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The first pitch of the 2012 Major League Baseball season won't be thrown until April 4 but baseball betting fans don't have to wait until then to get some future book action on America's national pastime. In fact, most sportsbooks not only are offering prices on which team will win the World Series, but on pennant and division winners, as well. Gamblers also can attack a number of interesting baseball betting propositions.
Sports betting is dominated by team sports such as football, basketball, soccer, baseball and hockey but there's a dedicated and growing contingent of NASCAR betting fans who are eager to wager on individual drivers when the Sprint Cup Series gets the green flag to start its season at the Daytona 500, Feb.
While upwards of 90 percent of sports betting involves football, basketball, baseball and soccer, with the occasional gambling foray into boxing, tennis, auto racing and hockey, there remains a group of fearless wagering wonks who find golf betting appealing. Admittedly, choosing an individual event winner from among a field of 130 or more quality golfers is a daunting task, but the rewards as much as 500/1 can justify the risk.
The most important decision facing football betting fans each weekend is whether to take or lay the points. On the other side of the counter, the most critical determination for sportsbooks is if and when to move that number. Occasionally, these two disparate but linked disciplines conspire to offer bettors the potential for a wagering windfall.
College basketball betting fans have plenty of options but as sophisticated sports betting practitioners understand, you can never have too much of a good thing. So, when sports books offered future book betting on the winners of a half-dozen top tier hardcourt conferences, gamblers drove right to the hoop.
For savvy sports betting fans, the tip-off of the college basketball betting season offers almost unlimited opportunity, six months where action is more plentiful than in any other game and shrewd bet makers sometimes can gain an edge over even the most experienced of bet takers.
Only two Big Ten teams, Michigan and Purdue, were consistently strong versus the pointspread last season, a trend that basketball betting aficionados will be monitoring this year. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish. Straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2010/11 season are in parentheses:
Big 12 teams posted just a 45-51-2 pointspread record out of conference last season, a trend that college basketball betting fans will be watching this year. With Colorado and Nebraska having departed to the Pac-12 and Big Ten, respectively, the Big 12 will have 10 teams this year. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish. Straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2010/11 season are in parentheses:
For the second straight year, only three of the ACC's 12 teams played more over games than under games last season, a college basketball betting trend worth watching. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish. Straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2010/11 season are in parentheses:
All five starters return from a North Carolina team that won 29 games and reached the Elite Eight last season, reason enough for sportsbooks to list the Tar Heels as 4/1 future book college basketball betting favorites to win the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship in New Orleans, next April. UNC also may get the benefit of some good karma in that the Crescent City has been kind to the Tar Heels before, with Coach Dean Smith winning his two national titles there in 1982 and 1993. The 2011/12 season tips off the second week in November.
Although a labor dispute between billionaire owners and millionaire players has wiped out all exhibition games and, far worse, is threatening to force the cancellation of the entire season, a handful of fearless sportsbooks have taken a positive view and posted NBA betting future book odds on which team will win the 2011/12 NBA Championship.
Sports, and especially sports betting, can be serious matters but even the most hardened wagering wonk should be able to find some humor in what athletes, journalists and others have had to say about the games we all follow with such grim and steadfast determination:
The Pacific Division was the only division to produce five teams that won at least half their games last season but that didn't translate to the betting windows where only Anaheim was a solid play against the spread, something NHL betting advocates will be monitoring this year. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2010/11 regular season straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS) and over/under (O/U) results in parentheses:
As savvy NHL betting mavens surely know and likely will be watching this season, the Northwest Division earned the distinction of having the two worst teams in the League terms of wagering units lost over the course of the 2010-11 campaign, Colorado and Edmonton. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2010/11 regular season straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS) and over/under (O/U) results in parentheses:
Interestingly, of the five teams that comprise the Central Division, the Nashville Predators were the only one that was a positive wagering (+8.2 units) for the entire year, a trend NHL betting fans will be closely scrutinizing this season. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2010/11 regular season straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS) and over/under (O/U) results in parentheses:
Of the division's five teams, only Tampa Bay was friendly to gamblers, finishing up +9.8 units in 2010/11, a statistic that betting devotees almost certainly will be tracking this season. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2010/11 regular season straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS) and over/under (O/U) results in parentheses:
While Montreal (+2.7 units) and Boston (+1.0) ended the season with small edges versus the spread, the real money to be made was in wagering against Ottawa (-12.2 units) and Toronto (-5.2), teams that NHL betting aficionados will be watching in 2011/12. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2010/11 regular season straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS) and over/under (O/U) results in parentheses:
This is a defense-dominated division with only the last place Islanders failing to finish in the top 11 in the goals against category. The Isles also were the only team in the division that played more "over" than "under" games last season, something savvy NHL betting fans will be monitoring this campaign. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2010/11 regular season straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS) and over/under (O/U) results in parentheses
After leading the league in several categories, including points, the Canucks lost the Stanley Cup on their home ice, a devastating defeat which apparently hasn't diminished the optimism of sportsbooks which listed Vancouver as a 7/1 favorite in early NHL betting for a 2011-12 season that drops the first puck Oct. 6.
We're now entering the third decade since the League voted to allow each team a week of rest during the regular season, a variable which savvy NFL betting fans always should consider before matching hard-earned cash to conviction.
Some self-professed experts claim that NFL over/under betting, where the gambler wagers on the whether the total points scored between two teams will be over or under a predetermined number, is for suckers. Why, then, don't sportsbooks allow bettors to risk as much on the total of a game as they do on the "side" or outcome of a game?
With quality teams such as the Packers, Eagles, Patriots, Chargers, Jets, Saints, Steelers and Falcons on the 2011 schedule, the slate of games on Monday Night Football should be among the most entertaining and challenging for NFL betting fans in the show's 42-year history.
Once Monday Night Football was banished to ESPN and NBC took over Sunday Night Football broadcasts in 2006, demanding and receiving superior quality games, the latter quickly emerged as a wagering staple for NFL betting fans. Although the NFL is loath to admit it, if you put a game on national television, fans will bet on it.
At a combined 65 games under .500 and without a single team with a winning record against the number, this is the worst performing pointspread division in the league, a trend NFL betting aficionados will be watching closely again this season. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2010 regular season records and pointspread results in parentheses:
NFC South teams have been 13-23 as home underdogs the last four years, an emerging trend that NFL betting followers surely will be monitoring this year. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2010 regular season records and pointspread results in parentheses:
Defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay is not just good on the field but at the windows, posting an against the spread (ATS) record of 19-11 over division foes the past five seasons , a trend that NFL betting devotees will be watching in 2011. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2010 regular season records and pointspread results in parentheses:
Combined, Denver, Kansas City and Oakland have amassed just two winning seasons against the spread (ATS) over the past five seasons, a dismal statistic that NFL betting wonks will try to turn to their advantage in 2011. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2010 regular season records and pointspread results in parentheses
The Colts have dominated the AFC South for nearly a decade but it's the Titans, who are 45-36-1 against the spread (ATS) overall and 20-10 versus the number within the division the last five seasons, who have been best wagering friends to NFL betting enthusiasts. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2010 regular season records and pointspread results in parentheses:
Pittsburgh doesn't just dominate this division but causes pain to anyone it plays as evidenced by the five year 22-39 ATS (against the spread) record of teams the week after playing the Steelers. It's a clear warning to NFL betting devotees that Pittsburgh doesn't just play teams as much as punish them. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2010 regular season records and pointspread results in parentheses:
Most pundits see the AFC East race as a battle between the offensive minded Patriots and the defensively stingy Jets, the two teams which also have the division's best against the spread (ATS) records since 1998, a statistic not lost on NFL betting fans. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2010 regular season records and pointspread results in parentheses:
With players and owners having settled their grievances and signed a CBA (collective bargaining agreement) that assures football betting fans there will be action for at least another decade, NFL Super Bowl future book betting already has kicked off on home computer screens and at wagering watering holes around the globe in advance of the league's season opener, Sept. 8.
Just five of the Sun Belt Conference's nine teams have pointspread records dating back 11 years so there's not a great statistical data base for bettors. Among independents, only Navy has been a winning play against the spread (ATS) since 2000. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2010 records, returning starters (RS) - including kickers - and returning lettermen (RL) in parentheses:
MWC teams have been 6-1-1 against the spread (ATS) in bowl games last two seasons so followers of college football betting know better than to dismiss the league as just some wagering weak sister. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2010 records, returning starters (RS) - including kickers - and returning lettermen (RL) in parentheses:
Rice, East Carolina and Central Florida are the only Conference USA teams to enjoy a winning pointspread record over the last 11 seasons, a trend college football betting enthusiasts are sure to watch carefully this season. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2010 records, returning starters (RS) - including kickers - and returning lettermen (RL) in parentheses:
College football betting fans again will be watching to see if WAC teams, which are 37-29-1 against the spread (ATS) versus non-conference foes the last two years, can continue to impress this season. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2010 records, returning starters (RS) - including kickers - and returning lettermen (RL) in parentheses:
It's easy to underestimate the Big East but six of the league's eight teams went to bowls last season and conference teams are 106-82-1 against the spread (ATS) outside the Big East the past five seasons, a statistic that should be of great interest to devotees of college football betting. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2010 records, returning starters (RS) - including kickers - and returning lettermen (RL) in parentheses:
The addition of Utah and Colorado has turned the Pac-10 into the Pac-12 and created a title game at the end of the season. Throw in USC's NCAA probation and the psychological impact it could have on Trojans players, and college football betting followers have much to consider this year. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2010 records, returning starters (RS) - including kickers - and returning lettermen (RL) in parentheses:
Take Ohio State out of the mix and the remaining Big Ten teams are just 32-51-1 as home favorites the last two years, a development college football betting enthusiasts will watch closely this season. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2010 records, returning starters (RS)--including kickers - and returning lettermen (RL) in parentheses:
Conference stalwarts Texas and Oklahoma are a combined 20-30-2 against the spread (ATS) the last two years, something college football betting aficionados will be checking this season. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2010 records, returning starters (RS)--including kickers - and returning lettermen (RL) in parentheses:
Take Ohio State out of the mix and the remaining Big Ten teams are just 32-51-1 as home favorites the last two years, a development college football betting enthusiasts will watch closely this season. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2010 records, returning starters (RS)--including kickers - and returning lettermen (RL) in parentheses:
SEC teams are 53-40-1 against the spread versus non-conference foes the last two years, a trend that college football betting fans will be monitoring this season. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2010 records, returning starters (RS)--including kickers - and returning lettermen (RL) in parentheses:
College Football betting is comprised of dozens of variables but gamblers often overlook the wagering impact a new coach can have on an NCAA gridiron program. New coaches are eager to impress and many aren't reluctant to run up the score when they're able to do so, often covering large spreads. In situations where their team is an underdog, a number of head coaches will play conservatively while others will adopt a bold game plan that offers both significant risk and reward.
Because it's a team sport, college football betting enthusiasts rarely get the opportunity to wager on individual players. One notable exception is the awarding of the Heisman Trophy, where always accommodating sportsbooks have posted odds on which NCAA gridiron star will carry away the iconic hardware at the end of this season.
College football betting fans who are overwhelmed with trying to select one national champion from among more than 100 schools can improve their chances of achieving wagering success by betting on which teams will win more than a half-dozen individual conferences. And for those wary gamblers who want to narrow the field even more, where it's applicable, many sportsbooks even have future book prices on separate divisions within those leagues or conferences.
There's still some concern that a labor dispute will delay or even derail the 2011 NFL season but, thankfully, college football betting fans have no such worries about the upcoming NCAA gridiron campaign. In fact, future book odds on teams winning the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) title are up and already taking action at most sportsbooks.
Statistics compiled by the Jockey Club paint a grim picture of what's facing horse racing betting fans and why it's increasingly difficult to beat the game. The Jockey Club, which was founded in 1894 and has as its mission the improvement of thoroughbred racing and breeding, published its findings in the 2011 Fact Book.
What's unique about the World Series of Poker, 58 separate card games that begin in Las Vegas, May 31, is that's it's the one endeavor where you can gamble on how well people gamble. Poker betting, especially when it comes to the Main Event, which starts on July 7, no longer is limited to those players sitting at the table.
Conventional wisdom, especially when it's dispensed by squares and people who engage in horse racing betting as a pastime, not a living, should be taken with many grains of sodium chloride. In reality, what for decades has been passed down as equine wagering gospel are little more than myths and betting sins.
While NFL owners and players wonder how long it will take for the notoriously glacial moving federal court system to bring the game back on the field, NFL betting fans are wondering if the recently concluded draft will have any immediate wagering impact on this year's season...if there is one.
Savvy sports betting practitioners understand that getting value involves comparing price to the likelihood of a favorable outcome. But even sophisticated bettors might wonder why they even bothered to bet if they knew the true odds of some of their wagers. That topic heads the list of some of the most informative, funny, silly and downright outrageous things said, whispered and written, recently:
Since sports betting would exist even if there weren't legally sanctioned wagering, the NCAA owes sportsbooks a debt of gratitude for helping to expose those liars, cheats and point-shaving thieves who would taint the sport of college basketball by throwing games or bribing players to throw games for financial reward.
Some sportsbooks already have posted college basketball betting future book prices on which team will win next year's NCAA Men's championship but savvy gamblers might be wise to survey the results of the most recent March Madness before investing too much on the 2012 Big Dance.
No sport collects more statistics than Major League Baseball so it should come as little surprise that sportsbooks utilize those numbers to produce hundreds of ways to keep baseball betting fans involved in the game.
As often is the case, the team's with the best records in the NL West, the Giants and the Padres, also rewarded baseball betting devotees with the division's best ROI (Return On Investment), +10.6 and +9.6 percent, respectively, if you bet San Francisco and San Diego in each of their games last year.
The only division in the Major Leagues with six teams produced some double-digit baseball betting plays in 2010, a ROI (Return On Investment) bonanza that gamblers hope to replicate during the upcoming season:
The Phillies were the dominant team in the National League East Division last year, both on the field and, as baseball betting aficionados can readily attest, at the windows. In fact, Philadelphia was the only NL East team to finish the season with a positive ROI (Return On Investment) as Atlanta, Florida, New York and Washington all finished in the red.
The American League West was not the place to turn for baseball betting enthusiasts as all four teams posted a negative ROI (Return on Investment) last season, a fate avoided by each of the league's other five divisions. However, as savvy wagering wonks fully understand, while none of the teams were profitable overall, each could be a reliable money earner for gamblers in specific situations.
Performance on the field was duplicated at the windows as baseball betting enthusiasts who stuck with the AL Central Division's top teams, the Twins and White Sox, did better than those who chased the Indians and Royals last season. The Tigers, 81-81 overall, also were very close to .500 as a wagering proposition, posting an ROI (Return On Investment) loss of 1.5 percent.
The Red Sox improved themselves during the off-season, making moves that could also translate to success at the windows for baseball betting fans, especially those who were crushed wagering on Boston last year, losing on their ROI (Return On Investment). With shaky starting pitching, the Yankees will be underdogs more than usual this season and that has not been a scenario that's been kind to bettors who have backed the Bronx Bombers in that situation. The Rays won't be nearly as efficient on the field as they were last season but could still be potent at the windows, in certain situations. The Blue Jays were surprisingly adept as favorites last year while the Orioles excelled in one-run games, trends worth watching this year.
The Phillies are favored to win the 2011 World Series, snapping a decade-long streak during which either the Yankees or Red Sox were the future book baseball betting choice to capture the October Classic. Philadelphia, which may have one of the best starting rotations in Major League Baseball history if execution matches expectations, opened as the 3/1 favorite for a season that starts March 31.
The glee in Green Bay and the pain in Pittsburgh may linger but NFL betting on which team will win Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Feb. 5, 2012 already has kicked off at sportsbooks and wagering emporiums around the globe.
The Super Bowl is over and the 2010 season is officially dead, reason enough to slip on the surgical gloves and sift through the remains of the NFL betting carcass in hopes of finding some useful clues for a 2011 season that, providing the labor dispute is resolved, will kick off in just a few short months.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, which continues to thrive despite fierce competition from football, basketball and baseball, seems intent on alienating its fan base and, with it, sports betting fans who wager on the elite stock car circuit.
Can anyone beat Jimmie Johnson? NASCAR Sprint Cup betting fans will have to come to terms with that question as the elite stock car league revs up for its 63rd season, beginning with the Daytona 500, Feb. 20. Actually, the season starts with the Bud Shootout on Feb. 12 and although there will be betting on that individual event, drivers do not earn points toward the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship, the 36-race campaign that concludes with the Ford 400, in Miami, Nov. 20.
While team sports such as football and basketball basically restrict the sports betting fan to winning about as much as he bets, horse racing betting offers the opportunity for a life-changing experience. That said, turning $20 into $20,000 in a single afternoon (yes, it's been done) not only requires overcoming vigorish of more than 20 percent on multi-horse wagers but a measure of skill, discipline, and, of course, luck.
They may still be celebrating a second consecutive Bowl Champions Series national title in the heart of Dixie but college football betting fans already have moved past this year's top team, Auburn, and last year's winner, Alabama, to fix their wagering gaze on Oklahoma, the early 5/1 future book favorite to capture the 2012 BCS National Championship.
After an intense few months of seemingly endless campaign commercials and annoying robo-telephone calls, most voters may not be eager to consider the 2012 US Presidential election but sports betting fans looking for a departure from football and basketball appear ready to cast an early cash ballot.
Golf betting, where any of 150 competitors are capable of winning an individual event and a gambler could go weeks or even months without cashing, is not for the faint-hearted. But the rewards can justify the pursuit and each new year brings a fresh set of challenges to the sports betting enthusiast
Let's end the sports and sports betting year by allowing those involved - athletes, journalists, whomever - to have the final say on the year that was 2010:
Prince William and Kate Middleton will tie the knot next year and, whether the Royal Family likes it or not, operators of sportsbooks and sports betting fans will play a part - peripheral though it may be--in nearly every nuptial decision made between now and April 29, 2011.
College football betting comes to an end (at least for a few months) with a series of bowl games and, as has been our custom over the last several seasons, while we're not sure if we'll go out with a bang or a whimper, at least we're willing to take our best shot at building a Super Bowl bankroll.
Long the forgotten stepchild to football, college basketball betting now has earned near-equal status with its formidable gridiron sibling as sportsbooks have found new and innovative ways for gamblers to wager on the hardcourt sport.
College basketball betting fans will have thousands of wagering opportunities over the next few months but whether they win or lose probably will come down to how well they understand six key elements of NCAA hoops
College basketball betting fans know there's money to be made by tracking the Mid-Major teams, especially those outfits likely to make an appearance at March Madness. Let's take look at some of those NCAA Tournament candidates. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish. Straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2009/10 season are in parentheses:
Mid-Major teams often don't get the ink many top notch schools do but they can be a presence in both the regular season and the NCAA Tournament. So let's continue to preview the most likely candidates to take part in the Big Dance in March. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish. Straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2009/10 season are in parentheses:
They're on the board and they receive automatic bids to the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, ample reason why college basketball betting fans need to monitor teams from the 11 mid-major conferences. Let's take look at the most likely candidates to take part in March madness. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish. Straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2009/10 season are in parentheses:
College basketball wagering wonks spend the vast majority of their time and attention dissecting the 11 major conferences. But teams from 11 mid-major conferences frequently are on the board and, thanks to an automatic invitation to the NCAA Tournament, at least one team from each of those leagues will be among the 68-team field that comprises March Madness. That seems like reason enough for savvy gamblers to, at a minimum, follow the leading contenders in each of those conferences. Let's take look at the most likely candidates to make an appearance at the Big Dance. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish. Straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2009/010 season are in parentheses:
WAC teams are 17-29-1 as home underdogs last two seasons, a trend that college basketball betting devotees will be tracking again this year. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish. Straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2009/10 season are in parentheses:
Northern Iowa (40-24 ATS) has been the only MVC team that has consistently beaten the spread over the past two seasons, a trend college betting fans will checking this year. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish. Straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2009/10 season are in parentheses:
Mountain West Conference teams were 25-11-1 as road favorites last year, a trend college basketball betting fans will be monitoring this season. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish. Straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2009/10 season are in parentheses:
Conference USA teams were a collective 44-67-2 as home favorites last season, a trend that college basketball betting followers will be watching in 2010/11. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish. Straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2009/10 season are in parentheses
The six A-10 teams that won at least 20 games straight up last year also were 115-81-7 versus the pointspread, a trend college basketball betting wonks will be watching this winter. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish. Straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2009/10 season are in parentheses:
Pac-10 teams were 14 games under .500 ATS versus non-conference foes, a trend that college basketball betting fans will be watching this year. Straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2009/10 season are in parentheses:
Overall, SEC teams were a collective 10 games under .500 against the spread last season, a trend basketball betting devotees will be tracking this year. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish. Straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2009/10 season are in parentheses:
Seven of the nine Big East teams that won 20 or more games also had winning records against the pointspread last season, a statistic that college basketball betting fans will be eyeing this year. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish. Straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2009/10 season are in parentheses:
Only one Big Ten team, Northwestern, was a consistently strong wager versus the pointspread last season, a trend that basketball betting aficionados will be monitoring this year. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish. Straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2009/10 season are in parentheses:
Only three of the ACC's 12 teams played more over games than under games last season, a college basketball betting trend worth watching. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish. Straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2009/10 season are in parentheses:
Overall, Big 12 teams have the best out of conference pointspread record over the past eight seasons, a trend that college basketball betting fans will be watching this year. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish. Straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2009/10 season are in parentheses:
Full court college basketball betting won't tip off until December but sportsbooks are ready to facilitate gamblers willing to lob a couple of not-so-free throws at an NCAA Championship future book on which team will be cutting down the nets at Reliant Stadium in Houston, April 4.
OK, you don't know a fetlock from a furlong and horse race betting, with is hieroglyphic past performances and many variables can be a bit intimidating. But even novice gamblers should take the rubber band off their sports betting bankroll when the Breeders' Cup makes a stop at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, Nov. 5-6.
As a whole, Pacific Division teams were 24-33-1 as road favorites last season, a statistic that NBA betting practitioners will be tracking this year. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2009/10 season in parentheses:
Oklahoma City's success on the court continued at the windows where the Thunder came as a surprise to most NBA betting followers. You can be sure that gamblers will be keeping a closer eye on Oklahoma City this season. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2009/10 season in parentheses:
Southwest Division teams were a collective 66-93-5 as home favorites last season, a trend NBA betting fans will be monitoring carefully again this year. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2009/10 season in parentheses:
The Magic has been 46-24-2 against the spread versus Southeast Division foes over the past four seasons, a solid wagering trend that betting devotees will be eyeing again this year. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2009/10 season in parentheses:
NBA Central Division teams were "underwhelming" last season as not a single unit played more "over" games than "under" games, a trend NBA betting aficionados will be following this season. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2009/10 season in parentheses:
Not a single Atlantic Division team enjoyed a winning record against the spread last season, a trend which NBA betting fans surely will be monitoring this year. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS), and over/under (O/U) records for the 2009/10 season in parentheses:
Consider yourself the luckiest (or smartest) NBA betting fan in the world if you had the foresight to make a future book wager on the Heat at odds of 25/1. After opening at that generous price, Miami, now with perennial all-stars LeBron James and Chris Bosh joining resident top pro Dwayne Wade in South Beach, is a solid 7/4 favorite to capture the 2010-11 NBA Championship. The defending champion LA Lakers are a 3/1 second choice to earn their third consecutive NBA title.
It's been 20 years since the NFL waved good bye to an uninterrupted 16-game schedule, giving each team a bye week during the regular season while providing NFL betting enthusiasts with yet another variable to consider when matching cash to conviction.
NFL betting on totals, where the gambler wagers that the combined points scored by the two teams in an individual game are over or under a predetermined number, represents only about 10 percent of overall football handle but that's more a function of bet takers being cautious than bet makers being reticent.
Poor strategy or not, as the last game of the week, Monday Night Football, which has been a broadcast staple since 1970, is the final chance for NFL betting fans to get even, or, as often is the case, to get even worse. For bet makers and bet takers alike, MNF, which moved to the ESPN cable network in 2006 and has logged more time on the tube than any show except 60 Minutes, often is the difference between winning and losing.
Although there's still another game left in each betting week, when the NBC network began flexing its broadcasting muscles in 2006 by demanding a stronger schedule, Sunday Night Football quickly emerged as a wagering staple for NFL betting fans.
At a combined 65 games under .500 and without a single team with a winning record against the number, this is the worst performing pointspread division in the league, a trend NFL betting aficionados will be watching closely again this season. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2009 regular season records and pointspread results in parentheses:
Every team in the NFC South played more "under" than "over" games last season, a possibly emerging trend that NFL betting and against the spread (ATS) followers surely will be monitoring this year. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2009 regular season records and pointspread results in parentheses:
Green Bay continued its dominance over division foes last season, going 4-2 against the spread (ATS) to bring its four-year pointspread mark within the NFC North to 17-7, a trend that NFL betting devotees will be watching in 2010. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2009 regular season records and pointspread results in parentheses:
The division has enjoyed a combined 65-50-5 record against the spread (ATS) versus other divisions the last three seasons, attesting to the overall strength of the NFC East. The division draws the AFC South this year so NFL betting fans might be expecting this recent trend to continue. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2009 regular season records and pointspread results in parentheses:
Combined, Denver, Kansas City and Oakland have amassed just one winning season against the spread (ATS) over the past four seasons, a dismal statistic that NFL betting wonks will try to turn to their advantage in 2010. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2009 regular season records and pointspread results in parentheses:
The Colts have won at least 12 games every year since 2003 but it's the Titans, who are 37-28-1 against the spread (ATS) overall and 16-8 versus the number within the division the last four seasons, who have been best wagering friends to NFL betting enthusiasts. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2009 regular season records and pointspread results in parentheses:
Pittsburgh, which hadn't had a losing pointspread season since 2002, was just 5-10-1 against the spread (ATS) last year, a clear warning to NFL betting devotees that trends can change quite quickly and that every tendency must be monitored with care and diligence. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2009 regular season records and pointspread results in parentheses:
Most pundits see the AFC East race as a battle between the offensive minded Patriots and the defensively stingy Jets, the two teams which also have the division's best against the spread (ATS) records since 1998, a statistic not lost on NFL betting fans. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2009 regular season records and pointspread results in parentheses:
The official kickoff of the 2010 regular season won't occur until Sept. 9 but NFL betting already is underway at sportsbooks around the globe. In fact, operators of some sportsbooks not only have future book prices available for the Super Bowl, the AFC and NFC Championships, and each of the league's eight divisions, but over/under numbers for each team's regular season victories and points scored, as well. There also are odds on each team's chances of making the playoffs and where each team will finish within its own division. And if that isn't enough to quench your NFL betting thirst, some truly ambitious sportsbooks even are offering odds on which gridiron star will win the league's Most Valuable Player award.
Promoter Don King's "Gateway to Greatness" fisticuffs doubleheader has become a tripleheader, giving boxing betting fans-particularly those gamblers fond of parlays-even more reasons to become financially involved in the trio of 12-round world championship fights, in St. Louis, Aug. 7.
Just five of the Sun Belt Conference's nine teams have pointspread records dating back 10 years so there's not a great statistical data base for bettors. Among independents, only Navy has been a winning play against the spread (ATS) since 2000. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2009 records, returning starters (RS) - including kickers - and returning lettermen (RL) in parentheses:
The Mid-American Conference is 0-9-1 against the spread (ATS) in bowl games the last two seasons, a trend that college football betting aficionados will be watching. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2009 records, returning starters (RS) - including kickers - and returning lettermen (RL) in parentheses:
Teams from the MWC were 4-0-1 against the spread (ATS) in bowl games last season so followers of college football betting know better than to dismiss the league as just some wagering weak sister. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2009 records, returning starters (RS) - including kickers - and returning lettermen (RL) in parentheses:
Rice and East Carolina are the only Conference USA teams to enjoy a winning pointspread record over the last 10 seasons, a trend college football betting enthusiasts are sure to watch carefully this season. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2009 records, returning starters (RS) - including kickers - and returning lettermen (RL) in parentheses:
College football betting fans again will be watching to see if WAC teams can match last season's outstanding 22-13-1 record against the spread (ATS) versus non-conference foes again this year. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2009 records, returning starters (RS)-including kickers-and returning lettermen (RL) in parentheses:
It's easy to underestimate the Big East but six of the league's eight teams went to bowls last season and conference teams are 88-65-1 against the spread (ATS) outside the Big East the past four seasons, a statistic that should be of great interest to devotees of college football betting. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2008 records, returning starters (RS) - including kickers - and returning lettermen (RL) in parentheses:
Southern Cal's NCAA probation could have a psychological impact on how hard the Trojans play, a development that college football betting followers will be tracking this year. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2009 records, returning starters (RS) - including kickers - and returning lettermen (RL) in parentheses:
The ACC sent seven teams to bowls last season, compiling a 1-6 record against the spread (ATS), a display of national weakness that college football betting fans will be eyeing this year. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2009 records, returning starters (RS) - including kickers - and returning lettermen (RL) in parentheses:
Big Ten teams were just 19-29 as home favorites last year, a development college football betting enthusiasts will watch closely this season. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2010 records, returning starters (RS) - including kickers - and returning lettermen (RL) in parentheses:
SEC teams were 27-19-1 against the spread versus non-conference foes last year, a trend that college football betting fans will be monitoring this season. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2009 records, returning starters (RS) - including kickers - and returning lettermen (RL) in parentheses:
At the end of every college football betting season it's easy to look back and identify teams that would have been terrific plays throughout the year. "Result playing," or "red-boarding," as it's called in horse racing, is a familiar lament for gamblers. Of course, it's far better to identify these teams of opportunity before the start of the season and let the sportsbooks do the somber reflection at the end of the year
Many sportsbooks that have been offering future book odds on conference and division titles as well as the Super Bowl also have expanded their menus for NCAA football betting, offering prices on the winner's of the six major BCS conferences. Although some sportsbooks even break down these half-dozen leagues by division, because you get a little more bang for your gridiron buck dealing with a larger field, we'll confine our analysis to the six conferences:
We're still more than several Hail Mary passes removed from the kickoff of the 2010 college football season on Sept. 2 but thanks to the advent of the future book, the college football betting season already is underway. Most sportsbooks and internet wagering outlets have posted odds on which team will win the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) title in Glendale, Arizona, next January.
A simple truth of sports betting is that it's the superior bettors who succeed, not the most competent handicappers. So, while it may be difficult to contain the snickering when someone says they have a handicapping system, a bit more respect must be shown to those who apply a system to betting.
Before he could even speak, primitive man probably engaged in sports betting of some kind, wagering a meaty boar leg or a prime spot in the cave on who could run faster or throw a stone farther. Gratefully, speech has caught up with betting and athletic prowess, providing an often humorous, sometimes revealing and never-ending stream of entertaining words.
We're as guilty as anyone of throwing around sports betting terminology as if wagering vernacular is as familiar to the weekend recreational player as it is to those who bet on sports with more sophistication and regularity. Let's bring everyone up to speed:
There are a few more unknowns and a bit more uncertainty but betting the Kentucky Derby is just like betting any other horse race: You have to have value. So when the Run for the Roses takes its annual trip around the Churchill Downs oval, May 1, sophisticated horse race betting fans will be comparing a runner's odds of victory to his betting odds and looking for value.
When it comes to Kentucky Derby betting, the best strategy is to try to ascertain which horse will race best on the first Saturday in May, not which 3-year-old colt is the best racehorse now.
Unlike football betting and basketball betting which utilize a pointspread, baseball betting primarily employs a money line, a function which intimidates many gamblers but can be a wagering asset if played properly.
Sometimes you don't even have to ask a silly question to get a silly answer in the world of sports and sports betting. Witness some of the gems uncovered over the winter months by those who play, write about, officiate and administer the games we all love:
The 2010 NFL Draft kicks off in prime time on ESPN, April 22 and while NFL teams will be betting their futures on how wisely they select from the pool of eligible collegiate talent, NFL betting fans will be risking their bankrolls on pretty much the same thing.
Even if you've done well during the long NBA betting season, there's no guarantee that your good fortune will continue when the playoffs tip-off, April 17. The post-season is a whole new ball game for gamblers, bringing new challenges and opportunities but no expectation that what worked through the fall and winter will have any betting relevance into the spring and early summer.
Sometimes you don't even have to ask a silly question to get a silly answer in the world of sports and sports betting. Witness some of the gems uncovered over the winter months by those who play, write about, officiate and administer the games we all love:
The cry of "Play ball" won't be heard around MLB ballparks for a while but Major League Baseball betting enthusiasts need not wait until opening day, April 4, to get some action on the upcoming season.
The confetti may not have been swept from the streets of New Orleans yet but most sportsbooks already have NFL betting available on which team will win Super Bowl XLV next February. Every wager should have merit on its own - write that down and store it some place handy - but NFL futures can have additional value as a hedging tool.
Of all the wagering pursuits, only horse racing betting doesn't have a season, never takes a day off and offers the bettor the chance to turn $100 into $1,000,000 in a single afternoon. What's more, gamblers don't bet against the house but each other, so winners get their money from losers, meaning that strong, sophisticated, savvy bettors thrive at the expense of those who either lack the talent or diligence to become accomplished bettors.
The Super Bowl slammed the lid on the 2009 football season but NFL betting fans would be wise to examine the corpse before burying the gridiron body. In fact, an autopsy of the regular season unveils several valuable clues for an upcoming campaign that is just seven months away.
With the stock car season about to put pedal to the metal, many NASCAR Sprint Cup betting fans find themselves in a quandary familiar to gamblers who pursue golf betting or tennis betting; whether to back the overwhelming favorite at an unattractive price or try to beat him with an unpredictable longshot at a much more predictably long price.
While most sports betting practitioners judge success or failure on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, there's something special about wiping the slate clean in a new year. Of course, with the NFL, NBA, college basketball and NHL seasons overlapping the change in calendars that may be truer in form than function.
There's no sure path to victory for the sports betting enthusiast but abiding by a few well-chosen New Year's resolutions could lead to greater success in 2010:
Tiger Woods' marital infidelity was an easy target for chuckles while a wagering scandal in soccer produced a great many grimaces in a review of the best quotes and misquotes from the fields of sports and sports betting in 2009.
Art Linkletter used to insist that "kids say the darndest things" but when it comes to the fields of sports and sports betting, it looks like the children have little on athletes, journalists, politicians, administrators and just plain folks.
Although it's fun and occasionally profitable, sports betting can be an unapologetic and unrelenting pursuit, filled with doubt and uncertainty and with far more failure than success.
From the provocative to the insightful to the ridiculous and downright silly, few venues afford the total wealth of verbal treasure as the twin fields of sports and sports betting.
First there was "The Real World," which started on MTV in 1992. Then there was "Survivor," a CBS staple since 2000. But no reality show has gained the mass appeal, including the betting attention, of "American Idol," which has been broadcast by Fox since 2002 and currently is in its eighth season.
With its inherent unpredictability from both the fighters and the judges and the reality that a contest can end at any time, betting boxing is neither for the faint of heart nor light of wallet.
WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko opened as a prohibitive -1000 favorite (bet $1,000 to win $100) to dismiss mandatory challenger Juan Carlos Gomez in a bout that will cap two weeks of intense international boxing betting action in March.
The Super Bowl attracts more attention but many sports betting fans believe the opening round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, which tips off March 17 this year, is the best wagering opportunity of the year.
The 2009 Run for the Roses won't be contested until the first Saturday in May but Kentucky Derby betting fans can run to the windows (or their computer screens) now to place a future book wager on America's premier horse race.
"April is the cruelest month" wrote T.S. Eliot, who probably didn't have Major League baseball betting on his mind when he first put pen to paper to scribble those words. But for anyone who's endured the daily six-month grind of wagering on America's National Pastime
College basketball betting will reach an insane pitch this month with March Madness but you can avoid a trip to the asylum and maybe even make a few bucks by observing a few simple rules when wagering on the 2009 Men's Basketball Championship.
With and the start of the NFL preseason still more than five months away, bookmakers quickly rushed to fill the wagering void by offering future book prices on which team will win Super Bowl
They still may be sweeping the streets of confetti in Pittsburgh but NFL betting fans just about everywhere else already have turned their attention to the 2009 season.
Before leaving 2008 and plowing into the sports betting action in 2009, we offer a fond look back at the athletes, journalists, executives and just plain folks who gave us so much pleasure with the simple act of opening their mouths:
Call it short-term memory loss if you like but NFL betting fans can get spoiled on a team's previous season's results. The notion lingers of the Patriots, Colts, Cowboys, Chargers, Packers and Giants as elite teams while the Dolphins, Raiders, Falcons, Rams and Ravens are etched in the brain as sub-standard football clubs.
The kickoff of the 2008 season still is weeks away but there are at least a couple of good reasons why college football betting should be near the top of your wagering playbook right now.
Sports betting began with the basics of football, basketball, baseball and horse racing but it wasn't too long before the growing popularity sports such as hockey, boxing, tennis, golf and auto racing forced bet takers to add those events to their wagering menus.
In a display or rare patience, more than three years after the first future book was posted, 16 months since the start of the campaign, and 54 primaries and caucuses later, some politically savvy Presidential election betting fans finally moved closer to cashing a ticket when Barack Obama secured the Democratic Party nomination to face Republican John McCain in the race for the White House in November.
Golfer John Daly isn't the only well-known athlete who sometimes has gotten into trouble because of a heavyweight appetite for gambling. Charles Barkley, no Twiggy himself, also bit off a bit more wagering wafer than he could chew, recently.
Poker betting is one thing but wagering on poker betting is quite another. And yet that's the challenge gamblers will face when they match cash to conviction on the 39th World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, beginning May 30.
The practice of sports betting always has attracted a percentage of players who not only are loose with a dollar but a quote, too. Thanks goodness for that because we never could make up this stuff:"We had no money on him. I thought he was going out for a run to keep himself warm."
Betting on the Olympics always has paled in comparison to the pomp and circumstance of the global extravaganza itself but this year sportsbooks are hoping that, with some innovative offerings, they can transform the five ring athletic competition into a three ring circus of wagering.
The greatest non-sporting event in sports, the NFL Draft, should lure gridiron-starved NFL fans and, far more tellingly, savvy NFL betting fans, to their TV screens when the annual, dust-off-the-Barcalounger, grab-the-giant-Doritos-bag, telethon-like coverage begins April 26.
If NASCAR betting is as powerful as a jet airplane turbo and betting on Formula One racing has been as steady as a Mercedes transmission, then IndyCar betting - with the notable exception of the Indianapolis 500
Like most gamblers, college basketball fans, particularly those who enjoy sports betting on the NCAA Men's Tournament (who doesn't?) would, understandably, much rather look ahead to the next bet than back at the last one.
What is it about sports and sports betting that turn ordinary athletes, journalists, administrators and pundits into such quotable sources of information, wisdom, fun and absurdity?
The marathon Major League Baseball betting season starts at the end of this month but for those gamblers for whom the cry of "play ball" can't come soon enough or for those other bettors who consider the 2,430-game diamond campaign little more than a walk in the (ball)park, future book wagering is available right now.
NCAA basketball is in full swing but, arguably, the two best wagering days of the year, the NCAA bracket opening rounds of the Men's Basketball Championship, March 20 ands 21, are in the sights of every March Madness betting fan.
F1 betting may not be the equal of NASCAR wagering in the United States but the motor sport, which revs up for the opening of its 59th season in Melbourne, Australia, March 16, boasts an international following that is not only passionate but a favorite of gamblers across the globe.
The horse racing odds and the potential payoffs can be enormous but the risks also are substantial, making Kentucky Derby future book betting on the 134th running of the mile-and-a-quarter classic at Churchill Downs, May 3, a gambling pursuit not doctor-recommended for cardiac patients.
Before burying the recently concluded NFL season, savvy gamblers will want to sift through those decaying bones to determine if the gridiron carcass left any clues that could be used to uncover a successful NFL betting strategy when the 2008 campaign kicks off in September.
Las Vegas always has been a city built on hopes and aspirations but only a handful of true visionaries have had a unique and lasting impact of the growth and direction of this desert outpost.
Entertainment became linked with Las Vegas in the 1940s when savvy city planners and casino entrepreneurs rightly reasoned that even hard-edged gamblers would need an occasional respite from the drudgery of table games and the challenge of sports betting that had lured them to this desert outpost in the first place.
From its legal inception in 1931, Las Vegas' gaming and sports betting industry has been built on the dreams and imagination of people who have had the courage to question the status quo.
Like Oscar and Felix, the odd couple that comprises honest bettors and legitimate sportsbooks is on the same side when it comes to anything that threatens the integrity of their sports betting relationship.
If you're one of the handful of people who still believe that tennis is all about starched white clothing and curtseys at Wimbledon then you must have been as shocked as Captain Renault in "Casablanca" to learn that there's also betting on the sport.
The Suns should have little difficulty repeating in a division that they won by 19 games last season. The fight will be for second among the two LA teams and Golden State.
Having emerged as a serious contender last season two or three years before most predicted, don't expect the Jazz to wait around for the rest of the division to catch them.
It was somewhere around 25 years ago - an eon in the prospering life of modern sports betting - that Nevada's licensed bookmakers first began employing money lines.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and Earth. But it wasn't until an innovative oddsmaker came along that the genesis of sports betting, a biblical event in the history of human existence for those who spend their autumn Sundays praying not for salvation but for a cover, became the mega-industry that it is today.
Most unsophisticated sports bettors hit the gridiron running, with little or no concern for whether their best chance for success rests with college football betting, nfl betting or a combination of both.
Granted, New Orleans isn't going to surprise anyone this year but with a solid cast, a new winning attitude, and only Carolina as serious division opposition, the Saints should march to another NFC South title.
The Bears have a much more difficult schedule than a year ago when they won 13 games but the NFC North is so weak that it will be difficult for Chicago not to win 10 or 11 games and capture a third straight division title.
The NFC East remains the most competitive division in the NFL, with every team capable to beating (or losing) to every other. The most consistent team will win the division.
Like the Patriots, Ravens and Colts, the Chargers are the class of their division, arguably the best team in the NFL. Unlike New England, Baltimore and Indianapolis, however, San Diego will get a stern test for the division title from rivals Denver and Kansas City.
Like most recent defending Super Bowl champions, the Colts may find it difficult to repeat, but winning another AFC South title should be no problem. Indianapolis has a wide edge over its division rivals.
The Ravens won the division by five games last season and while the margin may not be as significant this year, Baltimore should have little difficulty defending against wild card hopefuls Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.
Any unbiased assessment would mark the Patriots as the clear division favorite with a good chance to challenge the Colts, Chargers and Ravens to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.
New Orleans at Indianapolis: The Saints have covered four of their last five meetings with the Colts but Indianapolis has been strong out of the gate, notching a 6-1-1 mark against the spread (ATS) in its last eight season openers.
Sports betting, particularly football betting, has become significantly more sophisticated over the past decade with players mining years of research in an effort to gain an edge on Nevada and online sportsbooks.
From an NFL player alleged to be so cruel to dogs it should make you cringe, to an NBA referee who went on a sports betting binge, to a Tour de France rider with a syringe, it's been an interesting few months in the world of sports and sports betting.
Not that members of the sports betting industry needed it but when Chris Matthews, the loquacious and assertive host of MSNBC's Hardball, quoted odds on the 2008 race for President of the United States, the practice of betting on elections gained a measure of acceptability.
From the actor George Clooney to golfer Lee Trevino and athletes, journalists, business leaders, executives and whomever in between, June was a very good month for those of us who enjoy quips and quotations, some side-splitting, some strident, some silly, some sophomoric, on the world of sports and sports betting...
The fast-paced nature of craps and the physical involvement of the player make it a target of opportunity for casino cheats, or crossroaders, as they're commonly called.
Blackjack is every casino's most popular and profitable game but the house's bottom line could be even stronger were it not for the efforts of thieves, called crossroaders.
It was more than two decades ago that Barron Hilton, the chairman of the hotel chain that bears his name (and grandfather of you-know-who), shelled out $50,000 for a private, six-hour seminar from Steve Forte, arguably the leading expert on casino games cheaters and scam artists.
There's a school of thought that prescribes to the notion that it's the proficient bettors, more than the astute handicappers, who wind up with the cash at the end of a sports betting transaction.
The idea was to read several newspapers a day and peruse the Internet to chronicle and amass the year's most interesting sports and sports betting quotes which we would present in a December column.
Second only to the Super Bowl in wagering popularity, the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, which is set to tip-off March 15, offers a unique set of challenges for bettors who get involved in "March Madness."
No matter what time of the day or night you're reading this, odds are you're little more than a few mouse clicks away from horse betting somewhere in the world.
Every game of chance offers the house a certain inherent statistical advantage but none works off so small a profit margin - theoretically between one and four percent - as sports betting.
It was just hours after George W. Bush had been re-elected President of the United States in 2004 that sportsbooks began posting betting lines on who would win a four-year lease on the Oval Office in 2008.
The National Basketball League tips off another season Oct. 31 with both bet makers and bet takers sifting through the debris of last year's results in hopes of finding NBA betting clues to the upcoming campaign.
There are at least a half-dozen factors that separate college football betting from NFL betting. For starters, action on college football is much more likely to come from sophisticated bettors, known as "sharps" or "wiseguys," who often possess some insight or kernel of information that may provide them with an edge against the house.
Football returned to gridirons, TV screens and sports books recently, and while the game surely was a welcome sight for bored eyes, bulging wallets, beer distributors and casino spread sheets, there also is a widely held perception that when it comes to NFL betting, gamblers hold an edge over bookmakers early in the season.
A number of dicey factors, including the disparity between the nation's finest teams and those that still have struggling programs, the massive turnover of personnel each year, and the absurdly large number of teams involved, conspire to make college football betting far more difficult than its NFL counterpart.
The World Cup will begin June 9th and end on July 9th, featuring 32 teams from across the globe, all wanting to earn the honor of being the best in the world.
Online sports betting offers fans ease and convenience when it comes to putting a few bucks on a game. Online sportsbooks have given anyone who has access to the Internet the opportunity to place a quick wager any time - day or night.
The Arena Football League (AFL) is in full swing, attracting fans with fast, hard-hitting action, a lot of scoring, and dazzling plays made in tight quarters.
Probably the most familiar type of wager in sports betting is the straight or side bet. The term "straight" is a good way to describe it - winning is determined by one basic factor and the payoff is clearly stated.
Are you ready for some baseball? Some baseball, you said! It's a 7-month, 162-game season, which means there's plenty of opportunity to place your wagers.
When you talk car racing most people think of NASCAR - National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. It is, perhaps, the most popular sport in America.
They exist in every sport - players who can deliver when it counts the most and when the pressure is on. After a while the feats of such players take on a life of their own - a mythology starts to surround them.
April 29-30, 2006 live from New York City's Radio City Music Hall, it's one of the biggest events of the year! Is it the Rockettes? No. Maybe it's that dreamed of Beatles reunion? No. Then it must be the latest country music awards show! Not at all.
Important upcoming dates on your calendar should include March 15th, 17th and April 1st. March 15th, the Ides of March, marks the day that Julius Caesar met his demise, and it's also the day after March Madness tips-off. March 17th is, of course, the day when everyone is Irish, and it's also the mid-point between the NCAA Tournament's first and second rounds (March 16-19, 2006).
Futures wagering - which is in essence betting on who will win their division, conference, league or the whole kit and caboodle - is extremely attractive because more times than not the odds are very good.
