If the sportsbook is busy with action, it should be football season. Be it the NFL or NCAA, football betting action is fast and furious during the season. For the newbie sports bettor, it could seem a bit 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. If you bet on more than one game on a single ticket, it’s a parlay, and we’ll discuss that in a minute.

When you create a straight football bet, you will be betting on a side or total. Simply put, once you bet a side, you “pick a side” in the game. For instance, let’s say the New England Patriots are playing the Seattle Seahawks. If you’re likely to bet a side, you’d bet on either the Patriots or the Seahawks.

Every game includes a point total (except NCAA football, which 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, let’s say the total is 47 and you also take the over. To win, both teams must combine for 48 or 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. You can bet on 2 – 20 things (depends upon the sportsbook).

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

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

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

If you enter making football bets via parlay tickets, you may check out “teasers,” which are parlay tickets with added points for you. For instance, instead of taking the Packers -10, you might get them at -3. Of course, the payouts certainly are a less since the risk is minimized.

Football betting is really 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.