If you’re a fan of the NFL, then you’re probably on the edge of your seat waiting for the 2021/22 pro football season to get going. Apart from all the fun that involves getting to watch all the action week in and week out, one of the best football related activities that captures the attention and passion of NFL fans all around is putting some money into games in the hopes of making an extra profit here and there. One of the most common ways to do so is to wager against the spread and with all experts on anything and everything related with NFL picks against the spread gearing up for what promises to be a very exciting season, it’s time to get caught up with everything to know in order to make bank every football filled weekend.
Here’s a guide of anything and everything related on how to pick the best ATS winners for the upcoming pro football season.
First, A Brief Explanation On What Betting Against The Spread Implies
When betting on NFL action, there are many ways in which fans can win money, but one of the most fun and entertaining ways is to bet against the spread. When you bet against the spread you’re not necessarily betting on a clear winner of the game but rather on how the final point spread of the game is going to be. Basically, all that matters when it comes to ATS betting is that the margin of points will always determine the end result of your betting action. One of the biggest advantages that spread and against the spread betting offers customers is the fact that this style of wagering is made for offering some sort of competitive equality even if there are overwhelming favorites and of course underwhelming underdogs.
The easiest way to understand the ins and outs of ATS betting is knowing the basic terminology around it. For example, when you see that a team has a negative number of points around them it means that they are the betting favorites while if you see a positive number of points it means that they are the underdogs. In order for favorites to win the bet, they have to be able to win by more points than the ones in the spread, while for underdogs to win they must not lose their matchup by more points than the ones shown in the bet.
Tips For Picking Winning Teams ATS
When picking a team to bet on, just like in any other kind of betting modality, knowledge will always be key. If you know the ins and outs of the teams you want to place money on you’ll usually end up seeing that sometimes picking to bet against the spread ends up being the best option for your winning purposes. For example, following and knowing a team’s matchup record against opponents can help easily determine a pattern that can allow you to understand the reality of your bet. Also following up on injury reports, roster moves and all other factors can become keys into locking up a winning ATS betting strategy.
Let’s do an example run. Let’s say that there’s a matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers, a classic NFC West matchup. At first you might see the betting info say that Seattle is at -7 and the Niners at +7. At first glance this means that the Seahawks are favorites to take this game and cover the spread. For that they need to win the game by more than 7 points. On the other side with the Niners being at -7, that means that San Francisco is going to need to not lose their matchup by more than 7 points. At first everyone would easily go with Seattle given their status as favorites, now let’s say that a couple of days before 5 of San Francisco’s starters come down with injuries that can end up damaging their performance. You might end up seeing the spread change and go from 7 to 10 or higher. What that is telling you is that Seattle is still favorite to win the spread but now by more points, but actually taking San Francisco against the spread might end up giving you bigger and better dividends because covering 10 points is not always the easiest thing to do in the NFL. Yes, there are blowout wins but smart betting usually involves keeping a closer eye on the narrower margins.
An Example Pick For The First Week of NFL Action
Since the first week of the NFL 2021/22 season is almost upon us, here is an example of a pick that you should definitely take into account to try your hand on ATS betting. What comes off as the most popular and eye-catching matchups will be Brady’s Buccaneers vs. Prescott’s Cowboys. The defending Super Bowl champion Bucs are being considered early favorites with a -7 in the point spread while the Cowboys who are hoping Prescott’s return will be an electrifying one have them as -7 underdogs.
Taking into account the dominance that Tampa Bay’s defense offers as well as having Tom Brady at the helm of the offense, it’s a no brainer why the Bucs are favorites but, given that Prescott will be out for redemption, this game should be a scoring feast. Taking the Cowboys against the spread here might just end up being the best bet here, because while they might not win the game, they will surely not lose by more than 7 points. That is unless a surprise ends up happening of course, but for now, that’s the way this matchup is being analyzed.
