Betting on the Super Bowl is practically a requirement for any true football fan, especially if one’s team is actually playing. That said, you can bet on your team beforehand and make even more money, if you have some football savvy. Super Bowl odds are posted well in advance of the actual Super Bowl, allowing you to try and pick a winner before the event and score the big bucks, or simply hope your team makes it. Here, we’ll go over how Super Bowl odds are posted as well as how you can bet on them.
Super Bowl odds are created based on the knowledge bookmakers have of the various teams. Each team is closely examined, its strengths and weaknesses weighed, its individual players considered and scrutinized, and finally bookmakers decide what the overall odds are that the team will go all the way and win the Super Bowl. At the onset of football season, each team is given odds. As teams are eliminated from the running, the odds come down, until it is down to two. To illustrate this, let’s take a look at some hypothetical odds.
At the beginning of a season, suppose that the Pittsburgh Steelers are (as they are this year) looking like they might go all the way. They would likely be given odds like 9:1 or 10:1. These are actually quite low, representing a solid shot at the trophy, with the lowest odds seen on anything resembling a regular basis being around 6:1 or 7:1. Let’s suppose another, less successful team, such as the Arizona Cardinals, is given odds closer to 1000:1. This might seem tempting even for those who aren’t fans of the Cardinals, because of the potential to win one hundred thousand dollars on a one hundred dollar bet. Keep in mind, however, that these odds are designed to represent actual odds the Cardinals have of winning the Super Bowl, and thus there is a 99.9% chance that you will be throwing your money away.
That said, if you are confident in your team and want to see them go all the way, there’s no reason not to bet on them. Most people that have played the game before will wait until the Super Bowl odds come down a little, so that they can be sure their team won’t be eliminated by a sudden upset. If you are a fan of football you absolutely need to get your hands dirty with some Super Bowl betting, and nothing makes rubbing a Super Bowl victory in a rival’s face quite like being able to wave some money around while you do it.
