$200-$5k challenge: Bills vs Rams & College Football picks

With football season now in full flow thanks to the Bills vs Rams clash tonight, it’s time to turn my attention to sports betting. I’m going to go about things differently this year, depositing $200 into my sportsbook tonight and seeing if I can not only make it last through week 17, but get it to as close to, or as far past $5,000 as I can. It won’t be easy and there are bound to be bumps and bruises. However, I think it’s a fun challenge and something we can all do together.

The good news is that if you are looking to follow these bets, you can actually get $200 for FREE to bet with by signing up to DraftKings here:

If you place a $5 bet on any market of your choosing, DraftKings will instantly give you $200 in free bets which you can use for this challenge!

Rules

• No top-ups. Your initial deposit has to cover you all year, so be patient and strategic
• 1 unit = whatever you feel comfortable with. It’s a way to determine you confidence on a bet. For me, it’s probably $30 if my starting balance is $200. 0.5 units would be $15, 2 units would be $60.
• You can end the challenge whenever you feel comfortable, if you double your money and feel good, enjoy that beer! Always gamble responsibly.

Usually, I would save this challenge for Sunday, but the season starts tonight and there’s no reason we can’t mix and match. So, let’s get after it.

Bet 1: UCF (-5.5) vs Louisville | 1 unit

I’m not usually a big college football guy, but Louisville got smoked in the season opener and are on a short week, on the road, facing a very solid UCF team. UCF put up over 600 yards of offense in its season opener on the back of new QB John Rhys Plumlee who looked excellent in his debut.

UCF has also won 8 consecutive games at home. I feel pretty confident backing them here.

Bet 2: Phillies vs Marlins Run Total: Under 7 | 0.5 units

If you want to shake things up, betting the Phillies vs Marlins total (UNDER) could be a profitable play. Sandy Alcantara is a Cy Young favorite, the Marlins can barely muster up any offense, and Kyle Gibson has looked good against Miami this year.

The under has hit 6 games in a row between these two teams. There’s always room for a surprise, but I don’t mind risking it here.

Bet 3: Bills vs Rams: Total points under 52 | 0.5 units

I really don’t like any line in this game when it comes to the teams. I do feel as though the points totals are skewed by a game-breaking Matt Stafford, and likely MVP candidate in Josh Allen, and their arsenals of wideouts. But Buffalo’s defense is the best in the NFL on paper, Stafford may have an elbow setback, and it’s the opening game of the season.

Bills vs Rams promises to be an exciting affair, but from a betting perspective it’s hard to really gague a true winner here. If I was forced to pick, it would be the Bills at -2.5.

Teaser for Bills vs Rams

You can actually add all three selections to a three-leg parlay that comes out at around +6500. You could bet $10 for a return of $75. If you’re a low-stakes, low-risk, high-reward style of bettor, this may be the best strategy for you!

Enjoy watching Bills vs Rams, and hopefully we go into the weekend with some extra cash for this challenge!

Good luck!