The new National Football League (NFL) season is nearly upon us and excitement is brewing among fans. One thing that some fans are no doubt keen to enjoy once again is betting on matches. If you’re one such person, you may be looking to brush up on your strategy.
Below, we take a look at a range of NFL betting strategies to help you get prepped for the new season. We look at ways to build better odds, an interesting type of bet to do before the season starts and some important advice to keep in mind when betting.
First, let’s take a look ahead to the start of the NFL season.
When does the new NFL season start?
Back in May, the NFL announced that the 2023/2024 season will begin on September 7, a Thursday night, at 8:20 PM ET.
The 104th NFL season commences in Kansas City with the Super Bowl champions, Kansas City Chiefs, hosting the Detroit Lions.
The 18-week season will conclude on January 14.
Now we know when the season starts, let’s talk about betting strategies.
Set your limits and stick to them
One of the most important pieces of advice to bear in mind when developing a betting strategy is to know your limits and stick to them – rigidly. Failure to do so could see you spending more than you can afford, which is never a good situation to be in.
When it comes to budgeting, you can look to set weekly, monthly or even full-season limits. This way, you can control your spending and it may encourage you to think more carefully about your bets.
Also, if you spend all of your money for the week on the first game, you won’t go dipping into your pocket to pay for more bets.
If you want to extend your bankroll, one technique could be to take a portion of your winnings and reinvest it back into your bets. This way, you can gradually replace your initial stake with money you’ve won on bets.
Don’t chase your losses
Related to the point above, it’s important not to deviate from your strategy and to refrain from chasing losses.
The temptation is always there to dip into funds you don’t really have to try and recoup what you’ve lost. Sometimes, egos can be bruised when a loss happens. Sometimes, worry can cause people to carry on. But the best thing to do is to stick to the budget you’ve set. Take a deep breath and walk away and live to bet another day. It’s one of the smartest things you can do and should be at the core of your betting strategy.
Accumulator bets
If you’re looking for a way to get higher odds on your bets, one thing you could try is an accumulator bet. This form of bet involves adding layers of conditional bets to your overall stake.
For example, rather than picking the winner of one game, you pick the winner of four, five or more. The more predictions you make within your accumulator bet, the higher the odds.
Another benefit of accumulator bets is that you can make smaller stakes and still get significant returns. For example, some speculative bets may see odds of over 1,000/1. The chances of you winning, however, can be slight, so bear that in mind when deciding how much to bet.
As for your betting strategy, getting the most out of accumulator bets depends heavily on the amount of research you do on the NFL. You need to study the likes of form, injuries and home advantage, as well as a multitude of other factors. That’s not just for one team but a range, and that still can’t account for the unpredictability of the sport.
Futures
Futures bets are fun to do before the season starts. It simply involves making predictions about what will happen come the end of the season. Such bets can include who will win the conferences, who will claim the Super Bowl title, who will qualify for the playoffs and so on.
Sometimes, the odds aren’t great, especially for the favorites. But if you follow teams closely, you can make educated predictions on who may do better than expected and who may struggle more than people think.
Futures form part of a long-term betting strategy and can be useful to include along with short-term strategic goals.