Should You Pay For NFL Picks?

NFL betting is becoming more and more common, thanks to the influx of sports betting legalization around the world. But while the art of betting on NFL games is becoming more common, it is also becoming more and more filled with bettors who want to sell you their picks in exchange for a fee or commission. As these people become more popular, it is worth asking: should I put my money into one of these services?

Whether or not you should pay for NFL picks from outside sources is more of a question of math than it is anything else. Even if you have found someone who is very trustworthy and provides smart NFL picks, there are some reasons that you should consider not paying for that individual’s picks, as the financial implications of doing so can make being a long-term winner very difficult.

To be a sports bettor who makes their money back, a bettor has to win 52.4% of their bets, assuming that the bettor wagers the same amount on their bets as they go along. And while there are plenty of NFL betting systems that can help a bettor get to that magic number, that doesn’t make it something that is easy to do.

Now, if you add in the idea of paying for NFL picks to the percentages you need to hit in order to be successful betting on pro football, you will see why paying for picks is a bad idea. If you have to pay a set dollar amount to a service or bettor to get picks sent to you, that increases the amount of bets you will need to win in order to break even. This is because you will still have to win your bets to cover the vig and be profitable, but you will also need to win enough to cover the cost of whatever you paid for each pick. Now, instead of hitting 52.4% of your bets to break even, you will have to hit more than that when betting on the NFL.

Paying for picks is just another example of perception versus reality in NFL betting. It is perceived that a service or professional bettor will be able to deliver you enough winners to turn a profit on a long-term basis. But what bettors often forget is the fact that the reality of the situation suggests that the source of those picks would have to win bets at an unsustainably high rate to help you cover the vig along with any fees that they charge.

Instead of paying for picks, bettors should do the smart thing and save themselves the commission by doing their homework and figuring out which games they want to wager on by themselves. This will save money in the long-run, and more often than not won’t have a huge impact on your chances at having a winning record when betting on the NFL. As long as you are thorough in your analysis of each game, you are capable of doing just as well as a tout service.