Competition of Betting Pro Football
Whether someone realizes it or not, they are in competition with other bettors to get the best number on a game.
If you always wait until Sunday to place your bet, you could be getting the worst of it. This is a maneuver that Sports Books and bookies use. Sports Books use it to even out the handle on each side. Bookies can use it for the same reason, or if they are in the city of the home team, you will lay more value to bet your team.
Waiting until you see where the money goes is not always a wise choice. You could miss out on getting that extra half point to make you a winner, or laying an extra half to a point or two, and lose your wager.
The season is long, and you can get ground down by the end of the season by betting late. You will be taking a number that the majority of people have instead of a valued number that few people have.
Evidence of that was the Hall of Fame Game. There have been a few moves this week with the Raiders going from a 1.5 point dog to a 1 point favorite. Minnesota went from a 2 point dog to a 1 point favorite. The Broncos went from laying 3 to plus 3, and Detroit went from -1 to -2.5.
Key numbers are also something that you need to be aware of, 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, and 14. When your line goes a half a point over one of these numbers, there is a very good possibility that you will be on the other side. I have known some of the best handicappers in the game, and there is no way to decide if a game lands on 3 or 4, so if your laying 3.5, and you don’t feel that it should be a 6 or 7 point game, pass it.
My key number in preseason is 3. I will lay the hook, but only if I feel like the other team has nothing to prove, and my team is competing at quarterback, or the coach wants to come out firing after a bad season to put people in the seats. Otherwise laying 3 points or more will grind you down before the season starts.
In closing, if you keep your wagers below the magic 3 points and have the information to place the wager early, you can have a great preseason.
Mike Hillin
Vegasflyer.net
South Point owner Michael Gaughan received preliminary approval Wednesday from the state Gaming Control Board to pool sports bets with the Palms, both Cannery casinos and the Rampart Casino at the JW Marriott.
The four sports books will add to Gaughan's current pool of bets from the South Point, the El Cortez, and the Casablanca and Virgin River hotel-casinos in Mesquite.
Gaughan has done something similarly in the past, when he owned Coast Casinos and their sports books were run as one big pool.
"We're just doing the same thing," Gaughan said. "It is a little tougher to do with different owners but we're going to try it for a year."
Bert Osbourne, South Point's sports book director, will set the lines for the eight properties, but each book will continue to be owned and operated by its current owners.
Pooling will allow the books to accept larger bets on all sports, but the casino operators particularly wanted to capture a larger college and pro football share when that betting season begins in earnest in September.
Gaughan said pooling the bets will allow the books to take college football bets from $10,000 to $20,000, compared with the $5,000 to $10,000 range allowed last year.
The sports books will be able to accept pro football bets ranging between $15,000 to $25,000 a game.
"All we do is share the risk," Gaughan said. "They do their own promotions and advertising; they do anything they want to do."
The properties can't begin taking bets under the new system until the Nevada Gaming Commission approves the plan. The commission is to consider the proposal at its Aug. 20 meeting in Carson City.