Last updated on March 4th, 2024 at 08:23 am
In this easy to understand tutorial, we will teach you the basics of filling out a March Madness Bracket and a few tips, tricks and strategies along the way.
You don’t need to be a sports betting expert to win a March Madness Pool. Nor do you need a fancy sports betting software. All you need is a little luck and a bit of reading to increase your chances of winning.
Here you are sitting at your desk when a co-worker wants to know if you want to get in on the March Madness action. You decided to be sociable and go for it. After paying $10 you end up with a blank March Madness Bracket and have no idea what to do next.
No worries, a March Madness Bracket Pool is actually a very simple contest. A March Madness bracket starts out with 68 teams which will battle it out during the first round. The goal is to get as many correct predictions as possible.
The person with the highest number of points wins. The number of points you end up with will depend on the rules set in the March Madness pool.
March Madness Bracket Rules
Round 1 (Round 1) – You 1 point for each correct selection for a total of 32 possible points.
Round 2 (Round 2) – You get 2 points for each correct selection for a total of 32 possible points.
Round 3 (Sweet Sixteen) – You get 4 points for each correct selection for a total of 32 possible points.
Round 4 (Elite Eight) – You get 8 points for each correct selection for a total of 32 possible points.
Round 5 (Final Four) – You get 16 points for each correct selection for a total of 32 possible points.
Round 6 (Championship) – You get 32 points for each correct selection for a total of 32 possible points.
Tie-Breaker – In the bracket you will also need to guess the total points scored by both teams in the final game. The winner will be the person whose guess is closest to the total points scored by both teams in the final game.
Alright, now that you know the basic rules of a March Madness Pool, it’s time to learn how to win!
March Madness Bracket Strategies
A March Madness Bracket always comes down to a handful of games in the end. It comes down to which team will determine the direction of the bracket.
First Round Picks – One strategy that works well for most people is to always take the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds to win in the first round.
Multiple Brackets – The more brackets you get the better the odds of winning. Going back to which team will make it to the Final Four, using multiple brackets can eliminate possible outcomes.
Look at the Betting Odds – Sportsbooks make a living predicting the outcome of games. With this in mind, they have a pretty good track record of who will win what game. Go to BetOnline.ag to see the March Madness Odds to help you decided how to fill out your bracket.
Here are the Odds of the top 5 Teams to Win the 2024 NCAA Tournament
- Uconn +550
- Houston Cougars +700
- Purdue Boilermakers +750
- Arizona Wildcats +1,300
- Tennessee Volunteers +1,300
Fun Facts about March Madness
March Madness costs businesses around $6.3 billion per year due to distracted employees.
An estimated $15.5 billion were wagered on the 2023 March Madness tournament.
An estimated $3 billion were illegally wagers on March Madness in 203. In Comparison, $10.1 billion were illegally wagered on March Madness in 2017 before sports betting became legal.
The average bet on March Madness is between $20 to $50
The odds to get a perfect March Madness Bracket are 1 in 9,200,000,000,000,000,000
Orders of chicken wings increase by 24% while pizza orders increase by 19% during March Madness.
Since 1992, nine of the teams to win the national championship also were regular season and conference tournament champions.
