The Canadian Football League (CFL) has captivated sports fans across Canada for over six decades, with the annual Grey Cup championship being one of the most prestigious titles in North American sports. With the recent expansion of sports betting in Canada, there are now more opportunities than ever for CFL fans to engage in exciting betting action. To help you become a successful CFL bettor, this article will provide insights into CFL betting strategies, the different bet types available, and tips to avoid common mistakes.
Understanding CFL Betting
Before delving into specific strategies, it’s essential to familiarize yourself with the most popular bet types available for CFL games. These include:
- Moneylines – this is the simplest and most straightforward type of bet, where you choose the team you think will win the game outright. The odds associated with each team indicate the potential payout for a winning bet. Underdogs have positive odds, while favorites have negative odds.
- Point spreads – point spreads are used to level the playing field between teams of different skill levels. The favorite is assigned a point handicap, while the underdog is given a point advantage. Betting on the favorite means they must win by more than the spread, while betting on the underdog means they can either win or lose by fewer points than the spread.
- Totals – Also known as over/under bets, totals involve predicting whether the combined score of both teams will be over or under a specified number. You bet on whether the total points scored in the game will be higher or lower than the set line.
- Props – Prop bets focus on specific events or outcomes within a game, such as individual player performance, team statistics, or game-related occurrences. These bets add an extra layer of excitement to the game and offer a wide range of options for bettors to choose from. Examples include predicting the first touchdown scorer, the total number of passing yards, or the result of a coin toss.
Strategies for CFL Betting
Find a reliable Canadian betting site
By basic Google search, you can find hundreds of online bookmakers that offer odds for CFL matches. Yet not all of them provide the same quality of service. Your main focus should be finding the safest options. That means you should primarily check out whether the operator you like has the license or not. Afterward, you can focus on other features such as bonuses, odds, coverage, available payment methods, etc.
We do understand that researching all the details may be time-consuming. That’s why we suggest you get more relevant information about the best Canadian betting sites by following this link. There, you can find comparisons of the best online bookmakers for CFL, making your research a lot easier.
Consider moneylines if you are beginner
There is no reason to rush and place bets on some complex outcomes. Instead, as a beginner, you should start with small steps. More precisely, you should bet on moneylines. This is a good tip for experienced bettors as well. Moneyline options are not very risky, but they can also come with some good odds.
To give you an example. In a football game between Team A and Team B, the sportsbook sets the following moneyline odds:
Team A: -150
Team B: +200
If you choose to bet on Team A with a $100 wager and they win the game, you would receive a payout of $166.67 (your original $100 stake plus $66.67 in winnings). This is because Team A is the favorite with negative odds, indicating that you need to bet more to win a smaller amount.
On the other hand, if you decide to bet on Team B with a $100 wager and they win, you would receive a payout of $300 (your original $100 stake plus $200 in winnings). Team B is the underdog with positive odds, meaning a smaller bet can result in a larger potential payout.
Remember, the odds determine the potential winnings relative to your bet amount, and negative odds indicate the favored team, while positive odds indicate the underdog.
Organize your budget adequately
You should always plan your budget in advance and never allow yourself to spend more than you can afford. Establish a bankroll management strategy to ensure responsible betting. Set a budget for each game or week and avoid chasing losses. Stick to your predetermined betting limits and avoid reckless bets.
Do appropriate analyses
Sports betting, in general, does depend on luck a little. However, luck is not the only factor that you should count on. Instead, you should dig deeper and explore all the possible statistics that can give you some answers. Don’t just check the CFL standings; the situation in the East and West divisions often does not show everything. Instead, you should check other factors such as the form of both teams in the previous period, which players are injured, head-to-head score, etc. Of course, you can’t ever be sure of the outcome. Canadian Football League is full of surprises, which is probably the main reason why people love it so much.
Exclude emotions
CPL has always been the synonym for passion and love. The league really has a lot of legends that people consider role models. However, if you decide to bet on CPL, there is no place for emotions. We do understand how passionate you are about some teams. Yet, that doesn’t mean they will always win. Instead of that, you should focus more on facts and analyses that can tell you which team has a higher chance of winning. If betting against your favorite team is emotionally difficult for you, simply skip that match.
Have more fun with props
If you do not want to bet on particular teams, you may want to test your luck and knowledge with props. These wagers are more focused on individual statistics. For example, you can try to predict the first player to score a touchdown. Also, it is always interesting to bet on passing, rushing, or receiving yards. The online bookmakers determine boundaries, and you can bet on one of the over/under options. There are also other wagers, such as winning margins, pass attempts, receptions, completions, etc. Yet, we need to highlight something here. If you are not regularly following teams/individuals you bet on, placing a bet on the right props will be hard. So, be careful when using this strategy.
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