook will do this is by putting a negative number next to the favorite team. For example, the favorite could be -9. That means the favorite must defeat the underdog by 10 or else the person wagering on the underdog will win. So, the underdog team has a +10 advantage. This makes the outcome a lot less predictable and takes the potential of losing an enormous amount of money off the shoulders of the sportsbook. Remember, if the sportsbook took a financial bath every weekend, it would be out of business in a very short period of time! Hence, the need for football betting lines.
It is important to point out that these point spreads are not pulled out of thin air. They are tabulated based on careful calculation of a number of important factors. That is why you will see a lot of consistency among the various sportsbooks on the internet. One sportsbook will not have a favorite at -2 and another sportsbook will not have another favorite at -15. That is such an outrageous difference in football betting lines that the likelihood of it occurring is basically impossible. No, there will definitely be consistency among the sportsbook by a believable margin offered for the football betting lines.
When a sportsbook is offering a NFL line that is obtuse, it would be best to avoid wagering with such a sportsbook. You will want fair football betting lines that have been properly calculated. This will enhance you ability to win and make the whole venture a lot more worthwhile for all involved.

Charlie Jones has been monitoring the online sportsbook industry since 1997. Over the past 10+ years, he has played at, and written reviews of many different online gaming & sportsbook websites. Charlie also blogs about winning strategies for Football Betting Lines that he uses to actually make money when he makes sports bets online.