Be honest, how many of you clicked on this article to crush me for that headline?
Of course everyone knows how to bet on a coin toss. It's either heads or tails. Even I can't screw that up.
But the point of this article is to educate everyone on what paying juice to bet on a coin flip really is — which is a losing proposition.
By paying a vig, any vig, on a 50/50 bet like a coin toss, you're basically ensuring you'll lose money over the long run.
But still, betting is a form of entertainment, and combining that with the biggest betting event of the year — the Super Bowl — means that plenty of recreational gamblers will take a crack on the flip of a coin.
Much like cranking away on slot machines for hours on end, drinking IPAs or buying Dave Matthews Band albums, people have the unique ability to waste money in different ways, so who am I to have an opinion on how anyone spends their hard-earned dollars?
Bottom line: Unless you find a sportsbook offering the Super Bowl coin toss at plus-money (which you won't), this bet is a losing one.
However, by shopping for the best coin-toss odds, we can actually close the gap on the amount we're expected to lose.
For example, I've seen the Super Bowl coin toss vig ranging anywhere from -101 to -105.
In layman's terms, it takes a $101 bet to pay out $100 at -101, while a bettor needs to risk $105 to earn that same $100 at -105.
Please note that I'm not suggesting a $100 bet on the Super Bowl coin toss, and used that dollar amount because it's the cleanest way to illustrate the difference in odds.
In the simplest possible terms, making sure you find the shortest vig on whichever side of the Super Bowl coin toss you bet is the smartest (and only) way to maximize your profits — or in this case, minimize your eventual losses.
As of Tuesday, Jan. 26, here's a quick list of the best (and worst) Super Bowl coin-toss odds.
- William Hill: -101
- FoxBet: -102
- DraftKings: -103
- FanDuel: -103
- PointsBet: -103
- BetMGM: -105
And yes, people are already plopping dollars down on this Super Bowl prop. Below is the list of coin-toss betting splits from BetMGM (as of Jan. 27).
What will be the outcome of the coin toss?
- Heads (-105): 48.1% of bets, 47.2% of handle
- Tails (-105): 51.9%, 52.8%
What will the call for the coin toss be?
- Heads (-110): 77.8% of bets, 58% of handle
- Tails (-110): 22.2%, 42%
Which team will win the coin toss?
- Chiefs (-105): 53.6% of bets, 59.9% of handle
- Bucs (-105): 46.4%, 40.1%
What will be the decision of the coin toss winner?
- Defer option to 2nd half (-550): 15.4% of bets, 73% of handle
- Receive opening kick off (+400): 84.6%, 27%
