Gambling

I don’t recommend trying to make your sports betting living off teasers. However, there are times when teasers offer good wagering value. Sometimes you can tease an underdog you like over several key numbers offering excellent value. For example, if you like a +4 dog who you think should win the game, you can tease it to +10 or +10.5, offering plenty of insurance in case they don’t win. Or, you can tease a favorite down to 3 or even less than 3, skipping over key numbers 7, 4 and 3. This particular Sunday offers some interesting potential for teasers on several favorites.

The Bengals are hosting Green Bay, with both teams off emotionally tough losses. The Bengals lost a division showdown with the Steelers as a favorite, leaving a bad taste. The team has not been in a good mood this week and plays its second straight home game here. This is a talented, versatile Cincy offense, one that has scored points on 12 drives this season that have been for 70 yards or more, while the defense has allowed just five drives of that length. The Bengals under Marvin Lewis play the game hard and usually win and cover when they are supposed to, going 10-1 SU, 7-4 ATS their last 11 as chalk.

Their opponent, Green Bay, has had a miserable season, gouged by injuries. For this game, third-string RB Tony Fisher will start. Starter Ahman Green (torn thigh tendon) is out along with No. 2 RB Najeh Davenport (ankle). The Packers play their second straight road game here and blew a 17-0 halftime lead in a frustrating loss at Minnesota. Players were very dejected after the collapse in what is clearly a lost season for them. Cincy may offer good value for teaser players.

The Buffalo Bills are also in a tough spot, playing on the West Coast last week (38-17 loss at Oakland) and now fly back East to play at New England in a national TV game. The Bills have journeyman Kelly Holcomb at quarterback and a terrible run defense. Buffalo is 0-3 SU/ATS on the road getting beat by a 25-9 average! They take on a Patriots team that has had two weeks to prepare and is getting healthy, with DE Richard Seymour, RB Corey Dillon and LB Tedy Bruschi returning. Seymour and Dillon have missed the last two games, while Bruschi, the leader of the defense, hasn’t played since the Super Bowl. Don’t expect a lot from Bruschi on the field, but just being in uniform and partaking in some plays is going to have the Foxboro crowd in a frenzy, as he is a fan favorite. The Pats rolled over Buffalo in 2004, with a better defense and QB (Drew Bledsoe), by 14 and 23 points.

In addition, Patriots’ coach Bill Belichick has spent much of the season focusing on the offense, as his two top coordinators left from a year ago. However, during the bye week he has been spending his time with the defense, the main area of weakness. Buffalo’s weak offensive line offers a chance for the defense to improve its poor numbers. The Pats have also played four of their last five on the road, and they are 22-1 their last 23 home games! And that lone loss was the last home game, an embarrassing 41-17 loss to San Diego. This week, Seymour was quietly talking about pride and getting the defense back to where it belongs. That’s the same kind of talk the team had when they went to play at Pittsburgh and Atlanta after losses. They won both games as a road dog, so teasing this team at home may offer some value.

Finally, the Monday night game finds an anemic Baltimore offense (11.5 ppg) at mighty Pittsburgh. The Ravens are 0-3 SU/ATS on the road where they are getting beat by 12 ppg. They have no passing attack and RB Jamaal Lewis is averaging 54.3 yards a game and 2.9 yards a carry. He admitted that he is feeling burdened by pending free agency. And the defense will be without two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Ray Lewis, and current Defensive Player of the Year Ed Reed, their best all-around lineman. The Steelers are home, healthy and hungry. It’s amazing they’ve lost two in a row at home, but that’s not likely the case here, especially with a national TV audience watching. The Bengals, Patriots and Ravens perhaps offer good teaser value this weekend.

Not many know about how blackjack was invented and there have been many rumours and suppositions about this game but here you will be able to read about all of them.

It is believed by many that it started in France and was called vingt-et-un which means 20 and 1 in French. Like most of the casino games we play today, the true origins may never be known.

The objective in Blackjack is to get a hand that totals or is as close to 21 as possible without going over 21. The dealer gives each player 2 cards. Then each player gets a turn to request more cards one at a time till the layer thinks that is the best hand they can get without going over 21.

The English name Blackjack was given to the game because in the French version of the game. If a player drew a jack of spades and an Ace of spades the player got an extra bonus. To get this bonus the jack of spades needed to be drawn first and the name blackjack was born from players screaming their desire for the Black Jack.

In the 1880s Blackjack made its appearance in America, and it grew very fast in popularity. It was not long before players realized the ease in which the odds of blackjack could be manipulated and that rules needed to be put in place to regulate these games. Instead of that all gambling was made illegal in 1910 and all gambling went underground. This is how the core of todays gangsters was formed.

Eventually because of the lawlessness and gangster activities the government decided it was smarter to legalize it and tightly control gambling.

At this point blackjack became by far the most popular gambling game of any casino. Many books were written by mathematicians on the subject of how to improve your odds at blackjack.

It got to the point where the casinos had to change the way the game was played because too many people thought they knew how to manipulate the odds into their favor and the casinos did not want that, but the real fact was that the mathematicians who came up with these techniques for beating the odds wrote them in a manner that only they and other math nerds could understand and most people who thought they understood the theories continued to lose money at the blackjack tables, and helped to build the world of legalized casino gambling what it is today.

The casinos came up with the idea of adding a second and third deck to the game to make card counting harder and totally change the odds back into their favor and lose the holes in the game that allowed them to change the odds in the first place.

Today people can play Blackjack in a legal casino or in one of the many online casinos that have popped into existence in recent years. Because people are still trying to find the method of winning blackjack easily, people are still writing books on how to win at blackjack, but unlike the mathematicians that were writing these books in the 50s and 60s todays books are being written by some people who just claim to have a system. Unfortunately today that is all you need to sell a book. Many people are paying tons of money for a blackjack system that is a book that tells you nothing and maybe a video showing you how to play blackjack. If you are looking to get rich and make enough to retire from Blackjack, do not opt for this game. Chances are the system you have is garbage and will lose you all your money.

Ever since online betting sites have become hot favorites of the millions of luck seekers of the internet world, the selection of reliable and trustworthy sites is becoming a major issue in the field of on line betting. On the spot conventional betting provides the bettors a fairly good knowledge of the betting facilitators and the advantage of seeing the events, the games, and the players live. On line betting on the other hand, forces the players to necessarily depend on the Internet forums and gaming portals to decide on the credibility of the betting site. While the forums provides sufficient information on the casinos or sites, reputed portals update and provide data on the best online betting sites. The gaming portals also allot ranks based on their service reliability and experience.

Like any other establishment, the first and the foremost criteria for deciding the best betting site, is its length of existence which speaks of its credibility, creditworthiness and credentials. The range or variety of games available, the user-friendly interface, and the speed of response, are some of the other vital points to be considered. They should have a good payment reputation by a fast and reliable mode and have an adoption plan including the latest technology to keep the client’s privacy.

The novices to this field have to be extremely careful to avoid pitfalls in selection of good casinos and to avoid the fraudulent ones. While checking the license of the site is of paramount importance, it should be the endeavor of the bettor to ensure that the site is operating in a country where the activity is legal. The casinos of Eastern Europe call for closer scrutiny. One should also see that the site has not been blacklisted by any gaming portals and it provides round the clock service and toll free telephone communication in addition to practice games and on line communication capabilities.

One unique aspect of college basketball is that the sport covers both the fall and spring semesters. This means players that are ineligible for the first half of the season are often available in late December.

Below is a look at the five biggest impact players who have recently joined their teams over the past month.

MARCUS WILLIAMS – Connecticut (Guard)

Williams led the Huskies in assists last season (7.3 apg), but was suspended the entire first semester for his involvement in a stolen laptop computer ring. Williams returned to action on January 3rd and the Huskies lost outright at Marquette, 94-79, as a 10-point road favorite.

Connecticut has since gone 4-0 SU (2-2 ATS) with Williams in the lineup and he leads the team in assists (7.8 apg), is second in steals (1.8 spg), and is third in scoring (11.2 ppg).

GARY NEAL – Towson State (Guard)

Neal is a 6-4 guard that transferred from LaSalle and he made a huge debut on December 21st when Neal scored 28 points in a narrow 80-78 home loss versus VMI. Overall, Neal is averaging 25.8 points per game and has scored at least 25 points or more in five of his past six games.

It appears that other Colonial Athletic Association teams are beginning to double-team Neal and he struggled in his last game versus N.C. Wilmington as Seal was just 1-12 FG and 0-8 from three-point range.

Despite the blowout loss last Thursday, Towson is still a solid 5-2 SU/ATS over their past seven games.

MOHAMED ABUKAR – San Diego State (Center)

Abukar is originally from San Diego and transferred back home from the University of Florida last spring. He became eligible on December 27th and the Aztecs lost a difficult cross-country road trip at Providence, 80-65. San Diego State has since gone 5-1 SU and a perfect 6-0 ATS.

Abukar is a 6-10 center and his talent was immediately evident as he scored 42 points in his first three games and is currently third on the team in scoring (11.4 ppg) and fourth in rebounding (4.1 rpg).

HASSAN FOFANA - Loyola-Maryland (Center)

Foyana is a native of Africa and appeared in 28 games as a freshman for the Maryland Terps before transferring to Loyola last year. Foyana became eligible on December 23rd and the Greyhounds were blown out at Virginia, 98-59.

Foyana made an immediate impact and scored 33 points in his first two games and Loyola was on a perfect 6-0 ATS run until they lost at Iona last Thursday. Overall, Foyana leads the team in rebounding (7.2 rpg) and blocks (1.2 bpg) and he is third on the team in scoring (10.3 ppg).

IJE NWANKWO – Cleveland State (Forward)

This 6-7, 275 lbs power forward transferred from Purdue and had to sit out this first semester this season. Nwankwo became eligible on December 20th and played scored only four points in 13:00 minutes of action. Nwankwo has since broken out with 14+ points in four of his past seven games and overall he leads the team in blocks (0.9 bpg) and ranks third in scoring (10.0 ppg) and fourth in rebounding (4.4 rpg).

Cleveland State has gone 3-1 SU/ATS their past four games with Nwankwo in the lineup, with all three wins coming outright as +3 ½, +8, and +9 point underdogs.

STEVE MERRIL is a professional sports handicapper and a documented member of The Professional Handicappers League. Get his Premium plays here.

Even if a person doesn’t know all the rules to poker they know what poker bluffing is.

They have seen it in films and on TV and see the hero deceive his opponent and win a huge jackpot,this means they think bluffing works all the time and use it to frequently and lose!

To bluff correctly and make it effective, it should only be done on certain occasions and used sparingly.

Here are some tips on correct bluffing in various situations.

BLUFFING - When “someone” could have made a great hand.

For example, when the third of a suit hits the board, another player might possibly have a flush. If you bet as if you have the flush to, the other players may fall for your bluff.

BLUFFING if you are in a pot with a player who is looking to quit

By betting, big and making them think you have something good; you can remove them from the game and the fact they wanted to quit anyway, means you have given them the push they need.

For example, you are in the late position pre-flop and after you there are two players left in the game. Your cards are not indicating a good hand, but everyone before you has folded already. This is a great opportunity to bluff and bet big. The remaining players may feel you have a big hand and simply fold allowing you to take the pot.

BLUFFING - When you know other players strategy

To bluff correctly in poker you need to know other players strategy so watch them closely.

If a player is a novice, they very often will bluff too often making them easy to attack. However, it’s the more experienced players that can cause you problems as they have the experience and can disguise their bluffing better.

BLUFFING - Other players are watching you.

If you try to bluff again after you have already bluffed then someone is likely to call your bluff.

This can be used to your advantage. If you find yourself with a good hand after being caught bluffing, odds are players will call you, but keep in mind if you have junk you can get taken out.

BLUFFING - On tight tables.

Bluffs have a better chance of working at tight tables, on loose tables the opposite tends to be true, unless all the “loose players” have already folded and are no longer in the game.

BLUFFING - On high limit tables

In low limit games, there’s no advantage in bluffing, as when betting small stakes, players will tend to see little risk in calling you as there is very little at stake for them High limits, and especially no limit games, are ideal for successful bluffing as players have more to lose and will carefully consider what to do as there is more at stake for them.

BLUFFING - From late position.

If other players are checking, calling, or folding before you play, it’s a great opportunity to try and win the pot. It’s not a good strategy to bluff from early position, as you have no idea what players are holding they may have junk but of course they may not.

BLUFFING – Use this tactic sparingly

You need to try to adopt a pattern of play other players will find difficult to register and this means using bluffs in frequently

If you bet with a pattern, other players will hit you hard and cost you money.

Bluffing in lower stakes games and against novice players is less effective than when used in higher stakes games against better players.

It is in these games that correct bluffing can really be used effectively.

Bluffing is satisfying. There is no better feeling than beating a better hand and getting your hands on the pot.

It is however much more difficult than many players imagine.

Follow the tips above, use bluffing sparingly and you will find that your bluffing strategy can be a valuable tool in your quest for bigger poker profits.

No matter what sort of poker game you are playing in, there are a number of effective strategies you must follow in order to increase your chances of winning. I have provided below a list of the ten best poker tips to follow to keep the money rolling in your direction.

1. Know when to hold’em, and know when to fold’em.

Most beginners play way too many starting hands; in fact top players typically play between 20 to 30% of their starting hands. When you’re just starting out playing poker, you want to play poker, and that means staying in hands that aren’t very good just to be part of the action. But playing more doesn’t mean winning more. In fact it usually means losing more! Concentrate on higher value starting hands and help remove the luck element of the game.

2. Choose less skilful opponents.

If you want to win money choose your opponents wisely. Although this sounds obvious you should play at the betting limits where you stand a better chance of beating the majority of players. Move down in limits if you are having difficulty winning money. Don’t be greedy and always leave your ego at the door.

3. Understand player position.

Not only is it important to play strong hands, it is also important in what position you play them. For example, the ideal position is the Button, as you are last to act, and have the advantage of watching all of the betting action before you need to make a decision. If the action before you consists of a bet, a raise, and then a re-raise, and you, say, hold a pair of Tens, you might think that folding is the right decision.

4. Be unpredictable.

Variation and unpredictability can be advantageous. Most good players/professionals can spot a really loose player by waiting for the nuts and being patient. However, an even easier opponent is a tight player or ‘rock’, who plays only the Group 1 type hands. You need to change your game up, and let them see that you can run bluffs, and can play some lower value starting hands.

5. Don’t bluff just for bluffing’s sake.

Although most poker novices understand that bluffing is a part of poker, they are unsure exactly how. There’s is no set rule saying that one must bluff a certain amount of times – or at all during a game, but many players don’t feel like they’ve won unless they’ve tried a poker bluff that’s worked. Bluffs only work in certain situations and against certain people, and if you know a player always calls to the showdown, it is literally impossible to bluff that player. It’s better never to bluff than to bluff just for the hell of it.

6. Don’t play when in the wrong frame of mind.

When you play poker, you shouldn’t do it when your depressed, angry or simply having a bad day. You will start playing emotionally, not rationally, and as a result you won’t play your best. Likewise, if during a poker game, you lose a big hand or get sucked out on and feel yourself going on tilt, stand up and take a break until you feel calm later on. Good players will sense your mood and take advantage of it.

7. Watch your opponents carefully.

Always watch your opponents, especially when you are not in a hand. Watch how opponents bet and how much they bet and in what position are they betting. Learning how your opponents play is key. If you know that one player always raises in a certain position, and another has a poker tell when he bluffs and a third folds to every re-raise, you can use that information to help you decide how to play against them.

8. Pick the right game for your skill level.

The main reason why you shouldn’t jump into a $5 to $10 game after winning at $2 ro $4 is because as the stakes rise, so will the average skill level of the players sitting there. You want to be one of the best players at the table and if you’re making stacks of money at a lower level game, why move?

9. Don’t Call at the End of a Hand.

It may be worth seeing if a player really has the hand to attempt to gain information that will help you later on in the game, but if you really feel a player has the hand he’s representing and you’re already beaten, why give him even more of your money? These types of bets will add up over the course of an evening.

10. Read books and take notes.

Learn how be a better poker player. If possible try and keep notes on what works and does not work for you, and eventually you will come up with a style of playing that does work. Read as much as you can about the game and keep on the look out for online tips from the professional tournament players.

For every golf fan, the US Masters in early April is without doubt a highlight of the golfing calendar. But it’s also a fantastic betting opportunity for the astute golf bettor. So what are the crucial golf stats for the Masters? Well, a close study of previous US Masters winners reveals some interesting trends which should prove extremely useful in finding this years winner…

1 — Since 1990, more than 80% of US Masters winners have won or finished 2nd atleast once already that year.

In that time, just Jose Maria Olazabal in 1999, Ben Crenshaw in 1995 and Nick Faldo in 1990 had failed to finish first or second on either the US PGA or European tour in the year they won the tournament.

Interestingly all three golfers had already won the Masters in a previous year however — in 1994, 1984 and 1989 respectively.

2 — This year, more than ever, Augusta will favour the big hitters. That’s because the course has been extended a further 155 yards to 7445 yards with alterations to six holes. Augusta has now been lengthened over 400 yards in the last 5 years.

The course plays long so unless there is a lot or rain to negate the big hitters advantage, favour those golfers who rank well for driving distance.

3 — The other extremely important stat is the Greens-In-Regulation (GIR) percentage. GIR simply measures how often a golfer reaches the green in the regulation number of strokes (or less). For example, on a par 4 hole, Regulation would be to make the green in two strokes. On a par 5, three strokes.

To illustrate just how vital this statistic is, only once in the last six years has the Masters winner NOT ranked in the first two for GIR percentage at the tournament’s conclusion.

4 — The Masters is a tournament for proven winners. Big name golfers such as Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Vijay Singh have tremendous records in this event. For example Mickelson has finished no worse than 12th in the last 8 years!

Unlike the British Open, surprise long odds winners are extremely rare. No golfer playing the Masters for the first time has won the tournament since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979, so previous Masters form is a must.

Armed then with the above pointers, it should be possible to eliminate a large percentage of the 2006 US Masters field as possible winners. The winning golfer is likely to have good previous Masters form, have won or finished second in a tournament atleast once already that year, and rank highly in the driving distance and GIR stats for his respective tour.

Navigating an online poker site is not as difficult as some people might think. Visit a poker website and you will understand almost immediately that you are not going to be browsing aimlessly through the site trying to figure out what to do and how to do it. The administrators of poker websites try their best to make everyone feel at ease when they visit, and to help them start doing what they came to do right away: play poker.

An online poker site will first ask you to register, after which you will have access to all that the site has to offer. After you have registered and logged in for the first time, you will see that there are several choices as to what to do first. Many times there will be a poker tutorial that will walk you through the various areas in the website, as well as tutorials on how to play the different poker games that are offered. If there are tutorials, this is a great place to start. If you have arrived at the online poker site as an already experienced online poker player, then you may be able to skip the tutorials and start right in playing some games. Each online poker site has its own rules and regulations, but most of these rules and regulations will be similar no matter what site you visit.

Where you may see the most different between one online poker site and another is the poker software that they use. The graphical user interface will differ from site to site, so it may take a while to get used to playing at each one.

Casinos have been in existence since the 1700’s, during the early years of the United States. In small, scattered towns, casinos were established to give those weary travelers and townsfolk a form of recreation and a way to earn some money from what they were willing to wager.

Throughout the eyars since then, casinos became more organized. They got bigger. They started serving better food. They developed a more efficient dealer system. And the money that was laid down on hte table, and consequently, the money lost by players, grew into eye-popping amounts.

Hence, many States banned gambling from their territories. Nevada, for instance, received so many complaints of broken families, ruined careers, unpaid loans, and the like as a result of the many gambling establishments in their area, that in 1910, they had to put a stoppage to the gambling industry that had sustained their desert county.

Operations resumed in 1930, but business was slow then, and casinos were never the same flourishing business that they were before their initial cessation. Part of this was due to the Great Depression that struck the land. Even when the economic effects of the period settled down, Mafia money found its way into the casino circuit, placing in doubt the credibility of the gambling system and effectively keeping people away from the tables.

That is, until 1962, when a scholar named Edward Thorp publihsed a book entitled Beat The Dealer, where her outlined specific and verifiable strategies on how to win, and how to win big, at the casino tables.

The centerpiece of his book was the game of Blackjack. And all the revelations he mentioned in its pages compelled people to troop back to the casinos. The rest, as they say, is history.

Take a look at Las Vegas today.

Take a look at Nevada.

Take a look at all the progressive states in the world.

What’s common in all of them? That’s right. They all have a burgeoning casino industry. And they owe a lot of gratitue to Mr. Thorp and his then revolutionary book. The strategies therein, surprisingly, can still be employed with great efficiency today. Try to get a hold of a copy, if you still can.

As you can see, however, Blackjack is a very popular game in every casino. It can even be argued that Blackjack is probably the most popular game of chance there is, at least, when there is betting involved.

Blackjack, probabilitywise, is the most winnable game of chance there is, ba none. It is a great entry level game for beginners, and it is also a great pot filling option for veterans whenever the Baccarat table or the Roulette wheel ahs depleted most of their resources.

Home field advantage may not be much in baseball but it does exist. With proper motivation and one-sided betting action on the road team, value can be had betting on home teams.

We all heard the saying that it is tough to sweep a home team. Checking how home teams did in the third game of a series after losing the first two games, we see the home teams bite back and go +18.5 units over the past 3 seasons. As an underdog, our team is a much better value play at +12 units, undervalued by about 6 points.

We all know people love to bet on favorites. In fact, novice gamblers like to stick with what works and will continue betting on the same team until that team lets them down. So if the road team was a favorite in the first two games of the series and their backers won money, then it would be sufficient to say that most of the betting handle would go to the road team in the third game.

We were right, our team is now undervalued by an average of 9 points.

Another thing people love to do is bet favorites on the run line to lessen their risk amount and increase the payout. So if our team was to lose on the run line in the first two games then certainly more betting handle would be on the road team in Game 3. Again, we were right and this added constraint to our system finds our underdog undervalued by an average of 15 points!

So as you look to bet on teams, it is not sufficient enough to evaluate the game itself. Spend a little time to analyze where the betting action is going and fade the public for value.