Wwclevelandbrowns Hockey Betting News

<< Panthers sign Leopold, Wilson
Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Panthers bolstered their defensive corps Thursday by signing both Jordan Leopold and Clay Wilson. Leopold, who signed a one-year contract, was acquired on the NHL Draft's second day from Calg

<< RSL, S.J. to battle in Friday fixture
Sandy, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Earthquakes travel to take on Real Salt Lake in Major League Soccer action on Friday night as the two Western Conference rivals battle for position. Both team are in the bottom half of the con

<< Kim's record 62 leads AT&T National
Bethesda, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending champion Anthony Kim set the course record with an eight-under 62 at Congressional, taking the first-round lead Thursday at the AT&T National. Tiger Woods, the tournament host, shot a six-

<< Chelsea secures Turnbull signing
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chelsea has completed the signing of goalie Ross Turnbull on a four-year contract from relegated Middlesbrough. The 24-year-old former England Under-21 international was out of contract with the Teessider

CFL's Bruce fined for Michael Jackson celebration >>
Mississauga, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto Argonauts All-Star wide receiver Arland Bruce III was fined an undisclosed amount for a celebration tribute to Michael Jackson in the team's victory over Hamilton on Wednesday. After scoring a

Astros swarm Padres; bees delay game >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wandy Rodriguez threw seven strong innings to help the Houston Astros take a 7-2 win over the San Diego Padres in an unusual finale of a four-game set. Rodriguez (7-6) gave up just one run on seven hits w

Holy Cross tabs Kearney to replace Willard >>
Worcester, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Holy Cross named Sean Kearney its new head men's basketball coach on Thursday. Kearney, who becomes the 15th head coach in the history of the program, replaces Ralph Willard who resigned last mo

Angels come to terms with first-round pick >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim came to terms on a minor league contract with outfielder Michael Trout, the 25th overall pick in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft. Trout, who played his high school ball

Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.