Top NFL Betting Strategies for Your Best Football Season

The NFL season is nearly here, and that means finding a football betting strategy that will help you win all the way to the Super Bowl. Before signing up for any NFL sportsbooks, you need to know about the best betting strategies the experts are using.

From finding the best odds to live betting, moneyline bets to player props, our football betting guide is here to help. A winning bet can happen at any moment, impacted by a single play. With these football betting strategies, you can win more often than not and ride the success of each team’s performance.

The 5 Best NFL Betting Strategies to Follow

To succeed in NFL betting, the key is to work the odds in your favor. Before you start betting, it is critical to go into the games with a specific plan in mind. These NFL betting strategies aren’t reinventing the wheel, but could get you in a position to win more often and make the most of every single one of these games.

1. Know the Ins & Outs of Sports Betting

Though you won’t win every single game, one of the worst things you can do is not know about each of the bet types when you play. The betting public is surprisingly unknowledgeable, which is why they are generally losing money betting on games.

Take a little bit of time to know about spread betting, money line betting, prop bets, odds, parlays, and the various bet types before you wager. For instance, if you see a matchup featuring the New England Patriots vs. the Kansas City Chiefs, know what the point spread is, the total number of points, and more.

The NFL season is long, but it will be even longer if you don’t know what you are doing before you place bets. Play responsibly and familiarize yourself with the various bet types in each of these games before placing a single bet. You will be better for it in the end and feel more comfortable betting on one of the best sports in the world.

2. Line Shopping

Odds are often the most overlooked aspect of betting on NFL games. Odds are assigned to every aspect of sports betting, including the money line, total points, spread betting, and other betting options. Those odds provide value, which means getting the best price for your money.

Before betting on the games, make sure to check out the lines. It might not seem like much when you wager, but even a small difference in those odds can make a difference in your winnings. Picking games successfully is tough, so getting the most out of a win is imperative.

Sports are random, and anything can happen in these games. In football betting, you need to make the most of each win. By comparing the lines, you can maximize each win. When you do that, it is possible to turn a profit even if you aren’t picking games successfully more often than not.

3. Home Field Advantage

Of all the NFL betting strategies to choose from, there may be no better option than choosing teams with home-field advantage. There is just something about the energy a home team has playing in front of its own fans. No matter what point in the NFL season, a home crowd can swing momentum and turn games in its favor.

Keep in mind that there are factors that can change this betting strategy. Divisional matchups are tough because each of the teams plays one another so often that the familiarity can narrow talent gaps. A historical or division rival can alter betting strategies, especially between premier teams like the Baltimore Ravens, Green Bay Packers, or Dallas Cowboys.

Home-field advantage is a powerful thing in sports. In football, it can be an especially strong advantage. Teams that play in colder weather tend to have an inherent advantage later in the season, something that other sports can’t match. During the NFL season, look at home-field trends and injury reports to find an inherent advantage that some betting lines may not reveal.

4. Bankroll Management

Don’t let its position on this list fool you: money management is critical to sports betting, not just NFL betting. With proper bankroll management, you can make it through even the toughest games and live to play another day. There is nothing worse than Monday morning arriving and realizing that you could have avoided a disastrous bet.

Before you wager, have a set amount in mind. Each wager should be roughly 1-2% of your bankroll at the most. Though you may be somewhat limited in how much you can win, you are insulating yourself from devastating losses. Even with games that feel like an easy win, anything can happen. Ensuring you have money to wager means striking a balance between being conservative enough to prevent total disaster and being too cautious.

Another part of proper money management is not wavering on your bet amounts. A common mistake NFL bettors make is placing an additional bet after losing on a few games. While it would be nice to end on a win, that’s not necessarily going to happen. We are all at the mercy of the teams on the field, so sit out your final bet if you have lost a few already.

5. Keep Stats of Your Bets

An underrated aspect of NFL betting is knowing your own history. It is all too easy to place bets, check to see if they won, and then forget all about them. While it may not seem like there is a correlation between bets, there can be.

Keep track of your stats to get a feel for how you’re doing. Look at specific bet types, see your historical success rate, and use those numbers to dictate your next series of bets. It might be a bit more effort, but betting blindly will lead to losses more often than not.

Things to Avoid When it comes to NFL Betting

While it helps to have a few sound strategies in your back pocket, there are a number of things to avoid as well. When betting on football, there are a few things you should avoid doing.

Don’t Bet on Your Favorite Team

Being a fan means being passionate about your team. While it is great to love your team, it can be one of the worst things you can do when it comes to football betting. For that reason, it is of the utmost importance to keep your distance when betting.

Betting on your favorite team means being at a disadvantage. It means catering to your emotions, which ultimately leaves you at a disadvantage. Unless you are 100% certain that you can remain objective, try to steer clear of your favorite teams when betting.

Don’t Chase Losses

Anyone familiar with sports betting knows that one guy who insists on ending the day with a win. While that is certainly a nice feeling, it isn’t always in the cards. Even worse, some bettors will keep chasing those losses in an attempt to score that one win.

In reality, chasing losses more than likely means additional losses. No matter how frustrated you are with the day’s events, learning to give up for the day can be one of the most beneficial things you learn. Losing isn’t fun, but knowing when to pump the brakes ensures that you have funds to give it another shot.

Don’t Change Your Bet Amounts

It might not sound like a big mistake, but changing up your betting amounts across games can actually be a horrible idea. It is important to maintain a pattern with your bet amounts, whether it is Week 1 or the Super Bowl.

Far too often, bettors will increase their stakes on their bets in an attempt to score a big win. More often than not, this comes in the wake of several losses. The only thing that will happen is a bigger loss than you could have imagined. Keep some consistency in your wager amount.

Avoid Parlays

Easily one of the biggest mistakes bettors make at NFL sportsbooks is tying multiple games into one bet, also known as a parlay. Parlays have much bigger odds, which means bigger potential wins. The more teams you add to your ticket, the bigger the potential win.

That said, your odds of winning a parlay, in all sports, not just football, are slim to none. Bonus bets are okay to use in this instance because you aren’t technically losing. The most effective way to wager on games is to do so one at a time. Lumping teams like the Miami Dolphins, Seattle Seahawks, and others into one ticket only puts you at greater risk. The key to sports betting is limiting the risk and putting the odds in your favor.

Kick Off the Season Right with the Best NFL Betting Strategy

Though there is no guarantee when it comes to betting on NFL games, a few simple betting strategies can go a long way. The final score is unpredictable, but by taking it one game at a time and implementing these football betting tips, you can gain a competitive edge.

At the end of the day, betting on games during the NFL season is meant to be fun. There is no simple answer to NFL betting, but you can add excitement to what the teams are doing on the field. Other leagues can’t compete with the NFL and the action that the football season provides.