Startup Money for Successful College Sports Betting | Picks of the Day

In case you weren't aware, the first thing you need if you want to be a successful sports bettor, whether it is on college sports or not, is money. No one is going to take your bet unless you have some money to bet with. And the question most often asked is, "how much money do I need to start with?" My answer is usually, "how quick to you expect to begin winning?" That was a joke, by the way. The actual answer differs depending on several factors.

The primary rule of thumb is that you want to have enough money lined up to make anywhere from 20 to 50 bets before you have to refill your stash. The reason for this is simple: it is possible, no matter how great you are at handicapping or winning sports bets, at some point in time you are going to have a losing streak with your sports betting. Sports betting is a fickle thing because there are no absolutes. Players can get injured, weather conditions can change quickly and dramatically, and goofy things can happen.

I have two great examples demonstrating the razor thin margin that often exists between winning and losing. It involves my buddy, who is a University of Washington Huskies fan, and often bets on his team (I have a rule against betting on your favorite sports team, which will be addressed at a later time). Recently he ran into two circumstances that I found rather enlightening in the world of sports betting.

The first occurred I think in the UW vs. UCLA game that took place in Los Angeles. UCLA was a favorite, let's say for purposes of this post, by 5 points, meaning if you took UCLA to cover, they had to win by 6 or more for you to win your bet (5 points gets your money back, 4 or less and you lose). The game was winding down and UW was getting beat. My buddy took UW to cover (they would lose by 4 or less). As time was winding down, UCLA had a comfortable 7 point lead, and time was winding down. With less than 5 seconds in the game, a UW player drove it down the court, heaved up an off balance three pointer, and made it. Now, as far as the game was concerned, the shot was meaningless - UCLA won. But for the sports betting world it was a huge shot, because it took a winning bet out of the hands of those that bet on UCLA and handed it over to those who bet on UW. Such is the nature of the sports betting beast.

Funny thing about games though, is they have a way of paying you back. A couple of games later, UW was playing one of the Arizona schools at home. UW was a 3 1/2 point favorite, and my buddy took them. As time was winding down, we're talking about less than 4 seconds in the game, UW was up 2. The Arizona school fouled, and the same player who made the great shot a few games ago went to the line with the opportunity to cover the spread. At this point there were less than 2 seconds left I think. What happens? The player gets up, makes one of two, time runs out, and my buddy loses his bet by 1/2 of a point. Devastating. But that is how the cookie crumbles sometimes.

Moral of the story: to become a successful college sports bettor, you have to be able to weather the freak losses to play again.

The other reason you need to have a little bit of cash on hand is because at some time you will go through a losing streak that will cause you to question your ability to pick sports games correctly. It happens to everyone. It even happened to Matthew McConaughey in "Two for the Money" (I know, a cheesy reference, but a decent movie about sports betting). Some of you will have to weather the losing streak in the beginning (assuming you are not just a bad sports bettor - I know some people like that). If you have enough money in your Sportsbook betting account, you are less likely to give up if you lose a couple in a row.

So, as you begin on your sports betting odyssey, start with enough money to weather a storm if one hits you early.

Now, calculating what you need is easy - just decide what you want your average bet to be. On this site, my bets will be made by simple stating 1 unit, 2 units, or 3 units. Obviously, the more I bet, the more confident I am in the game. But having said that, 1 unit will be my average bet, meaning I only place more if I for some reason am uber-confident in that game. Your average bet can be as little as $5 a bet, or it can be as much as $100. It really depends on your finances and your tolerance for risk. Either way, try to give yourself at least 20 bets starting out.

Okay, now on to the fun part - my college sports bets of the day. I am going to place all of my bets on here, even the stupid ones, so take them for what you will. The single bets I would say are always worth taking a look at. The parlays (groups of teams picked that all have to win in order for the bet to win) are stupid bets and should probably be looked at with a bit of caution. And, by the way, I know they are stupid, but I can't help but throw one together every once in a while. With that being said, here you go, my sports bets for March 5, 2009.

As far as following my exact bets goes, I'd say doing so will probably make you a successful college sports bettor, but will make you even better is following the tips and strategies for successful sports betting discussed here and then betting based on your own knowledge of specific teams and leagues.

Home team in caps, spread related to home team (if a minus sign, home team must win by more than that number to cover, if a plus sign, home team must lose by that number or less to cover, or win). Over under means both teams combined must score either over or under the number (whichever you choose) to win the bet.

Stanford vs. ARIZONA ST. (-10) - my pick is ASU for 1 unit. ASU needs another win to keep increasing their NCAA tournament seeding, is coming off being swept by the Washington schools, and is looking to smoke a team.

Illinois vs. PENN ST. (over/under 117) - my pick is the under for 1 unit. This is a pick made solely based on the history of this season. Earlier these two teams combined for 60-some points for the entire game. Penn St. plays at a very slow pace, plays a zone, and is very stingy. This score will probably end up in the fifties.

Oregon vs. USC (-13) - my pick is USC for 1 unit. USC is fighting for their NCAA tournament lives and gets a chance to pick up an easy win over a terrible Oregon school that has nothing to play for. Given the fact that they are at home and I think this pushes them over the edge.

Cal vs. ARIZONA (-4.5) - my pick is Arizona for 1 unit. See the ASU reasons above for my reason for this pick.

Fresno St. vs. BOISE ST. (-8) - my pick is Boise St. for 1 unit. I don't know much about these teams except that Fresno St.'s record and conference record is terrible and they are on the road against what looks on paper to be a decent team (winning conference record). Those are usually two bad signs for a bad team.

And last, but not least, I parlayed all those teams together for one unit that pays off 25/1. So my 1 unit bet will pay off 25 times. Good luck tonight, and check back in tomorrow for some new information nuggets and some more picks.

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