Sports Betting

One of the most peculiar things in sports betting is the reverse line movement. That is, when the majority of the public is betting on one side of a point spread, and, instead of moving up, the spread moves down. For example, if the Southern California Trojans were 7 point favorites and 75% of the public was betting on USC, then instead of moving to 8 or 9 points, the line moves to 6 or even 5 points. It is a strange phenomenon. One would think that the more money coming in on one side, the higher the spread would move.

Imagine that you are settling in to watch the Super Bowl, and after days of handicapping you think you have it figured out: the Saints are favored by six points and you are convinced they are going to cover. At the half, the Saints are winning by 10 points, and the sports books offer a pick em for the second half. From the way things have been going in the first half, the Saints are the right side for the second half

Since the inception of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, sports betting in the United States – minus parts of Oregon, Delaware and Nevada – has been outlawed. However, that does not mean it is impossible to bet sports, you just need to know where to look.

It happens every year: after guiding a team through a successful season, a coach leaves the team before the bowl game. Suddenly, everything that the team had worked for all year is up in the air as the coach is thinking about his new job, leaving the school to scramble for an interim coach to take over duties for the bowl game.

In sports betting, whether you are placing wagers on the NBA, NFL or college sports, it is always tempting to forego the point spread altogether and just bet more money on a money line. You won’t have to sweat out a team winning by 15 instead of 14, and as long as they win, you win.

One of the reasons why the vast majority of new sports bettors fail and bust quickly is due to a lack of basic bankroll management. It is one of the foundations of profitable sports betting: don’t bet beyond your means. At any given time, you should not be betting more than 5 percent of your bankroll on a game. Just like you wouldn’t put all of your stock portfolio into a single stock, you would never want to put a large percentage of your bankroll onto one game. No matter how soft a line looks

Time and time again, one of the easiest ways to make money betting on sports online is by clearing first time deposit bonuses. Though it is easy to become black listed if you continue to deposit and withdraw immediately after clearing the bonus, if you play it right, a deposit bonus can really boost your win rate in both the short term and long term.

As I have written numerous times in the past, line shopping is one of the most important parts of sports betting, and one of the biggest advantages to betting sports online in general. It is critical in the long term to have money in several different books, simply because all books offer different lines regularly. Even if the line is the same at two books, one may offer a reduced line because money is coming in differently at both sites.

With the 2010 World Cup in South Africa in the not so distant future, teams are trying to qualify at a frantic pace for the first ever World Cup in Africa. As of the first round, 23 of the 32 teams have qualified for the world’s most prestigious soccer event, most notably Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina and Spain, who have all qualified for at least nine straight World Cup events. Both Spain and the Netherlands had cake walks to their qualifying process, finishing a combined 19-0-0 to earn their spots. Both teams are serious contenders to win it all in South Africa next year. At +500

For sports fans, Super Bowl Sunday is one of the best days of the year. For bettors, it can be not only entertaining, but profitable as well. This year’s Super Bowl predictably pitted the New Orleans Saints against the Indianapolis Colts. Through 14 weeks of the NFL season, these two teams combined for an unconscious 26-0 record, before both teams clinched home field advantage for the playoffs and rested their starters.

You already know Las Vegas sports books are not stupid. They pick up on trends well ahead of the general public, and that is how they make their money.

Not much was expected of NC State quarterback Russell Wilson last year. As a redshirt freshman, the 5-foot-11, 208-pound athlete came in to replace the woeful tandem of Harrison Beck and Daniel Evans after a 34-0 loss to South Carolina.

NCAA football coaching changes in 2009

California Golden Bears season betting preview 2009

For the last five years, the US Open has been significantly more suspenseful on the women’s side than on the men’s side. The ladies have seen five winners in as many years, while Roger Federer has won five straight and is the odds on favorite to make it six in a row this year.

Betting trends in College Football. One step toward improving handicapping is to do the research yourself.

Top College Teams betting against the spread.

It's no surprise that USC, Oklahoma, Texas and Florida are four of the heaviest favorites to win the BCS Championship according to Vegas and various online sports books.

It’s no secret that teams without an experienced offensive line are going to struggle more often than not. Returning starters on the offensive line are arguably more important than a returning star quarterback or running back.

We hear it all the time. Taking a road team is risky, if only because they are going into a hostile environment and will have to deal with another team’s home field crowd. Ah, the elusive home field advantage. Does it actually matter though?

In the NFL, road favorites are dangerous, and can easily cost NFL betting players a lot of money. However, the level of talent from first to worst in college football is a significantly bigger drop than in the NFL.

Most Dominant home teams in College Football

Sports betting is one of the most popular avenues of gambling in the United States. Like poker, it has been essentially outlawed online, though there are a few sites that still allow U.S. customers. For most Americans, sports betting is most convenient to do from your own home ...