Betting during pro and college football games has really exploded over the course of the last few years.
Inplay football wagering has provided an additional option for those looking to bet on NFL and college football. In game betting allows you to place wagers during football games. You can typically place
wagers during stoppages of play due to timeouts. Not all online sports betting sites allow for in play
bets on NFL or NCAA games, so please see the table on this page for the best sites for live wagering.
Best American Football Live Betting Sites
#
Betting Site Name
Bonus
Bonus Code
Visit Site
1.
Bovada
10% no max
1980701
2.
bet365
100% up to €100
Not Needed
More Information about American Football
What is Inplay Betting on Football?
As mentioned above, live football betting allows you to place wagers on the game while it is being
played. This is very different from traditional pro and college football betting. Traditional betting
allows you to place full game or first half bets before the game begins. In addition to this, traditional
betting allows you to place bets at half time for the second half of the game. There are typically three
sorts of bets that you can make online during a game.
--> Moneyline bets – Betting on a team to win the game outright --> Point spread bets – Betting on a team plus or minus the points --> Total bets on the over/under
If you bet football on the internet or offline, then you are probably already familiar with these three
types of bets. Please be aware that when you bet live you are placing your bet for the final outcome
of the game, not from just the time you place your wager until the end of the game.
For example you make a point spread bet on the Patriots when they are leading 14-0 and the and the live betting line that you bet on is -17. The Patriots need to win the game by 17 points for you to push your bet against the
bookie, and at least 18 points for you to push your bet against the bookie. Many players get confused
and think that the Patriots would have to win by at least 31 points. Live betting is always on the final
outcome of the game.
What Online Bookmakers Offer Live Betting on the NFL and NCAA?
If you want to find the best sites for inplay betting please see the table on this page. We keep it up
to date with the top sportsbooks that currently have in play betting. Not all online bookies have live
betting options for the NFL or NCAA. One popular internet bookie that does not have live betting on any
sports is betonline.com. They are one of the top online sportsbooks, but they do not offer any inplay
wagering options. Some bookmakers have live betting, but only on a very limited basis.
In Game Betting Tips and Strategies
The online bookmakers try their best to stay on top of their in play betting lines. However these lines
are almost always more volatile than lines that are set before games begin. You will oftentimes see
huge fluctuations on the spreads, so it is imperative for you to act quickly if you like one side that is
offered. Live betting lines are quickly shaped due to action on either side. It typically takes a smaller
amount of money to move a live betting line than it does a regular line.
Even the most diligent and well staffed bookies have a hard time using manpower to set inplay betting
lines. The lines are mostly derived from formulas based on the original line and the current score of the
game. With the proper strategy you can pick apart these live betting lines. Some basic tips for college or
pro football live betting are listed below.
--> Injuries – A star player getting hurt will likely affect the inplay betting line. However injuries
to non star players are oftentimes not reflected in the live betting spreads. Look for injured
offensive linemen and consider placing a bet on the other side. Look out for injured cornerbacks
or safeties on teams that are opposing strong passing offenses. If a team has weak backups at
these positions this can be an especially effective strategy. The research on this is more easily
done for NFL teams as opposed to NCAA teams. Oftentimes it is really unknown how a college
backup will perform until he is thrust into action.
--> Matchups – Does a team appear to be moving the ball on the ground much better than you
anticipated? Then this team might provide great value as a live bet. Get your bet in early
before there is much score, and before the bookmakers have time to adjust. Do the receivers
of a team appear to not be getting much breathing room from opposing defensive backs? This
might be a good time to bet the other side. This strategy typically works better with college
(NCAA) football rather than with professional (NFL) football.
--> Turnovers – I like to bet on the football team that has turned the ball over more than
their opponents have. Say what? Turnovers are one of the most flukey stats in college or
professional football. Because one team has turned the ball over a good bit more than the
other team doesn’t mean that the trend will continue for the rest of the game. It can be a
profitable strategy to place a live bet on the team with more turnovers.
--> Big Plays – It can be a good tip to bet on the football team with the least amount of big plays.
This can be an especially effective strategy when you are actually watching the game and can
decipher a real big play from one that was a fluke. Don’t read much into real big plays, such
as a wide receiver that caught an 80 yard touchdown by simply running past the opposing
quarterback. Look for big plays that were more of a fluke. Think cornerback tripping and giving
up a touchdown, or a well thrown ball bouncing out of a receiver’s hands and turning into a
touchdown for the other side.
Live Betting Tips and Strategies to Avoid for Pro and College Football
There is so much bad information about live betting posted across the internet. You can pretty much
avoid advice at any player forums in regards to inplay betting. 99.9% of it is absolute garbage. Listed
below are some of the things that are almost always bad tips and strategies.
-->Bet on the team with momentum – People tend to want to bet on a team if they scored on the
last couple of possessions. This is typically garbage, as momentum in football (NCAA or NFL)
rarely means a thing. It is a myth spread around by losing sports bettors.
-->Bet on the team getting the ball in the second half – Online bookmakers have already taken this
into account when formulating a live betting spread. You will get absolutely no advantage by
doing this.
-->I’m getting great value when the line is compared to the full game line – This is also garbage,
and is totally backwards thinking. For example let’s assume that the NFL Chicago Bears were
seven point underdogs to start the game. They are now trailing 21-3 and the live betting line
is Bears +17.
I see it posted so many times – OMG they Bears were seven point underdogs and
now I’m getting 17 points! Yeah, and the score at the beginning of the game was 0-0 when the
line was +7. The current score and original line are the two main things used by sportsbooks to
formulate live betting odds. You are getting zero edge by using this idiotic strategy. You might
as well flip a coin.
Seriously, if you are going to take part in live betting on college or professional football stay away from
forums. You will find post after post talking about these three fallacies above. The tips listed above
aren’t really tips at all. They are myths spread around by morons. Though these are all mistakes, the
biggest mistake for NCAA live betting or NFL live betting is listed below.
Biggest Mistake You Can Make in Football Live Betting
Don’t use in game football as a tool to hedge bets. I repeat, do not use live betting as a tool to hedge
your football bets. Hedging is dumb in any sort of betting, and is especially dumb in live betting. The
juice is typically higher in live betting, and hedging is giving money away. Please, just don’t do it.
As I mentioned above hedging for the sake of hedging is pretty terrible in any type of sports betting. You
end up playing small middles on bets you are ahead in, and you end up keeping all of the bets you are
behind in. This is an awful strategy that is spread around by morons. You aren’t locking up any kind of
winnings by hedging. You are giving away positive expectation.
You need to learn to think of positive expectation the same as you think about cold hard cash. When it
boils down to it, it is the same thing. Tempted to hedge your five team parlay with a live bet in the last
game? Don’t do that either, as you are paying extra juice and giving away positive expectation. If you
can’t afford to bet five team parlays, then don’t bet them. Don’t use a live bet hedge to decrease risk.
You are giving away too much in the process.
I have absolutely no problem with betting the other side of a game with an inplay bet. However you
need to do it for the right reason. The right reason is because you think the bet has value as a stand
alone bet, not as part of a hedge. Your original bet is your original bet. Don’t make betting decisions
based on existing bets. Make decisions as if you had no other bets on the game.
