Five Ways to Bet to Win
By Steve Gillman
Maybe you like to gamble, in which case you've probably tried
some of the ideas suggested here. Still, there might be one or
two you haven't used. And what if gambling isn't really your
thing? Well, you probably still like to make money, and the methods
here are all about that. So either way you might find something
useful in these five ways to bet to win.
 (Flickr photo
by Melissa
Gray)
Football Pools
There are various types of football pools, but the most common
is perhaps the basic "squares" versions. A grid with
0 through 9 on each side creates 100 squares. One team is designated
for the vertical side and the other for the horizontal. Bettors
buy squares for a set amount like a dollar per square. Names
are usually just written in the squares as they are bought. A
winner is determined by last digits of the scores. For example,
if Michigan's final score was 63 and Ohio's was 45, the square
at which the "3" column on the Michigan side intersects
with the "5" row on the Ohio side has the name of the
winner.
In many states "social gambling" like this is perfectly
legal. You'll find a summary of gambling laws by state here:
http://www.gambling-law-us.com/State-Law-Summary/.
Now, the odds are equal for everyone in a basic betting pool
like this. That's better some forms of gambling, since there
is no "house edge," but you want to win more than you
lose, right? To do that you need to be the one who arranges the
pool. You can tell your bettors that you will be keeping 10%
and paying out only 90% to the winner. You can still bet, and
you might lose or win, but if you take in $100, pay out $90,
and bet five or six $1 squares yourself, you'll be ahead no matter
what. Check the legality though; some social betting laws do
not allow for anyone to have an edge or cut of the pot.
Casino Promotions
While it is difficult to win consistently at a casino, it
isn't impossible. There are games where you can gain an edge,
like blackjack (if you know how to count cards). There are also
games where you play against other players rather than against
the house, like poker. If you are good enough the small cut the
casino takes will be less than what you consistently win from
weaker players. Finally, there are promotions you can take advantage
of.
To bet to win when using casino promotions, you have to simply
take what you get and play the minimum required, but play conservatively.
For example, suppose a casino offers new club members $20 in
free slot play, with the requirement that you play for an hour.
If you have the option, sit at a nickel slot machine and relax.
take your time and hit that play button no more than 6 times
per minute (video keno is a good one for this because you'll
use time selecting numbers). Those 360 plays in an hour will
mean you put $18 through the machine. You might be up or down,
but if the house has a 20% edge on that game, your projected
loss will less than $4, leaving you a nice profit from that $20
in free money.
Bar Bets
Minor bets in a bar fall under "social gambling"
laws in many places. If you look on YouTube you'll find more
than one good
video demonstrating bar bets. The following is an example.
You bet someone at the bar $5 that you can fit a nickel through
a hole which is the size of a dime. Have someone trace a circle
around a dime, on a piece of paper. Cut out the hole. Let everyone
see that it would tear the paper if you forced a nickel through
the hole. Then fold the paper across the middle of the hole,
set the nickel between the folds onto the hole, and pull up the
ends of the paper. The nickel will fall through, without tearing
the paper.
Horse Races
There are many different strategies for betting to win at
the horse racing track. You can research betting on horses online
or buy a good book on the subject. I won't get into specific
strategies here, other than to say that so called "chalks,"
or horse that are bet down to less than even odds, win often
enough that you can sometimes have a profitable day made up of
many of these small wins. If you have never bet on horses, start
by reading a
good guide that explains the basics of betting on horses,
including the tips for bet size according to your bankroll, and
what the common bets mean.
There are now many places where you can legally bet on horses,
even if you are nowhere near a track. Here in Florida I have
the Naples Fort Myers Greyhound Racing track fifteen minutes
away, for example. They have a bank of television screens that
cover races from more than 25 thoroughbred and harness tracks,
and they take the bets there. To bet in person, you can find
the closest place on the list of horse racing tracks here: https://www1.drf.com/racing_links/links_tracks.html
Bingo
It isn't the most exciting game for hard-core gamblers, but
playing bingo is a pleasant way to pass the time, and if you
do it right you might be able to put the odds in your favor.
In other words you can bet to win, and not just as entertainment.
You can start by choosing cards that have as much variety in
numbers as possible. This is easy to understand if you imagine
all 12 cards (or however many you play) being identical. You
might as well have one in that case. ideally you want to have
every one of the numbers 1 through 75 on at least one of your
cards, so you are covering a square with every call.
The other strategy takes more time to arrange. You have to
track the numbers over weeks of play to see if there are some
that come up more often than they should, and then choose cards
with those numbers. The balls used in the machines are not always
perfect, so some can pop up more often than others. But be aware
that all your work will be thrown away as soon as the balls are
changed. Fortunately this isn't done too often at most of the
places that have bingo nights. There are some pretty heavy mathematics
used to determine if a more-frequent appearance of a number is
random or indicates a real bias, but to keep it simple look for
any numbers that come in more than 1-in-60 times after 5,000
numbers are called (I told you it would be slow).
Use an online bingo
locator to find the places nearest you that have regular
bingo nights.
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