If the sportsbook is busy with action, it must be football season. Whether it’s the NFL or NCAA, football betting action is fast and furious during 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 any winning football bettor. A straight bet simply means you’re betting on one football game. If you bet on multiple game on the same ticket, it’s a parlay, and we’ll talk about that in a minute.

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

Every game includes a point total (except NCAA football, that is most games). Here is the quantity of points scored between both teams. Once you bet a complete, you’re betting under or over that total. For instance, suppose the total is 47 and you take the over. To win, both teams must combine for 48 or even more points (47 will be a push, which means 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 wish to bet on more than one 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 on the total on your ticket. That would be a 2-team parlay (even though technically there’s only one 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. 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 personally. For instance, instead of taking the Packers -10, you can find them at -3. Of course, the payouts certainly are a less since 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.