CFB Betting – College Football Playoffs

The nature of college football is always controversial, as unlike any other sport the National Championship is based largely on opinion rather than on the field of play. College Football aimed to improve that, installing a new four-team playoff last season.

This year, we agree with the CFP committee in choosing Clemson, Alabama, Michigan State, and Oklahoma, as those were the four most deserving teams. However, being deserving is not the same as being the best. While Clemson is deserving of the #1 overall ranking and seeding, they are not the best team in the country and the online sportsbook obviously agree as the Tigers are an underdog against fourth-seeded Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl.

In fact, we don’t even think Clemson is among the FOUR best teams in the country, as we believe Ohio State is far superior based on the eye test. But as it stands, this game sets up as a trap line by the linesmaker, with many novice college football bettors grabbing the points with the top-ranked Tigers while more experienced bettors are laying the three points with Oklahoma.

What we don’t agree with is how the four teams were seeded. Oklahoma was given the #4 ranking but is arguably more deserving than both Michigan State and Alabama to be seeded higher. The Sooners look the best of the top four teams over the past month and have better wins than both the Spartans and Crimson Tide. In fact, Alabama is ranked second primarily because of their conference, but as we’ve touched on numerous times this season the SEC is vastly overrated and was not the best conference in the country this year.

Even on an international level, a korean sportsbook lists Alabama as a big 9.5 point favorite against Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl – already down a half-point from the opening number of -10. Crimson Tide have several question marks in their passing game, and they won’t be able to rely on their running attack against one of the best rush defenses in the country. We only need to go back a few weeks to MichiganState’s upset win at Ohio State to prove you need to throw the ball in order to beat the Spartans, and MSU is also equipped offensively to do some damage against Alabama’s secondary. Michigan State is only +300 on the moneyline – a low number considering this high point spread, which indicates an outright win by the Big Ten champions isn’t out of the question.

The winners of these two games will meet in the National Championship Game, and the online sportsbooks once again believe Alabama has the best chance at hoisting the trophy. Crimson Tide are listed at -125 to win it all, followed by Oklahoma at +200, Clemson at 4:1 and Michigan State the biggest longshot at 5:1.

College Football Betting – Week 3 Betting Lines

A couple of ranked teams face tough road tests on Thursday and Friday before the big Saturday College Football slate. #11 Clemson is a six-point favorite at Louisville while #9 Florida State is a 7.5-point road favorite at Boston College. Laying the points with both favorites looks appealing, with Louisville already 0-2 this year while BC has yet to face an FBS foe and should be unprepared for this level of competition.

The real fun happens on Saturday with a number of marquee matchups. The SEC took a big hit last weekend with three teams dropping out of the Top 25 and another team, Auburn, needing overtime to get past FCS Jacksonville State at home.

Auburn dropped all the way down to #18 in the AP Poll and has an incredible hard game this Saturday as they travel to #13 LSU. Despite little separation in the polls, the online sportsbook (()) list LSU as a sizeable 6.5-point home favorite. Auburn was a similarly-priced 6.5-point home favorite last year in this meeting, and crushed LSU by a blowout 41-7 winning margin.

Another big SEC matchup this week according to most college football betting website, pits second-ranked Alabama at home against #15 Mississippi. This is a big revenge spot for the Crimson Tide, as Ole’ Miss was the only team to beat Alabama in the regular season last year. Bama is a seven-point home choice with the added benefit of playing this game at night, which usually results in an even bigger home crowd advantage.

While those ranked teams face stiff competition, other highly-ranked teams have it pretty easy this week. In the Big Ten, #1 Ohio State and #24 Wisconsin are both favored by 34.5 points. Michigan State moved up to #4 in the rankings ((and even received two first place votes) after a big win vs. Oregon last Saturday night, and are 26.5-point favorites against triple-option Air Force.

As big as those CFB betting lines are, that’s not even close to the Oregon Ducks, who are a massive 45.5-point favorite against Georgia State. The next biggest line has TCU favored by 37.5 points against SMU, and they may cover that number as they look to beat the 35-point winning margin Baylor laid on the Mustangs two weeks ago.

Perhaps the most intriguing game of the weekend sees #14 Georgia Tech as a three-point road favorite at South Bend against the #8-ranked Fighting Irish. Notre Dame lost their starting quarterback for the seasonlast week, and if that wasn’t troubling enough they face what is widely considered as the best triple-option offense in all of college football.

We’ll be back next week to look at the high profile games for Week 4 of the College Football season.

PGA Championship Betting Preview

The question of IF Rory McIlroy has been answered – he has declared himself fit to defend his title after being out for more than a month with an ankle injury. Now the question centers on how effective he will be with that time off.

If you believe McIlroy, he believes his ankle is better than ever and this onlinesportsbook has responded by having him as the second choice to win it all at +650.

The favorite remains Jordan Spieth at +375, who has already won two majors this year. Dustin Johnson and Jason Day at +800, and Bubba Watson, who was an early 25:1 longshot, is all the way up to +925.

Phil Mickelson finished second last year, and like Watson was an early 25:1 longshot to win. His recent poor play has actually dropped his odds, and he is currently a big +3250 underdog to win it all.

This tournament really hinges on the top two players, however, and all eyes will be on McIlroy early to see how the injury and time off has, if at all, hurt his swing. Not only did he win this tournament last year, but he also won in 2012. Spieth obviously has the hot hand and has had a tremendous overall season where it seems foolish to bet against him at this point.

The last time the PGA Championship was held here in Whistling Straits, Marin Kaymer was the winner, with Bubba Watson coming in second (thus the surge on PGA bettors backing him). Kaymer is listed at 30:1, almost entirely because of his performance here in 2010.

There are different strategies to betting on golf, and while we normally employ the strategy of backing a few longshots and hoping for a big payoff, the recent surge of Bubba Watson’s odds has us staying away from that theory here. Spieth and McIlroy are deservingly the heavy favorites and more likely than not, one of those two players will emerge victorious.

Instead of backing a longshot, we would recommend playing some PGA matchup wagers. The online sportsbooks offer moneyline odds for two golfers against each other, regardless of where they finish overall. This is where we will look to back Bubba Watson, staying away from the bad line value in backing him to win it all.

Tour de France Betting Update

After Saturday’s Stage 14 run, we are a little bit past the halfway mark of the 2015 Tour de France, with the favorite Chris Froome making good on the online sportsbook choice to have him as 2:1 favorite at the start.

Froome is starting to build his lead, and with two more hilly stages prior to Tuesday’s off day, then the grueling mountain stages coming up next, it looks like Froome is well on his way to winning it all.

It hasn’t been easy for the leader, who has been dealing with public perception problems related to doping. Apparently, after the mess Lance Armstrong left behind, everyone is guilty of doping until proven innocent.

Froome agreed to undergo independent testing after the Tour de France is completed, but that wasn’t enough for one fan who threw a cup of urine at him Saturday.

Despite the distractions, Froome now leads the pack by 3 minutes and 10 seconds, but perhaps more important in terms of betting is the fact that Tejay van Garderen struggled late and fell out of second place.

Van Garderen was a 33:1 longshot at prior to Day 1 – the best odds of any American rider. There are two long stages Sunday and Monday before the rest day – covering 183 km and 201 km. Showing signs of fatigue this early is not a good sign for the American.

The new second-place rider is Nairo Quintana – one of the top four favorites. Not sure if he will be able to catch up to Froome, but we’ll likely get a good idea of those chances during the mountain stages in the middle of next week.

Quintana is currently listed at a 13:2 payout if he can overtake Froome, but the leader is a comfortable favorite at the online sportsbooks, with a cycling bettor needing to lay $1,000 in order to show a $100 profit.

Serena Williams Wins Her 6th Wimbledon Title

Congratulations to Serena Williams who won the 2015 Wimbledon Championship when she defeated Garbine Muguruza 6-4, 6-4 giving me a nice little chunk of change from betting on her!

Thank you Ms. Williams!

This makes her 6th Wimbledon Titles under her belt for a total of 4 Grand Slam wins a feat that only a select few can claim to have made.

Looking back at her tennis career, Serena Williams is the first woman to win the French Open and Wimbledon back to back since 2002. Looking forward to a prop bet I had put on her at the beginning of the year, if she successfully defends her US Open title next month, she will become the first woman since Steffi Graf in 1988 to win a calendar Grand Slam and I will be jumping up and down when I collect my winning!

.

Choosing the Right Sportsbook

Many sports betting fans ask how I choose the right sportsbook for myself.

Many times the answer can come from those companies that offer betting services online, as that’s how they earn their living. They explain their benefits in writing online, but then many are not interested in how they earn their living, but rather would like to know the important things in choosing the right sportsbook.

Of course, most of that is just propaganda to get them to bet on sports with them and may not always create the best results. This is why they are many websites that describe themselves as being a Sportsbook Reviews website or a gambling watchdog website.

Unfortunately, many of these websites will take advertising money from a sportsbook or be part of a sportsbook affiliate program which in itself creates a conflict of interest as how can they be impartial if they are getting paid to do this.

So How do You Choose the Right Sportsbook

The answer is actually very easy and complicated as it all depends on your style of laying.  To see if a sportsbook is safe enough and private enough to play at, I like to use a combination of research

First, I check out about 10 sports betting review websites to determine the rating they have.  If they have an average rating or higher, for me that is good enough as long as I do not invest too much money in it.

Second, I check out sports betting forums because sports bettors are fast to point out their grief on a forum if they had an issue with a sportsbook.  So based on these two things I know whether I have enough confidence in a new bookmaker to send money to them.

Does the Sportsbook Fit my Style of Play?

First let’s talk about online or offline. The online sportsbook sites have a lower margin of profit compared to the bookies of the bricks and mortar establishments. A local book may offer a line on a game at a -140 odds whereas the online book may have the same game at -110, so there you would have to make a choice.

Secondly the online books have an advantage in that you don’t have to go anywhere’s to place a bet and no going to a bookies office to bet. Everything is done via the computer or a mobile device, and even as you watch a game on television or on your mobile,as most offer live betting if you care to bet that way.

Where you live can significantly reduce your available choices. That’s due to fairly recent United States Legislation, whereby U.S. Citizens are told it’s illegal to bet online in the USA. Many people interpret the law differently, but regardless if you’re a United States Citizen you should carefully consider that. Thus one should check the government regulations of the country in which they live. However, many U.S. Citizens bet online but they deviate from the system for which they make deposits and payouts.

The betting limits are another consideration as some books are for only the recreational bettors,which indicates they are not interested in the big players, so they place limits pertaining to the maximum winning , so depending on how much one plans to bet, it’s important to check this out when you read the rules and limits online.

Also one needs to consider the offered betting lines and their profit margins, which in common terms is the vig, or what the book will charge on each bet you make, so here you can shop for the best lines and the lowest vig’s offered.  There are some books that offer great lines and odds on special events.
Another important point is to attempt to find out what kind of historic record the sportsbook has for payouts, as some books are cited for slow payouts, and some have been accused of not paying at all. Normally that information is available online with sites that review sportsbooks or forums.

It’s also wise to check on the Banking options as that can make your life in the betting World somewhat easier, especially when depositing or requesting payouts for you winnings. In the case the sportsbook only offers one system for banking, like bank wires,you and most others would seek another sportsbook.

Last but not least, if you Bet on Sports at an Online sportsbook are the bonuses and promotions the sportsbook your considering adversely affect their offers, and are there strings attached pertaining to play through and payouts.

If all the above meet your satisfaction, check this out. Some sportsbook offer no promotions, but simply great betting odds for their clients. If 2 of the books offer the same odds but 1 offers special promotions with no strings attach, then go for it. Just make sure you weigh all the benefits, and good luck gambling

NBA Finals Preview - LeBron-Cavaliers vs. Curry-Warriors!

The 2015 NBA Final playoffs are upon us with a 7 Game Series getting underway with the 1st Game on Thursday the 4th of June 2015 with the Cleveland Cavaliers taking on the Warriors of Golden State with tip-off for the game at 9:05 PM ET and played in California.

Yes, the Cavaliers of Cleveland are back for another NBA Final series along with their Ohio hero LeBron who is responsible for the team making it this far.

 The team is seeking their 1st NBA Title since back in the 1964 season and playing the Warriors of Golden State led by this Year’s NBA MVP J. Curry. Can Cleveland beat Golden State in the Finals for the NBA 2015 Season? With that being asked, let us review some key factors that could have a result in these playoffs with the Cavaliers and the Warriors!

1st they claim that home court is where the wins are born, and a general statistic we have for the Warriors is their home record in which in 45 games on home court they have lost only 3 games at their Oracle Arena.

On the other side the Cavaliers at the home court, the Quicken Loans Arena they have 26 wins and only 2 loses dating back to the 19th of January 2015, and to date during this post season they have not lost a game on home court. Thus, in this 7 game Series Golden State has more opportunities to win at home, as they have home court advantage.

So can a team that steals a victory on the road win this year’s NBA Title? 2nd they say winning and losing comes in 3-pointers, which is another part of the Warriors game that they are famous for, and that is the talent to hit from out yonder beyond the arc.

Presently Golden State leads all NBA Teams in 3-point shooting in the playoffs as they made 39% of their attempts. But Remember the Cavaliers follow in a close 2nd in that category with a respectable percentage of 36% of 3 pointers attempted.

According to the latest NBA Finals Odds, the Golden State Warriors are the favorite but since its the NBA, anything can happen!

So if you Bet on NBA at a preferred Offshore sportsbooks, remember you can be sure both the Cavaliers and the Warriors will come into these game with their 3-point attempts blazing, and the winner of this playoffs, could very well be the best 3-point shooting team. 3rd it pays to know the team’s role players, because all the Cavaliers players are not named LeBron, but other players like their duo on the frontcourt of T. Mozgov and T. Thompson have outplayed many of their opponents key players in these playoffs.

They are the ones that have to protect the rim against the tough Warrior’s A. Bogut and D. Green. The Cavaliers have a very talented backcourt with I. Shumpert and M. Dellavedova and J. Smith, and they will be guarding against the ‘Splash Brothers’ in K. Thompson and S. Curry of the Warriors. For the Cavaliers to win this 2015 Title they have to contain the Warriors deep attempt from beyond the arc. 4th we can’t over look LeBron and his 2015 season, to say the least has been like a roller coaster ride.

LeBron returns to his hometown with his sights on returning an NBA Title to Cleveland, but there season was a history of mishaps with injuries to team members, and then an injury to LeBron himself and has never seemed to completely recover. But LeBron has been unfazed by the various blocks in the Cavaliers path this season and has average in the playoffs of this post season 27 points per game. That coupled with his almost triple double adding 8 assists, 1 steal and 10 rebounds each game.

A former MVP LeBron now faces the Warriors and their current MVP in S. Curry, and there’s not a better opportunity for him to prove that he is still is the best basketball player in the World as he professes. Now LeBron must play at his best to provide his hometown with the Title, a long time dream of Lebron’s.

Betting on Soccer – UEFA Women's Final!

With the European 2015 Soccer Leagues coming to an end, it’s time to take a look at the UEFA Women’s Champions League final, which is to be played on Thursday the 14th of May 2015 at The Friedrich-Ludwig-Sport-park in Berlin, Germany with the Paris Saint-German’s team playing the 1. FFC Frankfurt team and game time is at 12 PM ET. 

If you Bet on Soccer at an Online sportsbook, and you’re new to Women’s soccer, then take a look at some information pertaining to each team.

The country records for these teams are:

For the German teams, their country has won 8 of the UEFA Titles in 13 different competitions, and the Women’s National team has been Champions in Europe since 1955 and has won 2 FIFA Women’s World Cups.

The French have been in the finals 4 times from 2010 through 2013 with 2 wins and 2 losses. The team has never won a World Cup, but did reach the Women’s World Cup back in 2011. 

In competition the 1.FFC Frankfurt team has played in 6 finals and won three titles, while the Paris Saint-German’s team had never made it past the round of 16 previously.

On the road to this UEFA Final in Berlin the Frankfurt team in eight games scored some 40 goals in total. The Paris team overcame the teams of Lyon and VFL Wolfsburg who has previously combined for 4 titles.

This UEFA Champions League season for the Women has a qualifying stage and then 4 rounds of 2 sided knockout rounds and 1 final round.

The Qualifying round is a 1 venue like mini-tournaments consisting of 4 teams and is hosted by a competitor team.

In the Knockout round, the winners of the Qualifying rounds and the two top runners-up participate in the 32nd round stage.

Thereafter, the tournament is made up of 2-legged knockout rounds, continuing into the round of 16, that drawn along with the last 32.

Then the draw for the remainder of the competition is completed, and that consists of quarter finals and semi finals over 2 rounds.

In the 2nd rounds if the scores are even after 90 to 120 minutes, then the team who has scored the most away goals wins, if that’s not the case, a penalty shootout phase is held to determine the winner.

The Friedrich-Ludwig-Hahn-Sport-park in Berlin is the same venue that will stage the UEFA Champions League Men’s Final in 2015. This Sport-park stadium has a seating capacity of some 30,000 (UEFA Approved 19.708) and is located in the North East section of Berlin, and is the 3rd largest Stadium in this city. This Stadium was constructed in 1951 and was renamed to honor the German “father of gymnastics’ who was “Turnvater Jahn” who to this date as a strong legacy in Germany.

2015 MLB – Keystone rivalry - Pirates at Phillies

With the 2015 Major League Baseball season slowly edging for the annual All-Star Break in July each year, we have MLB Game on Monday the 11th of May 2015, which is about the bragging right for baseball for the keystone state Pennsylvania with the Pirates of Pittsburgh (14-16) playing the Phillies of Philadelphia (11-20).

The game time scheduled for 7:10 PM ET and seen on CSN TV and the Game is to be played at the Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA.

This battle for those Keystone State (Pennsylvania) bragging privileges ‘starts with the 1st game of a 4 game series between the Pirates and the Phillies.  The starting pitchers in the game are as follows: taking the mound for the Pirates will be G. Cole who was the teams 2011 Draft selection at 1st overall is seek to comeback from this worst season start as in his 5th game he lost to the Cincinnati Red 3-0 as he allowed some 8 hits and 3 runs scored against his Pirates in five innings. Prior to that 5th game he had 4 good games in which he dominated pitching a minimum of six innings each game, as he struck out 29 batters and only allowed 3 runs against him. Taking to the mound and pitching on Monday for the Phillies will be right-handed J. Williams who, is 2 and 2 this season and with an ERA of 5.18 and in the last game he pitched he pitched some 5 1/3 innings against the Braves of Atlanta in which he allowed 6 runs in that game.  Now here are a few facts you should  know about this Keystone State game on Monday night the 11th of May 2015. The start at pitching in this game for G. Cole of the Pirates of Pittsburgh will be his very 1st start in his career at Citizens Bank Ball Park and in his 2 starts prior to this game he has went 1 and 1 and has 10 strikeouts and with a 2.61 ERA. A match-up or duel to watch in this game between the Pirates and the Phillies, is that of pitcher Williams of the Phillies and A. McCutchen the center fielder for the Pirates as McCutchen is lifetime 3 and 6 against Williams including 2 home runs. The only MLB Players with more home runs of Williams than McCutchen are Josh Hamilton and N. Cruz. This 4 game series for bragging rights in the Keystone State of Pennsylvania will put the defensive power of the Pirates of Pittsburgh up against the Phillies of Philadelphia’s offensive powers.

So if you Bet on MLB at a Sportsbook then you need to know that the Pirates of Pittsburgh come into this 4 game series as one of the best teams in the MLB this season and throwing out base stealer s in the infield base paths, as this season they have tagged out 13 coming into Monday action. Whereas, the Phillies rank 3rd in the National league with the third least stealer s caught off base this 2015 season to date.

To place your bet simple go to a trusted online sportsbook and let the MLB action begin! 

CRsportsBet and BetMayor Saga

Since I have a sports betting account with BetMayor.eu, I was obviously concerned when I was told by Jeff about a 60 day payouts delay due to BetMayor being bought by a company in Panama called Media-Tech, Inc.  Since I only have about $200 in my account, I wasn't too worried since I can afford a loss but still, no one likes to lose money.

Today, Kennedy whom I have known for about 5 years and is actually the one that introduced me to BetMayor, called me.  He basically told me that he now works for CRsportsBet.ag.  He told me that he left BetMayor because he was not certain about their future.

He said he felt responsible to his players because he recommended them to BetMayor and since they are currently in a financial crisis, he wanted to offer me a deal that his CrsportsBet allowed him to make.  I would get an account with CRsportsBet with my current BetMayor balance in it for free and I would just have to roll it over 10 times.

Obviously, I took him up on his offer since Kennedy has never steered me wrong and I never say no to free money. 

After I had signed up with CRsportsBet and gotten my money in my account, I decided to do a bit of research about the book since I never heard of them.

Well, they are a new book for sure since there is not a lot about them.  I did run into an interested article by SportsbookSOS where the CEO of CRsportsBet talks about whether or not they have a relationship with BetMayor or not.  Their CEO, James Chu pretty much says that they do not and that they have been around since 2013 as a private sportsbook and became open to the public this year.

Click on the link to read the CRsportsBet interview

In any case, I'll keep you guys posted when I finish my rollover and ask for a payout.  Since they are a new book, I would suggest to anyone who is thinking about getting their NBA 100% cash bonus to only send $100-$300 to start with since they are a recreational sportsbook.

Super Bowl XLIX Betting - Catching the Early Line

Super Bowl XLIX is here which is an exciting time of the year as we get to see the best NFL teams of the season go head to head for the title but at the same time, it means that the NFL season is over.

This year's Las Vegas early line was a definite screw up on their part as most books had the Seattle Seahawks as the clear favorite giving them a spread of -2 to -3.

Once I saw that I put some big money on the Patriots for several reasons:

1. Historically, its pretty rare for an NFL team to win back-to-back SuperBowl.  The last one took place 10 years ago with the Patriots.
2. Russell Wilson of the Seahawks, was struggling during the Playoffs and unless he can get it together by SuperBowl time, the Patriots will take it.
3.  The Patriots are in tip top shape and ready to win as seen last Sunday when they destroyed the Broncos 45-7
4. Sherman has an injured arm
5. The Patriots have Tom Brady!

Last night, I checked the lines and I saw that every major book out there had changed their likes to PK and then switched to a line that favored the Patriots running from 2-5 points.

Here are some of the Super Bowl Betting Odds so far(just keep in mind that the odds will change a lot until Super Bowl time!)

Sportsbook	Team	Spread	Total	Money Line
1Vice	Patriots	-2.5 -105	o49 -105	-150
	Seahawks	2.5 -105	u49 -105	+130
BetOnline	Patriots	-1 -110	o48 -110	-116
	Seahawks	+1 -110	u48 -110	+104