Tips For Using Sports Handicapping Services

Wagering on sporting events is both entertaining as well as a way to make a little to a whole lot of cash. Trying to make the right wager is the key, since there is a lot of information that needs to be considered when making a prediction on a sporting event. Sports handicapping services that have a proven winning record can be your best source for recommendations and information, allowing you to place the wagers you want to really win big.
If you are going to use sports handicapping services it is essential that you know how they base their predictions. Giving just a straight win prediction in a given game may be helpful, but not if you want to bet on an over-under or a point spread. Most reputable and professionally run services provide information on how they are making their predictions, although they may not give away all their secrets and sources.
Try to look for sports handicapping services that have a proven record over more than one season. There are always seasons in which the favored team almost always wins and the underdogs never score an upset. In these types of seasons all sports handicapping services are going to look outstanding in their winning percentages. It is important to consider the overall correct predictions across several seasons. Some of the really well-run, well-connected and highly-researched types of services can offer a very competitive winning percentage, which is really incredible when you think about it.
Websites and online sports handicapping services are great for easy access to information. These sites are, of course, up and running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, allowing you to stay up to date with injury reports, weather conditions, statistics on players and teams and even what the Vegas betting trends are. Not only can this information be helpful to you, but it also shows that the information that the service is using is as timely as it can possibly be. Websites are also ideal since they can be accessed from anywhere that you have an Internet connection. With new wireless cell phone options, online access has never been easier, no matter where you may be stuck in traffic. Getting information when you are on the go can give you that extra edge when you are ready to place your wager.
Look for sports handicapping services that provide information on their websites. A few top of the line services offer free newsletters and perhaps even the option of a free pick to help you determine if you want to sign up for regular picks. Typically packages that may include weekly, monthly or season picks are part of the handicapping service, and individual game picks are also typically offered. Trying out a few of the day picks can allow you to become familiar with the site and the services before committing to a full season. Season packages are usually discounted over each individual game pick price, actually saving you money over the season.
If you find one of the few really great online sports handicapping services, you will also be privy to information that simply cannot be found anywhere else. This may include information on coaching styles or even issues between players that may affect the team. This type of info not only will help you in placing your bet, but it also allows you to have the edge over others who simply don't have the resources to do this type of research.

Secret of Sport Handicapping

Sports handicapping is not restricted to any particular sport although it takes place more commonly in popular sports like NFL football, major league baseball, and even college basketball games. Most of these championships take place at a certain time of the year and this is when the bookies from all over the country hold center stage. Millions of dollars are made and millions more are lost. This is the truth of sports handicapping.
Sport Handicapping in College Football:
Let us look at College football for example. College football handicapping is considered to be one of the toughest in sports handicapping, as you would have to keep up with the action within the complete day. Today football handicapping, especially on College football teams, is being looked at as one of the most popular form of sports handicapping. In College football handicapping, the popular bet or the most common is always the straight bet, which is laid on a particular/single team. Before you place the bet, you need to identify and do a detailed study of the key factors that will determine the result. The key factors include point spread, an injury to an important player in the team, the coach and his relationship with the team, the strategies employed by a coach more often etc.
You will have to make your pick of a college football team, which might be the hot favorites or the underdogs. In sports gambling, you will most likely have to lay juice or points when you make a bet. Let us look at a college football wagering example: If Colorado is playing Nebraska and they are a 6 ½ point favorite then Nebraska will have to win by a minimum of 7 points for you to win your bet. Of all the other sports, college football games draw maximum crowds and on any given day or night, even the best of teams can lose to the underdogs. That's the unpredictability of any sport. So what is the best way to handle sports handicapping effectively?
The Secret of Sport handicapping:
Let me share the secret of sports handicapping with you...whether it is football handicapping or another sport, you need to look at the following aspects very carefully:
How profitable is the situation: This is the first and foremost thing to look at. Football handicapping or basketball handicapping will require you to be in control of the situation, to understand where each team stands and what the odds against them are. If you look at the statistics carefully then you might find that there is a team that has an advantage over all the others in almost all categories or situations. Hence betting on that team might be relatively safe. Know this will help you with handicapping your next sporting event.
Attention to handicapping details: Different sports have different requirements and details. If you are considering football handicapping for instance then you would need to focus on the different betting lines and the football spreads. In the NCAA football lines, if you bet money line on an underdog then you will be rewarded nicely. So using the college football line as a part of football sports handicapping, you can get a payback of $170 if you bet $100. Your risk will be for $100, which is less than $170 as opposed to the situation where you bet on a hot favorite.
Sport Handicapping Statistics: It is important to be always updated with the latest and right statistics because even the smallest point difference can lead to the biggest win or loss in sports handicapping.
Situational Sports Handicapping: It is important to always be aware of any given situation between two sports teams. The sports event underdog may have more motivation to win a particular game then the favorite voted to win which could leave to the inevitable upset.
Additionally to these guidelines, while handicapping any sporting event you should follow your knowledge of the game and what your intuition or common sense says. A sports handicapper should be pretty clear and confident over the option of his bet. If you are an individual making a bet for the first time, don't wager big. It can lead to unexpected snags. Remember, it takes time to learn and develop sports handicap.

Unbeaten Novak Djokovic beats Rafa Nadal in Miami final

The Serbian, 23, came through 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7-4) to clinch his seventh Masters Series win, his fourth title of the year and take his 2011 record to 24-0.
It is the best start to a year in men's tennis since Ivan Lendl began with 25 consecutive victories in 1986.
An impressed Nadal said afterwards: "I think he'll be number one."
The Spaniard continued: "He won two tournaments in a row right now, very big tournaments and one Grand Slam.
"The normal thing is he will be number one in the next month, month and a half, two months. I don't know. It depends on my results on clay.
"For sure, he will be there, no? I'm going to fight for me. If I am solid, if I play a very good clay-court season, we will see what's going on after."
Djokovic said: "I know I've had the best start of the season, no question about it. It's the best four months in my life.
"But it's only the start of the season. I think it's a bit early to talk about getting that top spot in the rankings. Rafa is definitely the best player in the world now.
"If I want to have that shot at the number one ranking, I need to play consistently well throughout the whole year.
"We all know that clay court is his favourite surface and obviously somewhere where he plays his best.
"But this is going to give a lot of confidence boost for the upcoming clay-court season."
Djokovic is more than 1,000 ranking points clear of third-ranked Roger Federer but still a further 3,000 points behind Nadal.
However, the Spaniard has a huge number of ranking points to defend, having won all the major clay tournaments last year.
Whether Djokovic is ready to surpass Nadal on clay remains open to question but after defeating his closest rival in back-to-back Masters Series finals over the last fortnight, there is no doubt he is the man to beat right now.
Nadal had won the opening set of their Indian Wells final two weeks ago before Djokovic came storming back and Sunday's match in Miami followed a similar pattern.

A blustery wind hampered both men in the opening stages, with Nadal coping marginally better and grabbing the first break in game three before seeing off three break points in the following game.
A blustery wind hampered both men in the opening stages, with Nadal coping marginally better and grabbing the first break in game three before seeing off three break points in the following game.
When Djokovic slapped a forehand into the tramlines to fall a double break down the set was as good as done but from 5-1 down he began to find his range.
His more aggressive style had Nadal on the run and although the Spaniard did seal the set, Djokovic reeled off six of seven games to move 3-0 clear in the second and serve out to force a decider.
After two sets of uneven play, the final set showcased the very best of the world's top two players, with each man appearing to grab the momentum only for his opponent to wrestle it back.

Red Bull's Horner dismisses Lewis Hamilton link

Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko was quoted last week saying "with his aggression and speed, Hamilton must always be a topic".
But Horner said: "If he wanted to drive for Red Bull, you couldn't ignore a driver of his calibre.
"But I understand he has a multi-year contract with McLaren and I envisage that he'll be there for a while yet."
Red Bull currently employ world champion Sebastian Vettel and Australian Mark Webber, who was third overall in the standings last year behind Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.
Vettel has recently signed a contract extension to stay with Red Bull until the end of 2014, but Webber is on a year-by-year contract and he and the team have not started to consider their options for 2012
Hamilton has a contract with McLaren that is believed to run until 2012 but there has been speculation about his future in recent weeks in the wake of McLaren's struggles to make their car competitive.
The team had a torrid time in pre-season testing, with the car struggling for pace and reliability.
In the wake of talk about his future, Hamilton sought out team principal Martin Whitmarsh before the first race of the season in Australia at the end of last month.
Hamilton said it was to "reassure him I am here, I am committed to the team, committed to winning.
"This is where my heart and mind are. I'm not thinking about going elsewhere, I don't have my people [his new management team] going elsewhere and doing any other talking."
Although Hamilton qualified and finished second to Vettel in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix at the end of March, the McLaren was still some way off the pace of the Red Bull.
Horner added on Monday: "Lewis is a wonderfully gifted driver. He's obviously happy at McLaren. We're very happy with the driver line-up we have.
"With any driver-team relationship there has to be a desire on both sides. That's what makes the relationship with our current drivers work so well.
"Sebastian has been with Red Bull since he was 12. But who knows? In the future you can never rule anything out, but there would have to be a strong desire on both sides to do something like that.
"It's difficult to see how you could have two drivers of Lewis's and Sebastian's calibre under one roof. There tends to be fireworks as we saw with Fernando Alonso and Lewis [when they were McLaren team-mates in 2007].
"We're very happy with our current driver We'll see how things evolve."
Asked if his remarks meant he did not consider Webber to be of Hamilton's calibre, Horner said: "Absolutely not. They [Vettel and Webber] are at different stages of their careers and they complement each other.
"You've got an 11-year age gap and that life experience is pretty valuable, in Lewis and Sebastian you have two drivers who are pretty close in terms of age."

Ivan Lendl would help Andy Murray, says Boris Becker

Boris Becker has urged Andy Murray to consider employing Ivan Lendl as his coach, though he admitted it would be “a big wake-up call” for a player he says is in crisis.

Honda Classic 2011: Lee Westwood’s hopes of top-three finish to reclaim No 1 spot falls foul of the weather

Lee Westwood’s assault on golf’s summit was at the mercy of the weather at the Honda Classic

For two days Westwood was a serious contender in Florida. But, like the majority, he was forced to submit to nature’s forces on the third day. Wind is not so much a leveller as a random beast that makes an accurate examination of a golfer’s game unreliable. The same for everybody, yes, but some have more to lose than others. In Westwood’s case, the top-three finish required was left blowing in the wind.

Westwood is, of course, aiming higher than the No 1 ranking. This is a player that led on the final day of The Masters last year by a shot from Phil Mickelson; a player who was tied for the lead with nine to play and who ultimately lost out after posting four rounds under par and three in the 60s.

For Westwood it has only ever been about Augusta on the second weekend of April since pulling up lame and ultimately withdrawing from the final major of 2010, the PGA Championship. The presence of a fit Westwood at Whistling Straights might or might not have influenced the outcome. As we know Martin Kaymer closed out his first major victory in a play-off against Bubba Watson.

The absence of a major on Westwood’s career card is an irritant, not least because the rankings say he is good enough. A top-three finish on Sunday will see Westwood resume the world No 1 spot taken by Kaymer a week ago at the Accenture Matchplay Championship in Tucson.

The intuitive contradiction of a majorless world No 1 was a question that demanded much of Westwood’s time in interviews from the moment he ascended to the throne in November. Should he prosper on Sunday it will be back on the agenda.

Honda Classic 2011: Graeme McDowell shows Rory McIlroy the way with superb 64

The final day of the Honda Classic was about pride and preparation for the British quintet with major aspirations.

The second World Golf Championship event of the year begins this week at Doral and the Masters looms in a month. Only Rory McIlroy will have been disheartened by his day’s work

McIlroy, who fell apart through the Bear Trap, the demanding three-hole sequence starting at 15, on Saturday losing six shots, was unable to rouse himself on Sunday and drifted further down the field with a 75, a worrying characteristic that he had pledged to eradicate in 2011.

Easily the most impressive of Europe’s frontline warriors was McIlroy’s mentor, Graeme McDowell, whose six-under 64 was a riveting demonstration of how to treat a final round when not contending.

The world No 4, who did not drop a shot, earned a top-10 finish on two under par as his reward in Florida.

“It was a very different golf course today. The wind dropped by 10mph so it was much more civilised and a little more fun to play than it has been all week,” McDowell said.