BETTING TEASERS

Now that the king of all sports wagering is upon us in it's 9th week, that being football, it is time to maximize profits and minimize losses for the smart player. As a professional handicapper it is not only my job to pick winning selections for my clients, but to help them maximize their profits with those selections. I have written about the flat betting technique I use numerous times, which you all should consider as well, but now we look to our insurance policy of 2 team 6 point teasers at 11 to 10 odds in the NFL.

If you look at the average margin of victory in the NFL over the past 12 seasons, you will find that number to be just over 5 points. Now one would assume if you are getting 6 points per a side or total in the NFL, your chances of a winning wager are greatly increased. Any professional handicapper given 6 points a side in the NFL can beat the book at least 70% of the time, I assure you. With this mind, ask yourself a question. How many games have you lost against the spread by 1 or 2 points over the last 5 years? I already know the answer. Imagine if you had laid a unit on each of those games with an added 6 points on a teaser play at 11 to 10 odds! Count the winners boys. It is a solid backup plan for your weekly selections, on your top two plays, as a backup plan in case you do not go 2-0, or 1-1. You can recoup some losses or maximize those profits. On my NFL cards every week for my clients, I always have a 2-team teaser in the NFL. One area that I have pounded over the years is a home team getting more than 3 points. There is parity in the NFL, and all teams have a shot to beat another team on any given Sunday. I will take my chances getting 9 points or more on almost any NFL team at home.

This rule also applies to College Ball, but I almost exclusively use it in the NFL. Free agency has made the game much more competitive over the last 7 or 8 years. Almost every team out there has a shot to win every week. Look at the St. Louis Rams of 1999. They were 3-13 ATS in 1998, and then tore up the books in 1999 and won the Super Bowl as a 200/1 longshot. Free agency played a major part in that happening, and proves that parity in the NFL is present and rears it's ugly head weekly in blowing covers, even for smart players like myself. Baltimore in 2000 , Patriots in 2001, and Carolina in 2003 prove this point of parity and free agency even farther. With the added insurance I am getting 6 points a side on two teams, I feel this backup plan is a worthy investment during the football season. In the NBA look for 2 team 4 point teasers on side plays in games where 2 good teams are going at it, with a slight underdog home team, adding the 4 points may get you over the top if you find a scenario like this with 2 teams on the board in this position.

The goal of every novice or experienced sports bettor is to make money on their selections. What some of us fail to realize is that we are gambling and there is no sure thing out there, contrary to what you may read or hear in hyped up sports service ads. Every player wants every advantage over the book they can get and adding teaser plays to your arsenal is a sound investment in gaining 8 to 10 units a year on your bankroll.