Betting round-robins (or sometimes simplified to betting quarters) are a kind of fantasy sports game where players can compete against each other by making wagers (aka placing bets) on the outcomes of real-life sporting events. The goal is to accumulate more wins than losses, with each successive win worth a certain number of points (typically 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 points).
They can be quite an entertaining way to spend some time while also practicing mathematics and/or statistics. If you want to learn more, here are some great resources to get you started:
The Ultimate Guide to Betting On Sports
One of the best places to start your sports research is the renowned Ultimate Sportsbook.com. This is the website of Jay Prud’homme, a former mathematics professor who now runs the place. He does a fantastic job of explaining the ins and outs of sports betting, providing loads of information along with helpful tools for calculating exact winnings and what-if scenarios.
Whether you’re an experienced sports fan or a complete novice, this is one website you should bookmark.
How to Bet On Sports
If you’re looking to get started with betting on sports, the next best thing to visiting a real sportsbook would be diving into a book about betting. There are many great books available that approach the topic from different perspectives, so you’re sure to find one that fits your needs perfectly. Here are some suggestions:
- The Riches Within: The Hidden Mathematical Secrets of Sports and Fortune (by Scott Alexander)
- The Total Package: The Science and Technology of Sports (by Thomas Bosma and Robert Van Vlander)
- The Science of Sports Betting (by Don Liebling)
- The Mathematics of Poker (by Gavin Deery)
- Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Lives (by Dan Ariely)
Fantasy Sports
A lot of people, myself included, enjoy playing fantasy sports. These are games where you get to make all your fantasy football/sports league and tournament selections, with the results of those games determining your score. There are plenty of resources, both online and mobile-friendly, where you can find sports fantasy leagues and competitions for whatever sport you’re interested in playing (and the options are almost endless!).
In a nutshell, fantasy sports are a great way to practice decision-making and analysis while also having some fun. If you want to learn more, here are some suggestions:
- Fantasy Football Calculators: A Comprehensive Guide to Building Your Own Custom Team
- Build the Perfect Football Team: The Science of Fantasy Football (by Neil Reynolds)
- The Analytics Advantage: Using Statistics to Dominate Your Fantasy Football Leagues (by James P. O’Malley)
- Fantasy Football For Smarties: Calculating Stats and Strategy in Ultimate Fantasy Football (by Christopher J. Maletzke)
- Deciding Who Will Win the 2019 NFL Season: A Statistical Elo Rating (by Chris Stewart)
The Mathematics of Baseball
Baseball is a game that almost everyone can get behind, especially since many of its rules can be derived from the laws of probability. It’s a game that encourages logical thinking and statistics playing, as evidenced by this book, The Mathematics of Baseball: An Application Guide to Predictive Modeling and Statistics in Baseball (by Ben Clears). This book focuses on using statistical techniques and modeling to analyze baseball games and make intelligent predictions about them. It’s an essential resource for anyone interested in the mathematics behind baseball games.
If you’re new to baseball, it might be a bit much to start off with The Mathematics of Baseball. After all, it really is the simplest game to understand the basics of. Instead, why not pick up one of the following two books, which serve as nice bedrocks for any serious student of baseball: