Football Betting – Reduced Juice on NFL Total Lines
Next to straight bets on pointspreads, betting the total line is one of the most popular ways to bet on NFL games. Betting the OVER/UNDER on the total combined score brings in quite a bit of action when it comes to the entire weekly handle for the biggest betting sport on the board.
Betting NFL totals is a perfect way to complement any pointspread plays. This is also an excellent way to expand a parlay to gain a bigger return on investment. Regardless of how you work total line bets into your overall NFL betting strategy, betting them at reduced juice should be a big part of the plan.
Some online sportsbooks still rely on betting line movements to help shift money to one side of a bet against the other. Gaining an extra half point in your favor can often times mean the difference between losing a bet or cashing a winner. Millions of dollars have exchanged hands for a half point in more than a few games over the years.
More and more these days, you are seeing certain books tweak the standard 10% commission charged for each bet. Moving the commission charged for either side of a total line bet is another tactic for moving money one way or the other. Depending on which side of that bet you are on, it can either cost you more or cost you less to place.
NFL Football Odds – America’s Bookie Football Betting Odds Section.
The following is a comparison between the two ways books move money for a total line:
BOOK A
Cleveland Browns OVER 46 ½ (-110)
Baltimore Ravens UNDER 46 ½ (-110)
BOOK B
Cleveland Browns OVER 46 ½ (+100)
Baltimore Ravens UNDER 46 ½ (-120)
The first example (Book A) uses a 10% commission for betting the OVER or the UNDER at 46 ½ points. You could call this a standard total line listing.
Book B also has a total line of 46 ½ points for the same game. However, it is trying to shift money towards the OVER in this game with no commission charged (+100) on that bet. Anyone looking to bet the UNDER would have to bet $120 to win $100 doubling the standard commission charged to 20%.
Football Betting – Making Early NFL Adjustments
If you do like the OVER in this matchup, Book B offers that option as an even-money wager. Nobody bets to lose, but if you did take the OVER for $100 and lost the bet, you actually saved $10. Looking for total line betting options at reduced juice can actually be incorporated into your betting strategy.
Once the total lines for that week’s games have been released, the first thing to do is break down any particular matchup of interest on face value. If you determine that this particular game is going to be a lower scoring affair than expected, the next step is to track the movement of the total line to determine where the early money is going. Hopefully it is moving towards the OVER which is typical for most games. By going against the early money, you are likely to find some reduced juice options for betting the UNDER.
Sportsbook Reviews – Safe, trusted and reliable online sportsbetting options
As a casual or recreational sports bettor, it is probably not practical to have online betting accounts at multiple books. However, having at least two books in the mix makes all the sense in the world.
You can work with Book A using standard 10% commissions across the board. You can also work with Book B that uses varied commission rates in the betting lines it offers. This will give you the best of both worlds when it comes to actually placing a bet.