Be Win 888

• Who: Thoroughbreds – Soldat, To Honor and Serve, Stay Thirsty, Dialed In, Flashpoint
• What: Horse Racing Betting Tips – The Florida Derby
• Where: Gulfstream Park
• When: Sunday, April 3rd

Sunday’s Florida Derby shapes up as the deepest and most talented collection of 3YO’s to meet this year on the Triple Crown trail. Plenty of thoroughbred racing’s heavyweights will be on board for the 60th running of this key Kentucky Derby prep. The equine athletes include Soldat, To Honor and Serve, Stay Thirsty, Dialed In, and Flashpoint, all of whom are graded stakes winners. These five contenders will be piloted by Alan Garcia, Garrett Gomez, Ramon Dominguez, Julien Leparoux and Cornelio Velasquez, respectively…some of the best in the business. Oh…and the trainers aren’t too shabby either…Kiaran McLaughlin, Bill Mott, Todd Pletcher, Nick Zito and Rick Dutrow are all in the sport’s upper echelon. So which team will emerge victorious? Let’s break down the field:

#1-Soldat: I really liked this guy to win The Fountain of Youth, and used him in my multiple race wagers. I couldn’t see betting him to win though, at underlaid odds of 7-5. He got the job done in fine style, but may find this spot significantly tougher. It’s unlikely he’ll be on the lead early, like he was in his last pair, due to the presence of new shooter Flashpoint in Post 8. With several other pressers to his outside, Soldat may find himself squeezed back in the early going. I’ll pass on the morning-line favorite (9-5) this time around.

#2-To Honor and Serve: This high-priced son of Bernardini surprised Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott when he finished a tiring 3rd in The Fountain of Youth off a three month layoff. Note the improvement this colt made in his second career start…he rebounded with a huge win, and his Beyer Speed Figure improved by 20 points (75 to 95). I think the multiple-Grade 2 winner will be much tighter for this, and is primed for a huge move forward. The presence of Garrett Gomez in the irons for the first time doesn’t hurt his chances either. Mott will be pleasantly surprised this time. I’ll bet To Honor and Serve to win and place at odds of 7-2 or better.

#3-Arch Traveler: This guy passed his two-turn test last out vs. entry-level allowance runners, but will find the class hike daunting. Pass.

#4-Bowman’s Causeway: This colt appears to be stuck in a narrow Beyer range (78-85)…and that range won’t cut it here.

#5-Shackleford: Not sure what he’s doing here after that last debacle.

#6-Stay Thirsty: Pletcher’s “other horse” (besides Uncle Mo) did what he had to do in The Gotham, and should pick his game up a notch here…he’ll need to. Maybe the addition of blinkers will help. Fringe player.

#7-Dialed In: There’s been a buzz about this horse from day one. He’s got talent, and can be forgiven for losing to his older stablemate last out. The pace scenario should suit him in this spot, and he’s been training sharply. I think he’ll be overbet here, though, and I’ll be using him strictly underneath in exotics.

#8-Flashpoint: The outside post shouldn’t be a problem…he should clear the field heading into the first turn and Velasquez will try to slow things down from there. Still, he’s picking up six pounds and going from seven furlongs to 1 1/8th miles…no easy task at this level. The challenges will begin to mount before he turns for home…I’m betting against him getting the job done.

Those are my horse racing betting tips for the weekend. Best of luck and happy gambling!

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The 2011 Australian Open is decidedly harder to pick now that its best player won’t be participating. That’s the bottom line on a tournament that’s wide open, even though there’s a clear-cut choice to make when all is said and done.

Serena Williams should normally be the favorite in any major tournament other than the French Open. That’s something anytennis betting expert knows. Serena has unmistakably imposed herself on the rest of the women’s field, using her overpowering serve – the biggest and most decisive shot in women’s tennis over the past several years – and her signature mental toughness to eclipse everyone else on the WTA Tour by a considerable margin. However, Serena’s absence from this Australian summer – due to a foot injury – throws the event into a state of chaos, a blessing for the rest of the women’s tennis field.

Precisely because everyone in the sport has been off for roughly two months since the early-November season-ending championships in Doha, the Australian Open is the hardest major to predict; it’s even tougher to peg than anythingSuper Bowl betting analysts will dissect in a few weeks. Will players be rusty or fresh? Will the defense-minded players be comfortable running down balls, or will they lack the rhythm and fluidity they need? Will offense-first players be able to hit the ball cleanly on a regular basis, or will they have an overly difficult time getting into the flow at this two-week event? These are the kinds of questions that crop up when the Australian Open arrives, and with Serena Williams out, it makes the women’s side a little harder to pick.

The ranks of online betting students will be focused on a few players in particular when this tournament begins in Melbourne on Jan. 17. The favorite should be Kim Clijsters. The Belgian won the U.S. Open last September when Serena was also out of commission with her long-continuing foot injury. Clijsters has established herself as the best hardcourt player on the tour after Serena. It has to be said, though, that Clijsters has never won the Australian Open and suffered a shocking third-round loss last year to Nadia Petrova. Moreover, that loss was decisive; Clijsters lost in straight sets, and she didn’t win five games in either one of those sets. It could be that Clijsters won’t be in peak form, so she’s not a lock to win the title. At any rate, she’s the best choice in a field of questionable performers.

Another prime contender is Caroline Wozniacki. Though not blessed with huge weapons on the ground, Wozniacki’s consistent ball-retrieving ability makes the Dane a force to be reckoned with. She reached the semifinals at the U.S. Open last year and reached the finals the year before. In a weak field, Wozniacki is a solid choice to make the semis, and with the right draw, she could advance even further in the bracket.

The third main choice has to be Vera Zvonareva. The breakout player of 2010 on the women’s tour reached the Wimbledon and U.S. Open finals. If the Russian picks up where she left off last season, she’ll be part of the final four and will have every opportunity to take home the title.

A betting perspective also needs to account for a few other factors: Justine Henin, last year’s finalist, is still recovering from an injury that ruined the second half of her 2010 season. Elena Dementieva has retired from women’s tennis. Dinara Safina is still battling back from an assortment of injuries and shows no signs of immediately returning to the form that made Marat Safin’s sister No. 1 in the world.

Pick Clijsters to win the title, although the draw has not yet been announced.

Online betting players are gearing up for the first major championship of the year, and The Masters is just a different tournament; it looks different, it sounds different, and the pressure on Sunday is unlike any other tournament in the world. Our pick for this year’s winner is a guy who has had problems closing out big tournaments, but we’re betting on Dustin Johnson to put those demons behind him at Augusta.

• What: Golf Betting
• When: Thursday, April 7th to Sunday, April 10th
• Where: Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, GA
• Pick: Dustin Johnson

The Favorites

Of course, you can’t start discussions about Augusta without Tiger Woods (+550) and Phil Mickelson (+650), as they have seven Green Jackets between them after Mickelson won his third last year in an emotional performance. Woods finished T-4 in his first tournament after his “accident”, but it was the scrappiest fourth-place finish you’ll ever see. Woods has shown glimpses that he is pulling everything together with his swing changes, but it’s his putting that has hurt him, especially at Doral. Mickelson has slowed down after a pair of top-10s in his first three starts, but he wasn’t playing well before Augusta last year and we see how that worked out. These two love this place, so you can’t count out a Sunday run from these greats.

England’s Lee Westwood (+1200) and Germany’s Martin Kaymer (+1200) should be a factor in Georgia, as Westwood finished second to Mickelson last year, and Kaymer will be more confident of making the cut after top-10s in the rest of the majors, including his win at the PGA Championship. Kaymer is now the world’s No.1 player after going to the final of the Match Play event, and you shouldn’t even worry about 74s on the weekend at Doral. Westwood has been quiet leading up to Augusta, but he did finish T-18 at Doral.

The Second Tier

The next level of Masters betting contenders is as flush as it has ever been, led by Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy (+1800), Nick Watney (+1800), Dustin Johnson (+1800), who are part of the youth movement that ensures golf will be in good hands. McIlroy missed the cut in the first two majors of 2010, but he had T-3s in the last two, and he only faltered in one round at Doral, shooting a 74 on Sunday en route to a T-10. Watney won at Doral and may be having the best player on the PGA Tour this season with four straight top-10s to start his season, and he has finished in the top 20 in three trips in a row to Augusta, including last year’s solo seventh. Johnson may be the biggest threat of them all with his prodigious length off the tee, and he did have a pair of top-10s in the four majors last year, but his T-38 at Augusta was his worst result, and we’re still not sure if he knows how to close out a big tournament (see last year’s violation at the PGA Championship and finished second to Watney at Doral)

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Then you have a pair of Englishmen in Luke Donald (+2200) and Paul Casey (+2500), along with Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell (+2500), and Donald has been up and down at Augusta with top-10s in two of his last five trips, but he did win the Match Play with a wonderful performance and he finished T-6 at Doral. Casey has been staying out of the spotlight so far this season, and he did win a European Tour even back in January while coming in T-18 at Doral. McDowell may have the best pedigree of them all after his win at the U.S. Open last year, but he doesn’t have a good track record at Augusta with a T-17 and two missed cuts. Still, after his Ryder Cup effort and his comeback win over Woods at the Chevron Challenge, you have to consider McDowell, especially on a pressure-packed Sunday.

The Darkhorses

You may be able to pull out a big win with some Masters betting underdogs such as Hunter Mahan (+3000), Matt Kuchar (+3000) and Anthony Kim (+4000), and don’t forget South Africa’s Ernie Els (+3500) and Ireland’s Padraig Harrington (+3500). Mahan has the best game in this group from tee to green, and he has top-10s in his last two trips to Augusta. Kuchar is as consistent as they come and eats top-10s for lunch, but we’re not sure he has what it takes to pull out the victory. Kim has struggled terribly so far this year, but he’s capable of getting hot and last year’s 65 on Sunday at Augusta had him in contention en route to a solo third result.

Els has missed the cut three straight years at Augusta, but you’d also be remiss to count out the five straight tournaments between 2000 and 2004 where he didn’t finish lower than sixth, and he does have three majors under his belt. Harrington also has a trio of major wins, is coming off a solid T-10 at Doral, and he has two top-10s in his last three visits to Augusta.

Masters Betting Pick

Woods and Mickelson will likely have a good round to get people excited, but we don’t think they’ll put four good rounds together in a row. We’re going with a guy who keeps putting himself in positions to win, and all of the losses just serve as lessons for situations like this. Dustin Johnson is as talented as anyone in the world, and he just needs to keep his nerve to put on the Green Jacket. He can be wild with the driver, but he drives it so far that he can still use a short iron to get to the greens, his irons have been fantastic (eighth in greens-in-regulation, although he needs to improve hole proximity) and his putting has been improved. Johnson’s Sunday problems have been well documented, but there is no better place to exorcise your demons than Augusta, and we think he’ll break through this year. Take Dustin Johnson in your sports betting picks.

There have already been four draws in Champions League quarterfinals action thissports betting bonus season, leaving a lot to be determined before semi-final action gets underway. One of those tiebreakers will be between Barcelona and Shakhtar Donetsk, two teams that have a storied history in the tournament. Nobody wanted to play the favorites for this year’s tournament, but with the Ukrainian side peaking both at home and in the Champions League, there is no reason to think that they can’t hold their own against the Spanish champions.

Barcelona vs. Shakhtar Donetsk

Thursday April 7, 2011 – 4:45 PM ET

Online Sports Betting Odds: Barcelona – 300

The winner of this game will go to the semi final to face the winner of another tiebreaker, which will feature Real Madrid and Tottenham. Neither team is looking that far ahead at this point however, as both teams know how tough this next matchup will be.

Betting Preview: Barcelona

Led by arguably the best player in the game, Barcelona is the easy favorite the rest of the way. Lionel Messi has become the sport’s biggest star with his quick footwork and ability to hit the goal from anywhere on the field, and he will be counted on again to get them through to the semi final. The Spanish giants had no trouble destroying their group, which featured English powers Arsenal, and if they can play at that elite level in this game, they should get through. The Blaugrana have all of their top stars ready for this one with injuries a non-factor, and with David Villa finding his chemistry with the club, there is the potential for an even stronger outlook.

Betting Preview: Shakhtar Donetsk

The Ukranian side has benefited immensely from the presence of a couple of key Brazilians that have led them to the quarterfinal round, with Douglas Costa, Willian, and Jadson leading the way. All three will be key to keeping Shakhtar Donetsk’s hopes alive in the tournament, and while soccer betting prognosticators will be quick to point out that they are outmatched, their hard work and dedication to their system have made them a powerful team. They won’t be able to match Barcelona’s talent level, but they could keep it close with a high-tempo, pressure game.

Betting Preview: Outlook & Pick

Shakhtar has impressed sportsbook promo fans with their defense and pace, especially after they laid a beating down on Italian side Roma en route to the elite eight of the Champions League. However, the experience and talent are on the side of a Barcelona team that is one of the deepest in Europe, and with a lineup of superstars that is unrivaled in the tournament, they should at least be able to get to the semi final and set up a blockbuster showdown with Spanish rivals Real Madrid.

Online betting players should buckle up for a wild ride this Saturday night as the Sprint Cup series will hold its Sprint All-Star Race, where there are no holds barred. This year’s winner knows how to get to Victory Lane in Charlotte, and he’ll use this race to make a statement to his challengers.

• What: NASCAR Betting
• When: Saturday, May 22, 9:00 PM ET
• Where: Charlotte Motor Speedway, Charlotte, NC
• Defending Champion: Tony Stewart

  The Storyline

  There are no points handed out for this race, just a cool million bucks in cash, and bragging rights. It’s always a blast to see NASCAR’s finest not holding back anything for a “good points day”. This race is all about who crosses the finish line first, nothing else.

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  NASCAR All-Star Race Betting– The Favorite

  The top tier of drivers will be led by Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch, the trio that has combined to win eight of the 12 races so far this season. Johnson and Hamlin have won three each, and Johnson could have the edge here as he has two wins, six top-10s and an average of 6.0 in eight races. Remember, this track used to be called Lowe’s Motor Speedway, which sponsors Johnson’s No.48 Chevy, and he has won six times in 17 career trips to Charlotte.

  Busch and Hamlin’s aggressive styles should be tailor-made for this race, but it hasn’t gone so well for the JGR duo. Busch has three DNFs in four All-Star races, while Hamlin has a pair of DNFs in three races, and neither has ever won at Charlotte. Hamlin finished fourth here last year, while Busch finished seventh while leading 33 laps. If they can keep their cars clean, it could be a good day for them.

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  All-Star Race Betting– The Second Tier

  Jeff Gordon should lead the next group of drivers in your sportsbook, and he has three All-Star wins on his Hall of Fame resume, most recently in 2001. Gordon’s wreck last year was his fourth DNF in an All-Star race, but he knows how to get around at Charlotte with five career wins here. Gordon has come so close on a number of occasions this year, that he may be due in a non-points race.

  Last year’s winner, Tony Stewart, finally broke the top 10 last week at Dover, and the No.14 team will try to keep that run going in the All-Star race, which is either feast or famine for Stewart. The two-time series champion has been in this race 11 times, and he’s finished in the top 10 seven times. The other four finishes were DNFs.

  The RCR duo of Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton should have similar odds in your sportsbook, although they have to be encouraged with how they’re running this year. Harvick won this race in 2007, but he has almost as many DNFs (three) as he has top-10s (four) in nine starts. Burton has the same number of DNFs and top-10s (four) in 11 All-Star races.

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  All-Star Race Betting– The Longshots

  The longshots should be powered by Dale Earnhardt Jr., who won the first All-Star race of the new millennium. He finished 10th in last year’s race, and he’s going to need a good run as the No.88 car has finished 30th or worse in two of its last three races.

  This is also a perfect race for Brad Keselowski to flex his muscles, and the rookie has finished 18th or better in his last three races. Keselowski finished 22nd in last year’s race, and his no-guts-no-glory style is built for the All-Star race.

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  All-Star Race Prediction & Outlook

  Everyone has been talking about how Hamlin and Busch are the top challengers to Johnson’s four-year reign atop the Sprint Cup series, and their recent wins, along with Johnson’s struggles, has some doubting the No.48 driver. This team is too good at Charlotte to let the JGR drivers run away with it, and he’s heard people talking. Look for Jimmie Johnson to show he’s still the champion until further notice, and that there’s a good reason why he’s the sports bettingfavorite to repeat.

With the spring training MLB betting ball now well in the rearview mirror, a jam-packed schedule of regular season games should make baseball fans happy. Here is a look at some of the most intriguing matchups for early next week.

Atlanta Braves @ Milwaukee Brewers

Monday, 2:10 PM ET

While the Braves established themselves as a legitimate NL contender an sports bettingyear ago, Milwaukee is banking on that a couple of big offseason moves will help them to reach that category as well. The Brewers mortgaged a portion of the farm to bring in Shaun Marcum and Zach Grienke from the AL to boost their starting rotation, but will still need the lower portion of their staff to contribute some solid starts to compete with the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds in the NL Central. That will include youngster Chris Narveson, who will get the call on Monday. Narveson reached 14 wins a year ago and looked good this spring, but will be tested against a talented Atlanta order.

MLB Betting Pick: Atlanta Braves

Minnesota Twins @ New York Yankees

Monday, 7:05 PM ET

While everybody seems to be hating on the Yankees, the team is focused solely on proving that they are still better than the other four teams in the deepest division in baseball. New York will send Ivan Nova to the mound on Monday to take on a Twins’ team that is looking to bounce back with Justin Morneau back in the lineup to join Joe Mauer as one of the most powerful tandems in the league. The Yankees will need Nova to be a consistent performer this year after Andy Pettite’s retirement and Cliff Lee’s return to Philadelphia, and he will get his first test of the sports betting bonus regular season on Monday.

MLB Betting Pick: New York Yankees

Boston Red Sox @ Cleveland Indians

Tuesday, 7:05 PM ET

While he could be the ace on about half of the teams in baseball this year, Josh Beckett opens the year in the fourth rotation spot for a talented Red Sox team. Boston may very well be the most improved team in baseball this year, and after watching how they kept it close with the Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays to the very end a year ago, that is scary. Cleveland will send Josh Tomlin to the mound to counter Beckett, and he could be in for a very long day.

MLB Betting Pick: Boston Red Sox

Oakland Athletics @ Toronto Blue Jays

Tuesday, 7:07 PM ET

The Athletics feel as though they have the pitching staff and enough offense to compete with the defending NL champion Texas Rangers for the division title this season, and will look to flex their muscle Tuesday with Dallas Braden on the mound in Toronto. Braden completes another deep rotation that could have Oakland back in contention for a playoff spot this year, and he should be able to do enough against Toronto’s JJ Reyes. Reyes has been a surprise standout for the Blue Jays since his arrival with the club, but that could end in a hurry once the games that count come around.

With the regular season countdown continuing to tick down, the playoffs are just around the corner for the Sweet 16 that make it through. For now, earning points is crucial not only for getting in, but for securing home ice betting advantage, and setting the tone for the postseason. Here is a look at a couple of important matchups for this week:

New York Islanders @ New Jersey Devils

Wednesday, 7:00 PM ET

The Devils were one of the hottest teams through the months of January and February, but as many sports betting prognosticators projected, it was only a matter of time before their incredible hot streak cooled off. New Jersey has just four wins through their last 10 games, and are the next Eastern conference team in line to be mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. That won’t happen in this game however, as the Devils look to own their Atlantic division rivals. The Islanders are five games below .500 on the road this season, and will face a New Jersey team that has been almost invincible at home these past couple of months.

NHL Betting Pick: New Jersey Devils

Anaheim Ducks @ Calgary Flames

Wednesday, 9:30 PM ET

The Flames and Ducks are locked in a battle for one of the final playoff spots in the Western conference, and every point will be crucial as both teams fight to get in. Calgary fell to three points back of the eighth place Chicago Blackhawks on Monday, and enter this game four back of Anaheim for seventh with the Ducks holding a game in hand. Every contest will be a must-win for the Flames down the sports betting stretch, but none more than this one.

NHL Betting Pick: Calgary Flames

Toronto Maple Leafs @ Boston Bruins

Thursday, 7:00 PM ET

The Maple Leafs provided a solid run down the stretch that will give the team hope from next season, and while it’s highly unlikely that they will reach the top eight in the conference before the final day of the season, it’s still important for them to climb as high as they can. Toronto lost its top draft pick to Boston in the deal for Phil Kessel a year ago, so the better they do the lesser the value of the selection. This game will have added significance against that same Bruins’ team, as the Maple Leafs’ try to spoil any small chance of them clinching a conference title this season.

NHL Betting Pick: Toronto Maple Leafs

Pittsburgh Penguins @ Tampa Bay Lightning

Thursday, 7:30 PM ET

Although the Penguins won’t have captain Sidney Crosby back in the lineup, this game is an exciting one as a potential first round playoff matchup preview. Tampa Bay has made strides under a new regime down south, and will look to close the gap between them and fourth-place Pittsburgh while setting the tone for what should be a long postseason sports betting bonus series.

The NBA regular season is winding down, with only seven to nine games left for the balance of teams in the closed world of professional basketball. Who will have enough juice to prevail?

NBA Betting Overview

Online betting gurus have to be realists when an NBA season comes to a close. The long, hard 82-game slog will produce aberrational results in some areas because teams are getting ready for the playoffs and don’t have much of an incentive to win, either because their seeding in the playoffs is set or because a slightly lower seeding (a six seed instead of a five seed, for instance) would be more favorable in terms of the full playoff draw. There’s an interlocking set of factors that sports bettinganalysts have to examine. This is more systematic and rigorous stuff than, for instance, the utterly chaotic and unpredictable world of March Madness betting, a tenuous place to be when results like Virginia Commonwealth over Kansas dot the landscape.

So, who will win and lose next week in the National Basketball Association? Let’s be realistic and zero in on four specific choices.

Next Tuesday, the Milwaukee Bucks visit Orlando to take on the Magic, while the Golden State Warriors venture north to play the Portland Trail Blazers. The Bucks are stumbling toward the finish line, having just lost to a depleted Charlotte team on the road to fall to tenth place in the Eastern Conference standings. The loss severely crippled the Bucks’ hopes of catching Indiana for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East, so the Bucks – in addition to being discouraged – will feel panicky as they realize how grim their prospects really are. Orlando is not a foremost title contender in the East, but the Magic are a generally well-rounded team that has Dwight Howard and, overall, too much firepower for the Bucks to handle. Later that night, Portland is much too physical and has way too much quality near the rim – especially in the form of LaMarcus Aldridge – for the tissue-soft Golden State Warriors to handle. Golden State can get hot at home in Oakland and scare some solid opponents when circumstances are exactly aligned, but in general, the Warriors are a terrible road team because they can’t get enough defensive stops. The personality of a mediocre franchise simply hasn’t changed that much over the past decade, so the Warriors are almost certain to drop another road game.

As the week moves along, Indiana is a very good bet to beat Washington at home on Wednesday. The Pacers are holding off Charlotte for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East. They just did defeat the Boston Celtics at home and will get the lowly Washington Wizards at Conseco Fieldhouse one night after returning from a road trip created by the presence of the Women’s Final Four (college basketball event) in Indianapolis. Indiana will relish the chance to return to its home court; it will relish even more the prospect of a highly winnable game against one of the bottom feeders in the East.

Finally, on Thursday, the Chicago Bulls should mop the floor with the Boston Celtics at home in Chicago. The Celtics idiotically traded away big man Kendrick Perkins before the NBA trade deadline, and they’ve become a soft and uninspired team as a result. Chicago is the best team in the Eastern Conference and should power its way to a solid victory over the Celtics.

If you are looking to try your luck at sports betting then know that you do have greater odds of winning in this game than you would in roulette or craps.  While those are games of chance, sports betting is a game of predicting a foreseeable outcome.  Here are some tips on how to win big at the big game.

9.Place Bets on the Right Sports Book
Statistics suggest that placing bets with the correct sports book will make a big difference, and increase the odds of winning by 3%.

8.Bet Against the Public
There are some that claim that “fading the public” can be profitable.  This has led many bettors to bet on the other team than is predicted.

7.Do Your Homework Before the Game
The best way to win sports betting is to research all aspects of a game, especially circumstances and data that others would not consider.  Not even bookies will have time to research every sport and every game.  Therefore, if you can create a niche for yourself, you could become an expert on a smaller conferences and find yourself winning big money.

6.Choose the Underdog at Home
Statistically speaking, it’s a good idea to bet on an underdog at home.  A team will put forth their best effort at home stadium and underdogs have a way of triumphing over the odds in general.  Using this strategy you may beat the odds too.

5.Bet at Just the Right Time
Bettors who bet on underdogs usually bet early.  Therefore, if you are betting on an underdog try and bet late.  If you are betting on the favorite then bet early.  Going against the grain in sports gambling is often a smart move.

4.Make Arbitrage Bets
You can make money on sure bets regardless of the outcome of a game with arbitrage bets.  The advantage of these bets is that it doesn’t matter what the outcome of a game is, since the only bet you made was on a specific happening.

3.Square or Sucker Lines
Many betters try to stay away from square lines (that is, lines that are designed to lure public opinion into betting a certain way) and in the end, can even make money off these phony wagers if they can closely monitor the betting percentages.

2.Never Gamble While Drinking
This may be common knowledge to some, a great shock to others.  However, when you drink an alcoholic beverage, your judgment will be significantly clouded.  A drink may also give you that extra “courage” to make a rash and expensive decision.

1.Manage your Gambling Money
Another lesson in common sense that is often ignored when it comes time to put down a wager: never bet more than you can afford to lose.  In fact, it is recommended that you set aside a portion of your money for betting and to stick with it, regardless of your winnings or losses.  Lastly, try to spread your total among a few smaller bets rather than risk it all on one sure thing that may not be as predictable as everyone thinks.

This weekend in a game between two teams in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, the Washington Capitals will battle against the New York Rangers. With a record of 32-19-10 the Capitals are currently the 5th best team in the Eastern Conference.  With a 31-26-4 record on the year the Rangers are the 7th best team in the league.

The Capitals have been great at home this season also they will be the home team in this game. To this point in the season they are 17-7-7 in home games. Even though the Rangers are actually a better road team than a home team this year, they will be on the road. While playing on the road this year they are 17-13-1.

In goals allowed per game, this should be a defensive battle as each of these teams are within the top 7 teams in the league. Even though the Capitals do have one player that has the potential to take over a game at any time, neither team has been dominant offensively.

Where Alex Ovechkin has gone this season, a lot of people are wondering about. This season he has not been scoring as many goals or dishing out as any assists as he has in years past. With points in each of his last 4 games he has been starting to pick things up as of late. When he doesn’t produce for them offensively, the Capitals really struggle.

To keep Ovechkin out of this game the Rangers will do all they can. The Rangers will have a great chance of winning this one if he is a non-factor.

At online sportsbooks on Thursday night, NHL Betting Odds will be available.