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NFL Playoffs Betting Guide

The NFL is the most popular sport in the United States and it also the most popular betting sport.

There are many bets that you can make on the NFL during the regular season and playoffs, but for the playoffs there are more wagers available. This is especially the case for proposition bets, which are simply referred to as prop bets.

The ultimate goal of any team is to win the Super Bowl and that event may have the most betting options of any single sporting event the world-over.

How the NFL Playoffs work

In the NFL, 12 teams advance to the playoffs in the winners of the four divisions in each conference and two wild card teams. The two conferences are the AFC and the NFC and each has four divisions, which are the NFC West, NFC East, NFC South, NFC North, AFC West, AFC East, AFC South, and AFC North.

The winner of each division in the NFL makes the playoffs and then the two teams with the best records from each conference that do not win their division are the wild cards.

NFL Playoffs Betting

With the six teams from each conference they are seeded 1-6 depending on their records with the team with the best record in the conference getting the top seed followed by the three other division winners and the two wild cards are always seeded 5 and 6.

The top two seeds in each conference receive a bye in the first-round of the playoffs.

There is the Wild Card round, Divisional Round, Conference Championships, and in the first three rounds of the playoffs the higher seed will always have home field advantage, while the Super Bowl is always played at a neutral site changing venues every season.

NFL Playoffs Betting Types

For the NFL playoffs, there are all the bets available that you can make for the regular season as well, but, again, there are more betting options for the playoffs and especially for the Super Bowl.

NFL Playoffs Spread Betting

The most popular bets for the regular season as well as for the playoffs is the spread and totals bet. In the spread the favorite will be giving points and the underdog will be getting points.

Here is an example of a NFL point spread:

Dallas Cowboys +4.5 vs. Washington Redskins -4.5

The Redskins are the favorite shown by the – in front of the number and the Cowboys are the underdog shown by the + in front of the number. The Redskins are giving 4.5 points, so for them to win the bet they have to win by at least 5 points and for the Cowboys to win the bet they have to win the game or lose by four or fewer points.

NFL Total Points Betting

The totals bet is very easy to comprehend, as you are simply picking over or under the total number of points scored in the game, which is set by the sportsbook.

For example, the total for the Cowboys vs. Redskins has a posted total of 43.5. The final score of the game is Redskins 30 Cowboys 18. The total number of points scored is 48 so the over bet would be the winning one and the under bet the losing one.

NFL Playoffs Moneyline Betting

There is also the moneyline available for NFL games, but it is not as popular as the spread.

In a moneyline bet there is no spread, but you just pick a winner of a game with inflated odds. since there is no spread you are betting more to win less on the favorite and betting less to win more on the underdog.

Many times, in the spread a .5 is placed after the number, which means there can be no tie. Bet. However, if there is no .5 there can be a tie.

For example, if the spread of the Cowboys vs. Redskins is -4 and the Redskins beat the Cowboys 24-20 they win by four points, which is the exact number of the spread. In this came the bet is a tie and you will get your original stake back.

Same thing for the total, as if the total is set at 43 and the Redskins beat the Cowboys 23-20 the total is 43 points, so the bet is a tie.

NFL Playoffs Parlay Betting

In a parlay bet there are multiple games being bet on in one bet and they all have to be winners for the overall bet to be a winning one.

You can bet the spread and totals in a parlay bet and the more games in the parlay the higher the payout, but the harder it is to pick correctly. Even if a make a seven-game parlay and win six of the games and lose one the overall parlay bet is a losing one.

NFL Playoffs Teaser Betting

There are also teasers and pleasers, which are parlay bets where you can change the spread and totals, but that will depend on the sportsbook you wager at.

NFL Playoffs Futures Betting

There are also futures bets where you are betting on a future outcome and you can make that bet before as well as during the season. The odds will change for the futures bet depending on how the team or player is doing in the season.

A few examples of a NFL futures bet are which team will win the Super Bowl, which team will win the AFC title game, which player will win the MVP, and which player will win Offensive Rookie of the Year?

NFL Playoffs Prop Bets

A proposition bet is one that has nothing to do with the outcome of the game.

While there are prop bets available in the regular season there are many more available for the playoffs and a ton of them available for the Super Bowl.

A few examples of prop bets are, which QB will throw for more yards in a game, will there be a safety in the game, which team will score first, and which RB will have the most rushing yards. These are just a few examples of the many prop bets that you can make and there are team and player prop bets available.

For the Super Bowl, there are not only tons of prop bets, but many that are pretty wild and do not have to do with football. A couple of examples of these types of prop bets are will the National Anthem be over or under a certain time or will the singer of the National Anthem make a mistake.

There are also quite prop bets available dealing with the entertainment of the halftime show.