The Bodog sportsbetting news views previews

Hi and welcome to THE BODOG BARK. This page is an extract of the game previews, news and views onsite at Bodog Sports and is a regular contribution to GoonersGuide.com. Bodog has long been one of North America's favourite online sportsbooks and they're now making solid inroads into the UK/European football betting scene.

Bodog is all about digital entertainment, more so than most classical sportsbooks (they've got an online casino, poker room, celebrity magazine style content plus Mixed Martial Arts and other fairly "cool stuff"). Bodog is a great betting option offering some very competitive odds on a wide range of markets.

Bodog Sportsbook is GEOTARGETED so you'll get to see betting markets, prices & bonuses applicable to your region.

1. NFL: Minnesota at Green Bay (Sunday, 8:20 p.m.)

Reports of Brett Favre's demise are greatly exaggerated. He led the Vikings (2-3 SU and ATS) to a 24-21 victory over Dallas on Sunday, staying pick-free while connecting on 14 of 19 passes – five of those receptions by new teammate Randy Moss. Minnesota was a 2-point home chalk (–115) in this matchup. This week, it's off to Green Bay for an NFC North rivalry game against Favre's old team. The Packers (3-3 SU, 2-4 ATS) have lost two straight games by an overtime field goal, to Washington (+2.5 at home) and Miami (+3 away). The UNDER is 5-1 for Green Bay this year and 3-2 for Minnesota.

2. MLB: Philadelphia at San Francisco, Game 3 (Tuesday, 4:19 p.m.)

We expected a very pitcher-friendly matchup at the NLCS - the total for Game 1 was only 5.5 runs, but the Giants went deep twice off Roy Halladay to win the opener 4-3 as +153 road dogs. The Phillies (–170) earned the split at home with a 6-1 victory in Sunday's Game 2 as Roy Oswalt worked his magic for eight innings. It'll be 2008 World Series MVP Cole Hamels (3.06 ERA, 1.18 WHIP) starting for Philadelphia in Game 3 against Matt Cain (3.14 ERA, 1.08 WHIP), who found the pay window in seven of his last nine starts at AT&T Park. Check Bodog Sports for the latest MLB odds as we edge closer to the 2010 World Series.

3. NCAAF: UCLA at Oregon (Thursday, 9:00 p.m.)

The Ducks are the new No. 1 team in the AP rankings at 6-0 (4-2 ATS), and they did it the old fashioned way: by doing nothing. Oregon had the bye in Week 7 while previous No. 1 Ohio State fell to Wisconsin in a classic letdown situation. Coach Chip Kelly will try to avoid the same fate as the Ducks host the UCLA Bruins (3-3 SU, 2-4 ATS), who already have a big upset win over Texas (–15.5 at home) on their list of accomplishments. The Ducks won this matchup 24-10 last year as 3-point road dogs. UCLA has suspended starting F-back Morrell Presley and KR Josh Smith for this game for undisclosed violations of team rules.

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4. NHL: Vancouver at Chicago (Wednesday, 7:00 p.m.)

The Canucks (2-2-1) got off to a slow start, but some line-juggling helped them beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-1 Sunday night as –170 home faves. Mason Raymond had two goals and an assist after joining the top line with twins Daniel and Henrik Sedin. The Blackhawks (3-2-1) have also recovered after stumbling out of the gate; Marty Turco earned his first two wins of the season, stopping a combined 68 of 73 shots by the Columbus Blue Jackets (-106 at home) and the Buffalo Sabres (+167 on the road). The Hawks took out the Canucks in six games during the second round last year en route to the Stanley Cup.

5. Soccer: Everton at Tottenham Hotspur (Saturday, 7:45 a.m.)

Fans stateside will be able to watch this Premiership battle on ESPN2, as Tottenham (four wins, two losses and two draws) try to move up from fifth place on the table against No. 11 Everton (2-3-3). The Toffees are coming off a 2-0 Merseyside Derby victory over Liverpool, happily cashing in at +150. Spurs were winners last week, as well, although it took a questionable goal from Mike Dean to down Fulham 2-1 (also +150 on the road). Tottenham are 2-1-1 at home; Everton are 1-1-2 away with all four games going UNDER 2.5 goals.

Honorable Mentions
NFL: Pittsburgh at Miami (Sunday, 1:00 p.m.)
NCAAF: LSU at Auburn (Saturday, 3:30 p.m.)
NHL: Boston at Washington (Tuesday, 7:00 p.m.)
MLS: New England at New York Red Bulls (Thursday, 7:30 p.m.)
CFL: Montreal at Hamilton (Friday, 7:00 p.m.)

We're one-third of our way through the 2010 NFL regular season, and like everything else in life, some people are doing better than others. The ones who do the best at football betting are the people who combine their knowledge of football with smart money management strategies. This is the group you want to be in.

And we want to help. If your bankroll is growing, that means you're a repeat customer, so we have every reason to encourage smart, responsible betting practices. Keep the following basic principles in mind, and you'll be much more likely to last all the way through to the Super Bowl.

1. Understand the business

Novice bettors see the act of football betting as a contest between handicappers and the oddsmaker. This is simply not the case. Let's follow the money:

Person A bets $110 to win $100 on Philadelphia +3.
Person B bets $110 to win $100 on San Francisco -3 (Total action: $220).
Philadelphia wins 27-24.
Person A gets back the original $110 investment, plus $100 in earnings.
We get $10 in vigorish (Total return: $220).

Ideally, we move the betting lines so the action falls evenly on both sides, like it does in the above example. That way, the winners are getting paid out of the pockets of the losers, and we take our 10-percent transaction fee without being exposed to a loss. Your job as a handicapper is to put your money on the "sharp" side by outperforming the "square" portion of the betting public. The NFL betting market is pretty smart compared to, say, baseball, but it's still a power struggle between sharps and squares – and knowledge is power. Learn as much as you can.

2. Diversify

One of the worst things you can do as a handicapper is put your entire bankroll on a single game. There are no deadbolt locks in sports betting, no sure things. You're not going to win every time. In fact, you need to be prepared to lose. Even the best handicappers are very happy if they can cash in 55-60 percent of the time. That represents a healthy profit; the break-even point when betting at -110 vigorish is 11 winning bets out of 21, or 52.4 percent.

In order to keep your cashflow going, you want to keep your bets small in size and frequent in number. Sharps will divide their accounts into betting units - one percent is a popular rule of thumb. Do you have $10,000 in your account? In that case, a $100 bet would be reasonable, because you're liquid enough to absorb a series of losses. If your bottom line is at $1,000, a $10 bet would be more appropriate. You'll be able to increase the size of your bet as your bankroll grows.

As far as frequency is concerned, there are over a dozen NFL games every week, and each game has a number of betting options: pointspread/moneyline, totals, props and live betting among them. You'll naturally have more knowledge about certain teams and less about others, so by all means gravitate toward the bets that suit your expertise.

3. Watch the lines

Ever notice how investors are fixated on tickers? They're looking for the right product at the right price, and prices change all the time. Sports betting is no different. As we mentioned, betting lines move one way or the other to adjust to the marketplace. Every move makes a bet either more or less expensive for you to take. Timing your purchase is important.

This is where your knowledge of the betting public comes in handy. Square bettors fall into a certain stereotype - they make less-informed bets on more popular teams, and they're more likely to wager on an NFL game once the weekend starts. You might find a better price earlier in the week, or you might want to wait as close to kickoff as possible, just in case you can get that extra half-point. Small advantages add up over time.

There are many other strategies at your disposal for handling your account, some more to do with football and some more to do with pure investing. They get more sophisticated the father down the betting path you go, but never stray from the sound money management fundamentals listed above. Think of them as offensive linemen protecting you from getting sacked.

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