How College Football Betting Works
Over the past few years, a growing number of people have started signing up to online betting sites. If you love sports and want to get involved, it’s never been easier. Thanks to changing laws, many US states now offer fully legal sports betting, with most sites offering odds on a variety of different events from around the world.
With the end of August comes the beginning of a new college football season. The Georgia Bulldogs have won the National Championship two seasons in a row and are aiming for a historic threepeat. It’s a feat that hasn’t been achieved in 80 years, and throughout the season, fans will be able to watch and bet on every game. If you’d like to know more about how college football betting works, read on for a complete guide.
College Football Odds
Before you can start betting on the NCAAF, it’s important that you understand odds and how they work. Odds are used to show the implied probability of an event, such as the Bulldogs winning the Championship. You place money on the bet, and if it wins, you win profit based on the odds. If it loses, you lose the cash that you wagered.
When looking at odds, there’s always a number with either a plus or minus sign in front. For example, a match between Iowa State -135 and Ohio +115. The minus sign shows the favorite, while the plus sign shows the underdog.
To work out how much profit you could win, you need to first look at the sign used. For odds with the minus sign, the number is how much you need to bet to win $100. For odds with the plus sign, the number tells you your potential profit if you bet $100.
College Football Markets
The odds aren’t the only thing you need to understand before you can bet on college football. Every game features lots of markets you can bet on. The moneyline market is a choice between which two teams you think will win. This is pretty simple, but there are a lot of mismatches in college football, so it’s difficult to find value.
Sportsbooks also offer the spread market, which applies an imaginary point handicap or advantage to both teams. The bigger the gulf in quality between the sides, the larger the spread. For example, the spread between Iowa State and Ohio is just 2.5 as they’re closely matched teams. If you bet on -2.5 Iowa State, they’d need to win by three points or more. If you bet on +2.5 Ohio, they’d need to not lose by more than three points.
Lastly, you can also bet on the total number of points scored in the game. Rather than entering a number, you bet on whether it will be over or under a specific total which is set by the sportsbook. The odds are normally even on either side, so it’s a better opportunity to make profit.
Joining a College Football Sportsbook
Of course, you’ll also need to join a sportsbook before you can place your first bet. First make sure that sports betting is legal in your state. Thirty different states have now regulated the betting industry, and many of these allow online betting and betting on college football.
Make sure that any site you choose is legal and licensed in your location. This way, your money will be safe when you sign up. Creating your account is simple, as you just need to provide a few details, such as your full name and contact information. Once that’s set up, all that’s left is to make a deposit, and you can start betting on all the NCAAF games.
