There are several games I play online that involve the chance at winning money.  They can be complex or simple, and ESPN’s Streak For The Cash falls into that latter category.

The premise is simple…Build the longest streak of picking games correctly as possible.  For instance, you might see the option of picking the winner of Wisconsin and Michigan State basketball.   If you are correct, your streak becomes 1 and you are free to pick another event.

Each month starts a brand new game and at the end of the month, whoever has the longest streak at any point in the month wins $50,000.  Typically this streak is between 22-28.  As a bonus, if you hit the magic number of 27 wins in a row, and you are the winner, you’ll win the “bonus stash”.  The stash is an extra $50,000.  However, if no one wins in a particular month, an extra 50k is added for the following month.  According to ESPN’s twitter, someone last year won $450,000 due to several rollovers.

Strategies vary for this game but typically the streak winners have very few losses in a month due to simply picking games that give them the best chance of winning.  However, for those who want to pick game after game there is another bonus available.  Whoever gets the most wins in a month…typically 100 or so….will get $2,500.  Not too bad.

The important thing to look out for, depending on your strategy, is how each day is going to play out.  If you are looking to get as many picks in as possible, you’ll want to look out for some of the prop bets.  For example, sometimes a game will ask “Will Mark Smith make a 3 pointer in the 1st half?”  Obviously this game will only take about 45 minutes to an hour compared to the Red Wings v. Blackhawks game that starts at the same time.

There is an app for smart phones to make it even easier to play.  It can alert you to when your game is over so you can pick a new one immediately.

I’ve had a streak of 11 before, which was incredibly difficult, but nowhere near winning.  It’s free and fun and only takes seconds out of your day for a chance to win some big money.