RSS
 

Posts Tagged ‘recreation’

Arena Football Back On American TV Screens

16 Sep

Though it enjoyed solid fan support and was popular among sports betting enthusiasts, arena football fell off the map with the demise of the Arena Football League. The AFL suspended play under the weight of a poor business model in 2009 and later pulled the plug altogether. Since then, a new league has announced plans to take its place. Arena Football One (AF1 for short) will begin play in April and on Thursday secured a TV contract to broadcast games on the NFL Network in the United States. The TV deal should help the new arena football entrant to get off to a successful start as they attempt to revive the sport. Obviously the long term goal is a deal with a major network like Fox or ESPN but a good relationship with the NFL never hurts.

Superficially, there are many similarities between the defunct Arena Football League and the upstart AF1 circuit. Several former AFL franchises have joined the new league, with several others having previously played in the AFL’s developmental ‘minor league’ known as Arena Football 2. The new league’s organizers are hoping that the similarities remain superficial, and have taken great pains to avoid many of the high salaries and dimwitted business decisions that doomed their predecessors. They’ve also learned from a crucial error of the AFL and will coordinate promotion and publicity of all teams as well as the league as a whole at the corporate level.

The original Arena Football League also made the mistake that many growing companies make in trying to grow too big too fast. Though the league prospered for years by keeping a tight rein on player salaries and team budgets, in the past few years there had been a drastic upward spiral in the cost of player contracts. A division between old line owners dedicated to fiscal responsibility and deep pocketed newcomers (including 80’s rock idol Jon Bon Jovi) anxious to spend as much as they wanted further exacerbated a business model that became more and more unsustainable.

The AF1 deal with the NFL Network is for one year, with a network option for a second year. The NFL Network will air a ‘game of the week’ every Friday night beginning in April. In addition to providing a good broadcast outlet for the fledgling league it also provides some much needed off season programming to the NFL’s 24/7 cable network. One can only watch so many ‘classic games’ (the NFL euphemism for ‘re-runs’) and an emphasis on arena football during the summer months would be a win/win for everyone involved.

Though Arena Football 1 is the largest and best known arena football league, there are actually two other leagues that will begin playing in the coming months. While most are focusing on smaller markets than AF1, the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA) and the Indoor Football League ( IFL) are also in the mix. Eventually, the AF1 will prevail as the top level arena football league with the other two circuits serving as minor league developmental partners.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and respected authority on NFL football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and online sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

 
Comments Off

Posted in Business

 

Redskins To Stay With Zorn As Coach For Now

07 Aug

Washington Redskins head coach Jim Zorn is off of the hot seat-at least temporarily. After a recent swoon that saw him stripped of play calling duties for the NFL team, Zorn got a vote of confidence from upper management on Friday. His head isn’t entirely out of the noose, however, as the reprieve will last only to the end of the season unless some marked improvement is seen in the second half.

Executive Vice President of Football Operations Vinny Cerrato had the following statement:

“Jim Zorn is the head coach of the Washington Redskins and will be for the rest of this season, and hopefully into the future.”

“The frustration is very high, everywhere around here. But the relationships internally within this organization, quite frankly, remain the same.”

For his part, Zorn was unimpressed by the vote of ’semi-confidence’:

“I don’t necessarily have a reaction to that because I am the head coach. I want to be here for the next 10 years. That’s my story.”

While he didn’t express much personal relief from the management statement, he said he hoped it would benefit his players:

“If it comforts the players – awesome! But I think our players are focused regardless of what the situation is. Whatever has to be said, I guess it has to be said, but we go on.”

Quarterback Jason Campbell sounded relieved:

“That should relieve a lot of tension and a lot of stress. Guys don’t have to worry about thinking about it or talking about it. We were the soap opera for the NFL the last two weeks so hopefully it’ll calm down a little bit.”

Ceratto also had a different take on the removal of Zorn’s play calling duties:

“Look at all the things that we’ve done to try to help. You could have done other things drastically. No, you have confidence in him, because you want him to do well. Hopefully we can just concentrate and focus on winning football games.

He also expressed confidence in offensive consultant-and new offensive playcaller-Sherm Lewis’ ability to do the job:

“You don’t forget how to ride a bike if you hadn’t rode your bike in four years.”

The Redskins have slumped to a 2-4 record in the early part of the NFL season despite being the first team in league history to play six straight games against winless teams. Washington will host the Philadelphia Eagles this Monday night before a bye week. After the bye, they’ll return to action on the road against the Atlanta Falcons on November 8.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance writer and highly respected authority on soccer betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

 
Comments Off

Posted in Business

 

Kobe, Iverson Miss NBA All Star Game

17 Jul

The NBA All Star game was played without a couple of high profile participants this year as the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant and Philadelphia 76ers’ Allen Iverson would not play due to injury. Kobe and ‘AI’ were the latest in a string of injuries to All Star players that also claimed Portland’s Brandon Roy and New Orleans’ Chris Paul. The NBA has been much more strict about attendance at the All Star game since a number of players skipped out with dubious injuries.

Kobe Bryant has been plagued with minor injuries all year, but missed the Lakers’ last three games prior to the All Star contest due to an ankle sprain. Los Angeles is hopeful that by not playing in the game that Kobe will be able to return to action immediately after play resumes following the All Star break. Bryant did travel to Dallas to participate in All Star game festivities. Kobe is always the center of attention wherever he goes and presided over the annual slam dunk contest as well as a benefit appearance for retired racing wombats.

Iverson has missed Philadelphia’s past five games due to an illness suffered by one of his young children. Unlike Kobe, Iverson wasn’t expected to be in Dallas this weekend due to the nature of his situation. It’s debatable that Iverson deserved an All Star game nod in the first place. He quickly wore out his welcome in Memphis to start the year, and eventually landed back in Philadelphia where he’s averaged 14.4 points per game since his return. He was voted in to the starting lineup by NBA fans, and this renewed calls from the media to revise the procedure for selecting All Star game participants. Unfortunately, many of the All Star voters are dimwits and pick players based on their ‘name recognition’ rather than their in-season performance.

Jason Kidd of the Dallas Mavericks was chosen to replace Bryant in the Western Conference lineup, while New York’s David Lee was the East’s fill in for Iverson. The West already had two ‘fill ins’ named to their roster as Denver’s Chauncy Billups and the LA Clippers’ Chris Kaman took the place of Chris Paul and Brandon Roy respectively.

NBA betting enthusiasts had several options on the menu beginning with the annual ‘rookies vs. sophomores’ game on Saturday. The Sophomores were a -12 point favorite with the total set at 245′ but were crushed by the rookie team. As usual, defense was in short supply at both the ‘rookie v. sophomores’ game and the actual All Star event.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer and highly respected authority on World Cup betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

 
Comments Off

Posted in Business

 

UFC 92 Flashback: Mir, Evans And Rampage Prevail

17 Jul

Two titles changed hands at UFC 92, with Rashad Evans defeating Forrest Griffin by TKO to win the light heavyweight title and Frank Mir knocking out Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira to claim the UFC interim heavyweight title. The event had been dubbed The Ultimate 2008 and every one of the main cards six matches ended via TKO.

While nominally taking subordinate status to the Evans/Griffin main event the most shocking result by far was Frank Mir’s second round TKO stoppage of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Nogueira was the overwhelming favorite coming into the fight and had never been stopped inside the distance during a career where hed faced the best of the best: Fedor Emelianenko (three times), Josh Barnett (twice), Semmy Schilt and Mirko Cro Cop among many others. In the matchup to fill the Interim UFC title vacated by Randy Couture, Nogueira had absorbed a punching barrage from Tim Sylvia before gaining a submission victory.

Mir, meanwhile, had been on the verge of a full time move to the broadcast booth before his victory over WWE superstar turned MMA fighter Brock Lesnar. The conventional wisdom concerning Mir was that hed never fully recovered from a serious motorcycle accident in 2004 and that he was essentially a shot fighter physically, emotionally and psychologically. He eventually returned to the octagon, and after two TKO losses in his first three comeback fights began to consider the possibility that he just didnt have it any more.

Always a quick witted and highly cerebral fighter, Mir had been very impressive with his commentary work on WEC broadcasts. A highly respected BJJ black belt, his knowledge of submission technique was legendary but in his broadcast role also displayed not only tremendous poise behind the mic but the sort of innate ability to see the fight several moves ahead of the competitors”the same ability displayed by the legendary Bas Rutten in his broadcasting work. When the fight against Brock Lesnar was signed, the perception among most fans was that Mir was a high profile setup for the former WWE champ”a big name on the downside of his career that would be physically overwhelmed by the strength and athleticism of his opponent. The expectation was that after a one-sided loss to Lesnar that Mir would transition into the next phase of his career as a broadcaster.

For the first minute of the fight, it looked like the above scenario was going to play out”Lesnar manhandled Mir from the opening horn, taking him down and landing punishing hammer fists on the ground. That was rendered irrelevant, however, when Lesnar made a rookie mistake and dangled his leg in easy reach of the BJJ blackbelt. Mir locked in a deep knee bar and Lesnar was forced to tap.

There would be no such reprieve against Nogueira, according to many pundits, as he was too experienced and too good of a BJJ player in his own right to give Mir any such opportunities for a fluke submission. Mir entered the UFC 92 fight as a +305 wagering underdog, meaning that oddsmakers and the betting public agreed that he had little chance to prevail in this matchup against a highly experienced veteran that had never been stopped inside the distance.

The fight was certainly one-sided, but it was Mir who was in control throughout. From the opening horn he demonstrated surprisingly sharp striking skills, and knocked Nogueira down twice in the first round.

Though Mir appeared in full control of the fight as the second round began, the end would come with startling suddenness and brutality. After a low kick attempt by Nogueira, Mirs counter tagged his opponent and he followed up with a big right hook that sent the Brazilian crashing to the canvas.

In the light heavyweight championship match, Forrest Griffin got off to a good start in his title defense by using his superior height and reach and an impressive array of kicks to keep Rashad Evans just out of range for two full rounds. That changed dramatically in the third, as a flash knockdown by the challenger gave him the opening he needed to mount Griffin and unleash a brutal ground and pound assault.

The most highly anticipated match on the undercard also featured a lopsided TKO finish as Quinton Rampage Jackson dominated Wanderlei Silva in the third fight between the two men.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and noted authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

 
Comments Off

Posted in Business

 

The Importance Of Discipline To Sports Betting Success

17 Jul

Books on other ‘winnable’ gambling pursuits like horse racing and poker are good resources of theoretical information for the sports gambler. While for some reason there hasn’t been much written specific to the sports handicapper that deals with the discipline from a serious theoretical level, there are countless books devoted to a thoughtful discussion of horse racing and poker.

On one level, this is likely due to the fact that poker”like sports gambling”is a pursuit in which the knowledgeable and skillful practitioner can overcome the theoretical odds against him. To paraphrase the great poker theoretician Bob Caro, there are some professional blackjack players and sports gamblers in addition to professional poker players. There may even be a few professional horse players (though the house edge against the horse player is a hefty 17% or so). In the entire world, however, there is not one professional roulette player.

Basically, this is because that no combination of skill, strategy or money management can negate the house edge in roulette and many other casino games. While Caro likes to stress the importance of the decisions that a poker player makes to his long term profitability, in roulette player decisions simply don’t matter over the long haul. Red or black, even or odd, the house edge remains the same.

Caro stresses the paramount importance of discipline to a poker player’s long term success and profitability. It’s important to keep in mind that to succeed as a professional gambler that you need to approach a trip to the casino with a diametrically opposite mindset to that of the recreational gambler. A recreational gambler heads to the casino to *avoid* discipline and ‘unwind’. The professional uses discipline to his advantage.

Caro’s emphasis on discipline in poker is also true for the serious sports gambler. The foundation of a professional sports bettor’s long term success is to approach it with the same discipline, rigor and professionalism that he would any other job. If you continue to think about it in the same terms as the recreational gambler does, you’re in for a difficult road. The more seriousness that you bring to your sports betting, the higher the likelihood that you’ll be successful.

Now, I have no problem with recreational sports gamblers”or any other recreational gamblers for that matter. Recreational sports gamblers are, in fact, crucial to the survival of those of us who do this for a living. Theyre not our prey”like they are for the poker professional”but a thriving recreational sports gambling industry keeps the sportsbooks in business, and what I do is utterly useless if my book doesnt pay me.

If you want to bet recreationally, thats fine and unless you have the dedication and discipline to do it right its probably better for most people. You might be able to win more often and lose less frequently with some enhanced discipline. Ultimately, however, as a recreational gambler the only discipline you really need to know is the same as for other casino games or any hobby”just dont bet more than you can afford to lose. After that, youre on your own.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and World Cup betting sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

 
Comments Off

Posted in Finance

 

Shall You Follow The High Rollers Mindset?

03 Jul

Gambling is such a lucrative activity where gains are manifested only to those who have access to it.Generally, gambling is considered as a game of chance. Everybody would love to gamble because of the fact that it could provide them easy money without having to toil and wait longer.

Others contend that the reason why people love gambling is based on the fact that they consider it as a play, a game that gives them the kind of satisfaction that they need. They find it as an outlet that deviates from the usual life they have whenever they are at work or at home.

The gambling people in a typical on line casino surroundings, people who are seen taking part in poker, blackjack, roulette, etc. usually come from completely different walks of life.Usually, they’d put a reasonable bet on something that they suppose could be sufficient to offer them again their stakes plus a hefty sum of money if ever they win.

But there are people who place bets or stakes with great amount of money. These individuals are generally known as the high-rollers of the casino. These high rollers are those that normally deposit $1,000 or more.

The reason why high rollers exist in the casinos relies on the truth that there are special bonuses which might be only designated to individuals who deposit giant amounts of money. And most frequently than not, these high rollers are the ones that often win and take the money from different bets.

No surprise why a particular thing has evolved. This is called the high-rollers mindset.The high rollers mindset is a way of thinking of most on line casino players or gamblers that conceptualizes the idea that the higher the bet, the higher the probabilities of winning and getting bigger quantity of money.

High-rollers mindset is often employed by high-rollers or those that gamble a lot of money. They imagine that by placing giant amounts of money as their bets, they would be capable of get the particular bonuses being supplied by the casino. Plus, they can even have extra benefits which can be solely entitled to the high rollers if ever they get to win the game.

Having a high-roller mindset is not at all wrong, especially if a person has some huge cash to bet. The only downside is that it tends to let an individual gamble some huge cash just for the thought that she or he might win.

The bottom line: high rollers who gamble more have higher chances of losing more. After all, it’s still gambling where people are never sure if they will win or not.

Looking to find the best deal on casino, then visit www.megaonlinecasinos.com to find the best advice on online casino for you

 
Comments Off

Posted in Business

 

Richard Seymour Fails To Report After Trade To Oakland

20 Jun

Trades are a fact of life for NFL players. Most players willingly accept their new assignment and try to make the best of it. That’s apparently not the case with the Oakland Raiders newly acquired defensive end Richard Seymour. Seymour was acquired by the Raiders on Sunday and as of yet has not reported to his new team.

The trade surprised NFL observers, with the Patriots sending Seymour to Oakland for a 2011 first round draft pick. He had been expected to report on Monday, but was a no-show. When he failed to report again on Tuesday, it became something of a major story in the NFL sports media. There is some speculation that hes doing a de facto hold out in hopes of getting the Raiders to re-work his contract but this hasnt been confirmed by anyone involved.

For the time being, Raiders coach Tom Cable is being vague about the situation. He informed the media that hed spoken to Seymour earlier in the week and that he affirmed his desire to play for the Raiders but then added:

I really have nothing to report on that. Nothing has changed at this point.”

He also declined to comment on questions about a potential new contract, which makes it more likely that is the sticking point with Seymour joining the team:

“I don’t want to comment about anything of that until we have something that’s done and concrete.

Seymours former coach in New England, Bill Belichick also gave his version of a no comment but praised him as a player:

“Because we don’t have rights to Richard, there really isn’t anything I can say about him or his situation. So I’ll have to pass on those questions at this time. There’s a lot of things that Richard did well but that’s the way it is and we’re moving forward and our team’s moving forward.”

Pats defensive coordinator Dean Pees also gave a ‘no comment’:

“This is not going to be an interview about Richard. It’s really about Buffalo and whoever we have here to face the Bills.

As did NFL spokesman Greg Aiello:

“Any comment at this time would have to come from the teams.

Most NFL observers think that the Patriots made the move in order to free up money to negotiate with defensive lineman Vince Wilfork. There is now concern that New Englands defense has quickly become very young and lacking a strong leader on that side of the ball. Belichick isnt concerned:

“We have a lot of good leaders on our team and especially on the defensive side of the ball. No doubt about it, it’s different, but I think it’s good.”

The Patriots open their 2009 NFL regular season on Monday night at home against the Buffalo Bills. The Raiders will also kick off their campaign on Monday night as they host their hated rivals the San Diego Chargers. Regardless of how the Seymour situation shakes out, its unlikely that anything will be resolved in time for him to play in the Raiders’ season opener.

Ross Everett is a experienced freelance writer who covers travel, casino gambling and NFL football handicapping. He is a staff handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, falconry and deep sea diving. He lives in Las Vegas with four dogs and a pet coyote.

 
Comments Off

Posted in Business

 

Las Vegas Poker Superstar Stu Ungar

19 May

Too often amazing talents are given to those people who are not able to handle them. Such was the case of poker legend Stu Ungar, who had skills at the card table unrivaled in history. Unfortunately, his ineptitude at every day life and self destructive behavior was equally legendary. Ungar would eventually succumb to his demons, and was found dead in his room at the Oasis Motel in Las Vegas in late’98.

For those unfamiliar with the big guns of high stakes poker, the only way to describe Ungar’s abilities is a metaphorical comparison to sports. With a green felt table and a deck of cards involved, Ungar was ‘Jordan-esque’. With Ungar, his greatest accomplishment was undoubtedly three World Series of Poker victories-a feat not unlike MJ’s six NBA titles. Texas Hold-em poker, the game of choice for the cognoscenti, is a seemingly simple game that belies its deceptive complexity. The successful player needs to be able to instantaneously plan strategy based on a number of ever shifting variables. Countless volumes have been written on the subject, but Ungar was able to perform complex analysis and strategy with amazing speed-almost instinctively. Between his three WSOP victories, and countless more informal victories and profitable poker room sessions, Ungar won millions of dollars playing poker. The amazing subtext to Ungar’s sheer mastery of Texas Hold’em was the fact that it was the third card game he had mastered. Ungar first came to Las Vegas as a gin rummy prodigy; he had beaten all of the good players on the East Coast and moved to the desert mecca in search of new opportunities. He had soon run the table of Nevada’s gin players, and then turned to blackjack out of necessity. He was quickly barred as a card counter at a number of Southern Nevada casinos. Needing a new vocation, he took up poker.

Ungar’s problem was that he was awful at basic survival skills. He fought a number of addictions-most notably to drugs and sports gambling. After his WSOP win in’97, he was nearly broke and wasted away from drug use by the time the’98 tournament rolled around. Vegas casino owner Bob Stupak provided the $10,000 he needed to defend his title, but as the games began Ungar cowered in his darkened hotel room unable to pull himself together enough to play.

Other stories of Ungar’s troubled life away from the poker tables evoke the same theme: buying a new Mercedes with cash after a WSOP victory and driving it until it fell apart from lack of maintenance; signing mortgage papers as he played in the Dunes poker room; losing 1.5 million dollars betting on sports or golf in the course of a weekend on more than one occasion.

Sadly, Ungar’s death came as a ray of hope had entered his life. Noted casino owner and longtime friend Bob Stupak had stepped in to help Ungar pay off his debts, clean up his life, and provide the stake money to enter the major poker tournaments. Ungar was found two days after the two had formalized the agreement in a contract. Ungar also left behind an ex-wife and a teenage daughter, who still live in Las Vegas. The official cause of death was listed as “coronary atherosclerosis” and a mixture of drugs including cocaine, methadone and Percodan were found in his system.

Most of the famous gamblers of Las Vegas legend-guys like Puggy Person and Doyle Brunson– have been tough, larger than life individuals with a healthier than normal dose of self-preservation skills. In this respect, Ungar was an anomaly among gambling greats-he was physically frail and almost completely helpless away from the poker table. With a handful of cards and a pile of chips, however, he became a ruthless and indomitable warrior. His story is certainly not one that the modern day, publicity conscious Las Vegas will celebrate. He will be remembered, however, as part of the tradition that gives the city its unique character. From the mobsters that pioneered the city, to the Rat Pack that civilized it, to the corporations that cleaned it up, characters like Stu Ungar have provided the spice that makes Las Vegas America’s ‘Paris in the desert’. Ungar may never have a statue on Fremont Street, but his spirit will live on.

Ross Everett is a respected freelance writer specializing in travel, poker and sports handicapping. He is a consulting handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily free sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, flower arranging and deep sea diving. He lives in Las Vegas with four dogs and a pet coyote.

 
Comments Off

Posted in Finance

 

Colts’ Owner Irsay Says Team Will Break Bank To Retain Peyton Manning

17 May

In what has to be one of the least difficult front office personnel decisions in sports history, Indianapolis Colts’ owner Jim Irsay has confirmed that the team will sign quarterback Peyton Manning to a contract extension that could make him the highest paid player in NFL history. Manning’s current deal will expire after the end of the 2010 season, with the final two years having been voided due to his meeting a number of performance based criteria. The decision was made before the Colts’ Superbowl loss to the New Orleans Saints.

You can tell that an owner is adamant about resigning a player when he tells the media that he wants to make him the highest paid player in league history, and Irsay did just that at the NFL’s Superbowl media day:

“You know it’s going to get done. I think it’s clear, and we’ll start on it this summer. That’s been the way we do things [to hammer out an extension when a player is entering the final year of his contract]. And it’ll be the biggest [contract] in history; there’s not much doubt about that.”

Not exactly the most advantageous negotiating position to make public that you’re committed to breaking the bank to resign a player. Then again, it’s not like Manning is a quarterback that can easily be replaced as Irsay emphasized:

“It simply comes to one question, and that’s replaceability. Everything is based on the replaceability factor. You make decisions based on who you can afford to target and keep. … Other guys you really want to [re-sign] you might have trouble doing it, because of what it costs you, and how much attention they’re getting [from other teams in free agency]. We don’t have that luxury and we’ve had to work hard.”

Manning’s agent, Tom Condon, has already had preliminary discussions with the Colts’ management about a new deal. Condon also represent’s Peyton’s brother Eli Manning, and negotiated a $97.5 million contract extension from the New York Giants for him last year. Peyton’s contract will almost certainly exceed those figures, with some speculating that he could receive $20 million per year with a $50 million signing bonus up front.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and World Cup betting sites. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

 
Comments Off

Posted in Business

 

The Basics Of The NFL Point Spread

04 May

In order to successfully bet on NFL football its important to start with the fundamentals. Were talking about the fundamentals of understanding the wagering side of the equation. There’s a lot of misunderstanding about what NFL pointspreads mean and how they are set. A firm understanding of the bookmaking concept of setting NFL lines is a prerequisite for any sports betting success.

The general public has a tendency to oversimplify the meaning of an NFL pointspread. The conventional wisdom is that it is simply a prediction of which team will win and by how much. There is a component of that in the NFL bookmaking equation, but there’s a lot more to it. A sportsbooks primary goal is to equally divide the action they take on an individual game. If they do their job right, the outcome of the game is irrelevant to the bookmaker.

A bookmakers primary goal in setting NFL betting lines is to equally divide action. To do this they have to make each side of a wagering proposition attractive to a prospective player. For that reason, its more accurate to say that NFL lines are more of a reflection of the betting public’s perception of which team will win a game and by how much than anything else. A bookmaker may shade the NFL lines involving teams that are popular with the general public such as the Dallas Cowboys or New England Patriots to make their opponent a more enticing betting option. So if the numbers in a hypothetical game between Dallas and Cincinnati indicate that the Cowboys should be a -6 favorite a book may open the game at -7 or -7. For that reason going against public teams is almost always a strong wagering strategy.

In early season wagering there are a few additional factors at play. A bookmaker may consider a teams NFL preseason record for the simple reason that the NFL betting public gives it undue attention. Sharp players know that there is little correlation between a teams preseason success (or lack thereof) and their regular season performance. Another consideration is a teams performance in the previous season or, in some cases, their historical performance.

Furthermore, its important to understand why NFL lines are moved after the opening numbers are posted. While it may occasionally be due to external factors such as injury or weather, more often than not its a direct result of the money a book is drawing on one side of the proposition or another. If in our hypothetical example above, Dallas opens -7 and not long after the line is moved to -7 that is an indication that the book has received the majority of their bets on the Bengals. The idea is that by moving the line it makes wagers on the side a book wishes to attract money on more attractive. Indeed, many sharp players base their NFL football bets exclusively on line movements.

To successfully bet on NFL football, however, it is important to spend as much time as possible understanding the intricacies of the sports gambling marketplace”and in this regard nothing is more fundamentally important than understanding how NFL pointspreads are made and why they are moved.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and World Cup betting sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

 
Comments Off

Posted in Finance

 
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »