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2023 Super Bowl Betting for Dummies and Novice Bettors

by Sean Barnard - 1/30/2023

The Super Bowl is right around the corner, and along with it comes the biggest gambling weekend of the year. As people gather for their Super Bowl parties and prepare for the final NFL matchup of the year, there are plenty of options to bet on and for everyone to feel a little more invested in the game. The growth of online gambling has made it easier than ever, and last year’s Super Bowl set the record for most money gambled ever in a single day as 31.4 million people placed wagers, totaling around $7.61 billion in handle. Before diving into your spending money, it is important to know what to look for, so here is a simple breakdown of what the commonly thrown-around gambling phrases mean.

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Super Bowl betting for dummies and novice bettors Jalen Hurts Philadelphia Eagles

Moneyline

The “moneyline” is one of the simplest bets to understand, as it purely comes down to which team wins and loses the game. This will be decided at the game’s conclusion, and whichever team gets the win will be who cashes the moneyline bet. There has already been movement on this value, and this will likely continue to be up until kickoff. At the time of this piece being written, the Philadelphia Eagles are the favorites in the matchup at -130 on the money line. This means you must bet $130 to get a $100 payout. In contrast, the Kansas City Chiefs are +110 on the money line, meaning if you bet $100 and the Chiefs win the payout will be $110.

Point Spread

Used to even the playing field between the two teams, the spread is based on the margin of victory rather than just the simple win and loss. The team expected to win is favored by a certain number of points. And for the bet to be successful, they must win by this many. In this example, the Eagles are currently favored by two points (-2), meaning they must win by two or more for it to cash. In contrast, the Chiefs are two-point underdogs (+2), meaning they can either win the game outright or lose by one point for the bet to cash. So, if the Eagles are to win the game by one point, the Chiefs spread would still cash as they cover the spread.

Over/Under

The over/under, or points total, is independent of the game result and is based on both teams' combined total. This is most commonly discussed regarding points, but there are also variations regarding yards or a particular statistic. For the Super Bowl, the over/under has been set at 49.5 points, meaning the final score must combine for 50 or more points between both teams for the over to hit. There also will be team totals offered, which are based on an individual team. The Eagles' total points over/under is set at 25.5 points, while the Chiefs' is 23.5 points. If you feel strongly that one of these teams will reach or fall short of this number, you could place the wager.

Prop Bets

The most widespread, and perhaps the most fun, type of betting, are referred to as “proposition bets” These typically are not impacted by the game result and are based on a player’s performance or another event. An example prop would be Jalen Hurts over or under 21.5 pass completions or Travis Kelce over or under 75.5 receiving yards. There also are plenty of options for the first touchdown scorer or anytime touchdown scorer as well.

There also are plenty of prop bets that have little to nothing to do with the game. Some examples of this would be heads or tails on the coin flip or what color Gatorade will the winning coach get poured on him.

It also should be noted that there are plenty of options for how to bet. The most common means is online, which allows you the option to withdraw or add more money at any time. You also can pay attention to the live line and find more value that otherwise would not have been there. For example, during the AFC Championship game, the spread opened up at -1.5 in favor of the Chiefs. After Kansas City jumped out to a 13-3 lead, the line moved to -9.5 in favor of the Chiefs. This allowed there to be value in betting the Bengals to cover at +9.5, which some people surely capitalized on.

The bottom line is there are plenty of options for what to bet if it is something you want to get involved in. The Super Bowl is a holiday that everyone can enjoy by eating a lot of food, enjoying your company, and taking in the game. It also is an awesome chance to get involved in betting and make the game a little more entertaining of it is something that interests you.

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