Sports Betting and the Need to Balance Your NFL Wagers

Sports Betting Should Never Be a Double or Nothing Proposition

As you already know, the NFL season offers thousands of sports betting opportunities. If you love to bet and find that you’re like a kid in a candy shop when it comes to wagering on the NFL, then take a deep breath and slow down. You cannot make every bet or even a majority of those that are available. You have to be selective and you must balance your NFL wagers. You want to try to make money on a steady basis and not risk everything on one or two games.

What Games to Bet

There are 32 NFL teams and any given weekend there will be from 14 to 16 games on which you can wager. You should not bet on every game. You’re better off putting more money on fewer games.

If you decide that you’ll wager on five to seven games per week, then you’ve made a good decision. That means you’ll be able to focus on just those games. If you try to put informed bets on all games, you’ll never be able to perform the extensive work necessary to do so. You’ve still got a lot of work to do by choosing to bet on five to seven contests, but by limiting the number of games on which you’ll wager, you’ve made your task a lot easier and are giving yourself a good chance of making a profit.

You should wager on games based on three criteria—you like the spread or moneyline, you’ve analyzed the matchup inside out and your bet is based on objective decision-making.

What Types of Bets to Make

Each week you should make only two types of wagers—single game win/loss bets (point spread or moneyline) and over/under. Only play parlays, props and other types of bets if you’re ahead of the game and only risk a small percentage (5%) of your winnings on these bets.

Finding Your Balance in Sports Betting

Only place bets on games that you have thoroughly researched and about which you feel sure. Don’t place bets based on hunches or random knowledge or hearsay. Use facts and stats to win the max.

Spread your cash out over five to seven games. If you are wagering a total of 10 units on seven games, break the wagers up in the following manner.

  • Choose one game you feel the strongest about and place three units on it.
  • Choose another game that you feel strongly about and put two units on it.
  • Divide the other five units amongst the remaining five games.

Money in the Bank

Overall, you want to be smart and fairly conservative when you’re engaged in sports betting. If you make good wagers that are based on solid knowledge and sound, objective analysis, you’ll have a good chance of coming out ahead. Remember, wager as if you are in the game for the long run and you will be.