NFL First
and Second Half Lines
Betting on the
NFL creates the biggest handle for offshore sportsbooks taking action online
and while the majority of the weekly action focuses on betting the side on the
pointspread for the game as a whole, there are a number of great opportunities
to make money betting on the lines posted for just the first half of a game or
what takes place in the second half of the game.
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The first thing
to keep in mind when it comes to betting on the NFL is that there is still a
fairly high level of parity between all 32 teams. While it is rare to see a
double-digit spread in the first few weeks of a new NFL regular season, by the
time Thanksgiving rolls around you pretty much know which teams are true
playoff contenders and which teams are forced to ride out the string in another
disappointing campaign?
That being
said, just because New England is favored by 14 points in this Sunday’s game
does not mean it is going to blow its opponent off the field in the first half.
You might be able to find some solid value in a first half betting line that
makes it attractive to go against the favorite over the first two quarters.
Some online sportsbooks will offer betting lines for just the
first quarter which could add even more value to the equation. Studying the
scoring trends for all 32 NFL teams, you will quickly identify a few teams that
are noted for their fast starts, while also uncovering a few teams that are
fast closers. Similar to a horse race, you are looking for teams that like to
set the pace for any first quarter or first half bets and you are looking for the fast
closers when it comes to betting any second half lines.
Normally, most
of the online bookies will wait until later in the week or
possibly even the weekend to set their betting lines on first and second half
bets for Sunday’s NFL slate in order to gauge where the money is going on the
games as a whole.
Traditionally, professional
bettors or sharps tend
to gravitate towards betting on the first half lines in light of the perceived
upfront value as opposed to testing fate with trying to predict what happens in
the second half of a game. The top teams in the NFL will usually be able to
maintain or even expand a big halftime lead to put a team away. However, there
are a number of teams that tend to keep things interesting right until the
final gun with an inability to put teams away for good over the final two
quarters.
Quite a bit of
money exchanges hands almost every week of the NFL season on backdoor covers
where the underdog closes the gap just enough to swing the money its way in
what appeared to be a sure thing for the favorite. This is what makes second
half betting in the NFL all the more exciting and attractive in certain
matchups.
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Most times when
you have a seven-point spread for a game, the number is basically chopped in half
to 3.5 for the first half spread. When it comes to spreads in the five to six
point range, the first half line is usually set at three. If you are relatively
new to the concept of betting first and second half NFL lines, then the first
thing you will probably want to do is track all the betting lines and their
movement for a week or two before jumping into the fray with an actual bet.