Super Bowl Squares
Football squares are one of the easiest and most common way for football fans to bet on the Super Bowl, but many are unfamiliar with the rules and strategy for this basic betting opportunity. To start, take an empty 10 x 10 sheet thus giving you 100 total squares. Then label each axis from 0-9. The next step would be assigning one team to the x-axis and one team to the y-axis — in this case that would be the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers.
Now the goal is to fill all 100 squares, representing every potential outcome of the game. Typically this is a randomized process where bettors are randomly assigned their squares, although some pools (on rare occasion) will allow you to choose your own squares in a bidding process. Most pools will pay out prizes based on the score at the end of each quarter with extra money going to the person with the correct final score.
The winner is determined by looking at the last number in each teams’ score, and then matching those numbers on the grid to see which square intersects those two numbers. If the Carolina Panthers win the game 27-21, than the owner of CAR 7, DEN 1 would be victorious.
The table below, which utilizes historical scoring data over the past decade, displays how often each square comes up.
| Team 1 | Team 2 | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 3 | 6.83% |
| 0 | 7 | 6.83% |
| 4 | 7 | 6.56% |
| 3 | 7 | 5.29% |
| 1 | 4 | 4.57% |
| 0 | 4 | 4.5% |
| 3 | 4 | 3.43% |
| 6 | 7 | 3.33% |
| 1 | 7 | 3.16% |
| 0 | 6 | 2.85% |
| 3 | 6 | 2.71% |
| 1 | 3 | 2.54% |
| 0 | 8 | 2.34% |
| 7 | 7 | 2.2% |
| 0 | 1 | 2.13% |
| 4 | 6 | 2.13% |
| 4 | 8 | 1.99% |
| 7 | 9 | 1.96% |
| 0 | 0 | 1.82% |
| 7 | 8 | 1.75% |
| 1 | 8 | 1.72% |
| 4 | 4 | 1.68% |
| 3 | 9 | 1.61% |
| 5 | 7 | 1.58% |
| 0 | 2 | 1.55% |
| 4 | 9 | 1.51% |
| 3 | 8 | 1.48% |
| 2 | 7 | 1.37% |
| 0 | 9 | 1.3% |
| 3 | 3 | 1.3% |
| 1 | 6 | 1.2% |
| 6 | 9 | 1.1% |
| 4 | 5 | 1.06% |
| 0 | 5 | 1.03% |
| 1 | 5 | 1.03% |
| 1 | 9 | .93% |
| 5 | 8 | .86% |
| 2 | 4 | .82% |
| 6 | 8 | .79% |
| 3 | 5 | .72% |
| 6 | 6 | .72% |
| 1 | 1 | .65% |
| 1 | 2 | .62% |
| 2 | 3 | .62% |
| 2 | 9 | .55% |
| 2 | 6 | .52% |
| 2 | 5 | .48% |
| 5 | 6 | .45% |
| 8 | 9 | .45% |
| 5 | 9 | .38% |
| 2 | 8 | .34% |
| 8 | 8 | .31% |
| 9 | 9 | .24% |
| 5 | 5 | .07% |
| 2 | 2 | .03% |
As you can see, there are two squares with the highest number of matches: 0,3 and 0,7. This is not surprising because 3, 7 and 10 are three of most significant key numbers for NFL spread betting. If you have the option to hand select your squares, these are definitely the best to target.
If, like in most pools, you are unable to pick your squares, this table will inform you whether your square if offering historical value. Since each combination has two possibilities, any square that comes up more than 2% of the time would yield a positive expected value.
Bettors can view the latest Super Bowl odds and betting trends on our free NFL odds page but make sure to leave any thoughts, comments or questions in the section below. You can also print your Super Bowl 50 squares sheet right here:
David Solar is the Content Manager at Sports Insights and can be reached directly at david@sportsinsights.com.
Greg
02/07/2016 at 10:38 amWhat about 0-0?
Dan McGuire
02/07/2016 at 10:47 am0-0 is listed there at 1.82%. You can use the column headers to sort.