College football is only a couple weeks away. It’s an exciting time of the year for college football fans and bettors alike. It also means it is time to get serious on your preparation for the season. I’ve been preparing for college football season now for several weeks, and I always get questions from bettors about what I think is most important early in the year. Here’s a look at five key tips to remember when betting on college football in the early weeks of the season.
1. Use Wise Money Management- I start with this one every time anyone asks me what the key to being a successful bettor is. Without wise money management, you are sure to fail when it comes to sports betting. The average sports bettor loses. There are several reasons for that, but one of the most important is the fact that many people don’t manage their bankroll properly. What’s a good amount to bet on each game? It depends on what your bankroll is, but I recommend staying in the 3% to 5% range. I always recommend clients bet 3% on my regular releases and 5% on my biggest releases of the year. Going big and winning feels great, but it almost always leads to even bigger losers and busted bankrolls in the long run.
2. Don’t Overvalue Last Season’s Results- Remember, this is college football where there are a ton of changes on a year to year basis. Players come and go and so do members of the coaching staff. Just because a certain team was dominant in the trenches last year doesn’t mean they will be this season. The most common mistake I see made by novice bettors is overvaluing last season’s results. You have to know this year’s team well to be successful, last year’s team means very little at this point.
3. Disregard the Preseason Rankings and Media Hype- The preseason rankings and media hype cost the average bettor a lot of money. Betting on Team A vs. Team B because they are rated highly in the preseason polls or because the mainstream media has had a lot of nice things to say about them is a recipe for disaster. Think back to last year and how many teams were ranked in the preseason that were total flops. On the other side, think of how many teams came into the season with no expectations and were huge surprises. Need a good example? The Auburn Tigers weren’t ranked in the top 25 in the 2013 preseason polls. They were seconds away from winning a BCS Championship.
4. Dig Deeper For Information- We live in an era where not digging deep for information isn’t excusable. There are beat writers for every college football team and in the era of social media if you put much time into looking for information, you are going to find some things that aren’t widely known by the betting public. Look for things like changes deeper in the coaching staff. Everyone knows which head coaches changed jobs, but not everyone knows which assistant coaches are on the move.
5. Shop Around for Best Numbers- It seems like this would be a no-brainer, but still I see many average bettors lose by the hook or a point because they haven’t shopped around for the best number. This one really is an all-season long tip, but it is actually the most important early in the season. You’ll see more sportsbooks with line differences in the early season than you will late in the season.
My college football season package and NFL season package are both available for sale now. Just $499.99 each or $749.99 for the Football Fanatic Pass with access to both CFB and NFL. I’m up 47.44 units in football action since 2010. Stay tuned for much more content in the coming weeks with free picks and informational articles to help you win from myself and my friend Adam Burke.
