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 through the season. For the newbie sports bettor, it can seem a little confusing, but football bets really drop 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 using one football game. In the event that you bet on several game on a single ticket, it is 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, when you bet a side, you “select a side” in the game. For instance, let’s say the New England Patriots are playing the Seattle Seahawks. If you are going 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). This is actually the level of points scored between both teams. When you bet a complete, you’re betting under or higher 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 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 single thing per ticket. When you want to bet on several thing, it’s a parlay. It is possible to bet on 2 – 20 things (depends on the sportsbook).

For instance, let’s say without a doubt on the Seahawks and over the total on your ticket. That might be a 2-team parlay (even though technically there’s only 1 team on it).

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

With parlay bets it’s an all or nothing thing. If Situs Toto fails, the ticket is dead. Some sportsbooks will run specials so you can get close, but that’s very rare.

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

Football betting is really a blast and there’s nothing much better than hitting the sportsbook with a large winning ticket. I hit straight football bets and parlays all season long. I look forward to the NFL and NCAA football seasons.