NFL Super Bowl 56 Betting Tips: Analysis of Early vs Late Bets

It’s Super Bowl Week, which means if you’re like us, you’ve thinking about the matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams. The real question is whether you should bet early or bet late. Check out four reasons you should make your bet early and four reasons to wait until February 13 to make your Super Bowl 56 bets.

Early vs Late Betting Best Super Bowl Betting Strategy

Super Bowl LVI

When: Sunday, Feb. 13
Where: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA
TV/Streaming: NBC / Peacock
ATS Odds: LAR -4 ½
Moneyline Odds: LAR -190 / Cincinnati +155
Over/Under Total: 48 ½

Reasons to bet Super Bowl 56 early

Odds may change on the team you like

The line has gone up to Los Angeles Rams -4 ½. The Rams opened as -3 ½ favorite. The line has gone up a full point. So if you like the Rams, and you believe the line continues to drift, you had better bet early.

The same holds true if you like the Bengals. Cincinnati could end up falling to a -4 or -3 ½ underdog. The half a point could mean something in this game. So if you’ve made up your mind to back Cincinnati, why wait?

Injury info could change the odds

Rams tight-end Tyler Higbee may not play. So if you plan on backing the Cincinnati Bengals, why wait until word comes out that Higbee definitely won’t play?

If you wait too long, the spread line could fall from Bengals +4 ½ to Bengals +3. Consequently, if you’re a Rams’ bettor and Higbee does play, the odds could go up to Rams -5 instead of -4 ½.

If you like a specific team, why wait?

If you’ve already chosen your team, why are you waiting to place your bet? If you’ve decided the Rams win the Super Bowl and cover, will anything talk you off the Rams?

If you think Joe Burrow will lead the Bengals to an upset victory, will anything talk you off Cincinnati? Probably not. So why are you waiting?

You can bet and get on with your life

Sometimes, we let the Super Bowl take over our lives. The Super Bowl is to football fans what the Kentucky Derby is to horse racing fans. It can consume us, which isn’t a good thing. Make your Super Bowl bet early, especially if you’re more of a casual player, and get on with your life.

Reasons to bet Super 56 late

Pro handicappers often wait until Super Bowl day

If you’re a pro, or want to bet like a pro, then you should wait until the day of the Super Bowl. Pros wait for the public to have their say. Then they decide on the optimal bet.

Injury info could change the odds

Like with early bettors, late bettors also must consider injuries. The difference is that late bettors think of injuries in term of overlay or underlay odds.

So let’s say a late sports bettor leaning to backing the Los Angeles Rams sees that Higbee is injured. The bettor might decide to wait and see if Higbee will play.

If LAR announces Higbee will play and the line moves just a half a point, the player might believe the Rams remain the team to back. But if the Rams announce Higbee will play and the line moves a whole point, the player might decide to lay off backing the Rams.

You may not like a specific team and instead want to make the top value bet

Pros look for the best value bets. They don’t necessarily care so much about which team wins straight up.

In the case of Super Bowl 56, a pro player might set a personal line at Rams -3 ½. So if the Rams are at -3, the pro handicapper will be on the Rams because LAR is an overlay at -3.

If the odds remain at Bengals +4 ½, the pro could jump on Cincinnati because at 4 ½, the Bengals are the overlay.

You don’t have time to handicap the game until the weekend

Often, there’s not enough time to handicap until the weekend. This is especially true for the Super Bowl where there are so many betting options our heads can’t help but spin.

If you don’t have time to properly handicap Super Bowl 56, then don’t worry about handicapping until Saturday or even Sunday morning. The odds are the odds, as the saying goes.

So handicap when you have time to concentrate. That could end up being the weekend.