Basketball handicapping betting tips : free sports betting picks and gambling strategies
Handicapping games - Collect as much info as possible! Sports gambling is a marathon not a sprint! Many people think it is a get rich quick scheme and that couldn't be further from the truth. If you want to win consistently it will take hard work, solid preparation, knowledge of the sport, strong money management skills, patience, discipline, and the ability to pick apart the day's card and figure out where the true value can be found. Keep an eye out for personnel changes, coaching changes, suspensions, injuries, weather, returning starters (NCAA), line moves, and more!
Dont put alot of weight into trends and angles - The past is the past and very few trends lead to what will happen in the future.
Don't be afraid to bet on crappy teams - That's where you'll often times find the best value when battling a pointspread! Note that spreads that look too good to be true usually are! Go against these and reap the benefits over the long term.
Learn that your most valuable weapon is the ability to pass - Many games on a daily card are garbage and have no value.
Keep far away from betting on your favorite teams - You may have a natural bias towards your favorite team that will cloud up your rationale when cappping the game.
Look for big cards - The linemaker is forced to put out a spread/odds on every game. Big cards provide great opportunites for the bettor because they (the bookmaker) are forced to make a line and you have the advantage in that you can pick and choose. You can especially find value in "small schools" as there's not much info available and small school lines are less researched by the books because they know their not going to get a ton of action on those games. A Louisiana Tech/Alcorn State game will get less much attention from the book than a USC/Stanford game! There's a ton of value in obscure schools and some sharp bettors will ONLY play on or against the small schools because they literally collect more pertinent info than about the game than the book does giving the sharp bettor the advantage! Now that's some solid sports gambling!
Good advice - Do not play the whole board! - Some bettors love the "action" but this is surely a quick road to the poorhouse as the odds and vigorish will eat you alive.
Stick with situations in which you have "the edge" - This will amount to long term profits which is the only way to approach sports gambling if you want to be a winner! Take our advice!
Know teams starting lineups, injuries, and weather situations This info can be key! How'd you like to bet on the Mets and find out Piazza is riding the pines? Yuck!
Steer clear of Teasers and Parlays! - More than 70% of teasers wins would have won anyway! Your just throwing away juice! Besides, it's hard enough to win one game much less two!
TV games... - The bookie knows what games are nationally televised and they know that most gamblers prefer to root for the favorite! You can bet that the fav line and the over line will be inflated. Your much better off sticking to dogs and unders in TV games! Try it, you'll be glad you did!
Keep an eye on line moves but don't make a play based on a line move - Investigate what caused the line move. Blindly following line moves is not good!
Find out what teams play more motivated off a loss - There are many teams that will come back and open up a can on their next opponent if they were beaten on their home court in their last game or if their current oppenent ran up the score in the last meeting. This is a great angle that can actually work if the team shows motivation off situations like these.
Use Posting Forums to meet with other gamblers from around the country to share regional info and gain valuable gambling advice. Regional info is RED HOT!
Take news info with a grain of salt - ESPN is fun to watch but it's media and they are telling you what you want to hear! You need objective info not that Shaquille O'Neal can dunk which everybody knows!
Watch line movement! - If you see that the gambling public is all over a particular team and the line is going to the other way..Investigate! Something is up and sharp action may be on the other side. This can be a great indicator of a good value!

MONEY MANAGEMENT ADVICE
You will lose at times - You win you lose. It's a very monotonous battle that is referred to as "the grind". Its inevitable even for the best of handicappers. This is why it's so important to be smart with your bankroll. Many will say 2% of your bankroll is an ideal amount to play. This however may not be realistic if your bankroll is $100. Let's face it, your not going to lay $2 on a game!
Bet what your comfortable with but whatever you decide on lay the same amount each time when playing against a spread and a -110 line.
Don't chase your losses or over bet on your hot streaks - Both are a one way road to the poorhouse! Slow steady profits are the way to victory. You may lay 110 on a game you "kinda like" and lay 220 on a game that "looks too good to be true". Well, more than not, the too good to be true is going to lose and the other will win. Going 1-1 should net you a 10 dollar loss but by poor money management skills your sitting down -220! What's even worse is when your playing a Saturday College Football card, have 20 wagers out, go 13-7 and lose money! We've seen it happen to many fellas because they loaded up on that one local game they "had good info on" so they made that a nickel and everything else a $110 wager. There is nothing more frustrating than beating yourself!
Never bet more than you can afford to lose! - This should be a golden rule! Not only will you go broke, your stress from "needing to win" will get under your skin and may potentially frustrate you into making poor decisions including everything from betting on a game you haven't capped, laying a ridiculous amount to recoup losses, and or other negatives that will do nothing but bury you.
Don't let your emotions get the best of you! Wager what you can afford to wager and NEVER consider playing with your families grocery money or bill money. This is supposed to be fun and if your doing this kind of stuff you shouldn't be betting on games. It's not worth ruining your life.

NFL PRESEASON GAMBLING
First year coaches - Be sure to check out first year coaches. They make take Preseason games more seriously as their looking to come in and make a good impression on the team, the fans, and of course the media.
Coaches whose jobs are on the line - Check out coaches who may be motivated by the fact their coming off a crappy year and their jobs may be on the line. A coach on the hot seat will tend to be more motivated than a coach that knows they have job security.
Go against coaches who are comfy with their jobs - We all know the previous year's superbowl teams coaches jobs arent in any jeorpardy. These teams are more than likely set and are just looking to see who their going to carry on the bench or to fill one or two departed spots. These teams will lack motivation and over the long term are likely a good "go against" despite the team being talented.
Keep an eye our for 2 QB's battling for the the starting job - Your assured that your going to get a top notch performance throughout the whole game! This angle provides tremendous value as neither want to foul up and risk losing the starting job!

REGULAR SEASON FOOTBALL WAGERING ADVICE
Be leary of betting on -2.5, -6.5, or -9.5 - This is a hook to make the bettor think "oh, they only have to win by a fg, td, or fg and a td. Go the other way on lines like this and reap the benefits long term!
Things to make note of when capping Football : Power Ratings, angles altough this should be used as supportive not your principle reason for siding on a game, head to head history, turnovers (teams that cough it up usually suck ats), common opponents (how did both teams play vs. the common opponent), injuries, weather, line movement, offensive stats vs. defensive (make sure you know if the team your looking to bet on is 26th in rushing and your going up against the number one rated rushing defense!), who sucks on the road and who plays well at home (note this will be factored into the spread but its surely worth knowing if a team doesn't score well on the road!), kicking game (make sure your backing a guy that isn't a shanker), stupid overpenalized teams (low iq and creating dumb penalties is for real and it can hurt you!), preparation (if the team played on Monday night are they prepared to play on a short week?), strenght of schedule (a team may have a bad record but have they played stellar teams to accrue that bad record?), double digit underdogs are good stuff!, never play a team off a huge win-they are likely to have a letdown!, play against high visibility public teams in disarray-turmoil=trouble, be sure to handicap games in which you have a shot at taking a home dog...it's not always a winner but a good place to start sniffing for value.
Other tips - Often times the team with the better rusher wins the game. Also, in the NFL, teams that win the game straight up usually cover!
Get yourself a sportsbook that has reduced vig! - You can save tons of cash by wagering at a sportsbook with reduced vig such as Pinnacle Sports where you lay -105 everyday! You may also maximize your bankroll by getting a bonus on your deposit at a sportsbook. Check out all the latest info on bonuses at credible sportsbooks

GAMBLING ON BASEBALL
Things to look for when handicapping baseball:
Don't bet too early! - How would you like to bet on the Mariners and find out an hour before gametime that Ichiro is sitting? Betting baseball early can be lethal if the coach decides to sit a star player!
Look at hitter vs. pitcher stats! - This info is priceless! You'll find some unbelievable stats such as a whole team hitting .400 against the day's starting pitcher. Very important stuff!
Look at a pitchers performance over his last couple of games! - Even the worst of pitchers catch a hot streak. Conversley, don't bet on a guy if he's gone 3 innings and given up a ton of hits and earned runs over his last couple of starts.
Check out how a pitcher has done vs. the opponent during his career - Certain pitchers own certain teams...Conversely, certain pitchers fail miserably vs. certain teams. Go with it!
Check weather reports! - Nothing is more disheartening than playing an under at Wrigley Field, turning the game on, and seeing the flags ripping off the pole with the wind blowing out to left/right!
Don't just check ERA, check RATIO too! - Ratio is figured out by dividing walks + hits and dividing it by innings pitched. Anything 1.00 or under your talking Randy Johnson, Maddux, Koufax type numbers...1.25 and below is damn good, 1.40'ish numbers are faily normal, and anything more than that your looking at a good potential go against. Pitchers that are near 2.00 are complete gascans. You won't find 2.00 very often because they have been demoted to the minors lol.
Don't just look at a pitcher/hitters stats and assume thats how they perform! - Baseball is a VERY streaky game. If your serious about handicapping and want to win your going to need to look at individual performances. Here's an example...Let's say Kenny Rogers has a 7.50 ERA...But after checking his game logs you see that he has pitched in 10 games and one of them he gave up 9 runs in 2 innings. This will severely skew (and screw) a players numbers giving you an inaccurate reading of his true talent. This is a very common misconception made by people capping games. Don't get burned!
Home/Away stats - Some players feel comfortable/uncomfortable in certain surroundings. Take Jeff Cirillo for example. He's hitting .100 at home and .320 on the road. These are things that are good to know. Don't get caught laying your hard earned loot on a guy like Jimmy Anderson who is currently 1-8 at home with a 7.50 ERA. Conversely, don't slap a gascan tag on him either because he's been lethal on the road. Get the picture?
Over/Unders - There's a reason books put lower limits on totals! Their easier to beat! Study, get privy to the info, and take your shot at winning easier! Totals usually have less vig as well!
Favorites vs. Dogs - Since MLB operates on a moneyline, you have to watch what you do. We're not laying -110 on each side here folks. A -200 fav. may sound like a "can't lose" but the fact is when they do, and it does happen, you have to win two freaking games just to break even. By playing dogs you can actually have a sub .500 winning percentage and steal beat up a book! Try to stick to the dogs! This may be the best advice we can give!
Umpire Stats - Some cappers swear by umpire stats but we find this to be a secondary stat. It is true that some umps have larger/smaller strikes zones though. If you have access to the stats, its worth a look, but don't base your whole wager on these stats.