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won; for losing wagers, if on the 12th wager, you receive a "push" or tie - the return of your money that you would otherwise have lost, you are breaking even. That is, you have lost an additional $1 per wager where you bought the 1/2 point, but on the 12th wager, you recovered the $11 you would otherwise have lost. I submit to you that this comes into play more often than that, but you will need to experience that for yourself.

Find a Sports Handicapping site that gives you point spread, injury and trend information without charging you for it. Many of these sites will be geared towards offering pay services, handicappers that offer their best selections for a set price; a few are worth it, most are not - for the time being, you should focus on finding a good source that tells you which teams are winning their games at home, on the road, as favorites, as underdogs, etc. Some searches on "thinkwin," "fast facts" and "sports handicapping" will get you there generally. That is, any reputable handicapping site will offer you considerable free information without the necessity of any payment on your part - use these resources.

TYPES OF WAGERING: Your fundamental wager should be the straight play - the single bet on a single game. You may be familiar with "parlays" that require several wagers to win in order to secure a larger payoff, for example, a four team parlay that offers 10 to 1 payoffs for all wagers being correct. By now, it is hopefully obvious that winning a single wager is difficult enough, let alone 2, 3 or 4 required at one time. Taking this four team parlay as an example, a bettor who wagers on each game separately and wins three of them profits $19 on straight wagers of $10: 3 x $10 for winners less one $11 loser = $19. A bettor that exclusively wagers the parlay loses $10; while a bettor who wagers each game separately, as well as the parlay wins $9. So, for predicting 3 of 4 games correctly, an excellent record, you can leave with $19, $9 or losing $10 - your choice.

Especially as the NCAA Tournament approaches, it is difficult to assess the merits of teams from different conferences playing teams they have not played previously. Another search to perform is "RPI" or Ratings Percentage Index - a database that does a decent job of approximating the relative strengths of the conferences and their teams.

When actually wagering, more often than not, it is best to avoid large point spreads on favorites as the team itself is playing to win the game, not to win the game by 10 points or whatever is required for a winning wager on the favorite. Given the finality of losing in the tournament, outclassed teams will scratch and claw to the end, while winning teams will run the clock out rather than shoot once a comfortable margin is secured. Your best betting scenarios are two-fold:

1) A better team that only needs to cover a small number, ideally two or less, to win for you;

2) A competitive or even better team that is an underdog where the points you are given are a gift and a cushion for a winning wager.

For example, a smaller school such as Butler, with experienced tournament players, may play a middle of the road school from a larger conference - Minnesota from the Big 10 for sake of argument. If, because the line makers know that the public recognizes Minnesota far more than Butler, sets the Golden Gophers as a four point favorite - hypothetically, of course - you can safely play on Butler, expecting them to win the game outright and receiving four points as a gratuity.

This is just the tip of the iceberg, but hopefully enough to keep your betting ship from running aground - have fun, enjoy the games!

Learn more about this author, Pete Smits.
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