How to Become Better at Betting on Football

Do you enjoy betting on football, but you are not so good at it? Maybe you have even suffered huge losses in the past. But don’t worry! With a lot of practice and a few useful tips, you can easily become better at football betting and develop a sports betting strategy that works the best for you.

Regardless of whether you prefer to place your bets at a local bookie or on an offshore gambling site, our awesome tips can help you place more profitable wagers.

Are you ready for some great NFL betting tips? Then let’s get started!

Avoid Betting with Your Heart

Many beginners commit one of the most common mistakes regarding sports betting: they bet with their hearts. Since everyone has their own preferences (so do you!), it is understandable if you often find yourself betting on your favorite team. However, with this strategy, you can end up losing a lot of money.

Probably, you would find it difficult to put aside your preferences and bet against your preferred team. However, if you want to become more profitable in betting and make smarter bets, you need to learn how to be more objective. Be aware of your biases and avoid making decisions based solely on the fact which team you like or despise. There are other more important factors to consider when betting on football!

Focus on Proper Money Management

One of the most important things in sports betting, including football betting, is to focus on money management. Yet, many people tend to neglect this key aspect of betting and continue betting on various sports events without having a well-working strategy concerning their budget.

To be better in money management, there is a general rule you should never ignore. Probably, you have already heard this rule before, it sounds like this: never bet more than what you can afford to lose.

Additionally, most profitable bettors bet about 3-5% of their bankroll on a game. If you want to do the same, make a simple calculation before betting. For example, if you have $2,000 for betting during the next NFL season, make sure to not wager more than $100 on a game.

Know When to Bet

If you think that it doesn’t matter when you make your bet, you could not be more wrong. Knowing when to bet can be crucial if you want to become better at football betting.

To help you understand why let’s take a look at one of the major differences between the sports betting habits of casual bettors and sharps. Those bettors who bet for fun (also called squares), usually bet closer to the end of the week and they often bet on their favorites. On the other hand, professional bettors (sharps) rather tend to bet early in the week and pick underdogs. How can this information help you place more profitable bets?

If you are planning to place your bet on a favorite, do it as early in the week as possible. But if you would go rather with an underdog, it is best to place your wager later in the week when casual bettors put heavy action on favorites.

Check Where the Game Is Played

Maybe it will surprise you, but you can benefit from taking a look at where the game is played. This is because usually, the home-field advantage does matter. Do some research and see how each team performs home compared to away. In most cases, players perform better in front of their home crowd.

Also, you can consider checking when and where each team played prior to the upcoming game. You might come to some interesting conclusions!

Pay Attention to Injuries and Other Factors

Football is a team game where even small changes can have a significant effect on the entire team’s performance. This is why it might be a good idea to check whether any of the players have been injured or missed any practice before the game. Besides, don’t forget to take a look at what role each player will play on the team.

This additional information can be very valuable when it comes to placing your bets.

Go for the Best Numbers

When you take a look at the numbers in each sportsbook, you will see that there is some discrepancy in the numbers. While in NFL the differences might be significantly smaller than in college football, it may still be worth taking advantage of these discrepancies and shop for the best numbers possible.

Don’t Keep Chasing Bets and Losses

One of the worst mistakes you can make is to increase your wagers in order to win back your losses when you are on a losing streak. This strategy is dangerous therefore you should avoid it at any cost!

Instead of chasing your bets and losses, it might be better to follow this method:

  • When you are in luck and keep winning, consider increasing your bet size.
  • When you are losing, reduce your bet until you start to have better results in betting and manage to break the losing streak.

Don’t Underestimate the Underdogs

Most casual bettors prefer betting on the favorite to win. Thus, it’s safe to say that underdogs are quite undervalued by the squares. However, sharps have recognized the opportunity in underdogs. They know that in the long term they can be more profitable when betting on the underdog, particularly when the team plays at home.

So, the next time when you place your bet, don’t underestimate the underdogs. They can also win!

The Bottom Line

There you have it! These were our tips on how to become better at football betting. Chances are that you will be a much more profitable bettor once you follow the above-mentioned pieces of advice and improve your football betting strategy accordingly.

However, keep in mind that becoming a professional bettor takes a lot of practice and effort. So, the change won’t happen overnight. Be consistent, so you can succeed and see great results. We wish you the best of luck and plenty of wins!

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