NFL Betting Basics: Know Where to Start

American football and its top league – National Football League (NFL) – is crazy popular inside the USA. This sport and this league are massively getting attention from outer countries, which makes NFL betting intriguing.

Before we dig any deeper, let’s see what the basics of this game are and what do you need to know to start betting on NFL results.

Rules

American football is a team sport with 22 players on the field at one time. Each team has 11 players on the field. However, defensive and offensive players play separately – when 11 players of certain team are attacking, other 11 defensive players are resting on the bench and vice versa.

The match of American football lasts 6 minutes divided into four quarters of 15 minutes.

The game is being played with an oval shaped ball that has resemblance to rugby. Attacking team has multiple ways to score, including touchdown (6 points, bringing the ball into the end zone), point(s)-after-touchdown (1 or 2 points, depending how it is scored after touchdown), field goal (3 points, scoring by placekicking or dropkicking the ball through the uprights and over the crossbar), safety (2 points, scoring by tackling the ball carrier, the only way to score for the defense).

The field is a 110 m long and 48.76 m wide rectangular. The whole field is marked with lines (each 9.1 m.) – this is crucial since every possession the attacking team has 4 downs (4 chances) to pass 9.1 meters (one line). If the team succeeds to do that, they get another 4 downs to advance further.

When a team fails to advance, opponents get the possession.

Differently compared to rugby, American football players can make a pass forward from the behind of the scrimmage line.

These are the very basics, but keep in mind that this sport and especially NFL teams are very advanced with hundreds of different plays and the rule book as big as the whole stadium (just kidding, kind of…).

Know the QB

QB (quarterback) is the main offensive player position on which team’s success hugely depends. QBs are usually compared to basketball’s point guards since both these positions always start possession and have the ball for the most of the time.

QB is vital because QBs start every play, make every important decision. It is a long known fact that team depends on QBs, therefore winning teams have great players in this position.

Because of this importance, always get information about injured players. If the main quarterback cannot play, his team’s chances to win decrease extremely. Keep that in mind.

Main types of betting

American football is no different in terms of betting and betting types. Many bookies will give you a money line wager, team handicaps and totals. About these you can read on our previous articles about any other sports.

Besides afore mentioned betting types, proposition bets (props) get much attention. In some other sports betting types such as “which teams scores first” or “the way X team scores first” are not popular, and unpredictable, just like a lottery but in NFL you can rely on statistics and team playing styles to determine what has bigger possibility. Therefore, it gains recognition in betting.

Finally, keep in mind that some bookies have the cash out possibility. This can be certainly useful when you see that your pick might have a downswing and burn your wager. Plus the game (including all stoppages) usually lasts 3 hours so that is a lot of time. Just see last year’s Super Bowl, which was a fascinating grand final of the season! 😉