Sports betting is more lucrative if you can get more money for what you put down on each wager.

During the annual men’s college basketball tournament, this means it behooves you to survey the board of betting options and find those bets that provide what oddsmakers call “value.”

This is a complicated process; one that takes time and a basic understanding of how the game—and how sports betting—works. According to Justin Arnett, Director of Sports Book Operations for Turning Stone, it also happens to be something any fan can master with a little patience and some basic homework.

 “It’s hard to know what bets bring value until they come out with seeding for the tournament, but there is some general advice to follow,” said Justin, whose job also includes administering lines for sports books at YBR Casino & Sports Book in Chittenango and Point Place Casino in Bridgeport.

One common value bet: Picking a 12-seed to upset a 5-seed. There are four such games over the course of the first weekend of the tournament, and at least one 12-seed upsets a 5-seed every year.

Player props, proposition bets about a player’s offensive output, always are a popular way of finding value as well.

Another common value bet: Finding money line bets on underdogs from competitive conferences. When these teams win, they usually deliver a sizeable payout.

Perhaps the most common “value” strategy is to do your homework. As Justin explains it, spending a few minutes reading about a team on the Internet could persuade you to pull the trigger on a questionable wager or prevent you from losing everything.

“In the world of sports betting, knowledge is power,” he said. Some of the best sources of information on teams in the tournament include ESPN, KenPom.com, or a site named the Gold Sheet. For props, Ariel Epstein, a.k.a., the “Prop Queen,” also is a good follow, and usually drops some degree of knowledge with every segment.

Justin summed it up: “Being sensible about betting puts you in the driver’s seat for every game you play,” he said.