If the bookmaker is full of action, it must be football season. Whether it’s the NFL or the NCAA, football betting action is fast and furious during the season. To the novice sports bettor, it might seem a bit confusing, but soccer betting really comes down to two types: straight bets and accumulators.

Soccer betting – Direct bets

Here is the workhorse for any winning football bettor. A straight bet simply means that you are betting on a football match. If you bet on more than one game on the same ticket, it’s a parlay, and we’ll talk about that in a minute.

When you place a straight bet on football, you could be betting on one side or the total. Simply put, when you bet on a side, you “choose a side” in the game. For example, let’s say the New England Patriots play the Seattle Seahawks. If you are going to bet on a team, you will bet on the Patriots or the Seahawks.

Every game has a point total (except NCAA football, which is most games). This is the number of points scored between both teams. When you bet a total, you are betting under or over that total. For example, let’s say the total is 47 and you take over. To win, both teams must combine to score 48 points or more (47 would be a tie, meaning you get your bet back).

Football betting – Parlays

Well, you know straight betting, which is where you bet on only one thing per ticket. When you want to bet on more than one thing, it’s a parlay. You can bet from 2 to 20 things (depends on the sportsbook).

For example, let’s say you bet on the Seahawks and on the total of your ticket. That would be a 2-team parlay (although technically there is only one team in it).

The more items you put on the ticket, the more money you earn if everyone gets it right. Naturally, the more items on the ticket, the harder it is to win.

With parlay betting it is an all or nothing thing. If a selection fails, the ticket is dead. Some sportsbooks will offer special offers to get closer, but that is very rare.

If you start making soccer bets through combined tickets, you can check out the “teasers”, which are combined tickets with additional points for you. For example, instead of taking the Packers -10, you could get them at -3. Of course, the payouts are lower since the risk is minimized.

Soccer betting is wonderful and there is nothing better than going to the bookmaker with a big winning ticket. I placed direct bets on soccer and parlays throughout the season. I look forward to the NFL and NCAA football seasons.