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<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n\nGet Inside the CFL Insiders<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Access starts here.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n
How CFL scoring moves the numbers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The CFL rule book lists five ways to score:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Touchdown:<\/strong> 6 points<\/li>\n\n\n
- Field goal:<\/strong> 3 points<\/li>\n\n\n
- Safety touch:<\/strong> 2 points<\/li>\n\n\n
- Convert:<\/strong> 1 point for a kick from the 25-yard line, 2 points for a play from the 3-yard line or the 25<\/li>\n\n\n
- Single point, or rouge:<\/strong> 1 point<\/li>\n\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The convert is the first thing to check against a spread. The kick is taken from the 25-yard line, not from close range, so a 6-point touchdown does not automatically become 7, and a team chasing a spread can go for 2 from the 3-yard line instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The single is the second. It is scored when a kicked ball goes into the end zone and the receiving team is downed there or the ball goes out of the end zone after they touch it. In the 112th Grey Cup, on November 16, 2025, in Winnipeg, Saskatchewan’s first-quarter score was a single: the Roughriders trailed Montreal 7-1 after one quarter and won 25-17. Saskatchewan was a 3.5-point favorite and won by 8.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The single changed in 2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
For the 2026 season the CFL cut the single back. A ball kicked straight out of the end zone, in the air or after bouncing, no longer scores a point, and when a kick goes through the end zone untouched, or hits the goalpost in flight, the receiving team takes over at its own 40-yard line. A single still counts when a returner cannot bring the ball out or takes a knee in the end zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That matters most on missed field goals. Under the old rule, a long miss that sailed through the end zone was worth a point; now it is worth nothing unless someone touches it. Older results, trends and scoring averages were built under a rule that no longer applies, so treat pre-2026 totals as a rough guide at best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More change is coming. The CFL has said that from 2027 the goalposts move to the back of the end zone, the end zones shrink from 20 yards to 15, and the field goes from 110 yards to 100, while the 65-yard width, three downs and 12 players stay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three downs and what they do to totals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The rule book gives the offense three downs to gain 10 yards. A failed second down leaves one play, and a team that will not risk giving the ball up on downs punts or tries a field goal with it. So the kicking game comes into far more possessions than it does in a four-down league, and a long punt return or a missed kick can hand the other team a short field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Overtime also works its own way. A tied game goes to a mini-game from the opponent’s 35-yard line, and any touchdown there must be followed by a 2-point attempt from the 3-yard line. In the regular season, if it is still tied, teams trade 2-point converts until one scores more, so a regular-season CFL game cannot end in a tie. Before betting a total, read the sportsbook’s house rules on whether overtime points count.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CFL bet types<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The point spread asks one team to win by more than a set number, the moneyline asks only who wins, and the total asks whether both teams together score more or fewer points than the posted line. Where a book lists the CFL, these are the extras to look for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Halves and quarters:<\/strong> a spread or total for part of the game only.<\/li>\n\n\n
- Player props:<\/strong> passing yards, receiving yards and touchdowns, where the book posts them.<\/li>\n\n\n
- Live betting:<\/strong> prices that move play by play.<\/li>\n\n\n
- Futures:<\/strong> the Grey Cup winner, the division winners and season win totals.<\/li>\n\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
For futures, the price is the only thing to judge. A +400 price implies a 20% chance and a +900 price implies 10%, so a futures bet is worth making only when you rate the team’s chance higher than the price does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How the CFL playoffs are built<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The season ends with division semi-finals, division finals and the Grey Cup, which puts the East winner against the West winner. The crossover rule adds one twist: if the fourth-place team in one division finishes with more points than the third-place team in the other, it takes that third-place spot and plays the other division’s second-place team in that division’s semi-final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That rule is why late-season standings in the weaker division are worth watching when you hold or price a Grey Cup future. In Week 17 of 2026, cfl.ca listed results that would confirm a crossover and eliminate Hamilton, so a fourth-place team from the West can still reach an East semi-final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dates that shape the CFL calendar<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The CFL calendar has fixed points each season:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Opening week, in June:<\/strong> the 2026 season started on June 4.<\/li>\n\n\n
- Labour Day weekend, in early September:<\/strong> a set of rivalry games. In 2026 the Labour Day rematch games were played as four games in one day, the first quadruple-header since 1995.<\/li>\n\n\n
- Thanksgiving Day Classic, in October:<\/strong> in 2026 it holds the rematch of the 112th Grey Cup, Saskatchewan and Montreal.<\/li>\n\n\n
- The division finals and the Grey Cup, in November:<\/strong> the 113th Grey Cup is November 15, 2026, in Calgary.<\/li>\n\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The first weeks have the least current information of the season. In 2026, three teams had a bye in the opening week, and the three opening games were the fewest in league history, so some teams had not played a snap until Week 2. Until results arrive, depth charts and quarterback news are the freshest thing a price can move on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CFL predictions on our site<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Our CFL predictions<\/a> page holds our game-by-game CFL predictions and recaps. For a view of the pick services that cover the CFL, see our handicapper site reviews<\/a>, and for the terms used above, our betting terminology guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
CFL betting uses the same three main bets as the NFL, the point spread, the total and the moneyline, but the game<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":271962,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":true},"expert-betting-guide-category":[],"expert-betting-guide-tag":[],"class_list":["post-271951","expert-betting-guide","type-expert-betting-guide","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","resize-featured-image"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scoresandstats.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/expert-betting-guide\/271951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scoresandstats.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/expert-betting-guide"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scoresandstats.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/expert-betting-guide"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scoresandstats.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scoresandstats.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=271951"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scoresandstats.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/271962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scoresandstats.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=271951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"expert-betting-guide-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scoresandstats.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/expert-betting-guide-category?post=271951"},{"taxonomy":"expert-betting-guide-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scoresandstats.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/expert-betting-guide-tag?post=271951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- Labour Day weekend, in early September:<\/strong> a set of rivalry games. In 2026 the Labour Day rematch games were played as four games in one day, the first quadruple-header since 1995.<\/li>\n\n\n
- Player props:<\/strong> passing yards, receiving yards and touchdowns, where the book posts them.<\/li>\n\n\n
- Field goal:<\/strong> 3 points<\/li>\n\n\n