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 the house post great numbers due mostly to the sheer volume of ?March Madness?. Thanks to the juice, we were able to overcome some big favorites taking it to the underdogs, and a number of games where being ?sided? was a distinct possibility.
Our players did very well with Mich. St. beating Vermont 72-61. The Spartans started off as -8 point favorites and closed at -8 ? after reaching -9 for a while. North Carolina opened up -16 against Iowa St and hovered right around that number the whole time. Even though we were taking a 5-1 ratio on the ?tar heels? we hung tough at the correct number but ended up getting pounded as did the ?cyclones? 92-65. Kentucky was another big winner for the players and I was surprised we didn?t see more two way action with Cincinnati being a fan favorite as well, but ultimately it was all ?wildcats? and they won and covered 69-60 after having been -3 point favorites. Lute Olson?s Arizona Wildcats were another nice winner for the players and no one outside of Birmingham wanted anything to do with UAB.
We also dodged some bullets this weekend as a number of games had a distinct possibility of being ?sided?. We were fortunate not to be hurt as many other books were. One of the biggest games of the weekend was Duke versus Miss. St. Duke opened as -8 point favorites and were quickly bet up to -8 ? and even -9. We opened at -8 ? so there was no chance of getting ?sided?. Getting ?sided? is when your players push one side of a game and win the other side (Using the Duke example) many players laid -8, later to take +8 ? or better, so that when the final score ?landed? on -8. The bookmaker pushes all the -8 bets, and loses all the +8 ? and +9 bets. Not the ideal spot for a bookmaker to be in! Oak St. versus Southern Illinois was another instance where many books were ?sided?, yet we escaped unscathed. Oak. St. opened a -9 point favorite at most places while we opened -8 ? . After a play from the ?sharps? the line came down to -8. Final score 85-77, so all those ?bm?s (Bookmakers) who took a lot of +9 and + 8 ? money before getting down to -8 did poorly. Wisconsin versus Bucknell, and Illinois versus Nevada both fell into this category as well with both games ?siding? the ?bm?s.
Until next week, when we?ll take another look at how it all shook out??
Jimmy Mason
Get in on the action: www.betcom.com
By Jimmy Mason, Director of Sportsbook Operations,
www.betcom.com
This weekend saw the house post great numbers due mostly to the sheer volume of ?March Madness?. Thanks to the juice, we were able to overcome some big favorites taking it to the underdogs, and a number of games where being ?sided? was a distinct possibility.
Our players did very well with Mich. St. beating Vermont 72-61. The Spartans started off as -8 point favorites and closed at -8 ? after reaching -9 for a while. North Carolina opened up -16 against Iowa St and hovered right around that number the whole time. Even though we were taking a 5-1 ratio on the ?tar heels? we hung tough at the correct number but ended up getting pounded as did the ?cyclones? 92-65. Kentucky was another big winner for the players and I was surprised we didn?t see more two way action with Cincinnati being a fan favorite as well, but ultimately it was all ?wildcats? and they won and covered 69-60 after having been -3 point favorites. Lute Olson?s Arizona Wildcats were another nice winner for the players and no one outside of Birmingham wanted anything to do with UAB.
We also dodged some bullets this weekend as a number of games had a distinct possibility of being ?sided?. We were fortunate not to be hurt as many other books were. One of the biggest games of the weekend was Duke versus Miss. St. Duke opened as -8 point favorites and were quickly bet up to -8 ? and even -9. We opened at -8 ? so there was no chance of getting ?sided?. Getting ?sided? is when your players push one side of a game and win the other side (Using the Duke example) many players laid -8, later to take +8 ? or better, so that when the final score ?landed? on -8. The bookmaker pushes all the -8 bets, and loses all the +8 ? and +9 bets. Not the ideal spot for a bookmaker to be in! Oak St. versus Southern Illinois was another instance where many books were ?sided?, yet we escaped unscathed. Oak. St. opened a -9 point favorite at most places while we opened -8 ? . After a play from the ?sharps? the line came down to -8. Final score 85-77, so all those ?bm?s (Bookmakers) who took a lot of +9 and + 8 ? money before getting down to -8 did poorly. Wisconsin versus Bucknell, and Illinois versus Nevada both fell into this category as well with both games ?siding? the ?bm?s.
Until next week, when we?ll take another look at how it all shook out??
Jimmy Mason
Get in on the action: www.betcom.com
