In the United States, NFL point spread betting is one of the most popular ways to bet on NFL football markets. While NFL money lines are outright wagers, point-spread bets are a little more complex.
Because of these complexities, it is imperative to your sports betting profitability that you understand the rules and nuances of NFL point spread betting before you place your first, or your next wager.
What are NFL Point Spread Bets?
When you place an NFL point spread bet, you are betting on one side to win or lose by a predetermined number of points aka “the spread”. This predetermined number is set by the oddsmaker according to each side’s implied probability of winning.
With NFL point spreads, there is a favorite and an underdog. The favorite will be assigned minus odds as well as a point spread signifying their projected margin of victory. When you bet on the favorite, that side must win the game by more points than the spread.
Meanwhile, when you bet on the underdog, there are two ways to win your bet. The underdog can either win the game outright or lose by fewer points than the predetermined number of points (the point spread) you took at the time you placed your wager.
How to read NFL Point Spread Betting Lines?
Reading NFL point spread betting lines may seem difficult to rookie bettors. However, it will come easily once you get the hang of it. When you bet on an NFL point spread, you are betting on the number of points a team will win or lose by.
Here is an example:
- Dallas Cowboys -6 (-110) vs New York Giants +6 (-110)
In the above example, the Cowboys are the betting favorite and are favored to win by 6 points. If you bet on the Cowboys -6, they must win by 7+ points for your NFL point spread betting ticket to be graded as a winner. If the Cowboys win by exactly 6 points, your bet will be graded as a push and your stake will be returned.
On the other side, the Giants are the underdog and are projected to lose the game. If you placed a bet on the Giants, they must either win outright or lose by fewer than 6 points for you to win your bet. Therefore, if the Giants lose by 5 points, you will win. But if they lose by 7 points, your NFL point spread betting ticket will be settled as a loser.
Basic NFL Point Spread Betting strategy
When you bet on NFL point spreads, be sure to go into every bet you make with a proven strategy used by the most profitable sports bettors. One of the most basic strategies to deploy surrounds factors entering a game. These factors could impact how to read a game and how you bet on it. These same elements could also trigger sportsbooks to move their lines, which creates opportunities for value bets to make if you are sharp.
These factors include where the game is being played and the weather. Home-field advantage in the NFL is powerful. You should also note where and when a team has played in the previous week. If the side you want to bet on is coming off of a bye, they will be fresher and more rested. If the team you want to bet against is traveling from West to East, there could be an advantage there too due to the time difference and the difficulties of traveling overall.
You should also be keen on recent news, rumors, and injuries. Let’s say the All-Pro left tackle for the team you want to bet on is not expected to play but has yet to be ruled out and his replacement has only started 4 career games. Meanwhile, they are playing a fierce and menacing pass rush. In this case, you may want to wait to place your bet until the sportsbooks adjust their lines to the potential injury.
Should I Price Shop for the Best Lines on NFL Point Spread Bets?
Yes. You should price shop for the best lines on NFL point spread bets. Price shopping is also called line shopping, which is one of the most proven successful sports betting strategies savvy bettors deploy on every bet they make.
When you are line shopping, you are shopping the same betting market across several competitive sportsbooks, then placing your wager at the operator offering the best price. You can always use our odds comparison tool to get the best line and odds on all your NFL bets.
For example, if DraftKings Sportsbook and FanDuel are offering an NFL player prop bet at -140 odds, but BetMGM online sportsbook is offering that same prop at -115, then you would place your bet at BetMGM.
While these discrepancies may appear to be minuscule, they begin to add up down the line. And since successful sports betting is a long-term endeavor, the aforementioned discrepancies can really make a positive difference in your bankroll.
Another great reason to line shop is that you will be exposed to more mobile sportsbooks, which correlates to exposure to additional new user welcome offers. You can use these welcome offers in your favor to pad your bankroll since just about every notable sports betting operator offers something whether it’s a bet and get promo or a deposit bonus.
What to Look For When Betting NFL Point Spreads Online
When you are betting on NFL point spreads online, you should be looking for several factors that play a role in whether or not your bets are successful or not. These factors could also give you an edge if you are a savoy bettor.
Point Spread Betting Selection
It is imperative that you have a wide variety of point-spread bets to choose from when narrowing down your bet selection. On a traditional NFL Sunday, you will have over 10 games to bet on depending on what part of the season it is. And with so many options, you should be a selective bettor and pick your spots, focusing on teams and markets that you know the best.
Best Odds
Once you narrow down the bet or bets you want to make, it is uber important that you get the best odds for the market you want to bet on. As noted earlier on this page, this is where line shopping between different NFL sportsbooks comes into play. You don’t want to be a lazy bettor and wager on a market at Caesars Sportsbook just because that is the tab you have open on your browser. Take the market you want to bet on and shop it across at least three sportsbooks. Then, place your bet at the site offering the best price. The house has enough of an edge. Why leave any meat on the bone or money on the table?
Best Lines
Similar to getting the best odds, it is also important to place your bet at the operator offering the best lines for the market you want to bet on as well. Again, line shopping is key. Line shopping doesn’t only get you the best odds, but you also can grab the best lines with that technique as well.
For example, if BetMGM online sportsbook is offering an NFL point spread market at -6.5 (-120) but Bet365 has that same market at -6 (-120), then why in the world would you take the higher line? Sure, the odds are the same, but that half of a point difference could spell the difference between a losing bet and a push if the team you bet on wins by exactly 6 points.
Parlays and Same Game Parlays
While all mobile sportsbooks offer parlay bets in one form or another, all of them are not yet offering same-game parlays or even the newest craze, same-game parlay+ as originated at FanDuel Sportsbook.
Parlay bets are fun ways to make low-risk, high-reward wagers. However, they can also be costly. When you want to a parlay bet, be sure to find a sportsbook offering a parlay bonus or parlay insurance. Since these bets are more difficult to hit, it would be wise to find an operator giving you a little bit more to place your wager on their platform.
Promotions
The most profitable sports bettors are the ones taking advantage of every bonus and NFL promotion that comes their way. And since there are so many online sports betting operators in a saturated market, there are many promos at hand at a given time. While new user welcome offers are terrific in their own right, the best sportsbooks also flood their users with daily recurring promotions to keep them coming back.
If you found a dollar on the street you’d pick it up, right? Why wouldn’t you do the same at a sportsbook, which seemingly throws bonus bets and promotions at their users on daily basis, especially when they bet on popular markets like the NFL?
Example of NFL Point Spread Betting Promotions
All of the top online sportsbooks offer NFL point spread betting promotions in one form or another. As detailed earlier, Fanatics features its No Juice NFL Spreads. Meanwhile, operators like Caesars Sportsbook offers bet and get-like promos where you can bet $50 on the point spread of Sunday Night Football and get a $25 live betting token for Monday Night Football.
Since the NFL is the most popular sports betting market in the United States, sportsbooks will feature countless bonuses and promos correlating with these markets. To take advantage of these, vigorously visit your sportsbook’s promotions pages so you don’t miss out on the action or the free money.
Best Online Sportsbooks for NFL Point Spread Betting
Caesars Sportsbook
A branch of Caesars Entertainment, Caesars Sportsbook is another online sports betting operator with heavy ties to a notable brand in the retail casino realm. A rebrand of the William Hill platform, you will find aggressive odds and lines for the plethora of sports and markets available to bet on at Caesars Sportsbook.
When it comes to NFL betting markets, importantly, NFL point spread betting, you will see that Caesars Sportsbook is one of the best. This is because if you line shop and bonus shop at different mobile sports betting operators, you will find that Caesars Sportsbook just may be the most generous one, especially when it comes to the number of bonuses and odds boost correlating with NFL point spread betting.
DraftKings Sportsbook
Once touted as one of the most popular daily fantasy sports (DFS), the DraftKings brand branched out into the online sportsbook and casino space while rapidly emerging as one of the heavy hitters in the mobile sports betting industry.
When you bet at DraftKings Sportsbook, you will find levels of a variety of sports and betting markets to bet on. In addition, DraftKings online sportsbook also brings generous bonuses and promotions for both new and existing users to the table to keep their customers happy and betting on their platform.
If you are looking for a new sportsbook to place NFL point spread bets on, DraftKings Sportsbook should be at the top of your list since it offers highly aggressive lines and odds as well as ample bet types and promotions to meet the needs of every user.
BetMGM Online Sportsbook
Backed by one of the most familiar brands in the history of gambling, MGM Resorts, you will be hard-pressed to find a more trustworthy or notable mobile sports betting operator than BetMGM Sportsbook.
Emerging as one of the top online sportsbooks in the space, BetMGM has something for every user, including layers of sports to bet on, ample bet types to make, and an attainable loyalty and rewards program. In addition to all of that, the self-proclaimed King of Sportsbooks awards its new and existing users with lucrative bonuses and promotions.
When you want to sign up for a new mobile sportsbook to make NFL point spread bets, then BetMGM online sportsbook should be one of your first stops. Since powerhouses like BetMGM understands how competitive the market is, they ensure that their lines and odds are just as ambitious, especially for NFL markets, so users don’t need to go anywhere else to place their bets.
Bet365
Although Bet365 is only recently making its mark in the United States, launching in 2019, the brand itself is known worldwide for its United Kingdom-based and European origins since the year 2000.
At Bet365, you will find an endless amount of sports to bet on. One could make the case that Bet365 brings one of the most extensive lists of sports markets to bet on in all the land, especially when it comes to soccer.
And while Bet365 makes a significant splash with soccer markets, NFL point spread betting at Bet365 is just as strong. With aggressive odds that favor the user to pair with generous promotions correlating with NFL markets, Bet365 is lowkey one of the best NFL betting sites flying under the radar compared to its United States-based counterparts.
