There are teams that are currently involved in pennant races as teams begin the final stretch of the season, and many teams out of it. Teams like Minnesota and the Dodgers have been hot the last month, with win streaks that got them back in the playoff race. Winning is enjoyable for bettors, of course, and enjoyable for professional athletes. Would you rather show up for work on a winning team that might make the postseason? Or one that is out of it? Teams out of it are more likely to be going through the motions, lacking motivation.

Look what Arizona did this week, trading Shawn Green to the Mets. He’s a fine talent, but an expensive one, so the D-Backs sent his contract off to New York. That gives the appearance that the organization might be packing it in.

In my analysis Wednesday I notes, “The Diamondback’s playoff aspirations are fading fast as the team has now lost 5 of their last 6 games. To make matters worse they traded Shawn Green in a clear move to start playing their younger players. In our eyes and those of the fans it’s obvious that Arizona doesn’t feel it can catch the LA Dodgers for the playoffs. That can’t be a good sign for Diamondback backers.”

The Giants topped the D-Backs, making it 6 losses in 7 games – and a win for myself and my clients. I recall a few weeks ago that Red Sox players were miffed that the front office didn’t make any moves at the trading deadline to bolster the team’s chances. This didn’t sit well with some veteran players who only have a few years left to play and contend for another title, such as Curt Schilling, Tim Wakefield and Jason Varitek. Not making a trade can hurt a team just as dumping a player can signal that the front office might be looking ahead to next year.

Another important wagering angle is to go against pitchers who are making their first start after coming off the DL. Pitching effectively requires practice and timing. Pitchers coming off the DL are often lacking that. That same night I bet against Toronto noting, “We find Toronto and Gustavo Chacin in that situation. Chacin hasn’t pitched since June 9th when he lasted just 3 innings against the Tigers. He hasn’t faced major league hitting in 10 weeks and is sure to be rusty in his return.” He was as Oakland romped, 6-0. Chacin didn’t make it out of the 2nd innings, allowing 6 hits, 3 walks and 5 runs!

In both those plays, the teams I backed were on some kind of hot streak. Oakland had won 3 of Esteban Loaiza’s last 4 and 6 of his last 9 starts. He had a solid 3.88 career ERA vs the Blue Jays and he has beaten them in 3 of his last 4 starts. As for the Giants against Arizona, the Giants had won 7 of their last 9 and countered with Jason Schmidt. He and his teammates have defeated Arizona an amazing 15 straight times! He has a career 3.19 ERA vs the Diamondbacks. San Francisco has dominated this series winning 34 of 52 meetings including 17 of 24 at home. There are many factors to utilize when examining baseball games, one only has to learn what to look for and how to apply it.

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The thing that is the most remarkable about the Yankees is that they have ripped opponents by the combined score of 80-52, yet the Bronx Bombers are just 6-6. One thing that stands out is that they are 0-3 in one-run games. By contrast, the new-look Red Sox (pitching and defensive-oriented) are 9-4 despite outscoring their opponents by a mere five runs. The Sox are 6-1 in games decided by one or two runs and 5-0 when they score four runs or fewer. Who knows how this will stack up over the course of an entire season.

Granted, it’s still early, but by examining trends like this we can explain many things from a handicapping point of view. Boston is 7-4-1 UNDER the total the last 12 games, which makes sense because the offense is not as good as recent years, but their pitching and defense is very strong. Boston is No. 2 in the AL in team ERA (3.87). The powerful Yankees offense is a big reason they are 8-4 over the total, a trend that is likely to continue, especially if their pitching comes back to the pack. Get ready for a lot of high scoring Yankee games as the weather gets warmer and the season progresses!

Behind those teams, the surprising Detroit Tigers have the third-best team ERA in the American League at 3.87. Newcomer veteran Kenny Rogers, Nate Robertson and Mike Maroth have been very good as starters, a combined 5-2. The trio has good control and giving the team 6-7 innings each start. They are a big reason the Tigers are 8-3 under the total, too.

The Atlanta Braves are 9-3 over the total and the big surprise to everyone is how bad their pitching has been. Their 5.72 team ERA is second worst in the NL, a big contrast to the years past! John Smoltz and John Thomsen have pitched well, but starters Kyle Davies, Tim Hudson, Jorge Sosa and Horacio Ramirez have been completely awful. Do they miss longtime pitching coach Leo Mazzone? Mazzone moved on to the Orioles this off-season, but the Orioles pitching has a 5.12 team ERA and is in the middle of the pack in the AL, and their 61 walks is the most in baseball. Maybe he just needed to be in Atlanta with his man Bobby Cox.

Toronto has to be delighted with the offensive performances of newcomers Lyle Overbay and Troy Glaus, who are both hitting over the .300 mark. The improved offense is a reason why the Blue Jays are 8-3 over the total averaging 6.2 runs per game. And speaking of totals, the Cincinnati Reds are 8-4 over the total. Is this a fluke? Nope: The Reds lead the league in home runs and slugging, while the pitching is 12th in the 16-team National League. It’s important to sift through the facts between trends and statistical anomalies. If there are solid reasons behind trends, they can continue to be betting angles to keep a close eye on.

Action
Action means bets. Having action means having a bet.
Action has a special meaning for baseball bets: Its means the bet counts even even if there is a change in starting pitchers. If there is a pitcher change accompanied by a baseball odds change, the action bettor will receive the new odds. The default is that the listed pitchers must start; to have action no matter who pitches, you must specify action when you make your bet.

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Advantage Player
An advantage player is a bettor who is willing to make a bet only if the bet is perceived as yielding a positive EV.

Against the Spread
There are two common ways of betting sides: the moneyline and against the spread. To bet against the spread is to make a wager that will be decided by adding points to one team or the other after the game is played.

Air Move
When a sportsbook changes the line on a game in response to other books’ changing the line, that line change is described as an air move. The opposite of an air move is changing the line in response to bets received.

Angle
An angle is a decision rule for making bets, Unfortunately, most published angles are the result of data mining, and fail to predict results of future games.

Arbitrage
To arbitrage is to make a combination of bets such that if one bet loses another wins. There is an implication of having an edge, at no or low risk. Arbitrage can also be used as a noun. Hedge has a similar meaning, but does not carry the implication of having an edge.

ATS
ATS is the acronym for against the spread.

Bar
To be barred from betting at a sportsbook is to be told that no more bets will be accepted from you.

Bases
Bases means baseball. An alternative to saying you are betting on baseball games is to say you are betting bases.

Baskets
Baskets means basketball. An alternative to saying you are betting on basketball games is to say you are betting baskets. An alternate expression is hoops.
Beard
A beard is a person who makes sports bets for someone else; that someone else is usually a skillful handicapper.

Betting Exchange
A betting exchange is a form of betting available on the internet. You and another person can bet on anything you wish at whatever odds you agree upon. The winner will pay a commission to the internet sportsbook.

Bettor
A bettor is an individual who makes bets. This text assumes that bettors will be making a sports bets against a book.

Board
A board is the list of bets available in a sportsbook. In the old days, all books had actual boards on which clerks would write the latest odds. Nowadays most suck boards have been replaced by electronic displays that are updated by computer, but they are still called “boards.”

Bonus Hustler
To offshore sportsbooks, a bonus hustler is someone who has opened an account for the express purpose of obtaining bonuses, and who does no intend to gamble.

Book, Bookmaker
A book or bookmaker is a person or company that accepts bets against the lines created by linesmakers.

Bookie
The dictionary says bookie is the same thing as bookmaker, but Nevado’s legal sportsbooks don’t call themselves bookies. Bookies carries the implication of illegality.

Buck
To a sports bettor, a buck is a bet size. For a bet on a dog, a buck is $100. for a bet on a favorite, a buck is whatever amount of money must be risked to win $100.

Chalk
To bet chalk is to bet the favorite

Cherrypick
To cherrypick is to bet only those games on which you think you have an edge.

Circled
When a game is circled, the maximum bet on that game is lower than normal. The circling generally is due to uncertainty of some sort, perhaps the weather or an injury to a key player.

Correlated, Correlation
Correlation is the degree to which the results of two bets are related. Zero correlation means the results are not related at all. Correlated is the adjective form, and correlation is a noun. An example of two bets that are correlated is the Giants to lead at the half and the Giants to win the game. Sportsbooks do not like to write correlated parlays.

Cover
To cover is to beat the spread. For example, if Detroit is favored by 7 and wins the game by more than 7, Detroit is said to have “covered.” If Detroit losed that game or wins by less than 7, it failed to cover.If the underdog wins, or loses the game but by less than the spread, the dog is said to have covered.

CTR
CTR is the acronym for Currency Transaction Report. This is a form the US government requires be filled out whenever a financial institution (which includes casionos and sportsbooks) has a transaction (or series of transactions with one individual within a 24-hour period of time) involving over $10,000 in cash.

Data Mining
Data mining is derogatory. It means sorting through a huge volume of data, extracting decision rules that seem to favor one team over another, but without regard to whether or not there is any cause-and-effect relationship. Data mining is the sports-betting equivalent of sitting a huge number of monkeys down at keyboards, and then reporting on the monkeys who happened to type actual words.

Dime
A dime is a bet to win $1000.

Dog
Dog is short for “underdog.” If the better team wins the game, the dog is the team that loses. The opposite of the dog is the favorite.

Dollar
A dollar is a bet to win $100.

Early line
The early line is the first line posted for a game.

Edge
Having an edge means having the best of it. If you make only bets on which you have an edge, you will win and you will lose but in the long haul your winnings will overwhelm your losses.

Even money
Even money means you risk a dollar to win a dollar. Even money is also expressed as EV or as PK. It could be, but is not, expressed as -100 or +100.

Exotic
Exotic bets are the same thing as prop bets.

Fade
To fade a bet is to accept it, as in the sportsbook fades your action.

Fan
A fan is somebody who bets on a team because he likes the team. To a fan, the spread is an umimportant detail.

Favorite
The favorite is the team that is more likely to win. If there are a large number of contestants, suck as in a golf tournament, the top few contestants can all be referred to as favorites. The opposite of the favorite is dog.

Field
Betting on golf tournaments and other sports events that have a large number of entrants often allows for a bet on the field. The field is the group of all the entrants not listed with their own odds. The field can contain a large number of entrants, but typically each entrant has only a tiny chance of actually winning the event. If an entrant had a good chance of winning, he or she would not be lumped into the field.

Final Margin
The final margin is the final score of the favorite and the the final score of the dog. If the dog won, the final margin is negative. The final margin can be compared to the line to see which team won for betting purposes.

Final Score
The final score of the game is the actual results as determined on the field, court, diamond, etc.

Final Total
The final total is the sum of the two final scores in a game. If San Francisco wins 35-14, then the final total is 49.

Foots
Foots means football. An alternative to saying you are betting on football games is to say you are betting foots.

Front running
Front running is watching betting lines via computer, and betting in the direction of line moves at a sportsbook that shows the old number

Futures
Futures are bets that will be decided by multiple contests, or by a contest that is more than about a week away. An example of a futures bet is a wager on wether the Yankees will win more than 92 games in the upcoming season.

Good Bet
To an advantage player, a good bet is a bet theat offers a positive EV.

Handicap
To handicap is to assign a probability to the likelihood of winning a contest or series of contests. A person who handicaps is a handicapper.

Handle
Handle is a word used by bookmakers to describe the total amount of money wagered. Handle usually refers to total bets over multiple games, whereas action usually refers to total bets on one game.

Hang
When managers of sportsbooks speak of hanging a line, they mean posting it for all to see and bet into.

Hedge
To hedge is to make a combination of bets such that if one bet loses another wins. Hedging is usually done fore defensive purposes, such as betting to lock in a profit after winning the first eleven games on a twelve-team parlay. Hedge can be used as a noun or a verb. Hedge does not carry the implication of having and edge.

Hook
When a line on a football or basketball game includes a half point, the half point is called a hook.

Hoops
Hoops means basketball. An alternative to saying you are betting on basketball games is to say you are betting hoops. An alternate expression is baskets.

House Edge
The house edge is another name for the vig.

Juice
Juice is another word for vig.

Laying
You are said to be laying odds if the amount of money you are risking is more than what you will win if the game goes your way. You are said to be laying points if the spread takes points away from your team. If you are laying points or laying odds, you are betting the favorite. The opposite of laying is taking.

Leach
A leach is someone who watches a computer for line moves, and when he sees one he quickly bets the appropriate team at an offshore sportsbook that has not yet moved the line. That activity is called front running.

Line
The line is the spread and terms of a bet. If the terms are standard, e.g. -110, then the line is the spread.

Linesmaker
A linesmaker is a person who creates lines and totals for bookmakers.

Maverick line
When a sportsbook creates its own line on a game and that line is different from the line carried by other sportsbooks, that independent line is called a maverick line.

Middle
To have a middle is to have bets on competing teams and for there to be at least one possible outcome that results in winning both bets, Middle applies to bets on totals as well bets on sides.

Money line
When you bet the money line, the winner of the game is the winner of th bet. Betting the money line is one of two common ways of betting on a side to win; the other common method of betting a side is against the spread.

Nickel
A nickel is a bet to win $500. A big nickel is a bet to win $5000.

Off
If a game if off, the sportsbook is no longer writing bets on it. Perhaps the game has already started, or perhaps there is major uncertainty as to the weather conditions or an injury to a key player.

Off the board
To make parlay or teaser bets on games listed on the board is called betting off the board. Sometimes you have two ways to bet the same combination of teams: off the board and on parlay cards. Before betting one of them, check to see if the other offers better odds or a better spread.

Opening line
The opening line is the earliest line posted for a given sports event.

Originator
When a syndicate bets so much money on one game that the line moves, the originator is the first person to bet that game for that syndicate.

Over
To bet over is to bet that the final total will exceed the total posted for betting purposes.

Parlay
A parlay is a bet involving two or more events. You can also use the word as a verb; to parlay is to use the proceeds from one bet as the wager on another bet. You can parlay sides and totals. You can mix sports in a single parlay. All you teams must win for your parlay to win. One loser and the parlay is lost. A push on one game generally causes your parlay to convert to a parlay with one fewer game; for example a three-team parlay with two wins and a push would be paid as a two-team parlay.

Parlay card
A parlay card is a set of sides, totals, and prop bets printed on a special card. The numbers on the parlay card apply only to bets on the card, and might be different from bets listed on the board. Typically you must select at least three items if you want to make a bet on a parlay card.

Pick
A pick is a bet recommended by a handicapper.

Pick ‘em
Pick ‘em can mean two things. It can mean the same thing as even money. It also can mean the spread is zero, as in “Giants is pick ‘em against the Ravens this weekend.”

PK
PK is an abbreviation for pick ‘em.

Player
If an employee of a sportsbooks calls you a player, the implication is that you are a big bettor. Being called a player is not a compliment, but its not as derogatory as being called a sucker.

Points, point spread
Points and point spread are alternate terms for spread.

Power ratings
Power ratings are numbers that handicappers assign to teams to estimate how likely one team is to beat the other or by how many points.

Prop bet
When a major sporting events come along, some linesmakers let their imaginations run wild as they offer an interesting menu of bets, such as which player will score first.

Public
A public means unsophisticated bettors. Their bets are call public money. The public includes fans and squares and people who make a bet just to make a game more exciting.

Puck line
The ice hockey version of betting against the spread is the puck line. On games in which one team is a big favorite, the puck line typically adds 1.5 goals to one or subtracts 1.5 goals from the other team.

Punter
A punter is a bettor, specifically a bettor who takes on sportsbooks or racebooks. The term can be but is rarely used to refer to participants in casino games.

Push
A push is a tie against the spread. Generally you get your money back on pushes.

Reverse teaser
A reverse teaser is a parlay in which each team gives up points compared to the normal spread.

ROI
ROI is the acronym for return on investment.

Run line
The baseball version of betting against the spread is the run line. On games in which one team is a big favorite, the run line typically adds 1.5 runs to one team or subtracts 1.5 runs from the other team.

Scalp
This word has several meanings. One use is to bet both sides on the money line in such a way as to guarantee profit. For example, if New York is playing Chicago and you bet New York -140 and Chicago +155, you have a 15 cent scalp. Another use of scalp is to describe what a bookie might do if he thinks a line is going to move. Suppose a bookie takes a bet on Dallas -6 from a sharp, and predicts that other bookie soon will be calling to also place bets on Dallas. If the bookie immediately bets Dallas -6 with other bookies and simultaneously changes the line at which he accepts bets to Dallas -7, he is said to be scalping.

Sharp, sharpie
A sharp is what sportsbooks call an advantage player. Sharp can also be used as an adjective. If someone calls you a sharp bettor, smile; you have received a compliment.

Side
To bet a side is to bet on one team against the spread. Another meaning of side is to have bets on both opposing teams such that there is at least one score that will give you a win on one bet and a push on the other.

Smart money
Smart money is money wagered by shaprs.

Soft
When a line is called soft, the implication is that not many sharp bettors have looked at it. Sharp bettors making big bets tend to move lines to the point where it is difficult for other bettors to make a bet with an advantage.

Sportsbook
Sportsbook is another word for book.

Spread
A spread is a number set by a sportsbook to allow betting at 10:11 on each of two teams. The spread is also called the line or the points.

Square
A square is a sucker who has read the sports sectin of the local newspaper. The implication is of being informed, but using the same information in the same way as everybody else does.

Straight up
Since bets against the spread are common, you need two ways to describe which team won a game. You need to distinguish between which team actually won the game and which team won against the spread. Sometimes they are the same team and sometimes they are not. Winning straight up means winning without regards to the spread.

Sucker
A sucker is a bettor who will make bad-EV bets without realizing how bad the bets are.

Syndicate
A syndicate is a group of people making a joint effort to win money betting sports.

Total
The total is a number set by a sportsbook for total points to be scored by both teams during a game. You can bet that the final total will exceed the total 9called the “over”) or that the final total will be less than the total (called the “under”). Betting overs or unders is referred to as betting totals.

Tout
A tout is someone who sells baseball picks. The connotation is of someone who has no ability to pick winners but sells that ability anyway.

Under
To bet the under is to bet that the final total will fall short of the total.

Vig or vigorish
Sportsbook generally don’t give suckers a positive expectation bet, or even a break-even bet. The vig or vigorish is the sportsbook built-in edge over bettors. The vig is what you must overcome if you are going to win money betting on sports.

Wiseguy
A wiseguy is a successful and well established sports bettor.

If we take a look back at the 2005 season, the top ten teams in bullpen ERA were the Indians, Cards, White Sox, Twins, A’s, Padres, Angels, Nationals, Mariners and Astros. It’s no surprise that 7 of these top 10 teams lead the league in profits with the Twins, Padres and Mariners being the only losing teams monetarily. Those seven teams won a total of $8,542 in profits. Obviously there is a direct correlation in these numbers.

If we start looking at the bottom five teams in bullpen ERA, only the Red Sox ended up with a winning record and Boston along with Tampa Bay were the only two of these five teams to finish in the black on the money line. The total losses for these teams was a staggering -$3,438 so a bad bullpen can lead to some costly bets.

If we go back a year the story will pretty much be the same. The top five teams in bullpen ERA for 2004 were the Cardinals, Dodgers, Angels, Rangers, and Braves. Four of those teams were the top four teams in profits with only the Angels not included. Those other four teams combined for a total of +$7,745 in profits showing once again that great bullpens will lead you to the pay window.

Overall, the top ten teams in bullpen ERA finished a combined +5,305. Taking a further look at the bottom five teams in bullpen ERA finds only the Reds finished the season in the black as the Tigers, Indians, Blue Jays, and Rockies all lost their backers money. The debt amassed was over -$3,585 which is very close to how the bottom five finished with in 2005.

The guy finishing off the game has a huge role in the outcome, but just how much effect can he have? Four teams finished last season with a blown save percentage of 25 percent or less. Three of those teams, White Sox, Indians and Dodgers were the top moneymakers with the Astros being the only team on the outside but not by far. The four combined to go +6,538 on the money line leading to some hefty profits.

Trying to handicap the bullpens is the toughest part since the pitchers are coming in and out, whether it’s to and from the minors or back and forth from the starting rotation. You don’t know which ones are going to throw each day, but knowing who is back there is extremely important. Look at daily transactions since the bullpen is constantly turning over for most teams. It’s an aspect that is overlooked by most but obviously should not as the analysis can make or break your season.

Beat the MLB lines this season with free baseball picks from the world’s best handicappers.

The first system that we look at each day is to find underdogs on the money line who are then favorites via the run line. There are 4 or 5 of these games in a day where it applies. You then take the underdogs on both sides. Let’s take this situation: Braves -1.5 +130 playing the Mets who are +140 on the money line. You bet the Braves on the run line and then the Mets on the money line and as long as the Braves don’t win by only a single run you get to collect the plus money off the side who cashes. You might want to monitor this system and not use it against when teams have good pitchers going that day since the lower scoring game makes it more likely to see a one run win.

Another MLB handicapping system people like to use has to do with series betting. Since at any given time there are about 15 series going in baseball you can pick 2 or 3 that you really like, as in you find a team that is the least likely to be swept by their opponents. Start out by betting 1 unit on that game, if they lose, you bet 2 units on the 2nd game, if they lose that one then you bet 4 units on the last game hoping to avoid the sweep. This basic system work remarkably well over the course of a season.

Learn how to beat the MLB odds with baseball picks from the nation’s best handicappers.

You must start with a bankroll, or the amount of money you have set aside for gambling and can comfortably lose without affecting your lifestyle. For this demonstration we will use $5000 as our starting bankroll. Next you must select the amount of your Unit wager. We recommend using 2% of the bankroll as a unit wager. $5000 X .02 = $100. $100 would be the amount you wager on each game. You will eventually go through losing streaks so wagering 2% of your bankroll will allow you to keep wagering through it. The final step is to safely increase you wagers as your bankroll increases.  Up to 50% in Signup Bonuses at BetUS!

As your bankroll increases, you would also increase the amounts of each unit wager. Use 20% increments or 10 units. 10 X .02 = 20%. Simply put using the $5000 starting figure, you would increase your unit play to $120 after you won 10 units. Your bankroll would be $6000. Therefore $6000 X .02 = $120. Your wagers would then stay at $120 until you hit the next level or dropped back down to the $5000 mark. A drop down would result in a $100 bet, and an increase to the next level, ($120 X 10 units = $1200 + 6000 = $7200) would result in a $150 bet,($7200 X .02 = $144 or $150). It is important to note that you always round up to the nearest $10. Your bet size is increasing but your overall risk remains the same. Let’s look at the different level of results using this system.

Level of Results Based on +10 Unit Increments

By increasing your bet size at predetermined levels without increasing your risk you can safely build a nice bankroll. Let’s take a look at the results of a person who started with $5000, and used this system.

At +130 for the year you are still betting just 2% of your total bankroll. Your risk is the same as you started. You are simply taking advantage of an increasing bankroll. The key is the predetermined levels of increase.

You must be patient in the beginning and you must be ready for some rough rides along the way. Of course at some point you will reach a level on your unit bet that you feel comfortable with and you should stop increasing your wagers and start dragging money from your account. That, of course, is when the fun begins. Best of luck.

We also offer the best MLB picks in the industry.  Our handicappers understand how to win at baseball betting.  Be sure you also check today’s baseball lines from several top sportsbooks so that you get the best odds on every game you bet!

As of May 12th, the Toronto Blue Jays lead the Majors in OPS at .850 while the Chicago Cubs are last at .681. That is a vast difference and understanding how those numbers translate to wins and losses is the goal in terms of handicapping. Obviously, the higher the OPS, the more likely you will see a higher number of runs scored. There are exceptions however. Milwaukee is 7th in the league in OPS but only 16th in runs scored. The Braves are 8th in runs scored but 18th in OPS. These are the only two real extremes.

With the designated hitter in the American League, it comes as no surprise that the top five teams in the Majors in OPS are from there. What is a surprise however is that of the seven teams with an OPS below .700, four of those are from the AL. Seattle, Tampa Bay, Kansas City and Los Angeles are the four squads and those four are also ranked 25th, 27th, 30th and 26th respectively in runs scored. The top five teams in OPS are also ranked in the top 10 in runs scored with Detroit (9th) being the only team outside the top five.

How can this help us in handicapping? It’s pretty straightforward actually. There are eight teams in all of baseball that have an OPS higher than .800 and six of those have shown profits through the first 35 or so games the season. Only Cleveland (.848 OPS) and Milwaukee (.807 OPS) are in the red. In total, those eight teams are a combined +25.7 units on the season which is extremely impressive this early in the season. Keeping it up throughout the entire year is the challenge.

The seven teams that are below .700 in OPS have not fared well against the moneyline this year. Those seven teams are a combined -37.1 units on the season with Tampa Bay and San Diego being the only two teams showing a profit from that group. That profit is not that big as the Devil Rays and Padres are a combined +1.6 units on the year. Blindly betting on or against these two groups is not the way to go about it since other factors do need to be taken into consideration before pulling the trigger.

OPS affects total plays as well. The theory is that teams with a high OPS generally score more runs thus their games would go over more often than not. That theory holds true through the early part of the season as those eight teams with an OPS of .800 or greater are 147-116 over (55.9 percent). The opposite effect of a lower OPS leading to fewer runs and lower totals does not hold true however. The bottom seven teams with an OPS of .700 or less are just 113-122 under (48.1 percent) showing that those teams have some poor pitching to go along with their poor offense.

Adding OPS to your handicapping arsenal will give you some excellent information to look at will no doubt increase your profits in the long run. Best of luck and wager wisely.

Betting on baseball can be fun if you study the baseball lines and take advantage of our expert baseball picks from the industry’s top handicappers.

We still can’t believe how many sports bettors pass on baseball for football and basketball wagering. We think it’s a crying shame that you do so, but that doesn’t stop us from taking the money, the rest of you can wait till football! There is no doubt in my mind that over the years we have made five times the money betting baseball than any other sport, and that is 30 years of experience talking. Let’s break this down and see if we can’t get some guys on the bandwagon to make some easy money, because in no uncertain terms, baseball is the easiest sport of all to win money at. Ask any bookmaker in Las Vegas or the guys at any offshore sportsbook and they’ll all say that they hate baseball! Sharp players beat them up every single year in bases, yet the public continues to shy away from this moneymaking sport with numerous options to enhance a bankroll.  Huge Parlay Payouts at BetUS.

Most newbie sports bettors are totally confused by money lines, because you are not doing the normal spread betting. If a team is laying –140, that means you are wagering $140 to win $100. Then comes the dime line or the 20-cent line, what does that mean? Simply put, when you lay $110 to win $100 in football or basketball, a dime line is the same 11 to 10 odds, but a 20-cent line is 12 to 10 odds, or you are laying $120 to win a $100. For the most part over and under’s in baseball are the same as 11 to 10 odds as in football or basketball with a book that posts a dime line and it is very similar to normal spread betting, otherwise some books even with a 20-cent line may in fact post dime lines on totals plays. It takes one trip to a website like sportsbookcheck.com to find out what books offer what lines. If you are serious about winning, it is imperative you research the books and what lines they offer. Some offshore sportsbooks offer 10 cent lines (dime lines) up to a certain number, say –150, then they go to a 15 cent or 20 cent line from there. I have seen the competition heat up in the marketing by offshore books, and some of them now are offering an 8-cent line! A little homework can make you a ton of extra money this summer! I laid over -150 seventeen times last year and never once did I lay more than -170. Stretching yourself on “sure bets” of -220 or higher, and then losing that game will cut into your bankroll big time, so honing in on games of value and knowing how to play the money line is absolutely crucial! Remember in baseball and money line bets, less is more at the end of the day.

The reason numerous sportsbooks post a 20-cent line is they KNOW that sharp players will take them for their money in baseball, and it minimizes the profits of those players, and maximizes the losses for the books when they come in. Usually you will find almost all books will make you pay a 20-cent line on a play of over –200, since there is a high chance that team can win, but that’s why it is called gambling. Once again proving that baseball is easy to win at if you know what to look for.

If you are playing the NBA Regular Season and Playoffs until they end, then you should think about playing baseball, even a $200 player will have lost thousands in profits by the time the NBA is done. The NBA is very tough this year, and as I reviewed a respected sports monitor today, I see that out of the Top 102 ranked sports services, only 39 legit sports services posted a positive unit rating at the time of this article.

In baseball, the team ONLY has to win to cash tickets. It comes down to some real simple research aspects to look at to get started, mainly pitching and hitting stats, that is as easy as it gets. I also look at slugging percentage and on base percentage and then a few intangibles. But wait a minute the novice says, I will not lay –320 with Randy Johnson, and –280 with Pedro Martinez, what if they lose? Granted it is possible that one of these studs may have an off day, but the beauty is you can lower the odds in baseball. Let’s say you have 2 teams, with 2 strong pitchers both laying –200 or more against a team they should clearly mop the floor with, but you don’t want to expose yourself to a heavy chalk line. I suggest a 2-team parley, for half of your normal wager. The payout with those odds is bet $100 to win $125 for an average two teamer. Remember also you can lay it on a run line too, it lowers the odds, but Team A has to beat Team B by 1.5 runs, or basically win by 2 runs in order to cash a ticket at much lower odds, once again providing you an option to make money in baseball on a side play.

It is not so much wins and losses in baseball from a win percentage that counts, but it is units won based on a money line. There is money to be made baseball without question, and if you manage your money and use discipline and have a good sports service, you can build quite a bankroll over the summer and then have plenty of cash to get ready for football in the fall. Pick the best bet on the board everyday, and bet it. Less is more, and in baseball it can be much more.

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The most recent example of such disappointment for the Chicago Cubs faithful was Nomar Garciapparra. It appeared as though the Cubs were finally getting a multi faceted shortstop who could hit, run, and defend-something you could say they really haven’t had since Ernie Banks. It’s no secret how the rest of this story goes. It seemed like Nomar barely ever stepped on the field for the Cubs as he was riddled with injuries. When he was in the lineup, he would try to press and do too much to make up for lost time which caused him to struggle at the plate. Or perhaps, he was just simply subject to the Cubs curse. Ironically, like Ernie Banks, Nomar has moved to first base and he is once again putting up all star numbers. However, it’s for the LA Dodgers.  Huge Parlay Payouts at BetUS this baseball season.

If you’re a Cubs fan, or follow baseball much at all, then you know that Nomar isn’t the only example of the Cubs curse, if that’s what it is, in effect. Was Greg Maddux knowledgeable enough of the curse to know that he needed to take less money to get out of Chicago before his career went down the drain? Or was it the curse that in some cosmic way made him leave during his prime to collect Cy Young after Cy Young with Atlanta and brought him back at the end of his career as just a shadow of his former self to taunt Cubs fans?

Dennis Eckersley left the Cubs and went on to be the best closer in history for the A’s. They get rid of Raphael Palmeiro and he goes on to hit over 500 homeruns (the juice may have helped). Promising young pitchers Kerry Wood and Mark Prior have spent nearly their entire careers with Chicago battling one injury after another, but the Cubs can’t even think about trading them for fear that they will go on to hall of fame careers for some other team. The only season in which both pitchers were nearly 100%, the Cubs made a World Series push, only to fall to “the curse.” The curse gave itself a face to irritate Cubs fans forever in the form of Steve Bartman. But I think it was the intention of the curse to use Bartman as a cover up for the work it actually did in causing Alex Gonzalez to tank a routine grounder which would have cinched a World Series birth for the Cubs. Everyone seems to remember Bartman and I’ve heard Cubs fans say that if it wasn’t for Bartman Gonzalez would have never had the chance to miss the grounder. This is true in theory, but if Gonzalez picks up the grounder and makes the play, the infamous Steve Bartman isn’t nearly as infamous. How devious of the curse to come up with a new way to personify itself. I would be sick of being tied to a goat too.

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If I sound like I’m getting a little out there, it’s because this is how these die hard fans actually think. If the Redsox hadn’t climbed the ladder against the Yanks and went on to win the World Series, we would still be hearing about the curse of the Bambino from Redsox fanatics. And some die hard Redsox fans were even screaming that the curse is back last season when the Yankees stole the division. Superstition has always seemed to play a role in baseball and it gives fans a light hearted way to cope with disappointment, although it seems that many swear by these curses. I’ve given just a few examples of how the Cubs have supposedly been cursed and there are many more. But don’t players like Derek Lee, who came in from Florida and has put up MVP caliber numbers, point out a hole in this theory. Those who believe in this stuff would say that the curse is responsible for his injury this season. I’m not so easily swayed into believing this famous scapegoat.

I would say the real problem in Chicago is that the Cubs will sell out every game no matter how bad they are or how much money people betting on them with their MLB picks lose. As long as there are a couple big names in the lineup, fans will keep coming back. New York fans would riot if they were bad as long as the Cubs have been. I use the way they acted this past season at Knicks games as proof. Sometimes it takes a little bit of pressure to perform, and as long as the money keeps coming in for the Cubs management, they will be content with putting a mediocre team on the field. Perhaps, it is the management who is the real curse when we’re talking about the Chicago Cubs.

We love World Series betting and want to help you win as much money as possible on the venture. That is why we have created articles on World Series Predictions, odds, and betting to give you as much information as possible to use. The more info you have in your betting arsenal the better off you are going to be when the time comes to start putting your hard earned money on the line.

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