Ready To Bet on Wild Wildcard Weekend?

Sports betting news and information for bettors by bettors ...

Jan 12, 2023

It's a little sad when the NFL regular season ends because it means football will soon be over. But it also means that every game from here on out means something. That old saying applies to the playoffs just as much as it does the regular season — any team can win on any given Sunday.

Or, in this case, Saturday, Sunday, or Monday.

So, how should you approach Wild Card Weekend? Should you roll with the higher seeds since they are supposed to be the better team? Eh, not necessarily. Yes, last year's favorites were 5-1 SU and ATS in the wild-card round. But the underdogs had been on a 15-3 run ATS in this round prior to last season.

Do you roll with the new or old trend for 2023?

Pick a promo: The best sportsbook bonuses

It's a lot to consider, I know. Don't worry. Our writers have been busy this week posting articles that may help you decide how you want to bet.

While the NFL dominates the landscape for the next few weeks, we haven't forgotten about those of you who like to bet on golf, basketball, hockey, etc. There's plenty to talk about. So, let's get wild. Let's get crazy. Let's talk about sports betting.

NFL’s Wild Card Weekend

It's playoff time, people! That means we have 13 more NFL games to bet on this season, starting with the six wild-card games this weekend — and it is shaping up to be an exciting three days.

Each game is a rematch from the regular season, and three feature division rivals that played twice. Each team is familiar with the other. But that is not necessarily a good thing. Do they plan to beat the team they saw last time, or what they think they'll see on Sunday (or Saturday or Monday)?

From a bettor's perspective, there is a ton of information you can sift through to help you figure out how to bet. Or you can just read some of the articles our writers generated this week about the games taking place during Wild Card Weekend:

I'd also suggest everyone look at Super Bowl MVP odds. Last season, Cooper Kupp had odds north of +2000 heading into Wild Card Weekend, so it can pay to roll the dice on someone with longer odds. But even if you don't want to take that risk, the odds for the quarterbacks are only going to get shorter with each passing week.

Food for thought…

Current NFL Playoff Lines

NFL Wildcard Weekend Parlays

I haven't posted my parlays article to GamingToday.com yet, but I wanted to share one of my picks here:

Kenneth Walker III rushing yards, under 59.5 -114
Travis Etienne, 80+ rushing yards +100
Parlay Odds: +275

Walker has had a solid rookie season for the Seahawks and is coming off three straight 100+ yard days to end the regular season. But the run defenses of the Rams, Jets, and Chiefs do not compare to the 49ers. San Francisco has been hard to run on this season (77.7 ypg allowed; No. 2 in the league) and has allowed only one rusher to run for 59.5+ yards.

Walker had 47 yards on 12 carries against the 49ers defense in Week 16.

As for Etienne, the young Jags running back is facing one of the worst run defenses in the NFL (No. 28; 145.8 ypg allowed). He only had 45 yards in Week 3 against the Chargers, but James Robinson had 100 yards on 17 carries. He'll likely get around 20 carries this week against a team giving up a league-high 5.4 ypc.

A $100 bet could result in a $375 payday, your stake plus $275 in winnings.

Elsewhere in the Wide World of Sports Betting…

While many of my friends in my home state of Texas would argue this point, there is more to life and sports betting than football. With the college football season in the books, the college basketball season comes into greater focus:

Odds to Win 2023 NCAA Tournament: Houston Remains on Top, Kentucky & Duke Fall

You can find the odds for upcoming games and championship odds for several sports on our dedicated pages:

This Week on the Sports Betting Legal/Business Landscape…

Sports betting is off to an excellent start in Ohio, but there were some issues, which the state wasted no time dealing with. Four sportsbooks are already facing fines for violating state regulations. But, overall, the sports betting industry has little to complain about in the Buckeye State.

Massachusetts is next.

If things go as planned, bettors in Massachusetts can bet on March Madness from the comfort of their own homes this year. Here’s Rebecca Hanchett’s coverage of Mass this week:

More states are pushing for sports betting legalization in 2023. Lawmakers in Minnesota, Missouri, and North Carolina think their states could finally get it done this year.

In other industry news:

Sportsbook Promotions: Jan. 12, 2023

The following sportsbook promos could come in handy this weekend:

FanDuel: Bet $5+, Get $150 in Free Bets! Place your first cash wager of at least $5; Get your $150 in Sportsbook Free Bets upon bet placement (within 72 hours; new customers only).
FanDuel: Kick of Destiny. Get a piece of $10,000,000 if Gronk kicks a field goal LIVE during FanDuel's Super Bowl commercial. Just place a $5 bet on the game to qualify.
DraftKings: New Customers, win $200 in bonus bets! Bet $5+ on any sport and get $200 instantly!
Caesars: NFL Futures Bet & Get. Monday 1/9 though Saturday 1/14: Opt in, wager $50+ on the Super Bowl winner, and get a $20 Free Bet
Caesars: SGP Bet & Get. Thursday 1/12, Wager $20+ on an NBA or NHL Same Game Parlay and get a $10 Free Bet

Terms and conditions will apply with every sportsbook promotion.

Fun With Futures: 2023-24 CFP National Championship

They tell us that the CFP title game was Monday night between Georgia and TCU, but it looked more like an intrasquad scrimmage between a varsity and JV squad if you ask me. But that game is in the books, which means college football bettors can now focus on the 2023-24 CFP national championship winner.

You know, because the odds are out, of course:

As could be expected, the two-time defending champs are favored to win it all again; defending champions often open as the favorite. While that makes sense, it is important to know one thing – only one other team has ever won the national championship for three consecutive seasons.

No, not Alabama. It was Minnesota (1934-36).

The Bulldogs may do it, I don't know. I hope not, because the same teams already make the playoffs and win the national title way too often. But this is where the fun part of 'fun with futures' comes in. Who could become next year's TCU, or better yet, the next 2019 LSU? Who could emerge as a contender and potentially win it all?

Figure out who some of those teams may be and place a small wager on them now. If they happen to rise up and win it all next season, you'll be enjoying a nice payday with minimal risk (depending on the size of your wager).

I talk about some of my favorite dark horses in the above article, but I'll mention a few of them here:

Florida State: Jordan Travis is the real deal.
Notre Dame: Sam Hartman will take the Fighting Irish offense to new heights.
LSU: Next to FSU's Travis, Jayden Daniels is my favorite quarterback heading into next season.

I mentioned a few others, and I'm sure a couple more may rise once all the players in the transfer portal find new homes. But until next season gets rolling, and these teams prove me wrong (like my beloved Aggies did last season), I will have a lot of fun following their progress as the offseason plays out.

Odell Beckham Jr.’s next quarterback?

That's it for this edition of the Gaming Today Playbook. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much or more as I enjoyed writing it. If you have any questions or want to request a topic to get covered in a future newsletter, you can reach me via email at travis.pulver@catenamedia.com or via Twitter at @FatManWriting.

To close out the GTP this week, I thought I'd share why I'm betting Odell Beckham Jr.'s next quarterback will be Brucie from the Longest Yard’s Mean Machine team:

PointsBet Sportsbook @PointsBetUSA

OBJ refused to buckle up on a plane and EVERY PASSENGER had to deplane so he could get off… Every other passenger had to wait an extra 2 hours…

Bet wisely, my friends, and have a great weekend!

Until Next Week,

Travis Pulver, Sports Betting Writer