It's that time of the year again--finally. Preseason football has started, and we are gearing up for the NFL season. Football is one of them most bet on sports in sports betting. Basketball is the other major sport. Each preseason many sports fans go to the sportsbook to lay down hard earned money on the games to make them more interesting. Is this foolish or wise?
Preseason football is basically training camp for the rookies. It's a time when NFL teams analyze their talent and figure out what's going to work for the upcoming season. Should you bet on a game with great uncertainty? Preseason games don't count, and many coaches play them as such. Over the past two years more attention has been drawn to injuries during the preseason and more teams are opting to limit the playing time of the starters.
When you bet on preseason football, you are basically playing a game of Roulette. Players you possibly don't know are going to come in and out as their play is looked at. Recently, we had our first NFL preseason game. It was between the Oakland Raiders and the Philadelphia Eagles. The Raiders won that game 16-10. Did you see McNabb play? If you blinked, you missed it. He attempted 3 passes and was done. The main QB for the Eagles was Chang. Who you say?
What about Westbrook? Again, he took 6 carries and left. The game was largely played by newly drafted rookies, those deep on the charts and unknowns. Sure, some sports handicapper is going to tell you how he accurately predicted the Raiders would win, but all that handicapper did was get lucky. One of the first things true sports handicappers learn is that you don't bet on games with high uncertainty. It's one thing if a key player or two is questionable. It's another when the entire team is questionable.
So back to the question. Should you bet on NFL Preseason football? Sure. I do it myself. I simply don't bet like I would in the regular season. If you love watching preseason football, there's nothing wrong with making a wager. Just don't treat it like a real game. If you are someone that buys picks, don't waste your money buying preseason picks. Use the preseason to try out handicapping for yourself. The coming weeks are going to be fun. It's great to watch some of these rookies get out there and play. Soon, the real games will start and it will be time to pony up and win real cash.
About the Author The author talks about online sports betting at Sports Betting Football. He writes a daily blog on football Betting.
