A look back at this past weekend from a bettor?s point-of-view
By Jimmy Mason, Director of Sportsbook Operations,
www.betcom.com
This weekend saw a number of runaway chalk winners by big name programs which got our customers off to a nice start, contrasted by some high profile examples of home team dogs covering. In the end most books I have spoken to ground out a small profit, as was the case with us this weekend as well.
The theory about betting home team dogs is that college teams enjoy a more profound advantage on their home courts due to the intensity of the crowds, the fact that they are playing in front of family and friends, and other angles that do not apply to their professional counterparts as much. Let?s take a look at some examples from this part weekend.
Saturday saw #16 ranked Oklahoma playing at Missouri. The line opened with the road team ?sooners? a -5 point favorite. The general public, playing more on name value, than actual value, played the ?sooners? -5, -5 ? and -6. While we were tempted to keep moving as the money flowed in at -6, our head linesmaker Rick McColley hung tough at -6 knowing the value of the home team, and it paid off for us as ?Mizzou? won outright 68-65 in O.T.
Next up was #21 ranked Cincinnati headed into conference rival DePaul as a -3 point favorite. Again we were played the road favorite at -3, -3 ? and -4. Again it would have been tempting to move to 4 ? but Rick hung in there and again the home team dog DePaul won outright 85-66. These home team dogs are the perfect spot to bet action points, but we?ll save that for another article.
Our next game is an example of a home team dog sticking it to the books both ways as #10 Oklahoma St. opened a -7 favorite, which did not last long as the sharps attacked the +7. We booked 90% of our action at -6. In the end the game ?landed? on seven as the ?cowboys? won 66-59 giving the wise guys a push and a win if they bought back at -5 1/2 , and the public a big win at -5 ? and -6.
Maybe #7 Duke was still riding high after their big win against UNC, but whatever the reason, they were beaten outright and swept for the season by a lesser Maryland team. The ?Duke boys? opened -3, and closed as high a -4 in many shops, with Mr. McColley again standing strong at -3 for most of the day. We wrote nearly 7-1 tickets on Duke, but we had some very big bets on Maryland from some top talent, so we washed this game.
Sunday saw more of the same as #2 North Carolina headed into #19 U Conn. As predicted in my weekly preview the ?Weekender?, the ?Tar Heels? opened as -10 point favorites and were quickly knocked down to -9 ?, -9 , -8 ? and finally -8. We received far more Uconn action than I would have guessed, making the game ?even Steven? for us as U Conn hung tough and lost by 7, 77-70.
Until next Monday, when we will break it all down again??
Jimmy Mason
www.betcom.com
By Jimmy Mason, Director of Sportsbook Operations,
www.betcom.com
This weekend saw a number of runaway chalk winners by big name programs which got our customers off to a nice start, contrasted by some high profile examples of home team dogs covering. In the end most books I have spoken to ground out a small profit, as was the case with us this weekend as well.
The theory about betting home team dogs is that college teams enjoy a more profound advantage on their home courts due to the intensity of the crowds, the fact that they are playing in front of family and friends, and other angles that do not apply to their professional counterparts as much. Let?s take a look at some examples from this part weekend.
Saturday saw #16 ranked Oklahoma playing at Missouri. The line opened with the road team ?sooners? a -5 point favorite. The general public, playing more on name value, than actual value, played the ?sooners? -5, -5 ? and -6. While we were tempted to keep moving as the money flowed in at -6, our head linesmaker Rick McColley hung tough at -6 knowing the value of the home team, and it paid off for us as ?Mizzou? won outright 68-65 in O.T.
Next up was #21 ranked Cincinnati headed into conference rival DePaul as a -3 point favorite. Again we were played the road favorite at -3, -3 ? and -4. Again it would have been tempting to move to 4 ? but Rick hung in there and again the home team dog DePaul won outright 85-66. These home team dogs are the perfect spot to bet action points, but we?ll save that for another article.
Our next game is an example of a home team dog sticking it to the books both ways as #10 Oklahoma St. opened a -7 favorite, which did not last long as the sharps attacked the +7. We booked 90% of our action at -6. In the end the game ?landed? on seven as the ?cowboys? won 66-59 giving the wise guys a push and a win if they bought back at -5 1/2 , and the public a big win at -5 ? and -6.
Maybe #7 Duke was still riding high after their big win against UNC, but whatever the reason, they were beaten outright and swept for the season by a lesser Maryland team. The ?Duke boys? opened -3, and closed as high a -4 in many shops, with Mr. McColley again standing strong at -3 for most of the day. We wrote nearly 7-1 tickets on Duke, but we had some very big bets on Maryland from some top talent, so we washed this game.
Sunday saw more of the same as #2 North Carolina headed into #19 U Conn. As predicted in my weekly preview the ?Weekender?, the ?Tar Heels? opened as -10 point favorites and were quickly knocked down to -9 ?, -9 , -8 ? and finally -8. We received far more Uconn action than I would have guessed, making the game ?even Steven? for us as U Conn hung tough and lost by 7, 77-70.
Until next Monday, when we will break it all down again??
Jimmy Mason
www.betcom.com
