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American football and placing NFL bets is one of the most popular pastimes in North America. Both the NFL and NCAA Football action are both fast-paced, unpredictable and extremely exciting, and that's what makes it so much fun to not only watch but also bet on. If you're new to wagering, we've got a basic guide to the NFL betting lines to get you started.

Sundays have become the Grand Finale of the sports betting week thanks to the popularity of NFL betting lines. Pro football is the most prevalent as well as the fastest growing option among sportsbooks, reaching the casual fan as well as the seasoned wiseguy. Lines for the week's games go up just hours after the following week's schedule is complete and bettors have all week to make their picks and play the line moves before kickoff.

Pointspread betting is the most popular option for football bettors. Oddsmakers look to make the game even, as to draw two-way action from the betting public, and handicap the game by setting an estimated amount of points that the favorite is supposed to win by, better known as the pointspread. Bettors must decide if the favorite can win by more than that spread or if the underdog will keep it closer on the scoreboard. Some key numbers oddsmakers work with when setting NFL betting lines are 3, 6, 7, 10, and 14. Football bettors can find solid value getting half-point hooks before and after these numbers, like 3.5 or 6.5-point spreads.

Understanding NFL Betting Lines
Before you start placing NFL bets, you'll want to understand how the point spread works. Essentially, it is a margin of victory. You might see something as follows:

Green Bay Packers +2.5
New England Patriots -2.5

In this case, the New England Patriots are favored by 2.5 points and you know this because there's a minus sign next to their odds. That means if you bet on New England, for you to win your bet, they have to win by at least three points (17-14, 27-10, etc.). However, if you bet Green Bay +2.5 points, that means they can lose by two points, one point or win the game and you still win your bet.

Totals
Totals are simply the combined score of the two teams playing in the contest. So if you're not sure who is going to win the game, you have another option to bet on whether you think the game will be high scoring or low scoring. Let's say the over/under is set at 60.5 points. That means you have to choose whether you believe the final score will be above 60.5 points (something like 31-30, 45-20, etc.) or whether you believe it will be an under and the combined score will be 60 points or less.

Totals are also a very common wager made by football fans. Oddsmakers estimate the combined number of points scored in the game and bettors must wager on whether the final score will play Over or Under that set total. NFL totals have been on the rise in recent years, with more of an emphasis on offense and rule changes benefiting the ball carriers. Some key Over/Under numbers bettors should watch out for are 37, 41, 44, and 51.

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