Dramatic? Hardly. This industry is littered with the remains of well meaning startups. There are literally hundreds of now defunct sportsbooks. Some that had even attained reputable status!

Time to pass along what’s probably the most important reason for seeking out shops that have established themselves in this industry and have been able to withstand the early growing pains. It’s something we hear over and over again, and something everyone needs to be aware of.

Make Sure the Sportsbook Has a Track Record

When choosing a sportsbook, the most important and for that matter, simplest step, is to make sure the sportsbook you are considering has a track record. This industry is no longer in it’s infancy. We’ve been here since the mid 90’s. That’s a quarter century!

Sportsbooks like BetAnySports and Jazz for example have been here since the beginning. You’re track record follows you wherever you go. You can’t escape it. A simple google search is all that’s needed.

It’s the simple fact that most businesses lose money in their 1st year of business. Whether we’re talking about a candy store, or an offshore bookmaker. Setting up shop is not the immediate cash cow that some would have you believe. It may in fact turn into a cash cow down the road, but definitely not early on.

Having had the opportunity over the years, and more importantly recently, to sit down with people in this industry and discuss it at length, I can tell you that one of the comments that’s repeated most often, by several different people, is “There were times when we’d go to sleep at night, not knowing if we were going to be able to pay off today’s wagers”.

The bottom line is to make sure you choose a reputable sportsbook that has been around several years.

Why Might New Sportsbooks Fail?

There are many reasons why brand new sportsbooks might fail, making them risky to do business with initially.

Competition is one reason.  When the reputable sportsbooks of today began operations, there was much less competition. Even then, there were times they ran into trouble.

How could this have happened? There’s several contributing factors. One simply being that they came into the business under funded. Many scrapped together all they could, borrowed from friends, etc. etc. Raised a couple hundred thousand, and rolled the dice. Others came in with plenty of cash, one instance about 5 million, which quickly dwindled to 1 million in no time at all.

Another contributing factor is the time of year that a sportsbook opened it’s doors. If they opened shop during baseball season, or mid hoops season, chances are that they’ll already be starting behind the 8 ball once football rolls around. A bad football season, WHICH CAN HAPPEN, and they’re cooked.

Once these shops get over that hump, they are very profitable, don’t take this the wrong way. But it’s quite obvious why it takes time to get over that hump.

What Else Can I do To Play Safe?

Once you do your due diligence and find some reputable sportsbooks that have a solid track record of promptly paying their customers, you can then settle in and choose ones that fit your betting needs.

Some sportsbooks offer reduced juice wagering options as a bonus. Other sportsbooks offer fantastic sign up and referral bonuses. Or maybe it’s bet offers like special individual game props you’re after.

The easy part is deciding which sportsbooks fit your needs. The hard part is finding the reputable ones. But hey, you’re here on bettorsworld reading this article. That tells us you’e done your homework. 25 years and going strong is a record that’s tough to beat. In fact, t can’t be beat. We were the first!

Bitcoin is a Complete Game Changer

The acceptance of Bitcoin by most sportsbooks is a complete game changer for the sportsbook industry and one that helps you the player, tremendously.

When this industry first started, the only way to pay your book and get paid instantly was if you did your business through an agent. Sportsbook took your bets but you straightened up in cash with an agent.

But most players did not use an agent. For most bettors, they had to “post up” their money. Which means they had to arrange payment to the sportsbooks. Common ways to do this were via Western Union or Money Gram. Cashiers check was another popular method.

But these methods took time. A check might take a week or more to arrive and the less than honorable sportsbooks would use this as an excuse to slow pay you. “The check is in the mail”. Yeah, right.

Neteller Was Good – But Nothing Like BTC

The closest thing players ever had to getting paid instantly was neteller. The probem with neteller was that it was a 3rd party. You might be able to get paid from the sportsbook, but could you get paid from neteller?

Well, sometime back in the early 2000’s, neteller had their funds frozen by the US government. Not a good feeling. Eventually, they got their funds. But it took several months.

Bitcoin is true peer to peer. Me to you. You to the sportsbook. The sportsbook to you. There is no middleman. It’s like meeting at the diner and exchanging cash.

The advantage to you, the bettor, is that you no longer have to fund all of your sportsbook accounts and tie up your money. You can also afford to take some chances with sportsbooks that might seem a little risky.

You can do this by sending just enough to cover one bet. Make the wager, win, then  request your funds.

Most bettors likely don’t even realize it yet. But bitcoin will end up being the best  thing to ever happen to the sportsbook industry (and many others). It makes you’re choice of choosing a sportsbook so much easier!

Good Luck with your sportsbook choices and feel free to drop us a line. We’re more than happy to answer questions.

Things have changed. Baseball sides generally don’t move more than 15 cents anymore. You’re lucky if they move 10 cents. Instead of getting baseball scalps for 20 or 30 cents, scalpers are happy to get 2 or 3 cent scalps.

But there is still opportunity. If you are looking to employ the strategy suggested below, of betting baseball at better prices than the rest of the betting world, you’ll have more luck doing it with baseball totals, particularly early in the year. With a little work, you should be able to play a total for example, that opened at 9 over -115 and closed at 9 over -145, at even money. So you’d be sitting with an even money wager on a total that closed at -145. In that scenario, over the long haul, it’s just about impossible NOT to show a profit.

To scalp or Follow?

Getting the best of it

Ok, so scalping is not your thing, and we’ve all heard how “followers” simply can’t win over the long run, due to consistently playing the bad numbers, or getting the worst of it. So what is one to do??

Well, why not “follow” at a better number? Huh? Yeah, if the professional group, be it the Pokers or the Koshers plays a Game at -120, why not follow and play the same Game at an even better price than THEY played the Game at?

At this point you’re probably saying this guy has lost his mind, and is now reduced to incoherent ramblings, right? Not so fast my friends.

Let’s 1st take a step back. As many know, handicapping is only part of the winning process. Even more important than handicapping, is playing the right numbers, or, getting the best of it. As a matter of fact, let’s face it, you can win betting sports if you’re getting the best of it time in and time out. Throw the handicapping out the window.

Most guys who elect to follow steam, sit themselves down in front of their live odds screen, and wait for the steam to hit. When it does, they scramble and attempt to get the same numbers the Game is being played at. A Game might be -120 across the board, and Our friendly follower is scrambling to get as close to -120 as he can. Sometimes he gets it, sometimes he has to settle for -125 or -130 or even worse if he still wants to play the Game. It’s those -125’s and -130’s over the course of a season, that grind the follower down.

Let’s take that same -120 steam Game, and let’s assume Our follower wants to wager a nickel a Game. Suppose Our follower is able to get the -120 on this Game. He proceeds to lay 1800 to win 1500. For this example, let’s say the Game ends up moving to -135. Our follower then comes back and takes +125 for 1000 to win 1250.

If the hot side wins, Our follower picks up 500. If the hot side loses, Our follower is out 550. In other words, Our follower is laying 550 to win 500, or, -110, on a Game that even the sharpest of the sharp are laying -120! That my friends, is a 10 cent edge in your favor. Hell, the group that played the Game saw value at -120, I’m feeling pretty damn good about my position at -110. I’ll take that edge day in and day out. Over the long haul, it will make you money. Hell, last baseball season, you would have made money playing at the worst numbers, imagine if you were getting 10 cents the best of it every time?

Now, of course, there will be times when your Game won’t move enough to make this possible, however with a little practice, you’ll learn how to read the moves and will be able to act accordingly.

It takes alot to win betting sports. It ain’t easy by any stretch of the imagination. It’s all about gaining an edge, and getting the best of it. The above example, is just one of many, tricks of the trade. Use it wisely!

Lucky Joe

Well, here we are. It’s a week before the Super Bowl, and you know what that means, right? You got it. Every major paper and other media outlets will be running their little stories on Compulsive gambling. I’ve seen 3 or 4 already. Hey, it sells papers I guess, but it’s also irresponsible jOurnalism. It gives one the impression that everyone who makes a bet on the Super Bowl is a compulsive gambler, shedding further negative light on this industry. I’ve spoken with just about every major paper and Television show in the United States. Each time I spent time discussing the good of the industry, and pointing out the many positives. Most times, when I read the finished product, they had omitted everything positive, and used the one negative thing I may have mentioned, taking everything out of context.

So I figured, what better time to share a story about a guy we’ll call Lucky Joe. Lucky Joe came up rough. He fell in with the wrong crowd from day one. As an 18 year old kid, Lucky Joe would spend just about every night of his life in bars, drinking away. Not to mention the drugs involved. That was Lucky Joes life. That’s what Lucky Joes friends did. That’s what Lucky Joe did.

Lucky Joe was smart enough to realize that if he kept on the track he was on, he wouldn’t be around much longer, but then, what would he do if he broke away from the pack? This was Joe’s life.

Lucky Joe had always made wagers here and there, but never took the time to educate himself. Until that day when Lucky Joe made the move. He broke away from the crowd, and consumed himself with sportsbetting. He learned all he could. Spent hOurs and hOurs handicapping Games, educating himself. Lucky Joe no longer had time for the old crowd. He was too busy. Most important of all, Lucky Joe was able to see his hard work pay off in the results of his handicapping.

Lucky Joe had found himself a hobby. The pleasure that this hobby brought to Joe was unmatched. Joe compared his hobby to others hobbies. He knew people who went skiing each year. This hobby would cost these people thousands of dollars. Ski lift tickets, admission, equipment, lodging, etc. Lucky Joe had just completed a successful year in sportsbetting. His hobby PAID him!

Lucky Joe had years where he lost a couple of g’s as well. But hey, the people Joe knew that loved to ski spent far more than that, each and every year. At least Joes hobby could actually make him money.

What about Joes old crowd? Well, two guys from the old crowd concocted a scheme to rob a local coke dealer connected to a local street gang. The scheme didn’t go as planned. They were both gunned down and killed in the attempt. Another one of the crowd, a guy Joe grew up with, was recently found dead from a heroin overdose.

I know Joe. Joe is a real person, as is his story. I’ve watched Joe over the years. Joe is very successful today. He has a beautiful family. Great friends, and a great life in general. Joe has become one of the sharpest sportsbettors I know. He’s as passionate about sportsbetting today as he was back then, probably more so. To this day Joe credits his love of sportbetting for saving his life. Had he not consumed himself with it, he knew he would have been there the night his two buddies were gunned down.

Lucky Joe is an extreme example of the good side of sportsbetting. I see other examples on a daily basis. I see thousands of people enjoying a site like Bettorsworld. I see guys/girls spending hOurs handicapping Games, looking for that elusive edge, hoping just maybe, the oddsmakers missed something. Just maybe, they’ve outsmarted the books this time. I see them enjoy the constant daily challenge of trying to win. I’ve also seen friendships form online between people who have never met, but have sportbetting as a common bond. These are just some of the positives of sportsbetting.

The good far outweighs the bad. Whether it’s drinking, gambling, sex,even  shopping, there are always going to be a small percentage of people that can’t handle it. Those people need the help and support of everyone who CAN handle it, but those people who can handle it, which is the vast majority, shouldn’t be punished as a result of the minorities weeknesses. Should we get rid of credit cards because a small percentage of people abuse them? Of course not, and I would venture to guess that a higher percentage of people have credit card problems than gambling problems, all things being relative.

Most people who wager on sports do so as an enjoyable recreational activity. I challenge any major media sOurce, be it print or television, to grow a set of balls and do a story on THAT side of things, as opposed to the negative side. Being a betting man myself, I’d bet we never see it. It’s the negatives that sell papers and make people watch tv  shows, not the positives. People in general love to see and hear about other peoples problems.

There’s probably no other activity more misrepresented by the media than sportsbetting, but as you’ve just read, the good far outweighs the bad………just ask Luck Joe!

When looking into subscribing to a service you need to consider the cost of the service, plus the capital requirements and the winning percentage necessary for you to make a profit. The following charts should help in this regard. We in no way recommend paying a lot of money for a service and then playing a lot in order to make a profit. Everyone needs to establish a bankroll of cash that they are comfortable with potentially losing. This needs to be purely “excess” capital.

The first chart indicates the winning percentage needed just to BREAK-EVEN for services charging various monthly amounts with varying numbers of plays for $50, $100 & $250 players. NOTE: The “high rollers” need a much lower winning percentage because they risk more on each Game. The best investment is a little of your own time, because “FREE” requires the absolute lowest winning percentage to break-even.

$/BET

FREE

$100

$200

$300

$400

$500

6 plays/wk

$50

52.4%

56.3%

60.3%

64.3%

68.3%

72.2%

6 plays/wk

$100

52.4%

54.4%

56.3%

58.3%

60.3%

62.3%

6 plays/wk

$250

52.4%

53.2%

54.0%

54.8%

55.6%

56.3%

8 plays/wk

$50

52.4%

55.4%

58.3%

61.3%

64.3%

67.3%

8 plays/wk

$100

52.4%

53.9%

55.4%

56.8%

58.3%

59.8%

8 plays/wk

$250

52.4%

53.0%

53.4%

54.2%

54.8%

55.4%

10 plays/wk

$50

52.4%

54.8%

57.1%

59.5%

61.9%

64.3%

10 plays/wk

$100

52.4%

53.6%

54.8%

56.0%

57.1%

58.3%

10 plays/wk

$250

52.4%

52.9%

53.3%

53.8%

54.3%

54.8%

12 plays/wk

$50

52.4%

54.4%

56.3%

58.3%

60.3%

62.3%

12 plays/wk

$100

52.4%

53.4%

54.4%

55.4%

56.3%

57.3%

12 plays/wk

$250

52.4%

52.8%

53.2%

53.6%

54.0%

54.4%

If you’d like to make $100 profit per month move one column to the right to see the winning percentage required. Thus, if a service charges $400 per month and gives out 8 plays per week, in order for a $100 player to make a $100 profit the service would need to pick 59.8%. For this same service to make a $100 profit for a $50 player, the service would need to win 67.3% of their plays.

since most legitimate services win between 55% and 60% of their Games, it is almost impossible for a small player to make a profit if the cost of the service is over $200 per month.

Another way to look at this, is the amount of money one needs in his/her bankroll. since you shouldn’t play more than 2% or 3% on any one Game, only 20% to 30% of your bankroll should be wagered in any one week. This number should be slightly higher when you’re winning and slightly lower when you’re losing.

Below is a chart which shows the amount of money one must wager EACH WEEK in order to BREAK-EVEN given a services’ monthly fee and overall winning percentage. This hold true regardless of how much you play on each Game. Once again, if your goal is to make a profit, move over one column to the right for each $100 per month gain.

$100

$200

$300

$400

$500

54%

$735

$1470

$2205

$2941

$3676

56%

$329

$658

$987

$1316

$1645

58%

$212

$424

$636

$848

$1059

60%

$156

$312

$469

$625

$781

62%

$124

$248

$371

$495

$619

65%

$94

$189

$283

$378

$472

Thus, if a service charges $400 per month and picks an excellent 62%, you would need to wager $495 each week to break even. You would also need to have a bankroll of at least $1500. In order to make a $100 profit you would need to risk $619 each week. For a $50 player, this means wagering on 10 to 13 Games each weekend. Many services with such high winning percentages lay out a small number of plays. If this is the case, a small player cannot profit.

Keep in mind that the more Games you play the lower your winning percentage will be. As a point of reference, the winner of Bookies’ Hell’s 1997 professional handicappers contest won with a winning percentage of 58% on about 14 plays per week. The winner of the amateur contest had a winning percentage of 62%, but on an average of just 3 plays per week.

]]> https://www.bettorsworld.com/betting-library/2019/sports-services/feed/ 0 https://www.bettorsworld.com/betting-library/2019/sports-betting-lingo/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sports-betting-lingo https://www.bettorsworld.com/betting-library/2019/sports-betting-lingo/#respond Tue, 16 Apr 2019 16:14:13 +0000 http://dev.bettorsworld.com/general/2019/sports-betting-lingo/ Bookmakers and bettors have had their own “Lingo” or “Slang” for many years. Much of this slang came about as a means to hide their activities from law enforcement.

A bettor might call his bookie and once read the lines say, “Ok, give me a dime on the Jets -2 and a nickel on the Vikings +5”. Our bettor just wagered one thousand dollars on the Jets and five hundred dollars on the Vikings.

Or perhaps a player may introduce a new bettor to a bookie. He might say, “yeah, Joey is ok. He’s fat. He’s certainly no desperado”.

In English, he just told the bookie Joey has plenty of money and will be no problem paying up when he loses.

Below is our definitive list of betting lingo and slang words. Give them a read. Have a few laughs. Some of them may even entertain the old timers!

Betting Lingo and Bookmakers Slang – A Definitive List

Action – a bet

Agent– Person who solicits sports bets for a bookmaker

Backer-Someone who supplies a bookmaker with cash (behind the scenes)

Bad beat – a tough loss

Bail out-Trying to get back losses with one bet

Beard – someone who bets for someone else

Beef– Complaint against a book

Bet the limit – To bet the maximum amount allowed by the bookmker

Betting Ring – A syndicate of big money sports bettors who place large bets,wiseguys,etc.etc.

Big Dime – $10,000

Big Nickel – $5,000

Board – The complete agenda of Games on any given day

Bookmaker – Person that takes sports bets

Bottom line – Money owed to a bookmaker by a player

B.M. – A Bookmaker

B.R. – Bankroll

Buck – $100

Bundle – Large bankroll

Bust – Player goes broke

Chalk – favorite

Chalk eater – favorite bettor

Circle Game – limited action accpted due to injuries or weather

C-Note – $100

Clerk – Person who answers phones,deals lines for a bookmaker.Also known as a ticket writer

C.O.D. – Broke

Connected – Connected to organized crime

Cover – to win by more than the spread

Desperado – Gambler who bets big and can’t pay

Dime – $1000

Dollar – $100

Double Sawbuck – Twenty dollars

Dry – broke

Edge – to have an advantage

Fast Company – Smart gamblers

Fat – a person with plenty of money

Figure – amount owed to or by a bookmaker

Fish – A sucker

Getting Down – making a wager

G-Note – $1,000

Half a buck – $50

Handicapper – one who studies sports and predicts the outcome-he does his homework

Handle – total amount of money taken in bets

Hedging – betting the opposite side in order to reduce you original wager

Hook – half a point

Jerk – another word for a push,or tie

Juice – Vigorish

Linemaker – an oddsmaker or pricemaker

Live one – a player with money

Middle – to win both sides of a Game

Mush Artist – gambler who doesn’t pay

Nickel – $500

off the board – bookmakers term for refusing to accept action on a particular Game

Out – bookmaker

Overlay – when the odds of a proposition are in favor of the bettor,not the house

Parlay – a bet on two or more teams,in which the money won on the first Game is then placed on the 2nd and so on.All Games must win for the player to collect.

Past-post – to place a bet after the Game has started

Piece-meal – paying of bookmaker in installments

pigeon – sucker

Pipeline – any method of distributing information

Pipes – Telephone

Player – bettor

Popped – Arrested

Post-up – Having to put money up before being allowed to wager-(offshore accounts are post-up)

Press – to bet larger amounts than usual

Price – the odds or pointspread

Push – Tie,nobody wins,nobody loses

In the red – owing money

Roundball – basketball

Run down – line update

Runner – see beards

Sawbuck – $10

Scalper – one who attempts to profit from differences in odds from book to book.

Score– to win alot of money

Sharp – a wiseguy

Shortstop – a small player

Shylock – loanshark

Side – to win one side of a bet,and tie or push the other-“to catch a side”

Spot Player – a bettor who waits for what he thinks is an unusually favorable situation before making a play

Square – unsophisticated gambler

Steam – Heavy one way action

Take a price – to bet the dog

Tapped out – broke

Trap – a bad bet-looks good,but in reality,isn’t

Value – see overlay-to get the best of it

Welsher – person who doesn’t pay his gambling debts

Wiseguy – successful sports bettor who makes his living betting sports

Vigorish – Bookmakers commission

Gamblers “Attitude”

I STILL get a TON of correspondence from many “real gamblers” who have been on this service for a long time AND also from many internet and other amateur guys who would LIKE to be more like their professional brethren.

I have written here many times about the frustrations I have felt in dealing with the great majority of internet numb-nuts who think they know all there is about football betting and sports wagering in general. Of the THOUSANDS of net people I have corresponded with since putting up this website, there are less than THIRTY people who I believe have the wherewithal and discipline to “make it” long term in sports betting.

So what’s the deal? Why can’t the general internet guy (or the public as a whole for that matter) get a grasp of sports betting?

Well, I have finally been able to distill this into a one word description of the difference in the guys who really can DO IT and the flakes who think betting sports for a living is “easy” and if they only had the time and the bankroll, they’d go out there and really show those guys how to contend for the big bucks (or at least a living wage).

It’s ATTITUDE!

The real pro doesn’t think ANYBODY owes him ANYTHING! He EARNS and SWEATS every dime he makes and NEVER blames anyone but himself for a loss.

The wannabe’s ALL think they are OWED something and somewhere they’ve been dealt a poor hand by life, marriage, the IRS, the government etc.etc.etc.
The pro believes (and rightly so) that HE and HE alone is in control of his own good fortune and “luck”.

The wannabe thinks that gambling might remedy those injustices that life has so cruelly visited upon him. After all, things have to balance out in life don’t they?

The pro totally understands that there is nothing FAIR about life or living and he accepts and OVERCOMES that unfairness by his own mental toughness and wit.

The wannabe just CANNOT overcome that gnawing gut feeling that he has been “screwed” by life and he will NEVER have the confidence to conquer his rightous fear of failure.

The professional has incredible discipline and patience and a remarkable (developed) ability to pick the spots where HE believes that HE truly has the edge over the book.

The wannabe has little patience and even less regard for his own money. He may be an excellent handicapper but he has NO CONCEPTof real money management or true discipline with his betting. He is destined to remain a $100 to $500 bettor FOREVER (unless he inherits some MORE money he can blow).

Here’s the biggie:
The pro doesn’t need the ego boost of boasting about his picks, his money or his big scores. He retains his anonymity and obscurity and EARNS his self esteem by VERY HARD WORK.

The wannabe’s NEVER stop spouting about their great picks and their super scores and ALWAYS have a running narration about their big win last weekend OR how they were screwed by the refs or the weather or the coaches etc.etc.

That’s why NONE of the people you see plastered all of the sports message boards are really professional sports bettors. They are ALL pretenders.

These two disparate personalities that define the difference in the real gamblers and the wannabe’s can be completely summed up in just one word_ _ _ _
ATTITUDE !

What makes this stat attractive to the recreational sports handicapper is that it allows a guy or gal who works a full week, and has a life outside of sports, to make educated selections on football games with only a minimal amount of work.

The yards per point stat simply shows you how far a team must travel to score 1 point. It also tells you how many yards it takes to score 1 point on their defense.

Be sure to check out our free college football picks weekly

So, a team with a yards per point number of 13.8 on offense, scores 1 point every 13.8 yards they gain.

The stat is very easy to compute. Simply take a teams offensive yards gained and divide by points scored. On defense, take the yards given up and divide by points given up. Many publications, tip sheets, etc, do the work for you. Power Sweep is one such publication.

So now you have two numbers for each team. An offensive number and a defensive number. The lower the offensive number, the better the offense. The higher the defensive number, the better the defense.

You can now take these numbers and use them as a power rating.

Let’s take a look at an actual game from the past. Buffalo was playing at  New England.

Buffalo’s offensive number was 14.1 and their defensive number is 12. Just from looking at those numbers for Buffalo, we can quickly see that they have an average offense and a horrendous defense.

We subtract the offensive number from the defensive number and get -2.1 which would be Buffalo’s rating.

The Pats numbers were 13.5 on offense and 15.4 on def. making their rating +1.9. So, the difference between the two is 4 in favor of the Pats. We add 2.5 points for home field and have a Yards Per Point line on this Game if New England -6.5

Look for significant difference between the YPP line and the sportsbooks line.

Generally speaking, an offensive number below 13 is a very good offense. A good defense would generally be a number of 16 or higher.

Now there’s all sorts of variations of this. You can break this down and figure out YPP for home and away. You can ferret out common opponents and look at a teams YPP against the same teams. The stat really requires at least 4 Games to be effective. You can also keep a running tally of this stat only going back 4 or 5 Games, which will give you a clearer picture of how a team is doing lately.

You’ll notice more often than not, the line you set using yards per point will be very close to the actual line. Look for differences in order to spot potential plays.

Use Yards Per Point for Totals Too

You can use the stat to predict how a game might play out as well. For example if one team has a ypp on offense of 12 and a number of 12.5 on defense and their opponent has similar numbers, you can expect lots of points as both teams can move the ball but neither has much of a “D”.

If one team has an offensive ypp number of 16.5 (bad) and they are going up against a strong defense with a ypp of 18, you can assume the team  with the 16.5 isn’t going to score many points.

This can also be used for college football but you need to be careful. The stat can become distorted as a result of the blow outs so common in college ball. There is also a huge difference in the schedule strength in college football, whereas in the NFL it’s minimal.

A few minutes work each week and you can take a lot of the guesswork out of your selections. This method, used as a power rating, in conjunction with other stats such as turnovers, trends, weather and injuries have produced very positive results for many football handicappers over years.

A very similar stat you can use to handicap NFL and college football games is yards per play.

Use both together and you’re on your way to becoming a tough customer for your sportsbook!

Ok, if you’ve read articles here in the past, you know that the name of the Game in sports wagering is V-A-L-U-E. Simply put, getting a bargain. You have the number on a Game as -5 and you can get +7, that translates into big time value. Another thing you may have picked up by reading articles here in the past is that many pros could care less who’s playing, as long as they can get the best of the number. They see all 6’s at just about all the sportsbooks and they find a +7, and they pop the Game without thinking. Over the long haul, these guys win.

In todays market, obtaining value is becoming more and more difficult. With the live odds feeds available to both players and sportsbooks, finding significant differences in numbers is becoming a rare thing. More likely, for the average handicapper, by the time they get around to making their plays, the value has already been pounded out of the Games by the sharps.

But there’s still hope, and that hope lies with halftime wagering. First a few points……….

The most important thing to keep in mind when considering halftimes is that football is a Game which is played for 60 minutes. Not 30, not 15, but 60. Anyone who has watched a significant amount of football over the years should be well aware that one of the hardest things for a football team to do is play consistently at the same level for 60 minutes, particularly in the NFL.

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When I sit down to watch a Game I have a play on, I’m almost relieved if my team falls behind early. On the flip side, if my team jumps out in front early, and appears like they can do no wrong, I get a pit in my stoMACh, as I know what lies ahead. Very rare is the team that can come out and “do no wrong” for 60 minutes. When that happens, that’s when we see a 48-3 Game, and as you know, those Games are rare in the NFL these days.

It’s also important to note that sportsbooks put up a halftime line, they’re booking that bet as a separate proposition. Separate from the full Game proposition that is. That’s Our key. They’re looking at a half, we’re looking at the full 60 minutes.

Let’s take a look at an NFL football. The Raiders were a 6′ to 7 point favorite over the Broncos at home. At halftime, the Broncos were up 13-0. Halftime lines were anywhere from Oak -4 with a money line to -5′ with a money line. For this example we’ll use Oak -5 laying -110 on each side.

If prior to Game time, while searching for the best number on this Game, with the number being Oak -6′ or 7 everywhere, you found the Raiders +8, what would you have done? I hope your answer is that you would have popped the Raiders at +8. In a sense, that is exactly what you would have done if you played the Raiders -5 at the half. Can you say value?

Now this isn’t something you should just blindly do. It obviously helps if you can watch the Game and get a feel for the momentum, as well as just to be as informed as possible about all of the teams in general. These opportunities present themselves in the NFL week in and week out.

Remember, a football Game is 60 minutes long. Adjustments are made at halftime by coaches getting paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to do just that.

In the above example, if your a handicapper worth your weight, and you liked Oak -6′ originally, you’ve got to like Oak -5, (or +8 for the full 60 minutes) at the half. After all, your handicapping is based on complete Games, right?

To take it a step further, it would obviously benefit you to keep detailed 2nd half stats. Some teams play much better in the 2nd half, others fade.

In this ever changing sportsbetting marketplace, the players that succeed will be those that seek out edges where others don’t. With the growing popularity of halftime wagers, and the ever increasing competition among sportsbooks, the sharp player is sure to find tremendous value shopping halftime lines.

Halftime wagering is fast and furious. The numbers are there for the picking. While the full Game lines are up on the board all week long being ironed out by the pros, the halftime lines are only up for a few minutes. If your quick on your feet, you’ll be sure to profit.

Players shopping for lines are thrilled to find a point or a point and a half edge….in the above example, you could say you found a 15 point edge!

Be smart, and pick your spots!

I’ve already gone over some ways to come up with your football selections each week in part one of this article. Now let’s take a look at two equally important factors involved in making you a long term winner.

Let’s first look at line value.

A selection is only as good as the number you can get on the Game. Let’s say for example that after doing your work, as described in part one of this article, you ferret out 10 potential plays for the week in college football. These would be plays where your number on the Game differs significantly from the betting line.

your goal on any of your plays should be to obtain the best possible number on the Game. If your handicapping points you to a 5 point underdog, be sure that +5 is the best you could have possibly gotten on the Game. If the Game opened up +7, and the best you can get is +5, you HAVE to pass the Game. Playing that Game at +5 would be like buying a big screen TV for 3000 bucks that was on sale for 2000 bucks the week before. You will NEVER come out ahead in the long run by playing bad numbers. Especially in a case like the example I just gave, where you are missing out on two key numbers in the +7 and +6. Key numbers referring to the high percentage of times Games fall on those key numbers. This is more important in the NFL but still comes into play in college football. 3,6,7,10, etc.etc.

In Our TV example. The guy who buys the TV on sale, in the long run, over the course of a lifetime of buying TV’s, is going to come out ahead of the guy who pays the full price every time and in the process will put that much more money in his pocket. Betting Sports is EXACTLY the same. You absolutely must have the best number on the Games you bet to have any chance of coming out a winner. One of the things that separates the professional sports bettor from the amateur, is that the pro always, always, always gets the best number.

Now the pro will spend thousands of dollars per year to help make sure he gets the best numbers by subscribing to live odds feeds and other information services. This article is geared more towards the weekend warrior who just wants to have a little fun and hopefully make a few bucks in the process. He probably has a full time job and simply doesn’t have the time to watch these numbers every day.

But there’s still hope.

There’s a method you can use that will take no more than a few minutes per week and will have you only betting Games at the best possible prices. Simply chart the opening lines each week. You can use any sportsbook to do this. Open your sportsbook account the day they post their lines, either Sunday night or Monday morning, and write down all the openers.

Then check back on Saturday morning and again write down the lines. You’ll quickly be able to see which Games moved and in which direction. Perhaps Alabama opened as a 6 point favorite over Auburn, but on Saturday morning the line is now Bama -8.

Now take a look at the Games that  you’re handicapping pointed out at POTENTIAL plays. Let’s say Auburn was a potential play of yours. Well, that’s great news for you, because you can now get +8 on the Game that earlier in the week was only +6!! In this case, you’d go ahead and play Auburn +8 or better. You would have a play that your handicapping says is solid, AND you’re getting VALUE in the line that has moves two points in your favor. That translates into long term profits.

On the flip side, suppose your handicapping zeroed in on as Alabama as a potential play. Only in this case, you’d be laying -8 whereas it was only -6 on Monday. In this case you have to PASS the Game. (remember the TV example). The pro, who bets for a living, played the Game on Monday at -6.

By eliminating the Games where you’re giving away line value, and betting only the Games where you are getting the best number, you’ll be betting just like the pro.

This is also one reason why sports services, as a whole, lose. They give out selections without any regard for the line. They are under pressure to give out plays each and every day because of their marketing efforts. They don’t pass on Games. They play every Monday night, etc.etc…..they think nothing of giving out Alabama -8 even though they were -6 earlier in the week.

I hope I have driven home the point here. Which is to insure that you make all your bets at the best possible line!

Lastly, money management.

There is probably not a professional sports bettor in the world that doesn’t use some form of the Kelly system. AKA The Kelly Criterion. Explaining this in detail would take several more articles. Do a google search on it and get ready to do some reading.

But for the recreational player, I will give you a very simple method of money management which is actually based on the Kelly system.

For football, wager 5% of your bankroll per play, and never more than 25% of your bankroll on any one session. If you have $5000 set aside for football bets, you would be start out by wagering $250 per play and no more than $1250 per session.

your bet size will automatically adjust each week according to you bankroll. If you’re winning, you’ll end up betting more. If your losing, your bets will be reduced. Using those percentages, it will be automatic. Very simple.

For baseball and basketball, you’ll want to reduce the percentage to 2 or 3% per play.

There you have it. It may seem like allot, but after practicing all the techniques in these two articles, they will be 2nd nature. Like tying your shoes. More importantly, following the methods laid out in these two articles will make you one tough player for the sportsbooks to beat.

You’ll enjoy betting on sports allot more knowing you’re getting the best of it and giving yourself every opportunity to win. As times goes on, who knows, maybe you’ll end up being one of the few “pro’s” I referred to above.

Good luck this football season!!!!!

You want to learn how to win betting football this year? Tired of always coming out at the wrong end of the figure column? Tired of combing the net for free NFL picks Well, sit back, read this article, and by the time you are finished, I guarantee you that you will be a tough player for the sportsbooks to beat.

Don’t expect miracles. It can take many years to become a seasoned pro. However, by following some simple guidelines, you can drastically improve your play and be well on your way to becoming a “sharp” and certainly will do better than randomly playing the free picks you’ll find on the net.

There are three keys to being successful betting sports.

1) handicapping/picking winners

2) money management

3) line value

With all three, you need DISCIPLINE

All three are equally important. I’ve seen plenty of very good handicappers go broke because they weren’t able to manage their money and weren’t able to understand line value. Of the three, handicapping is probably the LEAST important. Those that are able to spot value and know how to manage their bankroll, can win without the slightest clue how to handicap a Game.

But let’s start with handicapping. Of course there’s allot more to handicapping than I am going to be able to talk about here. But what I will do, is give you some key pointers to point you in the right direction and instantly improve your chances of winning.

We’ll start with power ratings. You need a number to beat a number.  Nebraska is playing Florida ST and Fla St is -6. Is that the correct number? Or is that a number put up in an attempt to get even action on the Game? Sometimes, it’s both. But the Games you’re looking to bet are the Games where the number/pointspread is NOT the actual difference between the two teams, and there are plenty of opportunities to find these Games. That’s where Our power ratings come in.

I keep my own power ratings. Allot goes into them and I couldn’t possibly teach you here in the space I have. But you don’t need to keep your own power ratings. There are some ratings available for free, or for a few bucks, and all do a decent job. The Gold Sheet is one such publication. They have been keeping power ratings for decades and do just about as good of a job as anyone. Teamrankings.com is another sOurce of power ratings. Just do a google search for football powerratings and you’ll find plenty, and some of those are kept by some very sharp mathematical minds.

Once you have your ratings, you can assign a line to each Game on the card for the coming week, and then compare it to the actual betting lines. You’re looking for significant differences between the power rating and the betting line. Those are the Games you want to zero in on.

But you can’t just use a power rating. That’s just a starting point. From there you need to to take a look at other factors that could iNFLuence the Game. Weather, injuries, revenge, etc.etc. For example, you may find a significant difference between the power rating and the line, but further research may tell you that the reason for the big gap is a key injury in the Game.

I mentioned revenge above. In my opinion, psychological factors in Games are often overlooked but can be absolutely HUGE in determining the result. Particularly in college football. Maybe it’s revenge for a blow out at the hands of their opponent the year before. Maybe one coach said negative things about a player on the other team. The list goes on and on but any bulletin board material is worth looking in to. Coaches routinely use these motivational factors when they prep their teams for upcoming Games, and these motivational factors work!

I once played on a hockey team that lost 19-2. Three weeks later we played the same team again and beat them 6-0. Why? Because for one thing, Our coach had us wanting blood/revenge for the 19-2 drubbing we took 3 weeks earlier. He had us in a frenzy. Another key factor was Bobby Orr was going to be at the Game that night. Our team knew about it. The other team didn’t. What kid doesn’t want to play well in front of Bobby Orr???

Now had you been able to bet on this Game, and had been able to find out Bobby Orr was going to be there, and added in the HUGE revenge motive we had, you could have cashed a nice bet on Our team who would have been a fairly good sized underdog going in. All things being equal, the other team was probably better than us. They may have beaten us 9 out of 10 times. But there was no way they were going to win that particular night.

Situations like this arise each and every week in college football. Take note.

Trends are another misunderstood area. To me, trends are 90% useless. There may be one or two trends worth their weight, but the majority of the trends you’ll find printed on the net or elsewhere are trends that are discovered AFTER the fact. It’s easy to go back over a large sampling of Games and find trends that WOULD have won had you played them from the starting point. You may read a trend that says some college football team is 10-0 against the spread after losing by more than 20 points the week before. Well that’s just great. But who knew that when they were 1-0 after losing by 20?? Further more, you could start playing that trend now and go 0-5. But guess what, you’ll still see that trend hyped next year. It will say that the team is 10-5 after losing by more than 20 the week before. Hey, 10-5 still looks good doesn’t it?

You get the point. Forget trends. 90% are garbage and the ones that are meaningful, everyone knows about them, INCLUDING the oddsmakers, so this is already reflected in the betting line.

One last tip in the handicapping department. A method you can use to isolate solid selections each weeks is the yards per point method. It’s a very simple, yet very effective way to come up with your own number on a football Game. I’ve written a separate article about YPP. 

If doing the above work doesn’t appeal to you, there is one other thing you can do. Hire a handicapper. Now granted, 90% of the so called professional sports services are complete jokes. But there are a select few. Contrary to what you may think, using someone else’s selections isn’t taboo. Some of the most successful sports bettors in the world aren’t handicappers themselves. They have professional handicappers which they hire to work for them.

Now these handicappers aren’t the commercial handicappers you see in magazine ads or on TV on Saturday mornings. They are generally professional bettors and players themselves, and look to fatten their own bankrolls by going to work for one of the big money players that are out there, generally receiving a percentage of the win or a free roll on their plays for a certain amount per play.

Consider using Our Key Releases. Aside from winning sections, we also offer money management advice. In which case, you could then focus on simply getting the best numbers on your wagers.