Players that wager on NCAA college football betting are already familiar with the system that the BCS uses to make their rankings, but long before they were using that method that included using the strength of the team’s schedules to determine the standings, a similar type of method was being used. Instead of calling it Strength of Schedule as it is referred to now, players referred to it as the Average Opponent Power Rating, or AOPR. That power rating was used to determine which team was better than the other, as team’s with higher AOPR’s had beaten better competition than those with lower AOPR ratings. This was a useful tool for players because it helps to determine appropriate spreads, and can give them a betting edge.

An example of how the method can be used is as follows. Say that the Indiana Pacers are playing the Toronto Raptors. The Pacers have an AOPR of 85, and on average score 68 while allowing 64. The Raptors have an 82 AOPR, and score 76 compared to allowing 74. The first thing to do is divide the higher AOPR by the lower, to determine how much easier the weaker team’s schedule has been. In this case, the number is 1.037, which means the Pacers have had a 3.7 percent more difficult schedule. Then, players take the total points scored by both teams, and divide it by the league average, adjusting it by taking away or adding the 3.7 percent to remove strength of opponent factor. Then, players take that number, and multiply it by points allowed. In this case, the Pacers number would be 73, while the Raptors’ would be 66, meaning the predicted final score would be 73-77 Indiana. Although it is not the simplest concept, it could give sports betting enthusiasts the edge they need.

Across the online sports betting board there are several types of methods that are popular among players based on the type of sport, wager, and money that needs to be risked. One such method is the Super Bowl Betting System, which has gained notoriety over the years due to it’s reliability, with some sports books even charging players money to use their system online. The system started off going 32-3-2 against the point spread, but hasn’t done as well in the past couple of years and is now 33-9-2 overall. Former NFL betting coach Hank Stram came up with the system years ago, which includes the following.

Players must give points to teams based on 17 criteria, which include everything from teams that have won the Super bowl in the last three years, to teams in their very first Super Bowl, to team’s with the best completion percentage. Once the numbers have been handed out depending on meeting the criteria, the winner will have been determined. The criteria can be found online by searching for it, with the Indianapolis Colts the most recently predicted team a year ago, losing to the New Orleans Saints in the final game. Another system that has been used, but has only gone 26-17-2 over the years involves three steps. Go against any team that did not cover the spread in their championship game. If both did, bet on the team with the most wins straight up entering the Super Bowl. If both have the same number, bet on the underdog.

The ultimate NFL betting system has been used by many football betting enthusiasts in order to win a wager when gambling on the underdog. When betting on the NFL, there are many different factors to take into consideration. Today we look at two of the ultimate NFL betting systems that many experienced bettors use on any given Sunday. As well as tips on how to use them.

1.      Betting Against the Grain - This form of wagering system was developed when fans took into account the game prior to the one they were about to place a bet on. For instance, if a team that was the favorite won big the week before, the fans would bet against them this week to get crushed, and vice versa for a team that was the favorite but was crushed last week. TIP: Betting against the public perception will give you a higher payout. Essentially what you want to do is bet on a team that was the favorite last week got crushed, and is now the underdog. Ideally what should happen is that team will bounce back this week, however, because of the loss last week, they will have higher odds against them winning. If they win this week, you will have an advantage going forward when picking underdogs.

2.      Best Offense is a Good Defense: This old motto has never been truer than in football betting. Although a team such as NFL Champion New Orleans Saints was exciting throughout the year as a high offensive team, they won the championship based on defense. Tip: Bet on teams with the top ranked defenses in the league. What should happen is as a result of strong defense, that team will be able to win more games, because the defense will be intercepting the other team’s passes, which then assist to your bet’s overall victory.

Ever since he was acquired by the Lakers from the now defunct Charlotte Hornets in 1996, Kobe Bryant has been the face of not only the Lakers but the NBA. Sports betting is naturally a difficult way to make money, however since 96′ Kobe has been making Laker fans very rich for betting on him. Now 14 years later, Kobe and his Laker teammates are aiming to win back to back championships for the first time since the early 2000’s when Bryant was part of the dynamic duo with Shaq, which guided the team to three straight championships.

Although only being in the league for 14 years, Bryant has guaranteed himself a hall of fame spot, as he has proven to be the essential piece to the Laker puzzle, which keeps them moving. On Thursday, the Lakers will kick-off the 2010 NBA finals against Eastern Conference and historical arch rival the Boston Celtics. In years past NBA championship betting has been easy, as the West has primarily dominated the East. This year however, Kobe and the Lakers will have their hands full as the 2008 champion Celtics appear to be back in form.

Fans betting on the NBA finals for the first time, should feel confident in taking Kobe and the Lakers as they appear stronger than last year’s squad. Further, although the Celtics have Pierce, Allen and Garnett, the Lakers have Kobe. Annually, teams try to take out the Lakers by having more than one star on the team, and annually those teams fail. Kobe is the x-factor for the Lakers, which allows them to be so dominant. Over his career Kobe Bryant has been compared to Chicago Bulls icon Michael Jordan, however, as this year will prove, Bryant is better than Jordan as he and the Lakers will beat a stacked Celtics team in five games while winning their second straight championship and sixth of Bryant’s career.

Today Canada and the Czech Republic played in a Round Robin game with the winner avoiding a quarter final match up against the stacked Russian team led by Russian phenom and playoff flop Alexander Ovechkin. Ovechkin the NHL’s Lebron James, is the star of a Russian squad which also has NHL stars Pavel Datsyuk, Evgenie Malkin and Seymon Varlamov to name a few. Going into the game the Canadians had played two hard fought games against Norway and Sweden without sensation Steven Stamkos. Unfortunately for the Czech Republic, Stamkos would be returning, giving Canadian fans betting on the team a ton of confidence going into the game. However by game’s end the Czech Republic led by former NHLer Jaromir Jagr and NHL goalie Tomas Vokun walked away with the three to two victory. Stamkos appeared invisible at best and the strong play of the Czech Republic was over shadowed by a chippy affair which saw things turn ugly by the end of the game. In the final two minutes with Canada down three to one, Canadian forward Corey Perry thought it would be a smart idea to run into Czech goalie Vokun.

As a result the Czech defense proceeded to go after Perry for running into Vokun, which then led to Canadian forward Matt Duchene scoring into an empty net, cutting the lead and eventual final to three to two.  Sports betting enthusiasts could not imagine what would happen in the final minute of the game, as although the Czech won the game, they were still upset with Perry as seven of the Czech players attacked him. In turn the rest of the Canadian players also on the ice came to the aid of Perry as a line brawl broke out. The Canadians will now go on to face the dreaded Russians in one quarterfinal match while the Czech Republic will face the Swedes in another. As a hockey fan one can only hope it is Canada vs. the Czech Republic in the final to see if the bad blood remains.

Super Saver reigns supreme in the slop

It was a sloppy track on the occasion of the 136th running of the Kentucky Derby, and when 20 horses had all covered 1.25 miles of real estate at Churchill Downs, Super Saver came out on top. Calvin Borel - the rural Louisiana legend who has established himself as one of the greatest jockeys in the sport of kings - has now won three of his past four Kentucky Derby mounts, having already won with Street Sense and then last year with Mine That Bird. Borel guided Super Saver to victory this past Saturday on a muddy mess, but he still followed his patented strategy of guiding his horse to the rail when the final turn approached. Runner-up Ice Box tried to make a bold push on the outside, but the rail normally offers the best path for Kentucky Derby winners … at least when Calvin Borel is the man at the controls.

Nadal wins landmark Masters 1000 title in Rome

Sports betting enthusiasts might not have known what to expect from Rafael Nadal two months ago, but now, it’s a very safe bet that the Spaniard - who will turn just 24 years old this year - has once again established himself as the man to beat for the remainder of the clay-court tennis season. On Sunday, Nadal put the finishing touches on an historic championship, as the lefty outlasted countryman David Ferrer, 7-5, 6-2, to win the Rome Masters 1000 event. The win marked Nadal’s 17th Masters 1000 (formerly known as the Masters Series) crown, tying him with Andre Agassi for the most in tennis history. It’s true that the “Masters” event is relatively recent in the sport’s evolution, but the achievement still points to Nadal’s amazing consistency. The best clay-court competitor since Bjorn Borg has now won five of the last six Rome titles, in addition to having won each of the last six Monte Carlo Masters.

Henin triumphs in Stuttgart for first title since return

If one great tennis champion had a fantastic week on the men’s side, another decorated performer capped off a similarly glorious week in the world of women’s tennis. Justine Henin, who returned to the court this year after a self-imposed tennis hiatus, won the first WTA Tour title of her new tennis life. On Sunday afternoon, Henin disposed of Australia’s Samantha Stosur, 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, in the final of the Porsche Grand Prix event in Stuttgart, Germany. Stosur - who reached the semifinals of last year’s French Open, produced another strong run in a clay-court tournament, and she took the second set from Henin in appreciably decisive fashion. However, Henin once again showed why she’s won seven major championships in her career. The diminutive but muscular Belgian, despite playing with a broken finger on her left hand, regrouped to take the third set and enter the winner’s circle. Henin - who has been unseeded in every event she has played in 2010 - earned enough ranking points to crack the top 20 with the French Open just a few weeks away. This performance will ensure that Henin is one of the top three favorites to win at Roland Garros.

Betting enthusiasts looking for a choice to invest in a team to win this year’s NBA Championship should look to perhaps the biggest mismatch of the first round to find their pick. The Cleveland Cavaliers begin their run at an NBA title against the Chicago Bulls, a series that offered the most lopsided NBA odds of all the opening round match ups. Already up two games to none, the Cavaliers aren’t looking to waste any time on their way to the big game.

Unlike a season ago when they just didn’t have the tools for a long run, the Cavaliers are stacked heading in to this postseason, with two key additions that will make the sport betting difference this year.

Cleveland fell to the Orlando Magic in the Eastern conference finals a year ago, and the presence of Dwight Howard in the paint was the biggest part of their undoing. Enter Shaquille O’Neal and his four NBA championships, whose signing with the Cavaliers will be judged solely on his ability to earn a fifth championship this season. Cleveland also added Antawn Jamison from the Washington Wizards during the season as another scoring weapon that can excel both in the paint, or pull outside with his perimeter game to open up more room underneath, and serve as another kick-out option for Lebron James.

The defending champion Los Angeles Lakers have struggled all season with injuries and inconsistencies, and that will be the difference when the Cavaliers beat them in this year’s NBA finals.

February is over which means one thing.

March Madness is on the horizon.

It’s the time of the year college basketball betting enthusiasts love more than any other, as they formulate their systems, and determine their brackets for the big tournament.

The great thing about March Madness is that smart money can be won by playing to the factors that comprise most betting systems.

Betting against the public, monitoring line movement, and analyzing the top seeds are three criteria that in unison provide the ultimate betting system.

Since 2003, top seeds have gone a terrible 20-25 against the spread in the first round of the tournament. This trend can be made use of by analyzing the top seeds and their opponents in the opening round.

On average, the betting public majority has lost 53-57% on average. By focusing on the top selection of heavily wagered on games, investors can increase their opportunity for success.

Another excellent criteria by which to gain a betting edge is to monitor line movement. The line will often change a couple of points based on where the public majority lays its money. That indication can be used along with the concept of betting against the majority to increase the chances of winning.

March Madness is the time of the year NCAA basketball betting enthusiasts wait for all year. Implementing a proven betting system can limit the chance of risk, and improve the odds of winning for all wagers.

The Super Bowl odds are up and most people are itching to get in on the action for Super Bowl XLIV. But before you dive head-first into the pool, you have to be cautious of where you are diving to make sure that you don’t drown.

Cheesy analogies aside, here is a great Super Bowl betting system:

Middling is not a new concept in the sports betting community but with so many different wacky props and betting lines during the Super Bowl, we are afforded a good opportunity in the big game.

Usually – and this isn’t always, but usually – the Super Bowl matches up two teams who are very even against each other. After all, theoretically, this is supposed to be a matchup of the two best and last teams standings.

With all the alternate lines available, we can get both teams as an underdog and hope for a close game.

For the Super Bowl, we can take the Indianapolis Colts +10.5 and the New Orleans Saints +17.5 and if the game lands in that 28-point window, we win the bet.

Obviously, if it lands outside of it, we are laying -800on the Colts and -500 on the Saints, which could be costly, but this game is supposed to be close between two high-scoring teams and the likelihood of it being a blowout one way or another is unlikely. That’s why middling is a good opportunity for Super Bowl XLIV.

Pick: Bet Both Colts +10.5 & Saints +17.5

Sports betting is a marathon, not a sprint. Unfortunately, many bettors forget that point, which really hurts you if you don’t see the bigger picture.

Gamblers typically don’t like small wins and they would much rather home runs. Unfortunately, in the world of investing, which in a sense is what all professional bettors are doing (unless you are just in the game for entertainment), you have to be patient and appreciate moderate growth.

When it comes to sports betting, there is no such thing as a lock, which means you shouldn’t be betting your whole account on any event.

A good strategy is to limit your bet amounts to just 10% of your total bankroll. When you take all of your eggs out of the basket and split them up into separate portions, you’ll never be in a position where you lose everything in one shot.

If you like certain games more than others, then you bet two or three units on the game (20% or 30% of your account) but even in those situations, you are taking calculated risks opposed to just swinging for the fences.

Whatever your strategy is, make sure you have a system in place where you manage your money and manage your bet amounts. One of the easiest ways to lose in betting is to bet different amounts on different games and stay very disorganized. If you can stay organized and manage your money, you will have one edge that most bettors don’t bother with.