Let me tell you how this whole Presidents Cup odds thing started for me. Last Wednesday, I’m scrolling on my phone when this sports betting ad pops up about Presidents Cup golf. And I think, huh, maybe I could crack this odds thing? Everyone’s always chasing easy money schemes, right?
First Step: Figuring Out How Odds Even Work
Honestly, I knew squat about betting odds before this. Googled basic stuff like how to read those +350 or -200 numbers. Took me like two hours just to grasp that “+350” means if I bet $100, I’d win $350 profit. Felt kinda stupid it took that long, but whatever.
Then I searched “Presidents Cup past winners” and dug into stats. Found out the U.S. team dominates almost every time. Like, wiped the floor with other teams repeatedly. Stats don’t lie, right?
Dove Headfirst Into Data
Made a messy spreadsheet – team players, past match scores, recent tournament results for big name players like Spieth and Scheffler. Couldn’t find some foreign players’ recent stats, got stuck for hours. Finally just typed “Forget it, use placeholder” in some cells.
- Compared last five Presidents Cup win margins
- Tracked weather reports for North Carolina (the course location)
- Even watched player interview videos checking if anyone looked injured or tired
At 1 AM, my cat jumps on my keyboard and deleted half my spreadsheet. Had to redo three hours of work. Was ready to scream.
The Actual Betting Part
Friday afternoon, I signed up on a betting site. Put in $100 total – $25 on the U.S. team winning overall, $10 on Justin Thomas getting top points scorer, scattered small bets on specific match outcomes.
Watched the first round sweating bullets. My “safe” U.S. team bet looked solid, but my Justin Thomas pick floundered early. Already saw $15 drifting away. Panicked and threw another $5 live bet on another player during round three. Big mistake – lost that instantly.
How It Shook Out
By Sunday night, U.S. team won as expected. Cashed out $45 profit on that alone. Justin Thomas? Bombed hard – goodbye $10. Other small bets? Won three, lost four. Final tally: Started with $105 bet total (including my dumb live bet), got back $118. So $13 profit after days of work and spreadsheet nightmares.
Lessons learned:
- Getting decent stats eats crazy time, research ain’t free
- Even “safe” bets make you sweat when real money’s involved
- Random live bets are just glorified gambling, felt dumb after
- Making actual profit is possible but laughably small compared to effort
Ended up making roughly three bucks an hour for all that work. Pocket money at best. No magic here, just basic homework plus luck. Probably won’t bother again unless bored outta my mind.