Depending on the sport you are handicapping, you can receive a better read on who is wagering when, based on the movement on the line. For instance, in baseball, many hardcore MLB handicappers will wager on the Wednesday night games, as soon as the Tuesday night games on the West Coast conclude at 11PM. The reason they do this, is because most sportsbooks will have drastically different looking lines from the night before to the actual game. In other words, the value you find is based on how early you place your wager. Here is an example

Toronto Blue Jays +160

New York Yankees -130

Tuesday at 11pm

Toronto Blue Jays +180

New York Yankees – 150

Wednesday at 6:59pm

In this example, the bettors who placed their bets on the Toronto Blue Jays v New York Yankees game at 11pm on Tuesday would find better value, then the handicappers taking the same game at 6:59pm on Wednesday. The reason for this is that the first group of NFL scores bettors would have less public action to contend with when they placed their wagers. Meanwhile the bettors taking the same game a minute before the opening pitch, had to endure the higher prices because of the increase in public action.

A teaser bet is often confused by people new to bookie software sites, as being the same thing as a parlay bet. While the two exotic wagers share some similarities, the truth is they couldn’t be more different. On a similar note, both the parlay and the teaser allow the bettor to make one wager consisting of two or more games. In order for each wager to win, all of the teams you pick to win in each game to make up your teaser or parlay has to win otherwise your bet is considered a loss and you go home with no money.

On the other hand, where the teaser and the parlay bet differ is on the point spread. In a parlay bet, you are placing a single wager on multiple games, with the only common theme being that all of the teams you take to win have to win their games in order for the bet to win. Yet, in a teaser bet, the sportsbook you place your wager with, allows you to take a point spread and mix it up over your three-team teaser. In other words, if you take six and a half points on a three team teaser, you can shift the line so that the teams involved in your bet move one way or the other. But, in order to win the bet, not only do all three teams have to win, but they also have to cover the spread to the way you adjusted the line.

The point spread is the amount of points within a game, that the sportsbook believe the favorite will defeat the underdog by. In order for bettors taking the favorite to cover the spread, they have to wager, that they believe the favorite will win by one more point then the spread to cover the bet. Conversely, a bettor taking the underdog has to believe, that the underdog will either lose by less than the point spread or win the game outright to win their wager. Here is an example using the NFLpoint spread.

Cincinnati Bengals

Houston Texans – 3

Final Score: Cincinnati 17 Houston 24

In this example, the Houston Texans were able to cover the three-point spread and make bettors taking them to cover the spread winners, as they won the game by seven points. Bettors taking the Bengals would have lost because they failed to cover the spread.

Cincinnati Bengals

Houston Texans – 3

Final Score: Cincinnati 21 Houston 17

In this example, the Bengals covered the spread, as they won the game outright, thus making the Texans losers both in the game and on the point spread.

Cincinnati Bengals

Houston Texans – 3

Final Score: Cincinnati 20 Houston 23

In this example, both bettors taking the Bengals and the Texans would lose their wagers, because the point spread was a push. The reason it was a push, is because Houston won by exactly three points.

For years, the sports betting industry has received a bad wrap, yet it has become a more stable industry then the local real estate and stock market industries of different nations. Consider, that in Denmark, they just legalized sports betting, and their economy is completely fine, yet places such as Greece, Italy and the United States, which rely heavily on hedge funds and the stock market, have been in rough shape since the 2008 recession. If sports betting were legalized in these nations, we aren’t saying that their fortunes would change like day and night, however we are suggesting they wouldn’t be in as rough shape as their economies are now.

The average handicapper is a huge statistics nerd. In baseball, the best sports bettors understand all of the statistics that the average fan can’t pronounce. For instance, baseball has a statistic called WAR, which indicates how a team fares when a player is in the lineup and how they compare to a call up. If the player has a high WAR, it dictates to the bettor, that the team is better with that player in the lineup. Conversely, if a player has a low WAR then you can determine whether that’s a team you should wager upon.

The National Title Game, will feature the only team to remain perfect this season in division one football, the Louisiana State Tigers, and the one loss second place team Alabama Crimson Tide. In one of the more bizarre National Title Finals, the Alabama Crimson Tide, were rewarded, for losing. That is to say, despite losing to LSU two months ago, and not playing in their own conferences Championship game, the Alabama Crimson Tide, single handily rewrote what the NCAA is supposed to stand for.

Essentially, in the 13 years, since the NCAA took on the BCS approach, the team’s that not only have the best record, but are the most dominant in their conferences are awarded the opportunity to play for the National Championship. Alabama meets neither of these conditions, as they weren’t the best team in their conference, and they didn’t own the best record. In reality, the LSU Tigers should be facing the Oklahoma State Cowboys, as despite sharing a similar record to Alabama, OKSU ran over Oklahoma in their Conference Championship game. For this reason, and the fact that LSU got better as the season progressed, we expect LSU to cap off a dream season, with another NFL victory over Alabama.

Entering the final month of 2011, the Light Heavyweight division of the UFC has literally been the talk of the company. From the aforementioned Jon Jones crushing Shogun Rua at UFC 128 to win the title, to UFC 139 Shogun v Henderson fans both casual and hardcore have been chomping at the bit for more Light Heavyweight action. When Jones and Machida face at UFC 140, it will once again feature a Light Heavyweight event, in which fans are hoping the champion looses to the more brand name recognizable fighter in Machida.

This will be the first time that Jones and Machida have met in the sports betting octagon. According to a slew of reports, Machida was going to fight top Light Heavyweight prospect Phil Davis in the main event of this card, but Davis had to pull out due to injury. Then Jones was going to fight Rashad Evans at a later event, but that too fell through, so Machida received the title shot against Jones at this event.

Speaking strictly from a marketing standpoint, a victory for Jones can go a long way to build up the division. As we have seen throughout the course of the year, the division really jumped to the forefront of the company, once Jones took over as champion. That isn’t to say that Machida would make a bad champion, but Jones as the younger prospect can grow with the division.

Live from HP Pavilion in San Jose, California on Saturday November 19, 11 Dan Henderson makes his triumphant return to the octagon, in hopes of winning a title shot against current Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones. Henderson, the former Light Heavyweight King in Strikeforce, recently dropped back down to Light Heavyweight, after destroying the Last Emperor Fedor Emelianenko in a Heavyweight fight in the summer.

After forcing the Last Emperor into retirement, fans and experts alike are wondering if Henderson’s challenger, Shogun Rua has enough energy to put Henderson away. Shogun will be making his third appearance in the octagon this year, after missing the majority of the 2010 season due to a knee injury. So far, bookie software agents, have Shogun as an underdog, despite a one and one record, including his last fight where he knocked Forest Griffin out in the first round. Shogun is fighting with a chip on his shoulder, as he felt he put in an awful performance in March when he lost to Jon Jones for the Light Heavyweight title.

The other big fight on the UFC 139 card will be Wanderlei Silva taking on Cung Le in a middleweight eliminator matchup. Currently riding a one fight winning streak, and sporting a seven and one record overall, Cung Le will be attempting to show the UFC brass, that he has what it takes to defeat Silva in their upcoming battle. Meanwhile, Silva will be looking to pull the upset win, after two disappointing fights this season.

Originally based out of Paris, France Goldikova will be attempting to win her fourth consecutive Breeders Cup Mile on Friday November 4, 11. In the past three years, Goldikova has continuously been able to beat out her previous years fastest time. This in turn, has left fans and analysts alike pondering, why Goldikova owners would keep her in the same race annually, rather then move her up to tougher competition. On paper, by all accounts, last year she should have entered the Breeders Cup Classic to run against the greatest horse in American horse racing history, Zenyatta. However, as we indicated earlier, Goldikova instead raced and won at the Breeders Cup Mile.

Goldikova like the aforementioned Zenyatta has experienced much success over her career. In 26 career starts, Goldikova has won 17 of them, 14 of which were Grade I stakes races. Three of those 14 wins we already eluded too, as Breeders Cup victories. Now for the casual horse racing fans, it should be noted, that Goldikova is on an uncontested path to the horse racing hall of fame. She is the only horse who has won three Breeders Cups in a row. By winning four, she could entrench her name beside some of the greatest colts in the industry.

UFC 137 as has been the case with many UFC cards in 2011, is a stacked show. From the top of the card all the way to the main event, MMA fans whether live or at a bar, will have trouble staying in their seats. For fans of the Heavyweight division, expect top draws Mirko Cro Cop and Roy “Big Country” Nelson to kick off the main card. Nelson the former TUF 13 winner is looking to rebound, after a disappointing loss to best friend Frank Mir back in April. However, he will be in tough against the man simply known by his fans as Cro Cop. Coming off knockout loss to Brendan Schaub in March, a victory against Nelson, may go a long way in helping Cro Cop return to Heavyweight glamour.

Jumping ahead to the main event, fans and bookie software agents alike are giving Carlos Condit little to no chance of defeating Welterweight Champion George St. Pierre. But then again, when the Champion is riding a six fight win streak, you usually do not bet against him. This fight should be a difficult one for GSP, as he has had little time to readjust his game plan against Condit. Nevertheless, look for GSP to finally win a fight by knockout, as the unanimous decision victories are beginning to become tiresome.

Buffalo Bills (-3) @ Cincinnati Bengals

Sunday, 1:00 PM ET

The Bills have looked dominant at home with consecutive comeback sports betting wins, but how will they fare this week after three straight wins, when they find a team that isn’t very talented but very strong and desperate for a win. Cincinnati will be hostile territory for Buffalo, and if they get behind early again this week they may not be able to rally for another comeback.

NFL Betting Pick: Cincinnati Bengals +3

New England Patriots (-4) @ Oakland Raiders

Sunday, 4:15 PM ET

After a tough fishing loss at Buffalo, don’t expect Tom Brady and the Patriots to come out looking tentative. Head coach Bill Belichick doesn’t lose back-to-back games against teams that didn’t make the playoffs the year before, and after the Raiders hit the high of their season with a big win over the New York Jets, look for them to struggle to keep up with a New England team that will put nine in the box if need be.

NFL Betting Pick: New England Patriots -4