How to Sports: Gambling for March Madness (Novice Edition)

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The four best consecutive days in the universe starts on Thursday, that's MFing right its March Madness time! This is bigger than the super bowl, the Indy 500, the NBA Finals and World Series; in every way conceivable. More exciting for the casual fan, more passion and energy from the die-hard fans and players, and more stuff to gamble on for the addicts (myself included).

It is, without a doubt, the best four days of the year for the sports bettor.



If you didn't wake up with a fully pitched tent, let me try some literary foreplay to get you there. If you're tired of never winning your pool for the bracket or if you're too impatient to wait a month to get paid, you are in the right place.

The following is a guide for the novice bettor during march madness.

Intro

If you have never experienced or participated in sports betting, you have picked an excellent time to pop your cherry. I grew up in the sports gambling community. At family parties I would hear my uncles talking lines and spreads, having no idea what they meant. "Why does Uncle Danny give a shit if North Dakota St. scores more than 71 points?" I thought. Oh how I learned.

Here is a quick vocab lesson in case this stuff is calculus for you.

Straight Up (SU) - Single bet and/or could refer to a Money Line bet
Money Line (ML) - odds to win the game/prop i.e. +200 (2/1) = if you bet $100, you win $200
Parlay - multiple lines on a single bet, higher odds. A 3 team parlay usually pays out +600
Over/Under (O/u) - Line for the point total of the game (both teams score combined)
Teaser - Review tip #3 below



Tip #1 - Bet small amounts to get your feet wet 

Whatever your budget is, start with a reasonable amount the first couple of bets. You don't have to last all day, you need to last all 4 days (people forget). Like a golf tournament, you can't win it on day 1, but you can lose it all. This in an important cut to make, trust me. Set yourself a limit of what you're willing to lose and entertain some self control and don't go over that self imposed limit.

When I used to go to Reno for the first weekend, I would be willing to lose $500 and I would consider that breaking even for the entire weekend (table games were included). If I came back with any money it was a small victory, and any amount close to that original 500 I am a winner and will buy myself  my lady something nice. Come back with more than $500? Quit my job and turn Pro.

So start with some SU (straight up) bets, find a line or two you like and try to get some income coming in. The last part of that sentence is VERY IMPORTANT. So I will repeat it.

Tip #2 - Income is Necessary


You must have some income coming in! Every bet can't be 5 team parlays, you'll run out of loot quickly and look like those nerds above. You need to have that steady income to help you last 4 days, at the very least 3. Whenever you find something you are very confident in, go $10-50 SU on it and hope it comes through. Then you can keep taking stabs at parlays ans risk/reward ML bets.

Tip #3 - Get Familiar with Teasers

A teaser is like a parlay (multiple lines on a single bet), however in a teaser you receive an additional 4-5 points  (4 points is standard for basketball) in which ever direction you would like. So for example, the line fort tonight's CIT matchup between USD and Hartford = USD -10, O/u 139.5

If I think USD will win, I add them to my teaser and now get them at -6. If I liked the over, that line drops to 135.5

What's the catch? The odds drop. While a 3 team parlay pays +600, you have to do a 6 game teaser to receive those same odds. Six games is a lot tougher to win than 3, but those points come in handy. This is a fun way to get action on a ton of games with little risk. Throw down $10 if you're broke and try to run it into $60 coming in.



Tip #4 - Find your moment to Strike 

At some point nickle and diming gets exhausting, and you need a little extra something to get that blood flowing again. Looking to cash in big will get that job done. You can do this a couple of ways.

1. Bet big on a SU bet, usually on the ML. If you see an underdog that you think can win the game, throw down a large bet (compared to your others) and try to win big. As my friends Kevo and Timbo say (no one else has said this I am sure of it): "you gotta bet big to win big." This is where you can try to put some bracket knowledge to the test. At least one 12 seed usually wins each year, so pick one and take a risk. This year for example, I like Davidson after watching them win their tourney. I think they can beat Kentucky.

2. Parlay - Find 3 lines for a parlay you're confident in. Remember the payout is usually +600, so if you find a trio of games and throw down $50 you're winning $350 if it hits. Then you're pretty much set for the rest of the weekend of gambling. 

3. Teaser - Same as above but with 5-6 lines (6 pays same as 3 team parlay).

For 2-3, there is nothing more exciting than watching the last leg of the parlay/teaser that is about to come true,and you're sitting there thinking 


Tip #5 - Bet with friends

What's more fun than betting on sports? Betting on sports with friends duhhhh! I am not saying betting against friends, why would you try to take each others money? I am talking about riding the lines together. Compare it to table games: is it more fun when you win a hand a blackjack playing the dealer 1 on 1, or when the table is full of players and everyone wins b/c the dealer busts? Both scenarios are good, but the excitement when the group wins is much more exhilarating. 

During this last week of conference tournaments games my brother, friend, and myself were on the #LiveTogetherDieAlone train, betting on everything together. We had ups and downs but ended up close to doubling our money with the final games on Sundays. We ended on a high note, hitting a 3 team parlay ($15 to win $102) with Davidson, Kentucky, and Houston. It is much more fun to win with the group, and it makes losing a little bit easier at the same time.

And there you have it, now you should be fully torqued and ready for Thursdays action to tip off. Good luck, have some fun, and don't get too emotional because at the end of the day you're basically doing this


Happy Hunting

#GoAztecs
#MarchMadness

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