If the sportsbook is busy with action, it must be football season. crazy time Whether it’s the NFL or NCAA, football betting action is fast and furious through the season. For the newbie sports bettor, it can seem a little confusing, but football bets really come down to two types-straight bets and parlay bets.

Football Betting – Straight Bets

Here’s the workhorse for just about any winning football bettor. A straight bet simply means you’re betting on one football game. In the event that you bet on multiple game on a single ticket, it’s a parlay, and we’ll talk about that in a minute.

When you make a straight football bet, you will be betting on a side or total. To put it simply, when you bet a side, you “select a side” in the game. For example, let’s say the New England Patriots are playing the Seattle Seahawks. If you are going to bet a side, you’d bet on either the Patriots or the Seahawks.

Every game has a point total (except NCAA football, that is most games). Here is the level of points scored between both teams. When you bet a complete, you’re betting under or over that total. For instance, suppose the total is 47 and you also take the over. To win, both teams must combine for 48 or even more points (47 would be a push, therefore you get your bet back).

Football Betting – Parlays

Okay, so you find out about straight bets, that is where you bet on just one thing per ticket. When you want to bet on multiple thing, it’s a parlay. It is possible to bet on 2 – 20 things (depends on the sportsbook).

For instance, let’s say you bet on the Seahawks and on the total on your ticket. That might be a 2-team parlay (even though technically there’s only 1 team on it).

The more items you placed on the ticket, the more money you’ll win if they all hit. Naturally, the more items on the ticket, the harder it is to win.

With parlay bets it’s an all or nothing thing. If one pick fails, the ticket is dead. Some sportsbooks will run specials so you can get close, but that’s very rare.

If you enter making football bets via parlay tickets, you might have a look at “teasers,” which are parlay tickets with added points for you. For instance, instead of taking the Packers -10, you can find them at -3. Needless to say, the payouts are a less because the risk is minimized.

Football betting is a blast and there’s nothing better than hitting the sportsbook with a big winning ticket. I hit straight football bets and parlays all season long. I look forward to the NFL and NCAA football seasons.