How Gambling Squares Work

How does gambling work? Gambling can only be “responsible” if the person playing fully understands what they are doing. Here we explain the basic principles of gambling to allow you to make an informed choice. The first part of gambling involves choosing what you want to bet or wager on. A certain horse to win a race). One of the most popular variations on Super Bowl squares is to pay out 25% of the pot at the end of every quarter, rather than all of it at the end of the game. (Or, in some cases, 20% at the end.

Gambling Squares Template

This is a fun, random betting game for a large Super Bowl party. If you’re hosting friends and family for a fun Super Bowl viewing party, you’ll want to include this as part of the fun. Everyone (even the grandams, aunties, and non-football fans) will rave about how much fun this is. It’ll take some convincing at first. But the people who toss $5-$20 into this fun Super Bowl betting game will be happy they did. And your hardcore sports betting friends won’t have an advantage. This isn’t an over-under bet. You’re not choosing sides. It’s pure random fun.

How Super Bowl Betting Squares Work

All the money put in the pot will be distributed by the end of the game. So all $100 that goes in will end up in random players’ pockets. This means Grandma might win $15, and niece Lily could be the big winner with $35. Big John might only get $5, and many will win nothing. But when you see you Grandma rooting for a Chiefs field-goal in the 3rd quarter because it means she’d win another $5, you’ll know you’ve just upped your Super Bowl Party level to Pro. Here’s how to create a fun 10×10 square Super Bowl betting squares chart that’s fun for everyone who plays.

Materials

  • Poster board
  • Magic marker (black, permanent)
  • Deck of cards (or random numbers 0-9)
  • Basket, hat, or bowl (for the money)

Set-up

  1. Draw lines dividing the poster board into 11 x 11 squares (draw 10 lines horizontal, and 10 vertical).
    1. Pro-tip: Leave a little space on the top and left edge to write the team names.
  2. Write the team names. On the top edge write one Team Name (49ers), on the left edge write the other Team Name (Chiefs)
  3. Have people ‘buy squares’ for $1 each. The total pot will be $100 if you fill up the board.
    1. Pro-tip: Try really hard to fill-up the board. Buy all the empty squares leftover for yourself if you have to. If you don’t fill up the board it’s okay. If an empty square wins, then nobody gets paid. Everyone will be disappointed and maybe they’ll buy more squares next year! 😉
  4. People write their names in any of the inside 10×10 squares (it’s random). Just write your name in any square. $1/square.
    1. Pro-tip: Fill the squares before kick-off. If people will arrive after kick-off, call them beforehand. Have them commit $5 or $10 to squares and you can write their names in for them beforehand. Remember, it’s random anyway, so there’s no disadvantage. They could still end up big winners! This is fun for everyone.
  5. Add the numbers to the top row and left column. IMPORTANT: the numbers are filled in AFTER all the names are written in the squares. This keeps it random, and allows everyone to have an equal, random chance of winning. Use the deck of cards to draw random numbers for each square in the top row and left column. Fill them in with numbers 0-9 (yes, include 0). Don’t do it in order. Make it random!

How to Pay Out for the Betting Board

There are a few different ways to pay out for the betting squares game. Regardless of whether you want to pay out less frequently, or more frequently, you’re going to pay out the chart based on the random numbers (0-9) that match a square (and person’s name in that square). As the score gets higher, you’ll use the one’s digit of the score to determine the number. See the detailed example pay out below.

Some people like to pay out only at the end of each quarter. This means the total pot can be divided by 4. So if you sell 80 (of the 100) squares, you could pay out $20 at the end of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarters. You could also weight the final score (4th quarter) more heavily. Pay out $10 for the score at the end of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, while saving the highest pay out for the final score.

My preferred method is to pay out $5 for every score change. Whoever had the numbers for half-time got $10. Then, whatever was left in the pot at the end of the game got the rest for the final score! The benefit of this more frequent pay-out schedule is that more people win and end up interested in the game. Even your Aunt who just came for the gossip and commercials will be rooting for a team to kick a field goal. haha This was the way that I played growing up at my Godfather’s Super Bowl party.

Squares

Make sure everyone knows that whoever has square 0, 0 wins $5 at kick-off! Then, when the score changes, whoever has the square for that score wins $5! This happens each time there’s a field goal, a touchdown, a point-after touchdown, a safety, or a 2-point conversion. Each time the number changes, somebody gets paid.

Yes, a touchdown should result in two $5 pay outs. Five dollars for the 6-point change (touchdown), and $5 for the 1-point change (PAT)! This way touchdowns are more exciting than field goals. Just like in the game. And whoever has the number with the PAT will be pissed if the kicker misses. haha

Example Pay Out

If the 49ers score a field goal first (3 pts), then whoever has 49ers 3, Chiefs 0 wins $5 (Sally in the pic)!

Then, let’s say the Chiefs reply by scoring a touchdown (6 pts). Whoever’s name is written in the square with 49ers 3, Chiefs 6 wins $5. Naturally, the Chiefs will likely kick a PAT (point after touchdown, 1 pt). So whoever has 49ers 3, Chiefs 7 ALSO wins $5!

This style of Super Bowl betting pool is fun because many people can win money! People who may not have been interested in the game become interested when there’s a chance that one of their squares might win!

At my Godfather’s Super Bowl party, it’s always funny to see some old lady (who doesn’t usually care about football) rooting for one team to kick a field goal, because the resulting score will win her $5! It’s fun for all ages, makes the game a little more interesting, and is not too difficult to set-up! So, create a Super Bowl betting pool for your Super Bowl party and get everybody involved!

How Gambling Squares WorkBoard

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Thanks for stopping by. If you like this article, explore some more. I also write about saving moneyandinvesting for your future. Come on back after the Super Bowl and I’d love to help you become a millionaire with all your Super Bowl winnings! Oh yeah, good luck and have fun.

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Gambling squares template

Like with any game – knowing the rules and understanding the concept is key to having fun responsibly in gambling. Here we’ve provided some information about the basic concepts of gambling, so you can make informed choices.

Gambling can only be “responsible” if the person playing fully understands what they are doing. Here we explain the basic principles of gambling to allow you to make an informed choice.

Your role

The first part of gambling involves choosing what you want to bet or wager on. (e.g. a certain horse to win a race). The choices you make is matched to odds (e.g. 2/1, 5/2), which will decide how much money you could take home if you win.

The event

The next part of gambling is the event itself; the outcome of the event will be determined (at least in part) by the randomness of chance. You can only gamble on something that no-one knows for certain what the outcome will be – which is why players and operators take the chance of staking money!

Outcomes

How Do Gambling Squares Work

What happens next will depend upon the outcome. If you have won you will be paid back your bet plus any winnings, as determined by the odds. If you have lost; then you do not get your money back.

How do gambling operators make a profit?

You may wondering: if the results of events are random, how do gambling operators stay in business?

The key is that they get to choose the odds that are given. A simple example would be on the flip of a coin. The chance of flipping one coin on one spin on heads is 50%. 50% represented as odds would be evens or 1/1.

If a gambling operator was offering a bet on a coin flip they would likely offer 10/11 for both heads and tails. Now, if you bet on £10 heads and I bet on £10 tails the gambling operator would receive £20 in bets. Whatever the outcome the gambling operator will only have to pay out a total of £19.09, meaning that they would make a guaranteed 91p each time the coin is flipped.

Operators exist to make profit from each game; meaning some people have to lose for them to stay in business.

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Responsible gambling

As we said before, we are not here to tell you not to gamble, just to help you understand the choices you make and to support you if you want advice. To make it easier for you we’ve explained some of the key terms here

How to gamble responsibly