Before you get too excited, this article won't give you any winners to bet on or provide you with a "get rich quick" scheme. What it will do, however, is give you a few tips that will help you become a winning sports bettor on your own. You'll also gain some insight into several tools the best handicappers and bettors use in order to be successful.
Money & Sports
The first thing you have to decide is how hard you are willing to work in order to succeed at betting sports. If you just want to have a bet on the game because it's on television, then you probably won't win in the long run. It takes a tremendous amount of effort and time to win in betting sports.
When you place a wager you will usually lay 11 to win 10 on each bet. This means you need to pick 52.38% winners just to break even. So, you'd better make some informed decisions if you want to overcome the "juice."
Get a Book, Know the Game
You may want to start by reading some good books on sports handicapping. Many can be purchased at Gambler's Book Club. They have books that will teach you many handicapping techniques.
You can consider things such as trends, emotional factors, travel, weather (where applicable), schedules and match ups. There are also several services on the Internet that can provide you with team box scores and statistics that you can download to assist you in your studies.
Tendex Will Show You the Money
One of the most important tools that you can use in handicapping is the TENDEX rating system. This will enable you to compile a rating for each player. The rating is derived from a system that blends 10 statistical categories into a formula to show the number of points per minute a player is worth to his team.
You will consider a player's points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocked shots, missed field goal attempts, missed free throw attempts, turnovers, minutes, and strength of schedule. Everything that contributes to scoring and getting the ball is rated on the plus side. Everything that relates to loss of possession is a minus.
It basically consists of adding a player's positive stats and subtracting his negative stats. The result is a three digit numerical rating similar to a batting average in baseball.
Do the players have game?
Studying the TENDEX system is wise but before placing any bets you should also have accurate injury information on each player. There are many services on the Internet that will provide this service for a nominal fee. However, if you want to have the best information, research it yourself. You can go to sites on the Web that will provide you with hometown newspapers for each team.
Often, a player's status will be listed as "Probable", "Questionable", "Doubtful", or "Game Time Decision." The local newspaper may even give you more accurate information about his condition.
Sometimes, you may even determine that a particular player who is listed as "Questionable" is actually 90% likely to miss. Now, you may have even better information than the odds makers have.
Another common situation is where a key player is listed as "Probable." After reading the newspaper, you may believe that he will likely play. But, you may also now feel that he will only be worth 50% of his normal value. This may be because you have read that he is not fully healed, or, perhaps he will play a reduced number of minutes. In any case, you can now use this more accurate injury information along with your TENDEX rating to make an adjusted power rating for the team.
Player Injury and Your Money
This timely injury information is what the top handicappers and sports bettors use. It is absolutely essential if you want to be a successful handicapper. Another great advantage to reading the hometown papers is that you may read about emotional factors concerning the team.
Perhaps there is discord on a team because players are fighting among themselves. Or, maybe the best player on the team is having a conflict with the coach, and this is affecting the team's performance. Reading these articles can be very useful, however, you must make sure you are reading facts, and not just the sportswriter's opinion.
It takes great judgment that can only come from many hours, weeks, or even years of previous reading. Some of the best newspapers to read are the local papers for college basketball teams. There are so many teams that the bookmakers may not have good information. Your hard work will pay off. In sports like pro football, the newspapers are not as valuable because the information is usually common knowledge.
The best handicappers use a statistical analysis of all these and other factors to come up with a power rating for each team. They can then compare these power ratings to the point spread for each game. If there is a significant difference between their power rating and the point spread, then they place a wager on the game.
Make Money with Don
The sharpest sports bettors use a Premium Service called "Don Best Sports." It provides current lines for 19 high limit offshore sports books and 5 Las Vegas sports books. When a wager is placed that changes the line, it is updated instantaneously. This service will show you the sharpest lines in real time.
The Don Best Premium Service also provides very good current injury information and game time lineups. Also, there is a mind-boggling amount of information for the serious handicapper in their archives. This premium service is $500.00 per month and is essential for any serious bettor wagering large sums of money.
Don Best also provides two other versions of their Premium service called "Island Express". It shows lines from 25 sports books, and also provides updates on injuries, weather, time changes, wise-guy plays, and game selections. Besides the price, the main difference between the Island Express and the Premium Service is that information and line changes are delayed. The free version has a 15-minute delay. The $99/month version has a 2-minute delay with some additional features. This is an incredible tool for anyone from the sports enthusiast to the serious bettor.
Show Me the Moolah
These are just some of the sophisticated techniques used by the very best sports bettors. Yes, the world of sports handicapping and betting is very complex but if you work hard, it can pay off. You have the road map -- now it's up to you.
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