Super Bowl LX kicks off in less than a week in Santa Clara, California, at Levi’s Stadium. As you get hyped for the big game, make sure to check out all the different ways DraftKings Sportsbook is offering for you to get in on the action. One fun way to get a piece of the excitement that potentially comes with massive payouts is DK Squares. DK Squares is currently available in the Super Bowl LX section. While much of the fun of this way of attacking the game is the randomness of the outcome, there is some strategy to consider, so let’s take a look.
Just to level-set—if you play DK Squares, you are picking the final digit of each team’s score for any quarter or for the final result. As you can see from the odds of grids, picking any correct score is a longshot pick, but there are some that definitely make more sense than others, as I explain in the strategy section below.
As with most Super Bowl Squares games, only the final digit of the team’s score matters, so scores of 0, 10, 20, 30, or 40 will all result in “0” being the correct line for that team. A score of 3, 13, 23, 33, 43, or even 53 results in “3” being the correct square for that team. For a pick to hit, you need to have the correct final digit of each team’s score.
For example, a final score like last year’s of Eagles 40, Chiefs 22 would mean the square Eagles-0, Chiefs-2 would be the winning square for that quarter. A tied game at the end of regulation will not result in an “any quarter” payout but the final score will. The “Any Quarter” grid above will result in four winning squares, although duplicate wins are definitely possible.
Last year, the any quarter winners would have been Eagles 7/Chiefs 0 for the first quarter, Eagles 4/Chiefs 0 for the second quarter, Eagles 4/Chiefs 6 for the third quarter, and Eagles 0/Chiefs 2 for the final.
A few strategy notes
Since tied final scores will not count, any duplicate numbers take a slight hit in the “Any Quarter” picks and a much bigger hit in the “Final Result” picks. It is possible for duplicates to hit, but the margin of victory would have to be 10 or a multiple of 10 (for example, Chiefs 42-Eagles 22). If you’re picking final results, that’s why the duplicate final digits are still viable but come with much longer odds. Here is the final Result grid:
Common football scores are much shorter odds with field goals worth three points and touchdowns (with an extra point) worth seven. As a result, more common final digits in teams’ scores are 0, 1, 3, 4 and 7. Less common digits to avoid are 2, 5 and 9, since those can usually only be reached with odd scoring combinations of safeties and multiple field goals or missed extra points. However, if you take a shot on one of those longer odds, you will increase your winnings since the odds get longer.
The DK Squares page is set up in a grid format or you can set the dials to your prediction and get the odds populated right there as demonstrated above. It’s easy to dial in whatever your score prediction is and see what the odds would be for either Any Quarter or Final Result bets.
In “Any Quarter” play, the 0:0 square as the shortest odds at +220. The two tough defenses in this game make this spot even shorter odds than the +290 it had for last year’s Super Bowl. If no one scores in the first quarter, that spot would be a hit right away, while Seahawks-7, Patriots-0 has the second-shortest odds at +255, followed by Seahawks-3, Patriots-0 at +310 and Patriots-3, Seahawks-0 at +340. Everything else is over +400 and a longshot play by definition, although sticking to common scores is still a strong strategy to consider, especially looking beyond just the first quarter.
Unlike most Super Bowl squares games designed to be totally random, this format allows you to pick your two numbers. If you’re in a Super Bowl squares pool and get numbers you like, you can double down on them with even more cash using DK Squares. Or if you get bad numbers in a random draw pool, you can hedge your bets by picking your own numbers in this format.
Make sure to check out all the many player props and novelty groups for this year’s Super Bowl, and you can get in on the action using DK Squares as well!
