This seasons NFL Super Bowl looks to be the biggest Super Bowl in terms of betting yet, with more money being bet on this year than any Super Bowl in history.

Looking past the storylines, looking past the numbers, looking past the major NFL pundits Super Bowl predictions, there are Superbowl strategies to use that will make all the difference between profiting from the big game or walking away a loser. Read more

Back in 2004, Mark Cuban wrote a blog post that shocked a lot of people in the business world: he announced (but only somewhat seriously) his interest in Mark Cuban starting a hedge fund based on sports betting. The logic was ironclad, and still is…. there is a better rate of return for smart money in sports gambling investing than in the stock market.

Cuban’s idea had a lot of sound logic behind it: the return at a casino is roughly the same as in certain funds for breakeven purposes (but less expensive), and sports betting is different in that there is an expectation of loss, whereas in traditional investing there is an expectation of profit. This changes the way the money is handled, and smart bettors can expect better returns by having more information. And in this, Cuban argued, sports work out far better than the market: most people have much, much more information about their sports teams than the companies in their hedge funds.

Still, traditional investors scoffed (probably more out of personal offense than actual analysis): could a group of successful sports bettors actually have a better rate of return than market hedge funds? Two groups have tried, and one group has survived, and even moved to the UK to expand. Both are instructive in that they can show us exactly how sports bettors succeed and fail. Read more

A number of years ago when I was on the Client Care phone lines having daily conversations with our members, I always remember the conversation I had with one of our members who was a financial specialist in the banking industry and somewhat new to investing in the sports markets.

We talked on numerous topics during that hour, among which was the latest sport tips and matched betting. When I gave him the 30K foot view of matched betting, he at first was a little suspicious. I mean who wouldn’t….using free money to beat the bookies on the World Cup. As he bluntly said, “It sounded way too good to be true, especially with the claim it was risk-free”.

For those new to the matched betting…

I too am not much of a believer in schemes that purport to be risk free, so I approached the idea from both the good and the bad, and acknowledged is skepticism was typical.

But, to his shock, the introductory bet offers I showed him from the online sports  books were plenty and impressive!  Having taken about 25 myself, I’ve in fact made about a few hundred pounds. And the added bonus, is that it was made tax-free, and without risk. In the end, it isn’t about gambling. It’s taking advantage of offers to give you an edge over the rest, or a ‘try before you buy’ model to experience the service. Somewhat like free football tips that expert tipsters offer…but unique in its own way. Read more

We all known NBA is big for betting at the online sports books, and one of the more interesting leagues to bet on because of the straight mathematics of the system.

Basketball has a lot of rules in place to make sure that parity is ensured, which is why there are few “systems” that work besides pure, unfiltered statistical analysis. Heck, just ask world-renowned basketball bettor Bob Voulgaris.

But because of this (and all the lost bets by the wayside), a number of crazy ideas about betting on the NBA that sound mythical are actually real!

#1. Betting on NBA Preseason

Preseason betting in basketball is more risky than almost any other season. While this seems difficult to swallow, believe it. Rules are designed to ensure parity between teams will make it more likely that the preseason will be unpredictable. Why? The NBA is very tightly controlled to ensure that no one team or club can establish a dynasty very successfully – of course there is Jordans Chicago Bulls. But while teams may have a good run for a few years, there’s little chance of a 20 or 30 year dynasty in the NBA.

Teams that are unsuccessful are given a huge advantage through the draft for the next year. In short, it is almost impossible to predict how the most successful and least successful teams will perform this year based on next year. Even the most expert NBA  handicappers understand this context, and will constantly refine their basketball betting systems to take into account how draft picks and their performance could give the edge to the underdogs.

That is something that would be determined, ultimately, within the first few weeks of the season– meaning that the bets you place during the early season need to be extremely conservative – and why we advise sports investors to monitor any Experts basketball picks performance between pre-season, and few weeks after into regular season, very closely. Why? The appropriate mix of data points are considered in NBA betting systems and are essentially stress tested in these games. Therefore any Expert handicappers NBA betting system should showcase a shining performance – or at least more profitable than the average, if the right mix of statistical data points have been considered and tested.

#2. Ignore Offence and Defence

Your basketball picks should not be determined based simply on what key players are starting on offence or defence. Why? Offence and defence don’t matter because you have to deal with relative team strength.

Novice bettors place all their stock on offence or defense and usually rank teams based on that overall. However, neither of those two attributes can work on their own. In fact, they’re almost inseparable, meaning that your defenders can be just as valuable to a team line-up as your attackers. So selecting your basketball picks and betting on those picks based on a strong offence or defence can be a mistake, particularly if the opposing teams are well suited to apply or handle pressure overall.

#3. Favor the Low Ranks

Statistical analysis shows that betting against teams that are lower ranked at the end of the season deliver profitable advantages. It is not surprising to see teams on the lower end of the table “giving it their all” and their all ends up not looking like much. You might see some occasional heroics, but most of what you will see will be baseline play to avoid the charge of throwing the game– something that led to a league scandal a few years ago.

So if you are dealing with teams that are on the lower end, look at their win/loss percentages of recent games and make a determination as to whether a team is going to phone it in. You can also look at how these 5 tips for betting on the NBA playoffs can also augment your basketball betting strategy. But simply put, betting against teams in these situations is a much smarter strategy.