Betting on American Football, part 3

      Today I wanted to move our talk about the basics of betting on American Football to the types of bets you should use in your betting strategy, now yesterday we were talking about doing your research and being careful about when you bet. Now that is some of the most important things you can do, taking the time to do good research has helped more people win more games, than all the betting strategy's combined. OK, we have talked about how our betting strategy changes during the season, now we are going to talk about the different types of bets and when to use them.

      The main bet used by all gamblers, is the Straight Bet, and it should be the type of bet you use the most often, but that does not mean you should not use other types of exotic bets. Now when using a Straight Bet on a game, the thing you need to give a lot of consideration to, is how much money to risk. All Lines are read out around a $100 dollar bet, but this is just to make the math easier for you to think about how much you want to risk. So when a line is +6 and in American Football Point Spread, you will usually have to risk $110 to win a $100, or $11 to win $10, but you can bet any amount you want, and the book will tell you the exact risk amount. Now when picking a risk amount there are three very important things to think about, first is how confident are you that the team is going to win, and second how much of your bankroll do you want to risk, and third is the Risk Worth the Reward. When you think these three things through completely, you will make wiser betting decisions.

      Now when you have 2 or 3 teams that you really like, and they have good lines, it might be time to use a Parlay, when using Parlays you can grow your bankroll quickly, without risking too much of your money at one time. In a 2 team Parlay instead of risking $110 to win $100, depending on your books Parlay payout table, you would risk around $100 to win $260, and in a 3 team Parlay it is more like $100 to win $600. Now do not bet on a Parlay just because you can, you still need to think it through and it needs to make sense from a risk and reward stand point, the reward is great but do you have the confidence in the 2 or 3 teams to win. Remember the Books give you better payouts with exotic bets for a reason, because it is riskier for you to pick 2 or 3 teams where all of the teams must win, for you to win your bet, than it is to have 2 or 3 Straight Bets, where if 1 of them loses you can still win the others, as always Bigger Payout, Equals Greater Risk.

      Tomorrow we will talk more about why and when you should think about using Exotic bets.

Betting American Football, part 2

Today I thought we would continue our talk about betting on American Football, yesterday we talked about how the early games were settling down games, and are very difficult to predict with any certainty. Now once the season gets underway and things have settled down, you should be able to make some much better choices for your betting. When doing your research you should be sure to start by simply taking a look on Tuesday or Wednesday at the opening lines, this is so you can see what the early lines look like, and this gives you several days to research the games you want to bet on this week. Then you want to take a look at how the teams are ranked for the current season, and what the outcomes of the previous meetings between the two teams have been. Sometimes if the two teams have a little bit of a rivalry, this is more important than the current seasons rankings. Then you want to take a look at the health of each team your betting on, and their opponents health as well. If a team has a lot of injury’s, and this can be a big factor late in the season, you should take that into consideration when deciding to bet on them, especially watch the secondary as the star players can't do their jobs if they don't have the protection. You also want to look at the style of play, are they a big passing team, and if they are, is their opponent better against the pass or the run, defensively? Also take a look at the two teams ranks in both defense and offense and how they compare with each other. Remember in each bet, one of the 2 teams that are playing are going to win, and sometimes it is not, the strongest team but the team that wants it the most. This is very true later in the season, because once a team has made the playoffs, sometimes they slack off a little to protect their star players, while other teams that are on the verge of making the playoffs play a little harder and little better. We will continue this conversation tomorrow.

When to bet American Football

Hope everyone had a safe and happy Fourth of July. Today I thought we could start talking about the games you should bet on in American Football. First off I, myself don't usually bet on preseason games because the teams are not set yet, and the coaches are trying out different players, so I strongly recommend that you stay away from betting on preseason games. Next the first 1 or 2 games are also usually settling down games so be careful betting on them, from about the 3^rd game on things get more regular for betting. Now when picking the games you want to bet on, you should look at several things. First is the teams history against each other and where their playing. Second how are the teams doing this year and how healthy are the players on both teams. Third what are the odds, the lines are very important in making your decision. Now there are a lot of other things you can look at, and as always your research is important, any info you can get, can make the difference between winning and losing, so check out the game completely. When looking at the lines if they are too high, then you might want to think about using a Teaser or even buying a point, but if they are too high in the point spread it might be wiser either to bet on the over or under, or not to bet on that game at all. Remember if you want to make money at betting on sports, you have to use you mind, not your emotions when placing your bets.

Happy Fourth of July!!!!

Happy Independence Day America. God Bless us all.

A Pitching Change “Oh My”

An interesting thing happened over night in the Baseball lines, there was a Pitching change in the Detroit and Minnesota game. Now this is important to you the bettor because it changes the Lines(Price) on the game, and if you did not make your bet with “Listed” Pitchers, then the difference in the new Price is taken from your account. It is important when betting on Baseball for you to check who the starting Pitcher is, and how well he has done against the other team, how he's doing for the year, and other important statistics on him. So a Pitching change can be a very big deal for your bet, and if you did not say while making the bet “List the Pitchers” or “Listed Pitchers” then your bet is still active, with the new pitcher, and you have to pay the difference in the new price, but if you said “Listed Pitchers” when you made your bet, then your bet becomes “No Action” and your money is returned to your account. So if you want to bet on the team, no matter who is Pitching, the do not “List” the pitchers, but be aware of the possibility that you could have to pay more money if the pitchers change. So by “Listing” the pitchers then you know exactly how much money your going to pay for your bet, but if that pitcher does not make the first pitch then your bet is “No Action”. Most of the time this is not a issue, but when it does happens, it can be very important to the outcome of your bet, also most of the time there is plenty of time, for you to make a new bet, after the pitching change is announced, if you still like the new lines on the game. So it is always a good ideal to “List” your pitchers, this way you know exactly how much of your money, is going to be at risk, in your bet.

Knowledge is Power

Well the UEFA EURO 2012 is over and Spain wins big against Italy 4-0, looks like Italy just ran out of steam in the Final. Hope you had your money on the right team. The EURO 2012 had some surprises, like Italy beating Germany in the first place, or England losing to Italy. Like I was saying to you, you have to do your research to give yourself a good chance at winning your bets, but no matter how good your research is or how “Favored” a team is the “Underdog” can still have a great day and win. But if you have taken the time and effort to do just a little research then you will not lose as often as the person who just looks at the board and says I think I’ll bet on that one. Knowledge is Power and if you use the Power wisely then you can change your lifestyle and live the one you deserve. Betting with knowledge and foresight is how all the Wiseguys in Vegas live life so LARGE, they never bet on a game that they have not studied well, and that is their true secret.

What about the "Props"

UEFA EURO 2012 Finals between Spain and Italy are in a few hours, and the current Lines are Spain +109 and Italy +260 and the draw +220. This is a good time to place your bets, and as there are some interesting Prop Bets available to you through most Sports Books, be sure to check your Sports Book and see what Props they offer. Props are a fun way, to make watching the game so much more exciting to watch. For example the line at one Sports Book, on which team will score first is Spain -165 and Italy +125, who do you think it will be? Or if you really think your a sports guru how about which player will score first or what the exact score will be? Maybe the number of goals scored? If you do place a few Prop Bets, don't go overboard and put to much of your money on them, Props are just to add some fun and excitement to watching the game, not as your primary money makers. Put your real money on your Straight Bets, now check out your Sports Books Props and put a little more excitement into watching the Game.

Change your Lifestyle

Yesterday we talked a little about “sure things”, remember with Sports Betting research is very important you can follow people on Twitter and get great last minute news and lines. You can check out the sports news in your local newspaper, or you can go on line to one of the many sports news services. It does not matter where you do your research, it is just important the you DO your research. Now you don't have to spend your entire life doing research but you should spend at lest 5 to 10 minutes researching each bet you place. Just as little as 5 to 10 minutes more time to think things through can increase your chances of winning by as mach as 70%. By taking the time to truly think about your bets you can have the High Rolling Lifestyle that you have always wanted, so get out there and do your research and soon your life will be what everyone else dreams about.

I got a "Sure Thing"

I was looking at yesterdays UEFA EURO 2012 Semi-Finals between Germany and Italy, were Italy surprised everyone by beating Germany in regular time 2-1, not in a penalty shootout, but in regulation time. It just goes to show you, a very important LAW in Sports Betting, there is no such thing as a “sure thing”. Any team can win, it does not madder if they are the “Underdog” or the “Favorite”, on any given day they can win or lose. The same goes for every bet you place, always expect to win, the way you think about betting is just as important as the bets you place, but understand that you can lose. This is why it is important to have a sound betting strategy, and to always do your research. You might still lose, but you won't lose as often, or as much, as you will if you only bet with your emotions, in wagering your Knowledge is more important than your emotions, always think every bet through completely.

The Idea of the "IF Bet"

Today lets talk about the ideal time to use an “If Bet”, now as you know the “If Bets” primary use is to stretch your betting capital and allow you to bet on more games, with the same money. The ideal time to use an “If Bet” is when you have 2 or 3 teams that you would really like to bet on, but do not want to risk to much of your betting capital on them. So just take the best one of them and put it the first place in your “If Bet”, then the next best choice in the second place and so on. It is important to remember that the order that you place your teams in your “If Bet”, is the order that they will be graded in. To get a more through explanation on the use of “If Bets”, just check out my e-book “ TheWagering Man's Guide to Sports Betting” at www.thewageringman.com and soon you can find out even more info, at the sports betting help site www.wageringman.com coming soon.