Is there anything more frustrating than not securing the best number on a football game or basketball game, then settling for a push instead of a win or taking a loss instead of a push due to the movement in the market?
The worst case scenario is when a winning wager transforms into a losing wager because the sports bettor chases a line movement of one point or more.
Sports bettors deeply lament situations in which they fail to act at the right time to grab the right price.
NHL aficionado Alan Dinkenson, a professional sports bettor profiled in a book titled Lay The Favorite, said at a recent sports betting seminar, "If I can beat the moves and grab the best numbers available, then I feel like I've done my job. The rest usually takes care of itself."
Dinkenson still follows the action once the NHL games begin for three specific reasons: to monitor the flow of every game, grade scoring opportunities in each contest and most importantly, track the health and welfare of individual players in a brutally physical sport.
Professional poker player Brent Carter agrees with "Dink" when it comes to beating the sports betting market.
Carter said, "I love to bet a game, lock up the right price (for instance, the New York Giants +4 in Super Bowl XLVI), and then watch my number disappear for the remainder of the betting cycle."
Carter continued, "That's the simplest definition of a 'good number' and most pros believe if you consistently beat the closing number, you'll be a long-term winner."
TEAM EOG REMAINS PERFECT......Friends and contributors of Eye On Gaming are 5-0 in head-to-head match-ups against Mark Simons, the in-house handicapper at SportsOptions (www.sportsoptions.com).
The SportsOptions Showdown is a weekly NCAAB handicapping contest which pits an EOGer against Simons, a 30-year veteran of the sports handicapping wars.
To date, Team EOG (dsethi, DJ Dalamar, Micelli, railbird and Heim) is a combined 15-10 against the spread while Simons' is 9-13-3.
SportsOptions and president Rick Allec offer $500 to the winner of the weekly showdown.
EOG's WeinketoWarrick is this week's opponent for Simons.
The SportsOptions Showdown is heard every Friday night at 10:00 Pacific as part of The EOG Sports Hour, a one-hour radio program dedicated to the hearts and minds of sports bettors everywhere.
The show airs live on KLAV-AM 1230 (www.klav1230am.com) and show archives are available at www.eogradio.com.
FRIDAY'S BEST BET......Play 810 DETROIT -2 over Sacramento. The Pistons are 5-2 over their last seven games after starting the season 4-20. Ben Gordon scored 22 points off the bench in Detroit's recent 98-88 road win over Boston. Detroit is playing well since Gordon returned from a shoulder injury on February 8. The trio of Gordon, Rodney Stuckey and emerging center Greg Monroe (22 points on 11-of-14 shooting vs. Boston) combined for 69 points in the surprise victory over the Celtics.
The Kings have played terrible defense during the first three games of their recent six-game road trip, allowing all three opponents (Phoenix, Chicago and New York) to shoot better than 50% from the field. Sacramento this season is 3-14 on the road.
COMING MONDAY......A look at my top three contenders for the 138th running of the Kentucky Derby (attention: Ray Luca and Discreet Cat, please check your private messages).
The worst case scenario is when a winning wager transforms into a losing wager because the sports bettor chases a line movement of one point or more.
Sports bettors deeply lament situations in which they fail to act at the right time to grab the right price.
NHL aficionado Alan Dinkenson, a professional sports bettor profiled in a book titled Lay The Favorite, said at a recent sports betting seminar, "If I can beat the moves and grab the best numbers available, then I feel like I've done my job. The rest usually takes care of itself."
Dinkenson still follows the action once the NHL games begin for three specific reasons: to monitor the flow of every game, grade scoring opportunities in each contest and most importantly, track the health and welfare of individual players in a brutally physical sport.
Professional poker player Brent Carter agrees with "Dink" when it comes to beating the sports betting market.
Carter said, "I love to bet a game, lock up the right price (for instance, the New York Giants +4 in Super Bowl XLVI), and then watch my number disappear for the remainder of the betting cycle."
Carter continued, "That's the simplest definition of a 'good number' and most pros believe if you consistently beat the closing number, you'll be a long-term winner."
TEAM EOG REMAINS PERFECT......Friends and contributors of Eye On Gaming are 5-0 in head-to-head match-ups against Mark Simons, the in-house handicapper at SportsOptions (www.sportsoptions.com).
The SportsOptions Showdown is a weekly NCAAB handicapping contest which pits an EOGer against Simons, a 30-year veteran of the sports handicapping wars.
To date, Team EOG (dsethi, DJ Dalamar, Micelli, railbird and Heim) is a combined 15-10 against the spread while Simons' is 9-13-3.
SportsOptions and president Rick Allec offer $500 to the winner of the weekly showdown.
EOG's WeinketoWarrick is this week's opponent for Simons.
The SportsOptions Showdown is heard every Friday night at 10:00 Pacific as part of The EOG Sports Hour, a one-hour radio program dedicated to the hearts and minds of sports bettors everywhere.
The show airs live on KLAV-AM 1230 (www.klav1230am.com) and show archives are available at www.eogradio.com.
FRIDAY'S BEST BET......Play 810 DETROIT -2 over Sacramento. The Pistons are 5-2 over their last seven games after starting the season 4-20. Ben Gordon scored 22 points off the bench in Detroit's recent 98-88 road win over Boston. Detroit is playing well since Gordon returned from a shoulder injury on February 8. The trio of Gordon, Rodney Stuckey and emerging center Greg Monroe (22 points on 11-of-14 shooting vs. Boston) combined for 69 points in the surprise victory over the Celtics.
The Kings have played terrible defense during the first three games of their recent six-game road trip, allowing all three opponents (Phoenix, Chicago and New York) to shoot better than 50% from the field. Sacramento this season is 3-14 on the road.
COMING MONDAY......A look at my top three contenders for the 138th running of the Kentucky Derby (attention: Ray Luca and Discreet Cat, please check your private messages).