Football Refugees

If you follow the sport of soccer then betting on the matches isn’t going to be a problem for you. If you don’t follow soccer then I would recommend following the sport for a season or two before risking any of your hard earned money on soccer betting. It looks fairly easy to wager on soccer, but if you don’t know what you’re doing then you’re most likely going to end up in trouble sooner then later. Everyone can win a few games in a row, but if you don’t know what type of bets to make and how to cap the games then you’re not going to last as a punter.

Types of Soccer Bets

* The most popular type of soccer bet is obviously betting on what team you think will win the match. Of course you need to worry about draws in soccer and since they happen often in soccer you really need to be careful.

* If you don’t want to worry about draws when betting on soccer then you have one option depending on what sportsbook you use. Some sportsbooks will allow you to make a wager on what team you think is going to win and if the match ends in a draw then you will receive your money back. The odds on this bet are much worse then the above bet.

* Another type of popular bet in soccer is betting the over/under on the game. Most of the matches will have goal totals in the 2.5 – 3.5 range in soccer with some exceptions depending on the teams that are playing. If you follow the smaller teams you can often find value in betting the over/under. Most sportsbook post odds for hundreds of soccer games, but many of the small games receive little attention when the lines are being set.

* Most sportsbooks will allow you to bet on the first half or second half of a match as well. Betting on the first half can be beneficial when you think a team is going to come out firing. Often when a team comes out firing they will pick up a quick lead and be able to hang onto it until at least the second half. The benefit about betting on the second half in soccer is that you’ll be able to watch how the teams perform in the first half. One downfall is that if a team dominates the first half the odds for the second half are going to be brutal.

* Many cappers have been using Asian Handicap betting for awhile in soccer as well and for those of you that don’t know what it is, it’s simply betting with a point spread. In soccer you’ll find matches with soccer odds such as -1/+1 and -1.5/+1.5. If you take the favourite which is the team with the (-) spread then your team needs to win by more then the posted spread. If you take the underdog which is the team with the (+) spread then your team can lose as long as it’s by less then the spread.

Instead of betting blindly on a Super Bowl winner in the upcoming NFL Football Season, I like to make a short list of contenders, bubble teams, and “the rest” after eliminating teams that have no shot. The “no shot” teams consist of the Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Oakland Raiders, and the St. Louis Rams. The top teams (who look and feel like Super Bowl contenders to me NOW) are Dallas, New England, Pittsburgh, San Diego, and the NY Giants – while the “bubble teams” are Buffalo Bills, Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints, Chicago Bears, Arizona Cardinals.

Sorting Through the Field

The remaining 17 teams I throw into a category known as “the field.” I have eliminated five teams from the field, and given ten teams ranking higher than the field. Recently, there have been teams who have risen above the ranks of “the field” and I intend to identify such teams later. The “field teams” that stick out in my mind are the Carolina Panthers, as well as the Tennessee Titans. I will make a not of them and come back to the field later.

Assigning Values to Each Level

After I have my three groups of NFL Teams, I give each group a level of confidence. More specifically, I assign the top tier group a 50% chance of producing a Super Bowl winner. Additionally, I give the second tier or bubble group a 30% chance of berthing a winner, and finally the field gets a 20% chance of containing the Super Bowl Champs in 2010 – with the top two field teams getting a lion’s share of the probability.

Field Breakdown

I have 20% to spend on 17 teams, of which I give two teams the majority of the weight from the field. If I give each team equal weighting, they would each get roughly 100 to 1 Football betting odds. The problem is, while I think teams such as San Fran are close to 100 to one, I do not find Carolina or Tennessee 100 to 1 shots, which is why I simply give them a better shot at winning. I remove from consideration any other field team. That being said, I give nearly half of my field allocation to Carolina and Tennessee, while allocating 12% odds to the remaining 15 teams. This sets Carolina and Tennessee at roughly 25 to 1 on my personal line to win the super bowl.

Bubble Breakdown

The bubble gets 30% among five teams, which comes out to a 6% shot for each of the bubble level teams (roughly 16 to 1 odds). Of the bubble teams, there is heavy value in Buffalo, while only slight value in Arizona and New Orleans. Indy and Chicago present no value.

Top Tier Breakdown

Each of my five top tier teams gets 10%. Pittsburgh and New England show no value, while Dallas shows promise, and San Diego and the Giants show slight value.

Putting it Together

I found no true value in the field, as the lines are close to the values I placed on the only teams I see as true contenders. From the bubble, I love Buffalo, while I see the Saints and Cardinals as showing promise on a good return for my money. Dallas, San Diego and the Giants are additionally promising futures plays. When its all said and done, however, I like the future odds of a Buffalo – Dallas Super Bowl.

Just like basically everything there will be some varying opinions on what the most popular races are each year during the NASCAR betting season. One thing that is for certain is that each of these races deserves to be on this list. If you don’t follow NASCAR that much, but you’re interested in trying your luck at wagering on the sporting event then the below races are where you want to start.

All NASCAR Sprint Cup Races reward the drivers will the same amount of points. Although the drivers receive the same amount of points for every race there are certain races that hold more prestige then others. In the big races of the NASCAR season the drivers always put forth their best efforts and therefore it makes it much more exciting to bet on. The media also pays attention to certain races each season a lot more then others and it makes the drivers want to win those races even more.

Here is a list of some of the most popular races of the NASCAR season to wager on each season.

* The Daytona 500 is easily the most anticipated NASCAR race of the season and millions of dollars is wagered on this single race alone each year. The race is a total of 500 miles and every year there are some amazing finishes too watch. The Daytona 500 has a massive purse for the drivers which is another reason why the race is the most popular of the entire racing season.

* The Coca-Cola 600 is the longest race of the entire season and it also falls on the Memorial Day Weekend which is great for all NASCAR fans. Thousands of NASCAR fans from all over the country travel to North Carolina for a weekend of drinking beer and watching racing. If you can’t make it to the races then the next best thing is to relax with some friends while watching the race. If you’re feeling lucky then you’ll want to make sure you get your bets in for the race as well with your favourite online sportsbook.

* The Brickyard 400 is one of the races each season that people just can’t wait to watch. This race offers the drivers a huge purse for finishing in the top positions and part of the reason is because the Brickyard 400 is the most attended NASCAR race of the season. With thousands upon thousands of people watching the race live you can only imagine how many people are sitting at home watching the race. The drivers all come out firing for this race and it’s definitely one of the most popular NASCAR races to bet on each year.

* The NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race isn’t even a race that rewards points during the Sprint Cup, but it’s definitely one of the most popular races of the year. The reason this race has become so popular is because it typically involves a lot of crazy driving with more then a few crashes. The winner of the race receives a $1 million prize while every other racer receives nothing. Since only first place wins money in the event and there are no points on the line it doesn’t matter if racers end up crashing and being eliminated from the race which is why they often drive crazy.

One of the betting options that you have when you’re betting on the NHL is to bet on parlays. A parlay is the same as a straight wager except you need to bet on multiple teams. Most sportsbooks will allow you to bet on two to ten games on your parlay. In order for you to win the parlay you need to have all of the games picked correctly. Since you need to win every game on a parlay it’s ideally in your best interest to only place two to three teams on your parlay. There are some benefits to betting parlays in the NHL rather then straight wagers and we’re going to take a look at them below.

* The biggest benefit that you have when you’re betting on NHL parlays is that you can consider betting on big favourites. When you’re making straight wagers it’s hardly worth betting on a -300 or bigger favourite since there is a lot of risk involved. If you combine a couple big favourites you’ll be able to lower the juice on them to make it a worthwhile wager. You will need to be careful betting on heavy favourites all the time because they often lose, but if you find value in a couple big favourites then your best bet is to parlay them together.

* When you’re working with a small bankroll betting on parlays can help you try and build a much larger bankroll. If you deposit $100 or so into your sportsbook account then you might not feel safe betting the entire amount on a single team. If you can pick out 2-3 teams that you like then you’ll only need to bet a fraction of your $100 to make a decent amount if they all win. Of course hitting 2-3 games is more difficult then hitting 1 game, but if you spread the games out over a couple days you can often pick a couple winners.

* When you’re going to wager on underdogs you might want to consider betting them in straight wagers. Whenever you’re going to bet on teams with NHL odds of +100 or better then you’re going to want to bet them in a straight wager as well since it’s unlikely that you’ll win a parlay with all underdogs in it. You can also get a parlay with the teams so that if you do hit them all you’ll have a nice payday, but just in case you only lose 1 of the games you’ll want to have them in a straight wager as well.

* Since parlays are difficult to win you want to limit how often you bet on parlays. If you’re betting on the NHL everyday of the season and you generally bet $100-$200 per day then you should only really be spending about $10-$20 of your bankroll on parlays. It’s always nice to hit a parlay in the NHL because they pay nicely, but you need to remember that a straight wager is where you’ll make your bread and butter in sports betting.

After a crazy Thanksgiving weekend that almost seen some big favourites lose outright we’re looking for week 13 to be a little simpler to predict. There are going to be some big match-ups this coming week in the NFL and with many teams still fighting for a playoff position we’re expecting some close match-ups. Some sportsbooks have the lines to some games already posted and we’re going to take a look at some of those games right now.

Buffalo Bills vs. New York Jets

* This isn’t going to be a game that has a lot of action on it this week. One thing that will help is that this game is the only game on Thursday this week so I’m sure many people will be doing some online football betting on the game just to have some early action in the week. The game is going to be played at the Rogers Center in Toronto, Ontario and I’m going to be attending this game. The current line for the game is Jets -1.5 and for some reason I think that they’ll be able to cover this number easily. The Jets played well against the Panthers this past week and although the Bills are playing well the Jets are going to be looking for some revenge against the Bills.

Indianapolis Colts vs. Tennessee Titans

* After watching the Colts make an incredible comeback against the Texans this past week I expect them to be able to beat the Titans. The spread for the game however has opened up at -7.5 for the Colts and I for one don’t think that the Colts will cover the spread. The Colts will be playing at home which makes me worry a bit, but I just don’t see the Titans losing by more then a TD. They have been playing some good football as of late and I think they’ll be in the game until the very end.

Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants

* The spread I’m seeing for this game right now is a pick which I think is being a bit generous. I think the spread will move to about -3 before kick-off this week for the Cowboys. I will be jumping on the Cowboys this week at a pick even though they are on the road. Both teams will be rested since they both played on Thanksgiving this past week and I feel that the Cowboys have a stronger team right now. Eli has been nothing short of a disappointment this year in my mind and although he doesn’t have much to work with right now some of the blame needs to fall on him.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Carolina Panthers

* The Panthers open up as a -7 favourite and I think if you wait a bit this line should jump. The Panthers are at home and although the Panthers don’t get much public love, neither do the Bucs. Tampa played well against the Falcons this past week while the Panthers looked pretty bad against the Jets. Delhomme was back to himself this past week and I expect him to throw a couple more INT’s against the Bucs. A safer bet in this game might be to take the under 42 as I don’t see these teams scoring very many points on Sunday.