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NFL Betting - Part One: the Nuts and Bolts

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NFL guru Chris Blackham tells us why this is a cracking sport to bet on

How to learn the rules and better your NFL understanding.

It doesn't take long to pick up the basics of the NFL, and after only a weekend's viewing of live matches, you should have a good understanding of the basics. When watching keep the following in mind...

• Watch games closely and come to terms with rules and tactics bit-by-bit.
• Pay attention to the commentary - you'll soon work out who the expert is and who's there to make the commentary interesting. Respect the views of the former, take the views of the latter with a pinch of salt. He's paid for his broadcasting skills, not his knowledge.

There are hundreds of websites to build up an all-round understanding of the game, and a good place to start would be www.nfl.com. There are also plenty of NFL computer games and 'fantasy football' style competitions. You'll learn the value of formations and positions and develop a keen interest in certain players. These days millions of pounds are invested in researching player's abilities based on stats for the purposes of making computer games as realistic as possible and it's incredible how close they can come to the real thing, so take advantage. A few years ago a non-league football team gave trials to players based on stats they got off Championship Manager because they couldn't afford to send out scouts to watch them play live. Besides, how often will you ever be able to say that you're playing computer games to further your education?!

Betting on NFL

Once you've picked up the nuts and bolts of the game, you're ready for your first foray into betting. There are many markets on Betfair, so which one will you go for?

Outright Winner - Before New England's dominance of 2003-05 there were a few long-odds Super Bowl winners and given the nature of the NFL this is always likely to happen again. Unlike the Premier League, the NFL tries to ensure parity across all teams via the draft (where players join professional teams from the collegiate ranks) and salary cap. Any team which makes good selections in the draft, brings in other decent players in the off-season and juggles the finances could well could find themselves in the Super Bowl at season's end. This means an outsider could well be good value to win, a situation which leads to decent trading opportunities as the season goes on.

How to Bet on the NFL, Pt II

• US Sports
• NFL