How Does Betting On Nfl Games Work

Posted onby

Check out our point spread betting guide to learn more about betting against the spread in the NFL. Betting the Moneyline. While less popular than betting the spread, the NFL moneyline is the easiest football bet to understand. When betting the moneyline, you are simply picking the team that will win the game. NFL teaser betting is more common with intermediate or advanced bettors, but it isn’t a hard concept to understand – I will explain how NFL teasers work below. A teaser bet is a group of straight bets (two or more) combined into one bet, where each individual line has been shifted to your favour by the number of points of the teaser.

Although a little more advanced than a normal moneyline or spread bet, NFL Teaser Betting is fairly popular at sportsbooks during the NFL season. Teaser bets account for over 15% of sportsbooks handles for NFL betting, and is continuously becoming more popular.

NFL teaser betting is more common with intermediate or advanced bettors, but it isn’t a hard concept to understand – I will explain how NFL teasers work below.

What is a NFL Teaser Bet?

A teaser bet is a group of straight bets (two or more) combined into one bet, where each individual line has been shifted to your favour by the number of points of the teaser.

There are three main NFL teasers – 6, 6.5 and 7 point teasers.

In a 6 point NFL teaser the line would be shifted by 6 points in the favour of the bettors play. For example if you wanted to take the Ravens -8, it would be converted into Ravens -2 within a teaser bet. The spread was shifted 6 points (from 8 points down to 2 points). Another example would be if you wanted to play the Chiefs -2.5. In a 6 point teaser the -2.5 line would be changed to Chiefs +3.5.

The same rule is applied for 6.5 and 7 point NFL teasers, except, of course, the line is shifted by either 6.5 or 7 points instead of the 6 points shown in the example above. NFL teaser bets must include two or more bets “parlayed” (cannot do single teaser bets).

NFL Teaser Example

Here is what a two team 6.5 point NFL teaser bet would look like:

How Does Betting On Nfl Games Work At Home

Your selections: Pittsburgh Steelers +3 and Dallas Cowboys -4.5

In a 6.5 point teaser these would then be changed to: Steelers +9.5 and Cowboys -2

In order for you to win the teaser bet both incomes would have to be correct. If one selection was a push the bet is often refunded, but some sportsbooks will count it as a loss if the other selection lost (check your sportsbooks‘ rules).

Below is another example of a teaser bet that I recently placed and won. I teased the Vikings and Eagles from +2.5 up to +8.5 in a 2 team 6 point teaser.

NFL Teaser Bet Payouts

Every sportsbook will have their own payouts and rules for teaser bets. Our favorite sportsbook for getting the best NFL odds is 5Dimes.eu. Of course the more points you use on the teaser the lower the payout will be, and the more teams you include in the teaser bet the higher the payout will be.

Here are the NFL Teaser Payouts at 5Dimes (subject to change):

6 Point NFL Teaser Bet Payouts
2 Teams – (+100)
3 Teams – (+180)
4 Teams – (+300)

6.5 Point NFL Teaser Bet Payouts
2 Teams – (-110)
3 Teams – (+165)
4 Teams – (+265)

7 Point NFL Teaser Bet Payouts
2 Teams – (-120)
3 Teams – (+150)
4 Teams – (+240)

Of course you can choose more than 4 teams in your NFL teaser bet, I just used these as example payouts so you could get a feel for what the payouts are like on teaser bets. Full payout charts can usually be found at the sportsbooks website.

Now that you know what teasers are check out this advanced Teaser Betting Strategy article written by our professional sports bettor, Jim. In the article you will learn when teasers are +EV and how you can make a profit during the season picking spots to bet teasers.

In sports betting, there are just a few bets that are considered to be regular bets and the over/under is one of them. The over/under is a simple wager where the bettor decides whether the final score of a specific game will be over or under a published number. The number represents the sum total of points scored by both teams. Thus, you either bet on the over or the under.

Over/Under

The over/under is listed in the following manner with the visiting club first.

Chicago Bears

How Does Betting On Nfl Games Work

o/u 34.5

Minnesota Vikings

In this game, the over/under is listed with a decimal, which is an impossible outcome. That’s done to avoid a push, which means the total points for this game will end up either above or below the number posted. If the over/under were 34 or 35, then the teams could end up with 34 or 35 points. That would mean there would be a push, a tie, and all bets would be returned.

In our example if the point totals are under 35, the under wins, of they are over 34, the over bets win the money. It’s that simple.

Using the Spread with the Over/Under

In NFL sports betting, the over/under is not simply picked out of the air. Like the point spread, moneyline and all other bets, it’s based on a number of factors, including specific stats related to scoring offense and defense.

Prior to wagering on the over/under check out the point spread. This will tell you how close the experts believe the score will be. Compare that to the over/under number. That will give you a good example of how the scoring is expected to go.

In other words, if the point spread on the game listed above has Minnesota favored at

-10.5 that would mean that the scoring when considered against the over/under is expected to be something like:

How does betting on nfl games work without

Chicago 12

Minnesota 22

How Betting On Nfl Games Works

These numbers are approximate, but they give you a good idea of what 35 total points would look like if they follow the spread. If you think Chicago will score less but Minnesota will score about the same number of points, then you may want to go with the under. Likewise, if after doing your research you believe Minnesota will score another touchdown and Chicago will score about the same as you’ve figured, then you’d wager on the over.

However, what if the point spread has Chicago at -3.5? How would that look like with the same over/under?

Chicago 19

How Does Betting On Nfl Games Workshop

Minnesota 15

Once again, looking at that probable outcome based on coordinating the point spread with the over/under, you’d ask yourself if the point total for each team makes sense. If the totals don’t, then based on your analysis, you’d decided if more or less points would be scored by either team and also what your calculated over/under would be. Then you would bet on the published over/under.

Sports Betting is About Information

If you’re able to use all information at your fingertips, including numbers presented by the handicappers, you can objectively determine how accurate the over/under may be. Use this tool to help you make winning bets.