Elevating Performance Through Proven NFL Betting Techniques

The NFL has surged in popularity in recent years, not just in the United States but all across the globe. The thrilling games, superstar athletes (and their significant others, we’re looking at you Travis Kelce) and overall spectacle is what keeps fans from all over the planet tuning in regularly to watch the latest action.

Something else that is helping to boost the popularity of the NFL is betting. Outside of the USA, NFL fans have been happily wagering on games for almost two decades. Here however, NFL sports betting is a relatively new concept with the striking down of PASPA by the Supreme Court just a few years ago opening the door to a legalised sports betting market.

Since then platforms like DraftKings Sportsbook have been offering competitive NFL lines, much to the delight of American sports fans. Whilst betting on your favorite sport might seem like a sure-fire way to turn your obsession into profit, there are a number of inherent pitfalls to NFL betting.

Done right though, you can reduce the role of luck and start to win more bets than you lose. Below we have collated a list of tips that, if followed correctly, will turn you from an unlucky sports better to a sports betting strategist. Read on to find out what they are.

Understand Sports Betting

The most common mistake that people make with NFL betting is jumping head first into it without actually understanding the basics of betting. The first stumbling block is getting to grips with the odds, which can be incredibly confusing to the uninitiated.

(Here’s a great video telling you everything you need to know about American betting odds.)

Now you understand odds better, let’s move onto some more fundamentals – types of bets. Sports betting isn’t as simple as picking one team to win and another to lose. Yes, you can do that if you want, but in the long run you won’t make much money.

Manage your Bankroll

Budgets improve everything. Okay, maybe they don’t improve impulsive midweek trips to the bar or boozy nights out, but they improve almost everything. Without one you end up spending way more money than you can afford to and trade short-term pleasure for long-term pain.

Sports betting is no different. So to ensure that you don’t end up regretting your decisions, work out a betting budget and stick to it. That way you’ll have more fun, for longer and will never end up in the horrible situation of chasing your losses.

Line Shopping

If you were going to get insurance for your car what would you do? Jump at the first offer you got? Hell no! That’s a sure-fire way to get ripped off. Instead you’d shop around a little bit to make sure that you got the best deal.

Don’t be afraid to do the same when it comes to sports betting. There are a plethora of comparison sites out there that collate the latest bonuses and promotions which allow you to shop around and find the best deal. Beyond that it’s a good idea to have a couple of accounts at least, so that you can compare and contrast odds on specific bets.

Why would you make the same bet for lower winnings with one provider when you could win more playing with someone else? It’s a no-brainer.

Head over Heart

Never back your own team. You’re not a reliable narrator, your opinions on them can absolutely not be trusted. You’ll either blindly back them to beat all and sundry or give in to your pessimism and put them down to lose a game they should easily win.

That’s one example of using your head over your heart, another is of listening to what the statistics are telling you and ignoring what your gut is saying. Your gut is used for breaking up food and turning it into poop, not winning bets.

Bet in Play

The odds ahead of a game have been rigorously tested and formulated by a team of data scientists. The live in-play odds often aren’t done to that level of detail, simply because they have to be created live and in the moment, so take advantage of that.

Particularly if you’re betting on a smaller team that might not have the same level of interest as others. A personal example of the power of in-live betting came when I was watching a soccer match last year.

By chance I was hovering over the next scorer markets at the exact moment that the referee awarded a penalty to the away team. In front of me at that moment the penalty taker was +900 to score next, so I instantly wagered $10 on him to score.

30 seconds later he stood in front of the ‘keeper with an 80% probability of scoring. Thankfully he did and I ended up winning $90. Had I waited a few seconds later, his odds would have dramatically dropped and so would my winnings. So don’t ever underestimate the power of in-play betting.