Add Comment1. Stay disciplined
The Major League Baseball season is the longest in professional sports. Over a 162-game schedule, even the top teams will lose four or five games in a row – and so will you. Be sure to stay disciplined and don’t chase your losses when things aren’t going well. If you consistently make good bets and don’t vary your wager sizes, you should come out ahead in the long run.
2. Starting pitchers
The starting pitching matchup is the biggest thing oddsmakers consider when setting the moneyline and total on a baseball game, and it should be the first thing you look at as well.
The win-loss records and earned-run averages of the starting pitchers are a good place to start, but there are more things to keep in mind. Take a look at each pitcher’s recent performances to see if they are on top of their games or in a slump. Also, baseball is a game of matchups, so research how each pitcher has performed against the other team in his career. …
1. Bet the runline
The runline in baseball is the equivalent of the point spread in football or basketball and the puck line in hockey. Basically, if you bet a favourite on the runline, you’re betting that your team will win by two runs or more. Having that extra handicap on your bet often means turning a heavy favourite into a slight underdog, so you’re risking less to win more.
Say, for example, the Phillies with their ace on the mound are a -215 home favourite over the Brewers and their fifth starter. Laying -215 means you have to bet more than twice the amount you’re hoping to win back, something that’s hardly ever a smart bet in baseball. But if you took the Phillies on the runline (-1.5 runs), you’re likely getting +100 or better at more sportsbooks. At that line, you’ll double your money or even get a bit more if the …
1. If a game does not go the regulation nine innings (or 8.5, if the home team is ahead), your over/under and run line bets will be canceled.
For example, let’s say you bet over 9.5 in a game between Texas and Baltimore. Texas leads 8-6 in the seventh inning before heavy rain causes the umpires to call the game. Even though the game is considered official under MLB rules because it went at least five innings, the …
1. Learn from the conference tournaments
The conference tournaments can be a preview of what to expect in th
e NCAA tournament, since there are several parallels between the two competitions. Like the NCAA tournament, conference tournament games are played on neutral floors, so you get a chance to see how teams perform when there is no home-floor advantage. And like the NCAA tournament, conference tournaments are single-elimination, giving you the opportunity to see how teams perform under the pressure of win or go home. This year, Syracuse proved it is still a team to look out for in the NCAA tournament, reaching the final of the Big East tournament despite struggling down the stretch of the conference season.
2. Don’t over-react to conference tournament results
Like we just said, there ar
e things that can be learned by how a team performs at the season-ending conference tournaments. Just be sure to take some of …
PROLINE
Ontario’s sports lottery offers a limited menu of betting options, but it might be enough to satisfy your needs if you’re just looking for a little action.
With Proline, you can bet on five different outcomes for the game. You can take the Visitor + or the Home +, where either the visiting team or home team (depending on who you picked) has to win the basketball game by 11 points or …
This week, many NBA bettors were licking their lips to see Cleveland Cavaliers star Kyrie Irving out of the lineup due to injury.
Chicago opened as a 6.5 point home favourite to the Cavs Wednesday but, after word got out that Irving would miss the game, the Bulls were bet up to 8-point faves.
A similar thing happened the following night, when Cleveland hosted the Raptors. Toronto opened as a 3.5 point favourite but was laying as many as 5.5 points by tipoff.
Obviously, bettors saw extra value in betting against Cleveland without Irving on the floor. And they were wrong.
The Cavaliers won both games outright, stunning the Bulls by three points in Chicago and then defeating the Raps by 11.
Situations like this are fast becoming a trend in sports, particularly the NBA. Remember how the Boston Celtics went on a huge winning streak as soon as Rajon Rondo was lost for the season and NBA experts said there was no chance they could make the playoffs?
When we hear star players are …
Listening to the radio today, I heard that Carolina Hurricanes coach Kirk Muller was nervous about last night’s game against the Leafs because the Canes were playing their first game after a lengthy road trip.
Such a scenario is widely perceived as a tough spot for teams. The first game back after a long road trip can almost feel like another road game for teams, plus there’s the distractions of reuniting with family and friends after being gone for a while.
It got me wondering how big of a disadvantage it is to teams. And I was surprised with what I found.
Going back through the 2011-12 NHL season, I found 97 situations when teams were on road trips of four games or longer.
Just looking at win/loss records can be misleading when it comes to betting. Since moneylines can be as high as -200 for some teams, it’s impossible to determine whether it’s profitable to blindly bet on or against teams playing their first home game after a long road trip.
So I looked …
(Odds taken from Bet365 on Jan. 25)
Proline
This is a very popular option for Canadian sports bettors. With Proline, you can bet on the point spread, money line (including a tie option for a game decided by 3 points or less) and the over/under. Proline will also almost certainly be offering many Super Bowl-related betting options on a props card. Using Proline to bet on the Super Bowl is obviously convenient because you can just buy your ticket at the corner store, rather than having to set up an account with an online sportsbook and deposit money in it. But you’ll be getting way worse odds through Proline Super Bowl betting, and you’ll have to parlay your Super Bowl picks (bet on a couple other games on the same ticket) instead of being …
Always get the best lines
When betting hockey, just like when you’re betting on any other sport, it’s essential to make sure you’re getting the best odds on all your wagers. Making a few extra cents on your dollar with every underdog bet, or risking a few less cents with every favourite you take, will make a big difference in the long run. It’s worth your while to have accounts with several different sportsbooks so you can shop around and make your bet at the sportsbook that offers you the best odds. Pinnacle Sports and 5Dimes are two sportsbooks that consistently offer the best odds on hockey betting. Sports Interaction and Bodog are two sportsbooks that tend to be opinionated in their betting lines, which can offer a lot of value.
Choose parlays wisely
A parlay bet is when you bet two or more games on one ticket, requiring you to …
In sports betting, just like in all other aspects of life, it pays to shop around.
Sportsbooks often offer different odds on the same games, for two main reasons. Certain sportsbooks cater to certain types of customers (for example, Bodog and Sports Interaction attract mostly recreational players who like to bet favourites and overs), so they adjust their odds accordingly. Also, sportsbooks will usually move their odds in order to ensure they have equal action on both sides, and the action on each side will differ by sportsbook.
Generally speaking, Pinnacle Sports and 5Dimes offer the most accurate lines in the industry. In fact, Pinnacle Sports prides itself on having the sharpest lines in the business because it welcomes the biggest and best sports bettors in the world. If good bettors are betting at your sportsbook, it’s not difficult to quickly determine where the smart money is going on each game.
This makes it fairly common to find some real discrepancies in odds offered at your sportsbooks, and also makes it essential to have accounts …
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