NFL Betting: It pays to shop around for odds

With the start of the NFL regular season, millions of bettors will flock online to place their wagers on the football games. And if you are an experienced bettor, it's no secret that shopping around the sportsbooks is a must. For the less experienced, it may come as a surprise to learn that even though to online sportsbooks may seem to offer quite similar betting odds, in reality you can literally double you winning wagers by simply choosing the right sportsbook to place them.

For the purpose of this article we looked at the NFL Odds Picks website, a site providing NFL odds comparison, team stats and betting trends on the regular football games, as well as on the individual NFL teams. It's a great service and a must for any serious bettor. as the following examples will prove that it pays to know where to bet online (if, of course it's legal in your jurisdiction). Let's look at a few examples from the website:

Looking at the betting odds on the Pittsburgh Steelers the difference between the odds is crystal clear. At the online sportsbook Bookmaker the odds on the Steelers to win the AFC are currently sitting at +730, while the same betting prop at the online sportsbook betED is listed with odds +1250, i.e. almost double the money on the same bet by just choosing the bookmaker with the best odds. But don't get fooled by the odds on the Steelers into thinking that betED is the better sportsbook. At the same website the odds on the Washington Redskins to snatch the NFC are at +1200 at betED, while Bookmaker offers the whopping +3500, i.e. with the same wager you will triple your winnings by switching the bookmakers for your Redskins bet. You are highly encouraged to visit the NFL Odds Picks and compare football odds before making you wagers, as shown, you can win thousands by being wise and well informed.

But why such a discrepancy between the odds on the same wager at two different online bookmakers? It's rather simple, actually. The odds on a bet initially are almost the same at each sportsbook, but they do adjust automatically as the wagers made by the customers come in. And if at one of the sportsbooks the majority of the bettors wager on the Redskins to win the NFC - the odds on this bet would be shortened. See more about odds movement here.

Published on 08/31/2008