Betting on NFL futures lets you choose which team will win for future seasons, hence the name. Place bets to the team that you'll think will win the next big American football event. The 2020 NFL season is about to begin, and there’s no time like the present to start placing those bets.
Here are three ways to help you make predictions for the NFL futures.
Understand NFL Futures
Before you can start making predictions on NFL futures, it should help if you take a deep dive into this betting category.NFL futures betting allows you to handpick from the 32 franchises to see who'll raise the trophy by season's end.
Futures bets could be ‘odds to win the AFC Championship,’ ‘odds to win the Super Bowl,’ or ‘over/under on the number of wins.’ But, you can also place bets involving major player awards, such as ‘Defensive Player of the Year,’ Defensive Rookie of the Year,’ and ‘MVP.’
You can also wager on the ‘FIELD’ option, which means that your gamble isn’t on the listed names to win a specific award. Furthermore, some sportsbooks allow you to wager on the longest distance of the football thrown by the quarterback for the entire season.
Also, keep in mind that many sportsbooks won’t allow you to parlay any futures bet. In other words, if you make a prediction and set your gamble, you’ll have no choice but to commit to that decision until the end of the season.
Read the News
You can place your bets for NFL futures up to the last minute of the gambling period. Hence, use that available time to catch up on the different events surrounding the NFL.Remember, any event that may happen before the season starts can affect a team's winning chance. Thus, if you make hasty predictions and a mishap happens, you might not parlay that bet.
For example, turn back the clock back to 2014 when Jimmy Haslam, owner of the Cleveland Browns, said in a statement to the now ex-quarterback Johnny Manziel to start ‘acting like a backup quarterback.’
If Manziel didn’t perform better after hearing Haslam’s words, it would’ve adversely impacted the team’s odds of winning in the postseason match.
Seemingly simple statements can impact the odds of teams winning in official games. Thus, it should be in your best interest to read the news whenever possible.
Furthermore, consider checking other channels, such as social media, to see how a team or player is doing before football season starts.
Another example, this time in 2019, is when the Oakland Raiders released Antonio Brown. This event happened two days before the opening match for that season, which hampered the team's odds of winning at the Super Bowl.
Always keep in mind that events in the NFL can happen at any moment. Some of these incidents may take place one or two days before the season starts. Therefore, maintain vigilance while making your predictions to reduce the risks of losing bets.
Hedge Bets
Can’t decide on a particular NFL team to win? If so, you can play it safe by hedging your bets.Look at the following example to help you understand this concept. You place a $500-bet for the Green Bay Packers to win the Super Bowl, with hypothesized odds of 80 to 1. This team might not be the first pick of several American football enthusiasts.
Nonetheless, the season, somehow, bestows something magical to the team as the Packers make it to the NFC Championship against the Dallas Cowboys. If the Green Bay team wins this last game, you should pocket $40,000. But, you get $0 if you lose.
But, hedging your bets reduces your risk of saying goodbye to the season with an empty wallet. Think of it as splitting the odds to ensure you’re still going to pocket some cash even if your prediction was wrong.
For instance, the money-line odds for the Packers to win is +185, whereas the Cowboys have -200. With these figures, you may decide to bet $20,000 on the Cowboys.
If the Dallas team wins, you earn $10,000 for the money-line bet, but $0 for the futures bet. However, if the Cowboys lose, you can pocket $40,000 from the futures bet. However, you’ll lose $20,000 from the money-line bet. In summary, you should earn $20,000 from this hedging strategy.
Note that the money you win won’t be $40,000 if you win your predicted futures bet. But, at least the season won’t end with you staring at $0 at your wins.
Conclusion
Remember to make your NFL futures predictions by understanding this betting category. Also, always be in-the-know by catching up on the latest news happening around the NFL. If you want to play it safe, consider hedging your bets.Follow these guidelines, and you may have a high chance of pocketing a significant amount of money when the season ends.
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