With 82 games each season, frequent roster changes and a high amount of scoring involved, basketball is a challenging, yet lucrative, season for sports bettors. Bettors need to stay informed and disciplined throughout the entire season. But this fast paced action also what makes basketball betting so fun – there’s always a chance to join in on the action.

Before you place your first bet, there are a couple of NBA gambling tips and strategies to keep in mind.

Learn how to read the lines. The point spread is the number located next to each team. A “–“ symbol indicates the favored team, and the “+” indicates the underdog. When you bet against the spread, you are betting on how much a team will win or lose by, and not necessarily who will win or lose the game.

Consider home court advantage. Out of the top four betting sports – NFL, NHL, MLB and NBA – the home court advantage in basketball is the highest at 61%. A study by Amstat revealed that the home team has the advantage over visiting teams for several reasons – travel, environmental factors, familiarity, support from fans, distribution of rest and lodging. Across the entire game of basketball, there is always a greater winning percentage of games played at home court.

Pay attention to scheduling. In an 82 game season, it’s inevitable that players, especially players with high minutes totals, will tire out. Watch out for teams playing back-to-backs, and with an unusually high number of games in a week.

Do your research. Amateurs who don’t do their homework and rely on “gut”, or advice from friends and family will not be profitable over the long run. One way to do your own research to calculate which bets are favorable is to use Power Ratings. A Power Rating is a number assigned to a team that rates its quality.

When you compare the Power Ratings of two teams playing against each other, you can get a sense of who will win and by how much. You can find Power Rankings in Gold Sheet, Power Sweet, Sports Reporter and USA Today.

Power ratings are powerful because they give you the mathematical perspective – in that way, they are unbiased and simply compile past performance statistics. They do not, however, take into consideration the qualitative factors that we know have a significant impact on NBA games. These include, but aren’t limited to, coaching changes, player changes, specific rivalries & matchups.

All in all, basketball betting is highly engaging and will provide you with a ton of action this season. Sportsbook is the premier online betting network and we take wagers on all NBA events throughout the season. Access money back specials, signup bonuses and member privileges when you sign up at Sportsbook to bet on the NBA.

The Rams face their toughest test of the season as the Premier League leaders come to town and our tipster anticipates plenty of goals between these two sides on Tuesday
Chelsea face a potentially tricky test when they make the trip to Pride Park to face Derby County in the quarter-finals of the League Cup on Tuesday night.

Jose Mourinho’s men have lost just one competitive fixture thus far this season and, therefore, it is of little surprise to see the visitors chalked up as warm favourites for this one, with BetVernons offering just 53/100 (1.53) for an away win.

Derby County, though, have a solid record at Pride Park this term and Steve McClaren’s side will be determined to make home advantage count when they go head to head with the Premier League leaders.

Indeed, Derby have lost just one of 12 competitive matches on home turf this season and can be backed at a chunky 5/1 (6.0) with BetVernons to beat the Blues while the same firm go 29/10 (3.90) that the match remains all square after 90 minutes.

The Rams were overhauled at the top of the Championship table following a 2-0 defeat against Middlesbrough on Saturday afternoon but, having notched an impressive 11 goals in their last three matches at Pride Park, Derby will be hoping for some home comforts against the Blues.

This looks likely to be a hugely entertaining clash and, indeed, BetVernons offer just 4/6 (1.66) that it features three or more goals, while the same firm go 4/5 (1.80) that both teams find the net.

It is worth noting that Derby have failed to score in just one home match thus far this term, while Chelsea have scored in no fewer than 23 of their 24 competitive fixtures in all competitions this season.

Furthermore, punters should keep in mind that the Blues have reached this stage of the competition courtesy of 2-1 victories over Bolton Wanderers and Shrewsbury Town respectively, a fact that should be of comfort to the Rams.

Whilst it would not be a great surprise to see McClaren’s men find the net on Tuesday night, the 3/5 (1.60) quote from BetVernons for Derby to score is too skinny to support here.

Better value lies in backing both teams to score and the match to produce three or more goals at a juicy 23/20 (2.15) with BetVernons and it is this selection that is the recommended play for punters.

How to bet online and win huge amount of money is the most common question for many people loocapontanousantin.

One of the most surprising teams of this campaign in Premier League, Southampton, will face Burnley away this Saturday from 15:00, trying to regain their good form from the start of the season.

Burnley are new-promoted in Premier League and they don’t seem that could avoid the relegation. The home side is on the 19th place in Premier League, with only 12 points and a 10-24 goal difference, the worst one in the league. Burnely also have the worst attack in BPL right now. If we talk about home games, they won seven points out of 24. Taylor, Vokes and Ward will miss the game due to some injuries.

As we said, Southampton will try to regain their excellent form. After an impressive start of the season, The Saints won only one point in the last four league games and they are not on the podium anymore. To be more precise, the guests are on the 5th position right now, with 26 points, one point behind Top 4 and two points behind the podium. Soton will be without Rodriguez, Ward-Prowse, Gallagher, Cork and Schneiderlin, all of them being injured.

Burnley vs Southampton probable lineups:

Burnley (4-4-1-1): Heaton – Trippier, Keane, Schakell, Mee – Boyd, Marney, Jones, Arfield – Barnes, Ings
Southampton (4-2-3-1): Forster – Clyne, Yoshida, Fonte, Bertrand – Davis, Wanyama – Long, Tadic, Mane – Pelle.

Prediction: 2 @ 1.75

It will not be easy for the away side, but we expect Southampton to confirm their superiority against Burnley, altough their form is not the best one. We chose to bet on The Saints victory here.

The best odds for Burnley vs Southampton: 5.25 – 3.75 – 1.75

Exotic wagers allow you to bet on multiple horses in a single bet, allowing you to increase your profit potential. But as I mentioned above, they’re much harder to win than straight bets, can get expensive if you’re not careful, and require much more skill in handicapping horses. Feel free to experiment with some exotic wagers after you’ve done a few straight bets.

EXACTA – You’re betting on two horses to come in first and second in an exact order. For example, if you placed a $2 exacta on horses 3 and 5, you can only collect if horse #3 comes in first and horse #5 comes in second. Exacta bets are popular among skilled horse handicappers because the payoff can be very lucrative. You can also “box” your exacta bet which means your two horses can come in any order in the top two spots and you still win. Boxing an exacta costs twice as much as a straight exacta bet. So a $2 box exacta on horses 3 and 5 will cost you $4.

QUINELLA – With a quinella bet, you’re betting on two horses to come in first and second in any order. As long as your two horses finish in the top two spots, you win. So if you placed a $2 quinella bet on horses 1 and 6, you can collect if horse #1 and horse #6 come in first and second in any order. You might be thinking, “What’s the difference between a quinella and a box exacta? Both let you win if your two horses come in first or second.” The big difference is cost: a $2 quinella bet costs $2 while a $2 box exacta bet will cost you $4. Why would someone pay more for a box exacta if it’s essentially the same bet as a quinella? The payout for a box exacta is generally more than a quinella bet, that’s why.

TRIFECTA – You bet that three horses will finish in first, second, and third in an exact order. If you place a $2 trifecta bet on 1-5-7, you can only collect if horse #1 comes in first, horse #5 comes in second, and horse #7 comes in third. You can also box your trifecta bet so you can win if your three horses come in first, second, and third in any order. Boxing a trifecta will significantly increase the cost of your bet because there are many combinations. So a $2 box trifecta bet will actually cost you $12 or a $1 trifecta boxed will cost you $6.

SUPERFECTA – You bet that four horses will finish, first, second, third, and fourth in an exact order. As with exactas and trifectas, you can box a superfecta at an additional cost. The minimum bet is often 10-cents, which makes it more appealing to many people.

I’m not going to get into “keying” horses with these exotic bets. That’s a little bit too advanced for our purposes here. Basically, keying horses allows you to minimize your wager, while increasing your payout if you pick your horses right. It’s something that I’d look into once you get comfortable handicapping horses with exotic wagers.

Why Go to a Horse Race?

Before we get into the art of betting, let’s talk about why you’d want to visit a horse racetrack anyway. Perhaps you’re thinking, “That’s something my grandpa liked to do, but I’m not interested.”

Watching horse racing at the higher levels of the sport is a wonderful experience. I’m really not much for any other forms of gambling, and personally don’t see the fun in losing my shorts in some dark, smoky casino. But horse racing I like; it feels like entertainment, an experience, an outing. I like that I’m outside. I like that there’s a lot of history and tradition behind it. All in all, whether I win or lose money, I still have a great time.

These days if you want to take the family to a pro basketball or football game, the tickets and food can easily run you $400. Admission to a racetrack is often free, the minimum bet on each horse race is just $2, and you can sometimes bring your own food and drinks. You get to spend all afternoon and evening outside, watching beautiful animals perform at their peak ability. And all this can run you less than a trip to the movies.

And if you’re looking for an affordable, unique date, where you won’t run out of things to talk about, look no further!

Types of Horse Racing Bets

You have two categories of wagers to choose from when you bet on the ponies: straight wagers and exotic wagers. For a beginner, I recommend sticking with straight wagers. They’re simple and cheap. You simply pick one horse to come in first, second, or third. The minimum bet at most tracks for a straight wager is just $2.

Exotic wagers allow you to make multiple bets on multiple horses in a single wager. Exotic wagers are generally much more difficult to win than straight wagers, require an advanced degree of skill and knowledge in horse picking, and are more expensive. However, the payoffs on exotic wagers are much greater than straight ones.

Straight Wagers

Remember with a straight wager, you only bet on one horse.

• WIN- You’re betting that your horse will come in first place. If your horse finishes in first, you get to collect.
• PLACE- When you bet on your horse to “place,” you’re betting that he will come in first OR second. If your horse finishes in first or second, you get to collect. Payout for a place bet is less than a win wager, but you do have the security of being able to cash in if your horse finishes in the top two spots.
• SHOW- You’re betting that your horse will come in first, second, OR third. Since you’re hedging your bets, you have a higher chance of winning, but the payout for a show bet is substantially less than a win or place wager.
• ACROSS THE BOARD- When you bet across the board, you’re betting your horse to win, place, AND show. An across-the -board bet is what’s called a “combo straight wager” because it’s three different bets (win, place, AND show) in one. Because it’s three bets in one, an across-the-board bet is more expensive than a simple win/place/show wager. For example, a $2 across-the-board wager will cost you $6, because you’re making three $2 bets. If your horse comes in first, you get the win, place, and show money. If your horse finishes second, you get place and show money. If your horse comes in third, you just get the show money. Across-the-board bets aren’t usually a good wager because they’re expensive and have less profit potential.
• WIN/PLACE, PLACE/SHOW- Similar to an across-the-board bet in that you’re making multiple straight wagers in a single bet. In a win/place bet, you’re betting your horse to win AND place. If he wins, you collect both the win and place money. If he finishes second, you collect just the place money. In a place/show bet, you’re betting that your horse will place and show. If your horse finishes second, you collect the place and show money; if he finishes third, you just get the show money. Because you’re placing multiple wagers on your horse in a single bet, a win/place and place/show is more expensive. A $2 win/place bet will cost you $4 because you’re betting $2 that your horse wins and $2 that your horse places.

Where to Bet Table Tennis Online

The 2016 Summer Olympics which will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil are quite a while away at the time I’m writing this article. This is where the bulk of table tennis betting is done, and when the tournament rolls around you can expect most online bookmakers will have odds. Betting options for matches from the ITTF World Tour including the Grand Finals, the World Championships, World Team Championships, Men’s and Women’s World Cup / World Team Cup, China vs. World Challenge and other ITTF sanctioned tournaments, are fairly limited. The sites best for this are listed below.

Note: By far the best sites for betting on table tennis matches are Nordic Bet and ComeOn. They offer odds on far more competitions compared to other sites. For example, at the time of writing they are the only online betting sites that offers odds on the Challenger Series, the Swedish Pingisligan and on the French League Pro A.

Another important note is that at Bet365 you will not find many, if any, prematch odds for ITTF tournament matches. What you will find is live streams with a plethora of in-play betting opportunities. This allows you watch the matches right from your computer and bet on a variety of markets. I’ll cover these shortly but first let me mention pre-match betting.

Table Tennis Odds

At Bet365 you can most often only bet while matches are in-play. If you’re looking to bet before a match begins you’ll need to turn to one of Nordic Bet, ComeOn or Paddy Power. These sites only offer betting odds on which player will win a match; there are no other markets covered.

ComeOn and Nordic Bet have a $200 maximum bet which is also a cumulative limit. Understand it is not possible to get down thousands of dollars on a table tennis match at online betting sites. Perhaps the most you’ll be able to get down is a $500 stake. This is $200 at ComeOn and max bets of $100-$200 each at the other sportsbooks that have table tennis odds. No matter what your bankroll size is, it is advised you check all the sites listed above prior to making table tennis bets. One final note is you won’t find too many overnight lines. For match betting Nordic Bet and Paddy Power have the earliest opening lines, while ComeOn and the other sites tend open the odds about 4 hours before the first match of the day.

Live In-Play Betting

Once matches start www.bet365.com becomes the best site for wagering table tennis. Not only can you bet on match winner, with the odds shifting as the match progresses, but you can bet many additional markets. Some examples include game winner, point winner, and races to 3, 5, 7 and 9 points in a given game. You can also bet total points scored, whether points scored will be odds or even and so much more.

A small tip: If you have a Bet365 account funded with at least $5.00, you can visit their site, log-in and from the top menu click “live streaming”. This will open their stream viewer interface which includes a schedule of upcoming streams. If you select table tennis from the menu you can filter it and get a list of all matches that will be streamed in the coming days. This comes in handy for knowing which matches to handicap in advanced.

Table Tennis Betting Strategy

As I mentioned earlier, it is not possible to bet a great deal of money online for this sport. This is actually good news for smaller limit players as professional punters have limited to no interest due to the smaller limits. If you’re looking for a little extra value towards making table tennis bets here are a few tips.

Tip #1 – Study Tendencies – Most of the competitions streamed at Bet365 involve the same players in each tournament. Get to know the top players and look for performance trends. Does the player stay focused and go for the kill at all stages of a match or when a game is in control do they maybe relax within a couple points of taking the game. Get to know also their opponent. Though a lopsided match does this opponent give a full effort until the very end? Knowing this information can help greatly with live in-play betting.

Tip #2 – Look for Value Outside of China – This is a sport largely dominated by Chinese players. Look especially for times you feel non-Asian players who are an underdog have a chance against a Chinese player. Understand that players like Timo Boll, Dimitrij Ovtcharov, and Vladimir Samsonov are all well-known on the men’s side. On the women’s side however you can sometimes find good value on players like Viktoria Pavlovich, Elizabeta Samara and Kristin Silbereisen. While I wouldn’t suggest betting these players blindly understand most the wagers on table tennis are backing top rated Chinese players. If you spot times you think a European might have a chance, that player is often worth a punt.

Tip #3: Watch the Pinnacle Prices – Again, China is the most dominant nation in the sport. Pinnacle Sports is available in Chinese language and has Chinese banking options. Because Pinnacle moves the lines with every bet, a good strategy is to note their odds 4 hours before a match, 2 hours before, an hour before, and then come back and watch the odds update in the final minutes. You can find times where it is easy to suspect fans have kept betting the Chinese player blindly. In such spots where you notice a lot of line movement, betting the other side can be a great idea. Let me conclude by saying, the strategy suggested in tip #3 is not advised for major sports such as football betting. The reason it is more viable in table tennis betting is because this is a small market. Most of the bets are placed by fans and the limits are so low that sharp players don’t have a large interest. There is also not enough of a betting market for match fixing to be anything but an extremely minor concern. No matter if you follow our tips or use your own, we at Intense Gambling hope you manage to a few winners!

The game of football can be made to appear very complex. How many people can really define a “West Coast offense?” How many can accurately identify a “zone blitz,” or a “nickel” or “dime” defense?

NFL analysts in the media have quick answers to all these questions. They have a listing of every player and his record at their fingertips. They have staff-written copy on hand to explain all types of game strategies. They have formidable arrays of statistics to cover any situation.

Because of the media, pro football is a sport of virtually no hidden information. However, it’s one thing to describe an event that’s already over. It is something else entirely to try to predict that which has yet to occur.

When the media try to predict game results, they tend to do poorly. To give just a few examples from New York City, where I live, every Friday eleven New York Post writers make predictions on NFL games against the spread. I’ve never seen one of these handicappers consistently pick the 52.4% winners needed to beat the 11-to-10 odds sports bettors must give. In fact, virtually every year for the past 20 years the consensus in the Post has finished below 50 percent.

One of the Post handicappers often mentions trends in his handicapping analysis—how teams do on grass or turf, as favorites or underdogs, etc. But trends are mostly useless these days since teams change so quickly due to free agency. What does it matter if a team is 12-and-4 on road turf over the last five years if only three of its players have been there that long?

On the radio, WFAN commentators also make predictions every Friday. But they too have seldom picked the 52.4 percent winners needed to beat the 11-to-10. To cover this, they often talk about their records in relation to the .500 mark. The vig seems not to exist in the world of WFAN.

And on television, ESPN’s Hank Goldberg has beaten the 11-to-10 in only one of the seven years he’s been there.

From personal experience, I’ve learned that most TV producers and newspaper editors view sports handicapping as entertainment rather than serious journalism. That’s why you, as a serious handicapper, should take all media predictions with a big grain of salt.
– See more at: http://www.casinocenter.com/the-6-big-myths-of-sports-betting/#sthash.sBpg5e1s.dpuf

1) Higher Scoring Is Bad News for Underdogs

Fans love scoring, and scoring has been on the rise every year since 2009, when the league started cracking down on helmet-to-helmet blindside hits. The impact of rising numbers affects the underdog. As the points per game go up, so does the likelihood that the favourite will be able to cover the spread. Chalk was definitely the better choice last year at 139-122-5 ATS, or 53.3%. Bet those favourites at home, and they were even more profitable at 93-78-4 ATS (54.4%).

2) Be Prepared to Bet on Last Season’s Losers

You hear it a thousand times a day: Buy low, sell high. And NFL teams don’t get any lower than the Houston Texans. They finished dead last in the 2013 standings at 2-14, a terrible fall from grace after winning back-to-back AFC South division titles. Handicappers who didn’t sell high on the Texans last year saw their bankrolls emptied at 4-12 against the spread.

3) Watch for West Coast Teams in Early Games

The NFL’s West Coast teams bring a lot of betting value to the table. There is, however, one situation where they’ve struggled: early afternoon games on the opposite coast. That’s early afternoon Eastern Time, which happens three hours sooner than it does in the Pacific Time Zone. Imagine having to prepare for an NFL game that starts at 10 in the morning.

4) Beware of the Surprise Quarterback

Just four years ago, Josh McCown was playing quarterback in the United Football League. But the veteran journeyman found a spot with the Chicago Bears in 2011 as Jay Cutler’s backup. When Cutler was injured last year, McCown kept Chicago’s playoff hopes alive with three wins in five starts. McCown’s 109.0 passer rating was miles ahead of his 77.5 career mark.

Now McCown has the starting job with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But don’t expect the same kind of miracles he performed in Chicago – McCown has “regression to the mean” written all over him, and you can see it in his third-down conversion rates. Chase Stuart crunched the numbers and found that McCown was able to convert 46% of his third downs (27-of-59) last year despite facing an average distance of 7.3 yards. That works out to a conversion rate of 9.8% above expectation, ranking third in the NFL behind Peyton Manning (10.7%) and Philip Rivers (9.9%).

5) Ex-Coaches Get Their Revenge

Did you bet on the 2002 Oakland Raiders at Super Bowl XXXVII? You’re not alone. The Raiders were fan favourites that year, going 11-5 (10-6 ATS) during the regular season, and they were a very popular Super Bowl pick at –4 against the defensive-minded Tampa Bay Buccaneers. One problem: Tampa Bay had some inside information. Head coach Jon Gruden was in charge of the Raiders from 1998 to 2001, and he used his knowledge of Oakland’s playbook to guide Tampa Bay to a 48-21 victory.

These things happen in the NFL. Teams get rid of coaches all the time, but since there are only 16 games in a regular season, it’s not too often you end up facing the guy you just fired. Savvy handicappers look for these “revenge” situations – whether it’s a head coach or a co-ordinator who’s switched sides.

Game total betting, also known as over-under betting, is one of the most common forms of wagering and is very popular with hockey bettors. Instead of choosing which team will win the game, bets are placed on whether the combined score of the game will go over or under a predetermined total. It’s a fun and unique type of betting and allows players to enjoy the excitement of their bet even if the game is not close.

What is a Game Total?

A hockey game total is a set number of total goals expected to be scored in the game. Oddsmakers set a total number for the combined score of both teams and bettors can bet on the game going over or under the predetermined total. The line is set carefully by oddsmakers in order to create a fair and active market for both sides of the wager.

For example, the game total may be set at 5.5. In this case, if the bettor wagers on the over, he would need both teams to combine for six goals or more to win the bet. If the bettor were to wager on the under, he would need the combined goal total of both teams to be five or less to win the bet.

Game totals can also be presented in whole number formats. When the game total is a whole number, there’s a chance that the total combined number of goals scored in the game could be the exact same as the game total. This would be considered a push and the bet would be graded as neither a win nor a loss, with the original bet amount being returned to the player’s account.

Example of Game Total Betting

Here is an example of betting on an NHL game total:

Chicago Blackhawks vs San Jose Sharks
Over 5.5 goals
Under 5.5 goals

In this scenario, the game total is set at 5.5 and bettors can wager on whether the combined goals scored by both teams will go over or under this number. Using this example, if Chicago was to defeat San Jose by a score of 4-2, the total combined score would be six, meaning the game went over the total.

Check out Bodog’s most up-to the-minute hockey odds to see the game totals currently offered and take in all of the hard-hitting action of Canada’s favourite pastime.

Baseball may be known as America’s favorite pastime, but when it comes to betting, it generally takes a backseat to football and basketball.

That doesn’t mean there isn’t money to be made on the diamond. The summer can be a profitable time of year, as long as you’re willing to put in a little time and effort.

Playing the odds

Moneyline betting requires a much different approach to that of pointspread betting. Discipline is the key and not making a habit of investing in big favorites is paramount.

You can win 60 percent of the time and still see your bankroll shrink if you’re not careful. That’s not to say that you must strictly bet underdogs and totals, but you have to pick your sports wisely when laying chalk.

As a rule, many bettors will avoid backing favorites priced higher than -160.

Perhaps the most important notion to drill into your head is that even the best teams lose close to 40 percent of the time. The Pittsburgh Pirates finished with the worst record in baseball in 2010, but still won 57 games, or 35 percent of the time. That’s why laying big prices on a regular basis is a sure ticket to the poorhouse.

Know your limits

Be smart about your wager amounts. It may be clichéd, but the MLB season is a marathon, not a sprint. Don’t lose your shirt in April when many of the best opportunities to cash in on the diamond come in the dog days of summer.

Unlike other professional sports, which top out at 82 games, teams are on the field almost every day over the course of a 162-game season. There are going to be spots where they don’t bring the proper level of focus.

Arms race

Scouting pitching matchups has to become as much a part of your daily routine as brushing your teeth. There’s a reason why starting pitchers are listed right next to the game lines at every sportsbook. You won’t find an individual player with as much control over the odds in any sport.

With that in mind, starting pitchers are only part of the equation. Solely basing your wager on who’s taking the ball on that particular day can lead to frustration.

With today’s pitch counts, starters will often work six innings or less, leaving at least a third of the game in the hands of the bullpens. You can’t count on a starter to toss a complete game every time he takes the hill, so you’re more than likely going to be relying on a team’s relief corps when the game is on the line. Pay attention to those bullpens and how teams fare in one-run ball games.

Who’s in? Who’s Out?

It’s important to keep your eye on lineup cards, particularly when teams are playing a day game following a night game. Star players are given the day off from time to time and you should be cognizant of that. Lineup cards are usually available about a half hour prior to the first pitch at most major sports websites.

Don’t doubt defense

Defense might just be the most overlooked area of the game when it comes to baseball handicapping. Teams that avoid those costly mistakes in the field win more often – it doesn’t get much simpler than that.

The three worst teams in the league in terms of fielding percentage in 2010 were Pittsburgh, Chicago (Cubs) and Washington. All three of those teams finished the season in the red in terms of units gained/lost. If you backed all three for the entire campaign, you would have finished down 47 units.

Of the league’s 12 worst defensive teams (according to the fielding percentage rankings), only the Atlanta Braves would have put money in your pocket. By contrast, five of the top six teams turned a profit over the course of the 2010 season.

Hot and cold

Make sure you pay attention to streaks. It’s not uncommon to see teams go on extended winning or losing runs lasting 10 games or more.