It is finally August, which means the NFL is officially back.
The NFL season begins on August 4th when the Jacksonville Jaguars take on the Las Vegas Raiders in this year’s Hall of Fame Game.
The NFL is King in sports betting, so even preseason games like the Hall of Fame Game will attract bettors worldwide.
We will walk you through the bets you can make during the NFL preseason and tips and strategies to help you make a profit.
Betting NFL Preseason Games
Betting on NFL preseason games or NFL games, in general, is one of the easiest sports to bet on. You can place bets on the spread, game totals, and the money line. Those are the most popular when betting on an NFL preseason game.
For example, let’s look at the preseason matchup between the Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens. The odds look something like this.
If you were looking to place a bet on this game and think the Ravens are going to blowout the Titans or beat them by more than five points, then you would consider betting Ravens -5.
If you are a long-time Titans fan and think Tennessee keeps this game within five points or has a chance to upset the Ravens, then you can bet Titans +5 or take the Titans on the moneyline at +165 for a bigger payout.
Now, if you don’t have a read on either team, you can just bet the total. If you think this game will be low scoring and the total amount of points will be fewer than 34 points, bet the under, and if you think it will be a high-scoring game that goes over 34 points, then bet the over.
Remember to always do your research for the before placing your bets. Many online sportsbooks exist, but not all are trustworthy or safe. Visit SafestBettingSites.com to learn more about trusted online sportsbooks and reviews.
Types Of Bets To Place In Preseason
Moneyline Bets are strictly betting on which team will win straight up. The favorite is denoted with a minus (-) symbol, while the underdog has the plus (+) symbol. The odds would look like this using the teams from the above example.
While using a $100 bet size for this example, if you thought the Titans were able to upset the Ravens, your $100 wager would win you $165.
On the other hand, if you wanted to bet the Ravens to win, you would have to wager $195 to win $100.
Against The Spread Bets
Creating a point spread allows the sportsbooks to make a match-up more fair or balanced in betting. They do this by taking points from the favored team and giving points to the underdog.
The favorite again is labeled with a minus (-) sign, and the underdog is labeled with a plus (+) sign.
If you were looking to place a bet on this game and think the Ravens are going to blowout the Titans or beat them by more than five points, then you would consider betting Ravens -5. If you are a long-time Titans fan and think Tennessee keeps this game within five points or has a chance to upset the Ravens, then you can bet Titans +5
Game Total
Game totals are where the sportsbook will estimate the total or combined points between the two teams. You can then bet the over or under based on whether you think the total is too high or too low.
Futures
A futures bet is any wager placed on a sporting event or event that will take place in the future. Futures bets are offered in all major sports like NFL, MLB, NBA, Golf, and even political events like the Presidential Elections.
Popular future bets include betting on the Super Bowl winner during the preseason. You can lock in those odds despite the odds changing as the season plays out. Which could play in your favor or against you depending on how well that team is playing.
You must learn how to read the lines or odds when looking to place a futures bet. Future odds are read in list form, starting with the best odds (or the favorite) down to the worst.
For example, here are the odds of winning this year’s Super Bowl. Odds by DraftKings.
Bills +600
Buccaneers +600
Chiefs +1000
Packers +1000
Rams +1100
Chargers +1400
49ers +1600
Broncos +1600
Cowboys +1800
Ravens +2200
Colts +2200
Bengals +2500
As a $100 bettor, if you were confident that the Buffalo Bills would win the Super Bowl, you would place a futures bet locking in those +600 odds. If Thoms did end up winning The Masters, you win $600.
If you wanted to take an underdog and place $100 on the Ravens at +2200, your potential payout would jump to $2,200.
Tips and Strategies for Preseason Betting
- Bet The Ravens
No, seriously, bet the Ravens.
Under head coach John Harbaugh, the Ravens are 37-12 (.755) straight up in the preseason. They have won 17 straight preseason games and haven’t lost since September 3rd, 2015.
- Pay attention to quarterback battles.
Teams with a legitimate battle will often have those
battling QBs play more in the preseason. Knowing that a potential starter may be playing into the third quarter could present great value and help a team cover the spread late in the game.
- Continuity
Look for continuity. When a team returns their head coach and all their quarterbacks, they usually have a significant edge in the preseason. Teams returning the HC and their QBS have an advantage as they are not introducing a new playbook, nor do the QBs have to learn a new system.
The Detroit Lions and LA Rams are the only teams to return all their QBs from last season, while the Cleveland Browns are the only team to have all new QBs.
Betting on NFL Preseason should be fun, so don’t go overboard spending your bankroll; save that for the NFL regular season; when betting on preseason games, do your research because there is enough information out there to gain an edge on the books.
