The playoffs are a prime time to clean up in the gambling department. There aren't as many games so it's easier to know which ones to bet on, and the odds Vegas gives on some matchups ...well, you don't need to hit on every bet to make some money, let's just say that.
I'm not a heavy gambler. I enjoy it, but I never wager enough, to win enough, to be life-changing so I view it merely as a way to put your money where your mouth is when making a prediction. Winning money when you are correct is pretty nice too, but we all know someone with a gambling problem so I don't condone throwing half a rent check on the Chiefs this weekend even if it should be a walk in the park at Arrowhead. Be responsible.
I'm a big fan of $5 bets. Especially on parlays, a $5 bet can pay out $30-$50. With my gambling philosophy, that means I can make a lot of $5 bets and as long as one of them hits, I can break even. My whole goal is to not lose money, but usually I hit on one big payout or a few smaller ones and actually come out ahead.
Season-long wagers are a great way to make some easy money for the everyday football fan. I placed a lot of small bets on team win totals, because it's easy in August when you just have to predict "Tennessee over/under 9.5 wins", etc. My season-long wagers just paid out, so I have some winnings rattling around the account waiting to get blown on stupid wild card parlays.
I'm not going to get into the spreads, if you are betting against spreads you probably don't need this article. This is just some fun ways to pick winners and bundle some parlays to make the weekend games fun and profitable at the same time, without getting overly complicated.
If you aren't familiar with odds and what that means as far as winning, an easy way to think about it is in $10 increments. If you place a $10 bet at +285 odds, it will pay out $28.50 (plus your $10 investment, so $38.50 back into your account). If you place a $10 bet at +1000 odds, it would pay out $100, etc.
Let's take a look at the best ways to turn some blue collar bets into some money (hopefully).
The Matchups
Las Vegas (+205) @ Cincinnati (-250)
New England (+190) @ Buffalo (-230)
Philadelphia (+300) @ Tampa Bay (-375)
San Francisco (+136) @ Dallas (-162)
Pittsburgh (+520) @ Kansas City (-720)
Arizona (+166) @ Los Angeles (-198)
For outright money line betting, Kansas City is the one matchup I wouldn't risk the upset on. Arizona has a prime chance to beat the roller-coaster Rams in LA at +166 odds, and Vegas clearly thinks the 49ers have a shot in Dallas. New England and Vegas on the road are longer shots, and both play opponents who beat them recently. The most intriguing upset for me is the Philadelphia/Tampa matchup. You never bet against postseason Tom Brady, but the Bucs offense is a shadow of what it was due to a rash of season-ending injuries to key players down the stretch. At +300, the surging Eagles with a healthy Jalen Hurts aren't a bad bet to take them down. I'm tossing $5 on it.
Parlays
Parlays are a wonderful way to turn $5 into a lot of money. The more ridiculous the parlay, the more it pays, so it's always a good idea to throw a few dollars down on some underdogs because it can counter your other wagers if a random upset occurs. Don't be afraid to toss $5 on four or five 3-team parlays. I try to structure it so if the most likely parlay (with lowest payout) happens, it covers the investment. If one of the less likely parlays hits, that's when we make the (relative) big bucks. Here are some parlay ideas I'm rolling with this weekend.
The All-Favorites Parlay
(Moneyline) 6-Leg +605
Cin/Buf/TB/Dal/KC/LAR
Six leg parlays rarely work out, and every home team winning wild card weekend also never happens. On paper it's absolutely possible, so not a bad idea for a little wager at +605.
The All-Underdogs Parlay
(Moneyline) 6-Leg +137602
LV/NE/Phi/SF/Pit/AZ
Okay okay, so it is a really crazy bet, every away team has never won on wild card weekend. But why not? A $1 bet pays out $1376. Do it.
3-Leg Parlays
These are where it's at. Less unpredictability. With a 3-team parlay you want to always pick one that is a lock. For me, Kansas City is the only real lock this weekend. After that you want to pick a second team you feel real good about, and those teams are Cincinnati and Tampa in my mind. Your third team is the hard choice, because adding a slight underdog like Arizona to the parlay will pay out exponentially more than picking Los Angeles. Hence why it's a good idea to place multiple parlays and cover your ass. Here's the one's I'm putting money on.
3-Leg (Moneyline)
KC-TB-AZ +285
3-Leg (Moneyline)
KC-CIN-AZ +324
3-Leg (Moneyline)
KC-CIN-SF +276
3-Leg (Moneyline)
KC-CIN-NE +362
3-Leg (Moneyline)
CIN-BUF-DAL +224
3-Leg (Moneyline)
CIN-TB-LA +166
3-Leg (Moneyline)
KC-CIN-PHI +537
Basically I have about $50 invested in wagers this weekend, and I'm pretty confident one or two will hit and cover what I put in. If not, it was a fun $50 to blow, and it means some really crazy stuff happened on the football field if none of these parlays happen.
We've got Las Vegas kicking off in Cincinnati Saturday at 2:30pm MST, followed by New England and Buffalo at 6:15pm. The Sunday slate is fulled up, and we even have a wild card game on Monday night this year (Cards/Rams). Good luck and may the gambling gods look upon us with favor!
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