Sports Betting Odds

Football took over from baseball as America's Game in the early 1980s, and it keeps getting more popular. When it comes to betting football, everybody considers himself an expert. For those who have had success wagering on football, do not change what you are doing. What follows are 10 guidelines to help you succeed. They may not fit your style and are not guaranteed. In my opinion, any casual bettor who claims to beat professional football on a regular basis is a liar. College football, maybe. The pros, no way.
 

You can get away with laying big lumber in college, where the talent level between teams is huge. In the NFL, anybody can win. Or more importantly, any team can get the money. Do not fall in love with "public" teams that are double-digit favorites week after week. They will destroy you.

A majority of recreational bettors are 'over' players. So it makes sense to bet 'unders' later in the week after the totals have been driven up. This holds true for TV games, as oddsmakers automatically inflate totals, knowing the public loves to bet anything it can watch.

You do not have to know the name of every starting quarterback in the NFL or how many returning starters a college team has. What you should be looking for are holes in oddsmakers' numbers. The best way to accomplish this is find power ratings with which you are comfortable and stick with them. There are tons of newsletters that publish weekly power ratings. In most cases, you can line your garbage can with their selections, but check out how close their numbers are to the posted line. If a publication has an eight- to 10-point difference on every game, chuck it. That is not what you want. Do not look to come up with a play for every game. Be selective and find three or four solid plays.

I try to stay off glamour teams for two reasons. Oddsmakers tend to have a better opinion on teams that consistently are in the top-20. Therefore, it's possible to find bargains among lesser-known programs. With all the information available these days, you must be as well-informed as the man behind the counter. And, everyone basically is on the same side every week. If you do not get a number early, you are going to get a terrible price.

If you ever have been in any of the fancy new Las Vegas betting palaces, remember those plush chairs and free drinks were paid for by parlay and teaser cards. If you are looking to stay in the battle for the long haul, avoid parlays. If your goal is to turn a toothpick into a lumberyard, then fire away.

Just because a game is on TV, does not mean you have to bet it. Security does not come around at sports books to check if you have a ticket on the game on the big screen. But do keep an eye on TV games and you likely will pick up information that will help in the future.

This comes into play frequently after a Monday night rout. A lot of bettors can not wait to get down on the winning team. Do not forget, everybody watched the same game you did. One great performance (or one lackluster effort), means very little the following Sunday.

Do not be afraid to lay big wood in the amateur ranks. You probably have noticed college numbers move to a much greater extent than those in the NFL. It is common for a college line to move as many as five or six points, while a two-point move in the NFL is huge. This is because of the relative parity in the pros and the vast disparity in the college ranks.

Casual fans often become overly impressed with teams that run up big scores week after week against inferior competition. When they finally run into serious opposition, often at an inflated price, they show their true colors. Who a team has played is much more important than how a team has played.