Warren Buffett, known for his methodical approach to investing, says look at the form if you want to win the $1 billion prize for a perfect NCAA basketball bracket.
The odds of predicting the results of all this year's March Madness games may be worse than hitting four holes-in-one in one golf round, but Buffett says look at the historical results in the tournament
"The No. 1 seed team has beaten the No. 16 team over 100 times in a row. The No. 2 seed almost always beats the No. 15 seed," he said in an interview on CNBC.
If four No. 1 teams make it to Final Four, "I'm going into the witness protection program," Buffett joked.
His company Berkshire Hathaway is insuring Quicken Loans' search for the perfect bracket for something like $10 million. "I should be institutionalized," Buffett said. "People say how do you price this thing?
"You price it for two things. You price it for one, that everyone will get it right; and secondly that someone will figure out a way to beat the game," he said, adding he believes hackers will try.
"If we get past the first 32 games and there are, say, 200 people left," he continued. "I'll print out all their brackets and sleep on them."
Quicken Loans—whose founder Dan Gilbert owns the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers—said the billion-dollar prize would be shared by any qualified contest participant who predicts the winners of every game.
In addition to the potential grand prize, Quicken said it will award $100,000 for each of the 20 most accurate "imperfect" brackets in the contest to use toward buying, refinancing or remodeling a home.
