Live results and fixtures from the 48-team tournament across the USA, Canada & Mexico — paired with an honest, math-first look at how sports betting actually works.
The top two from each group advance to the Round of 32, joined by the eight best third-placed teams.
A sportsbook isn't gambling against you and hoping it wins — it prices every market with a built-in margin called the vig. A typical two-way line at -110 / -110 means you risk $110 to win $100 on either side, so the book keeps roughly a 4.5% edge no matter who wins. Over hundreds of bets, that edge is why the clear majority of bettors finish behind.
So there is no "best strategy" that guarantees profit. Honest strategy is about minimizing that disadvantage, managing risk so variance doesn't ruin you, and — for disciplined, knowledgeable bettors — occasionally finding prices that are genuinely wrong. Everything below is built on that reality.
Convert any decimal odds to a probability with 1 ÷ odds. So 2.00 = 50%, 1.50 = 66.7%, 4.00 = 25%. Add up the implied probabilities of every outcome in a market and you'll get more than 100% — that excess is the margin. A bet only makes sense if your own estimate of the true chance is higher than the implied probability you're offered.
The goal isn't to back winners — it's to back mispriced odds. A 90% favorite at 1.05 (95.2% implied) is a losing bet long-term; a 35% longshot at 4.00 (25% implied) is a good one. Always compare your probability to the price's implied probability, not to your gut feeling about who's "better."
Decide on a bankroll you can afford to lose entirely, then stake a small, consistent fraction — commonly 1–3% — on each bet. Flat staking lets you survive inevitable losing streaks. Increasing your stake to "win it back" is the fastest way to zero.
If you can estimate probabilities, the Kelly criterion scales your stake to the size of your edge. But real edges are uncertain and full Kelly swings violently, so experienced bettors use a fraction — quarter- or half-Kelly. The calculator below does the math; just remember the output is only as good as your probability estimate.
The same match is priced slightly differently at different books. Always take the best available number. Consistently getting 1.95 instead of 1.90 sounds trivial, but compounded over a full season it's one of the few reliable ways to improve returns — and it requires no prediction at all.
Sharp bettors judge themselves on CLV: did you get a better price than the line at kickoff? If you regularly beat the closing line, you're likely making good decisions even before the results land. It's the best available way to separate genuine skill from short-term luck.
Parlays and accumulators multiply the house edge with every leg — a five-leg parlay can carry a double-digit hold. The big advertised payouts exist precisely because the math is so far in the book's favor. Treat them as entertainment with tiny stakes, never as a strategy for profit.
No staking system beats the math by changing bet sizes. The Martingale (double after every loss) feels foolproof and isn't — a short losing run hits the table limit or empties your bankroll, risking a huge amount to claw back a small one. Set limits before you start, track every bet, never chase losses, and walk away at your stop.
Use these to turn the concepts above into numbers before you ever place a bet. They calculate fair math — they can't predict outcomes, and a value or stake result is only as reliable as the probability you put in.
Online sports betting is regulated differently in every state and country, and it is not legal everywhere. In California — where this guide is being viewed from — online sportsbooks are not currently legal. Check your local laws, only ever use licensed operators where betting is permitted, and make sure you meet the legal age (18 or 21+ depending on the jurisdiction).
Betting should be a form of entertainment you can comfortably afford — never a way to make money, pay bills, or recover past losses. If it stops being fun, if you're chasing losses, betting more than you planned, or it's starting to affect your money, sleep, or relationships, that's the signal to step away. Setting deposit and time limits before you start makes that far easier.