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When it comes to betting on sports, knowing about key numbers is absolutely essential to having success.  First and foremost, what exactly is a “key number”?  For the uninitiated, key numbers are those numbers that show up most often as the final margin of victory or as the final point total in a given game in a given sport.

We’ll get into the details for each sport a bit more below, but the important thing to remember about key numbers is that buying onto them or off of them can often times be the difference between a win and a loss or a push.  These numbers can be your guide as to when to buy points in each sport.

Key Sports Betting Numbers for NFL & College Football

In both college football and the NFL, they most important key numbers are the same.  The most common final margin of victory in both is 3 points, followed by 7 and 10 points, respectively.  If you think about it, this makes sense.  It is much more common for a team to win by a field goal or a touchdown than it is for them to win by, say 2 points simply because the most common way of scoring is a field goal (3 points) followed by a touchdown (7 points).   Now, the key numbers for totals in each league are a bit different, mostly because scoring is at more of a premium in the NFL and there don’t tend to be as many blowouts.  Follow the links below for more detailed information on key numbers in the NFL and college football.

NBA & NCAA Basketball Betting Key Numbers

Key numbers work a bit differently in basketball than they do in football.  For one, the key numbers for the NBA and college hoops are similar, but not the same.  What might surprise you is that the key number for college basketball betting is only 3 points, while the key number for the NBA happens to be 5 points.  While you might think that college basketball teams are more susceptible to blowouts, what most people fail to remember is that NBA teams tend to foul at a much higher rate when the game is close and when they do the team in the lead is more likely to make their free throws and end up winning the game by more points.  This is something most bettors are unaware of and is certainly something you can use to your advantage.  Follow the links below for a more detailed look in the key numbers in the NBA, as well as college basketball.

Key Numbers in MLB Baseball Apply to Totals

Since there is no point spread in baseball, key numbers aren’t particularly useful for betting the moneyline, but what they can be used for is betting totals.  For example, did you know that over 21% of all baseball games land on either 7 total runs or 9 total runs (just over 10% each)?  This can be particularly useful when deciding whether or not you want to buy a half point on and MLB total.  Follow the link for the complete table on key numbers for MLB totals.