Week 5 NFL Bets You should Make

By Timothy An

Moneyline: Betting on what team is going to win the game. For example, if the Spurs odds to win are -130 and the Warriors odds to win are +110, it means the Spurs are favored to win.

- If you bet $130 on the Spurs, you would win $100.

- If you bet $100 on the Warriors you would win $110.

a). (z/100) = (y/x) b). (100/z) = (y/x)

If you want to calculate how much you would win if you bet a value other than $100, use the equations above to calculate. The equation in (a) is to solve for the odds if it is a negative number. You put the odd in (z), then how much you want to be in (y), then solve for (x). So, let’s say you want to bet $50 on the Spurs winning and their line is set at -140.

(140/100) = (50/x)

X = 35.71

In this particular case, you would get a payout of $35.71.

Betting the Line: Betting the line means that you are essentially betting to double your money. An example of a line would be Los Angeles Lakers -9.5 and Miami Heat +9.5. This means that the odds are set at the Laker’s winning by 9.5 points. You can either bet the Lakers -9.5, which means you are predicting the Lakers will win by 10 or more points. Or you can bet Miami Heat +9.5, which means you are predicting that the Miami Heat will win, or lose by 9 or less. If you are correct, you double your money, and if you are incorrect you lose it all.

Surefire Bets of the Week:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-3.5) vs. Chicago Bears 

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers visit the Chicago Bears on Thursday night to face off as both teams start the year with a record of 3-1. The Bears are led by new starter Nick Foles, and are coming off a 11-19 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. I like the Buccaneers to cover in this game because I think the Bears 3-1 record is a fluke. They beat the 1-3 Lions, the 0-4 Giants, and the 0-4 Falcons by only 4. They may be 3-1, but they have had an easy schedule thus far and barely won each one of these games. I think we can trust Tom Brady here and expect a victory by 5.5 points or more.

Los Angeles Chargers (-8) vs. New Orleans Saints

The Los Angeles Chargers travel to New Orleans on Monday night to face off against a 2-2 Saints football team. I like the Chargers to cover as 8 points is a lot to favor the Saints by. Though I think the Saints probably win this matchup, the Chargers play every team close, and I don’t think the Saints are talented enough this year to blow out the Chargers. The Chargers losses this year have all been by under 7 points, and I don’t think the Saints are going to be the team to change this.

USA TODAY Sports

*Bet at your own risk

Follow Timothy on Twitter @timothyan1