Online Pro Football Lines

Football lines will show that one team is favored over another on the odds board. If you are like most gamblers, you simply assume that the oddsmakers think that one team is a certain amount of points better than the other. That is not always the case though, particularly with NFL betting lines. If the public thought that the Houston Texans were actually better than the Indianapolis Colts the Texans would likely be favored, even though they are nowhere near the Colts ability. What this leads to, hopefully, is an eye opening reality in which you realize that if a team is favored by six-points on the board, that does not necessarily mean that the oddsmakers think that there is an actual six-point difference between the teams in football lines. It simply means that the football lines makers anticipate that a six point line will attract relatively equal action to both sides from gamblers, which will assure the sportsbook a profit on the game.

That leads to another issue, “trap” football lines. While it is true that sportsbooks, in general, prefer equal action on both sides of a game it is also true that they don’t mind being overloaded with heavy and lopsided action on one side of a game, as long as the public is betting on the wrong side in football lines. With that in mind you should think twice when you see NFL lines that simply don’t feel right or make sense. Nearly every week you will see football lines that make you shake your head in confusion, thinking that the number doesn’t make any sense. In those situations it is best either to (1) take the dog or (2) avoid the game altogether as the game is a likely trap that will suck in the masses to the wrong side of the game.

Pro football lines attract a huge amount of attention on the odds board which is why oddsmakers are very careful when making their numbers. Mistakes can cost them a lot of money versus the pro football lines.