Are You Using These 7 NFL Betting Tips the Pros Use?
Looking for some reliable NFL betting tips to boost your bankroll? There are all kinds of football betting strategies out there, some good, some bad. A lot of smart football bettors love to fade the public. This means betting against the opinion of the average Joe sports fan. Some consistent winners stick to the over/under totals since they don't have to pick a winner.
You may be better at playing the money line with home favorites after a road loss of 10 points or more. And maybe you have recognized that every week there is some serious value against the point spread (ATS) for home dogs in conference games.
However you decide to bet on NFL games, the following pro football betting tips will do nothing but help you improve your bottom line and your chance at winning your next NFL wager.
NFL Betting Tip #1 - Stick to Reputable, Licensed Sportsbooks
There are literally hundreds, and maybe even more than a thousand Internet sportsbooks. But did you know that out of that vast number, only a few dozen are legally licensed in legitimate online gambling jurisdictions? And even fewer than that deliver competitive lines, credit card account funding, US player support, mobile sports book access without a download and generous bonuses.
Before ever opening an account, make sure you are dealing with a licensed and legal online bookmaker. (Only the top-rated, legally licensed, and certified NFL sportsbooks are listed and reviewed here on our site.)
Pro Football Betting Tip #2 - Open and Maintain Multiple Accounts
No professional NFL gambler that has to live off of his winnings would be caught dead with a single, or even just 2 online sports betting accounts. You either are serious about making money betting on the NFL, or you are not. You absolutely must have a minimum of 3 accounts with 3 separate reputable and trusted Internet bookmakers to maximize your betting value.
Opening 3 or more accounts at different legal online professional football betting sites makes sense for a lot of reasons. One may have a special deposit bonus offering when the other two do not. And with at least 3 separate online sportsbook accounts, you will most times get at least two and possibly three sets of lines, odds, totals, moneylines, and parlay payouts.
The only way to take advantage of these free ways to improve your winning percentage is if you hold several accounts which are active and have money to instantly place wagers when you see an attractive situation.
NFL Betting Tip #3 - Listen to the Pros, and Manage Your Money
Lem Banker (widely regarded as one of the best professional football bettors of all time) always told advice seekers to never bet more than 1% or 2% of their bankroll on any one contest. If that pro football betting tip is good enough for one of the smartest and most profitable NFL bettors of all time, it is good enough for you and me. Even the greatest researcher using the most successful "system" is going to run into significant rough spots.
Never bet more than a very small percentage of your entire bankroll, and if you are using the right strategies, you will be a winner in the long run.
Pro Football Betting Tip #4 - Figure the Point Spread before It Is Announced
If you wait until BookMaker.eu announces its early line or the major casinos in Nevada post the respected "Vegas line", you are already working at a disadvantage. The aforementioned Lem Banker, and all other football betting professionals, figure the point spreads, moneylines, and totals for NFL games before they check their smartphones or computers to see what professional bookmakers have it set at. This is another way that NFL Betting Tip #2 pays off.
As soon as the weekend's games have finished up Sunday night, start your research. Compare quarterbacks, defenses, coaching staffs, home versus road records, take the weather into account, don't forget the importance of divisional rivalries and playoff games, and check the injury report. Use all of that data to come up with against the spread (ATS), straight-up (SU) moneyline, and totals numbers in a particular game.
Let's say you do the work and figure that the home field Cleveland Browns should be plus 3 1/2 versus the Pittsburgh Steelers. But when the line is announced, the Brownies are getting 4 1/2 points. That extra point is huge and means you should probably take the Browns as a home underdog.
NFL Football Betting Tip #5 - Fade Popular Public Teams
We mentioned fading the public earlier. This means you want to bet in the opposite direction than the typical NFL gambler. Especially when a team is wagered on heavily year in and year out (think the Oakland Raiders, Dallas Cowboys, and San Francisco 49ers) because of long-standing popularity and fan support, the ATS number, money line, and over/under are usually bloated in favor of that popular team.
Professional bookmakers even have a term for these types of NFL squads, calling them "public teams". In most cases, you will find a lot of overvaluing on these types of teams, and you can go the other way for some serious value just about every week in the National Football League.
Pro Football Betting Tip #6 - Get Maximum Value By Timing Your Bets Properly
A great deal of betting each week in the National Football League happens on Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday. That is because the typical sports better that just likes to have a little action has to work Monday through Friday. You should be all over the opening lines as soon as they are available, either Sunday night, Monday night, or Tuesday morning. You should have already used betting Pro Football Betting Tip #4 to figure the money line, ATS line, and the total for any games you are considering betting.
Whatever the opening numbers are, they are almost guaranteed to move during the week as casual bettors slowly get into the system, especially Friday night, Saturday, and Saturday night. By doing your research and knowing which side of the number you should be on, you can use public opinion (Tip #5) and a timing strategy to get the most value. If the Cardinals open up as a 6 1/2 point dog at home against Peyton Manning and the Broncos, that number is almost certainly going to rise to 7 1/2, 8, or even 9 points because of the popularity and public perception of Denver. Bet the Cardinals late in the week, and the Broncos early to keep from giving points away.
NFL Betting Tip #7 - Use Live In-Game Betting to Hedge Your Bets, and "Steal Money"
The better legally licensed online sports betting sites deliver a relatively new and exciting live in-play betting option. It works just like it sounds. During the game, in the middle of live play, you can place first-quarter, second-quarter, halftime, third quarter and fourth-quarter bets on NFL action. There are individual player prop bets and team bets available. Moneyline, spread, and totals wagering are active here.
If you see that a pregame wager you made is going in the wrong direction, hedge that bet and limit your losses by placing a live in-game bet in the other direction (as long as the numbers are right).
And since you can use weather, injuries, and late-breaking news to your advantage by placing a live in-play bet as soon as you see a favorable situation, sometimes it feels like stealing money when you take advantage of the awesome combination that mobile smartphone and tablet sportsbook access can give you when combined with instant, live betting wagers.
Check out the following link for a list of the top sportsbooks offering live NFL betting.
Pro Football Betting Tip #8: Take Advantage Of Mobile Pro Football Betting Apps
Any of the pro football betting sites that we recommend to our readers port their services to popular smartphones and tablets so that games can be wagered on from anywhere football gamblers choose. Unlike domestic sportsbooks, offshore football betting sites allow for wagers to be placed on iPhones, iPads, and Android devices without the need to download any apps or software.
All that is needed for mobile pro football betting with any of our top offshore sportsbooks is a web browser and the ability to click on any URL that we've provided here at PFB. Upon arrive, mobile screens are filled with all of the options offered at the desktop sportsbook site, complete with single-finger navigation that behaves just like a downloadable app. Don't restrict yourself to betting at home using a laptop or a PC. Pull up the latest pro football odds from the online sportsbooks we list here on your mobile device and bet the odds from anywhere you like.