Believe it or not, gambling used to be frowned upon. It’s not that long ago that sports gambling had to be done in seedy dives with your local bookie. But you know what? Even then, a lot of people would bet on the Super Bowl.
There’s just something about the Super Bowl that brings out the gambler in us. Is it the fact that you’re not cheering for your regular team, so adding the element of winning or losing money improves the experience? It might be.
Perhaps it is just that egos are stroked, by acting like somehow, you are in the know.
One thing that is for sure, is that the modern day gambling afficionado has more options than ever.
Try The Prop
So what exactly is a prop bet?
A proposition bet is any bet that doesn’t have anything to do with the outcome of a game. That is, they are outside of the standard odds for the game (spread, moneylines, Over/Under).
They often are hooked to things that individual players do. They are usually two-sided bets with odds on both sides of the possible outcome. However, they can also be multiple choice with odds for each option.
Oddsmakers will set a certain possibility, and then offer odds for the two choices.
This allows gamblers to drill down and speculate on what they think will happen for just about anything in a game.
From what team will score first – to what player will score the most – to what type of score the first points will be. The sky is the limit, really. If you look around the internet, you can find a prop bet on almost anything. Especially on Super Bowl Sunday.
There are thousands of possibilities. They are limited only by the imagination of oddsmakers. These crazy markets have exploded over the past decade, covering everything from Super Bowl commercials to the color of the gatorade bath.
Need An Example?
How many touchdowns will Jalen Hurts pass for?
Over 2.5 (-120)
Under 2.5 (+110)
In this example, the gambler puts $120 down to bet on Hurts scoring 3 touchdowns (over 2.5). if Hurts does so, the gambler gets $100.
If the gambler thinks that Hurts will only pass for two touchdowns or less (under 2.5), he can win $110 by placing a $100 bet.
The less likely that a specific outcome is to happen, the more money can be won for picking it.
Best Bets
With all of the explanations out of the way, here are some possible top Prop Bets for you to try your luck on:
Travis Kelce receptions:
Over 8 (+130)
With the amount of injuries in the Chiefs receiver corps, he’s likely to see even more action than normal. The over here seems like a real possibility. He’s had eight or more receptions in six of his last eight playoff games. He had a monstrous 14 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Number of sacks by the Eagles:
Over 2.5 (-150)
The Eagles enter the game having had more than three sacks in 14 of their 19 games this season (73.6%). That should yield odds of about -279, so -150 is a great value. Especially when you consider that Patrick Mahomes is nursing a fairly significant ankle injury and his mobility is affected.
Patrick Mahomes will record more passing yards than Jalen Hurts:
Yes (-300)
While the outcome of the game might not go the Chiefs way, it’s hard to see Hurts throwing for more yards than Mahomes. Hurts hasn’t thrown for huge numbers since he hurt his shoulder. He hasn’t had to with their rushing attack.
Chiefs call the first timeout:
Yes (-115)
Nick Siriani saves timeouts for the last two minutes of halves. Andy Reid does not. Enough said.
Travis Kelce anytime touchdown:
Yes (-130)
Yes, Kelce again. He scored 15 times already this season, including three times in the first two playoff games. He is the “shortest odds” of anyone for the anytime touchdown prop.
You could even throw caution to the wind, and parlay both of the Kelce props.
Wild And Crazy Props
Here are some of the zanier props that you can bet on for Sunday.
Amount of time for country star Chris Stapleton to sing the anthem:
Over 124.5 Seconds (-182) | Under 124.5 Seconds (+135)
Amount of songs Rihanna will sing at half time:
Over 8.5 (-115) | Under 8.5 (-115)
Will a player propose after the game?
Yes (+400) | No (-650)
What brand of beer commercial will air first?
Budweiser (-115) | Heiniken (-115)
What color liquid will be poured on the winning coach?
Orange (+250) | Green / Yellow (+350) | Clear (+500) | Blue (+500)
Red / Pink (+550) | Purple (+900) | None (+1600)
As you can see from the above, there really are no limits to how off the wall things can be.
Let’s hope the Rihanna prop goes under. No disrespect to her, but more than eight half time songs? Just get the fans back to the game please.
For the record, the last two Super Bowl games had blue Gatorade poured on the coach – but “orange” and “none” are in the lead all-time, with five each since 2001.
Budweiser aired their commercial first last year – the epic return of the Clydesdale’s.
And this year’s Super Bowl is just two days before Valentine’s Day, so maybe the chances of a proposal are greater!
You Bet Ya
So wether you’re betting on a prop bet, a standard bet, or a futures bet, make sure you do it responsibly. The longer the odds – the bigger the payout – but the less likely you are to win. That’s why they call it gambling.
But that doesn’t mean that you can’t win and it certainly doesn’t take away from the enjoyment and the fun.
Gamble wisely. Never stretch your bank account to take the plunge.
Good luck this weekend!