What are the biggest mistakes sports bettors make during March Madness?
It’s been over 700 days since the last bet was placed on a March Madness game as the 2020 NCAA tournament was cancelled as a result of the pandemic. There is a lot of pent-up excitement for this year’s March Madness tournament. Why is the “Big Dance” such an attraction for sports bettors?
There are 64 teams (68 if you include the play in games). Almost everyone has an affiliation with some team in the tournament. People love teams. Hate teams. Live close to teams. Have a cousin who plays for a team. Used to play college basketball…
The stakes are also higher in March Madness than in the regular season. Winners advance. Losers go home. There are no second chances.
American workers spend approximately six hours of work time on March-Madness-related activities during the tournament, costing US employers anywhere from $2 Billion to $13 Billion in productivity, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Over 75% of American workers admit to checking scores during the tournament while at work, according to a study by Randstand. Over 50% admit to watching games during work time. Some even admit to placing sports bets during work hours.
What are the biggest mistakes sports bettors make during the tournament?
#1 – Betting on their favorite team.
If you are betting for entertainment, then go ahead and bet on your favorite team. Profitability in sports betting is not emotional. It is not about the team or the player you like. It is strictly about numbers. If you are going to bet on March Madness and want to turn a profit, eliminate your emotional bias and follow a data driven strategy.
#2 – Betting inconsistently.
Many bettors place different amounts on different games. If you are betting on games with odds of –110, you need to win more than 52.4% of your games to be profitable. That may sound low, but if you have never kept track of your bets, it’s not as easy as it looks. Betting consistently is critical to turning a profit in sports investing. For example, if you bet on three games for $100 each with –110 odds and won 2 of the 3 games, you won $81.82. If you bet on three games for $150, $50 and $100 each and won only the latter two games, you would have lost ($13.64). Many people “feel” stronger about a game or “like” a certain team more and bet more on those games. Sports betting is strictly about numbers. Follow a data driven strategy and consistent money management system to turn a profit.
#3 – Always betting on favorites.
The public typically gravitates towards favorites, higher ranked teams, big name schools, teams with star players and teams with the best records. In 2018, UMBC Retrievers defeated the Virginia Cavaliers and became the first No. 16 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Upsets are more prevalent during the tournament than the regular season.
It might surprise you to learn that the seeds with the highest percentage of covering against the spread (ATS) include the 7, 11 and 12 seeds as they cover the spread 56.86% of the time. Which seeds cover the least? No. 2 and No 9 seeds only cover ATS 44.90% of the time. If you are always betting on favorites during the tournament, you will likely not be profitable. If you are always comfortable betting on sports, you are probably not going to turn a profit during the tournament because even No. 16 seeds win.
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In March, if you followed Betting Kings strategy, a $1,000/game investor would have earned $39,548 over the last 16 days.
“We’ve been helping clients and members invest profitably on sports for many years. This year our members have earned over $77,000 – if they followed our strategy and money management system,” says Betting Kings President and CEO, Kary Hisrich. “We take the guess work and emotion out of investing. There is a lot of passion that comes with investing on sports games and elite investable collectibles. There’s nothing wrong with that. But, if you want to be profitable, just make sure you are following an advanced unique data driven strategy.”
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