When you bet NFL preseason odds, don’t forget about betting first halves and halftimes. Unlike the regular season, the starters won’t play for the entire game during the preseason so you may want to make a first half wager in NFL betting.
NFL odds are very tight on preseason games since starters don’t play the entire game. Many times the home team is favored by about a field goal. With a first half line you can normally divide the game line in half and add a half point or so to the favored team. For example, in Thursday’s game it was Baltimore a four-point home favorite against Carolina on the full game odds. The first half line had Baltimore a 2.5 point favorite. If you liked Baltimore and their first and second string players against the Panthers then betting the first half line might be a safer wager than the full game line. With the full line you have to deal with third and fourth string players in the second half and you never know what will happen. A first half bet can sometimes be more predictable in the preseason.
Halftimes are another option in NFL betting. You have to treat them differently than the regular season though. Unless it is the third week of the the starters will not play in the second half. You really have to be careful about betting the second half unless you have a very good idea of what the rotations for each team will be. The halftime score is a lot less meaningful in the preseason than in the regular season. For example, in the regular season you could have a team like New England trailing at the half against Buffalo and the Patriots would be a solid wager in the second half. That would not be the case in the preseason since the Patriots would not care about winning the game and their starters would not be playing. Second half bets in the preseason are much different than the regular season so keep that in mind.
Take a look at first halves and halftimes in the preseason but keep in mind that your handicapping with both of these options should be different than in the regular season.