Joffe’s $500 World Cup Challenge: Bet Every Match and Don’t Go Broke

The Highlights

• I'll be betting every match of the World Cup because … why not?
• Soccer is not my thing — and I certainly don’t pretend to know a great deal about it — so this should be interesting.
• My first bet of the tournament? Russia -1 (-155). Vladimir Putin has got this result locked up for sure.

When the Stanley Cup and NBA Playoffs ended, I was ready for a summer of sadness (i.e., just baseball to watch), but then I remembered it’s World Cup time! Sure the United States didn’t qualify, but I'll still be watching — and I'll absolutely be betting.

Not just that, I'll be betting EVERY SINGLE MATCH, thanks to an assignment from my amazing editor at The Action Network (Scott Miller). He literally Venmo'd me $500 and said to bet on every match. SOLD!

So over the next month I’m going to be betting on … 48 group matches, eight knockouts, four quarterfinals, two semifinals, one third-place match and one final. That’s 64 matches that yours truly will bet.

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Hopefully by the end of it I’ll be able to retire. The more likely scenario? I’ll be exhausted and praying I don’t get fired. Just kidding, I think.

Soccer is not my thing — and I certainly don’t pretend to know a great deal about it — but luckily I have my soccer-loving friends and the incredibly knowledgeable staff at The Action Network to help me navigate the tournament.

Of course, some bets will end up being based on my gut and who knows what else. After all, it really wouldn’t be a true Joffe bet if I didn't base it on something totally not prudent. We’re going to call this the #JOFFIFA challenge.

I can’t wait to add entire countries to my DTM list and bet more soccer in one month than I have my entire life!

To start out, I'll be betting $10 per game. If you're doing the math, this means I'm going to HAVE to win some of the bets if I have any hope of making it all the way to the quarterfinals with some cash still in my account.

So, without further ado, my first pick …

Current Balance: $500

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Russia vs. Saudi Arabia

I've taken Russia -1 at -155. The only alternative I was thinking of taking was the Russia moneyline at -270, but I decided to YOLO the first game. Why? Well, one thing I'm SURE about: FIFA isn't exactly on the up and up. Another thing I'm sure about: Russia isn't on the up and up, either. Add in that the game is being played in Russia, and I don't think it'll be hard for them to cover the 1-goal spread.

The bet: $10 to win $6.45 on Russia -1 (-155)

Will I eat my words? Maybe, but that's all part of the fun. #JOFFIFA