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06/21/2010 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Undefeated mare Zenyatta remains atop the NTRA Thoroughbred Poll for the week ending June 20. The six-year-old champion has never lost in 17 career starts.
Zenyatta, who won the Vanity Handicap on June 13, has 14 first-place votes and 179 points to hold a six point lead over Quality Road. The four-year-old colt received five first-place votes and 173 points.
There are no changes in positions three through eight: Blame (127), Rachel Alexandra (119), Lookin At Lucky (97), Rail Trip (61), Misremembered (48) and Super Saver (44).
Exchanging positions are Tuscan Evening and Blind Luck. Tuscan Evening jumps from 10th to ninth with 34 points and Blind Luck falls one spot with 29 points.
<< Miami Heat 2010 Draft Preview
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Heat have just four players under contract right
now but their plans are clear.
Pat Riley hopes to re-sign All-Star guard Dwyane Wade and bring in another
top-tier free agent to team with his superstar, with most
<< Line of Scrimmage: How high is the sky for Redskins?
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two years ago, an NFL team coming off a
4-12 season made banner headlines by dealing for a highly-decorated veteran
quarterback who was expected to return that franchise to glory.
The same team beefed up t
<< Winless Nigeria aiming to stay alive vs. S. Korea
Durban, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There aren't many teams that can
afford to lose the first two games at a World Cup and still have a chance at
advancing to the next round.
But that is exactly the situation for Nigeria when
<< Argentina patiently waiting its turn
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Behind a devastatingly skilled attack and
coached by a personality to match, it is a bit of a mystery as to how Argentina
has faded into the peripherals of South Africa.
Despite having won both its matches
Minnesota Timberwolves 2010 Draft Preview >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - You name it and the Minnesota Timberwolves likely need it.
Kurt Rambis' Wolves are among the very worst in the NBA at both ends of the
floor. Outside of Al Jefferson and Kevin Love up front and a solid
developmental point
New Jersey Nets 2010 Draft Preview >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After a disastrous 12-win season the New Jersey Nets have
undergone a makeover, starting with billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov and
new head coach Avery Johnson.
Prokhorov is hell-bent on turning around this thing quickl
Missouri State's Martin gets extension >>
Springfield, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Missouri State has extended the contract
of men's head basketball coach Cuonzo Martin.
The deal was approved by the University Board of Governors on Friday.
Martin will earn a base salary of $140,000
New York Knicks 2010 Draft Preview >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Well, this is it.
Donnie Walsh has waited patiently for two years, creating roster flexibility
with the intent of convincing Cleveland superstar LeBron James to take up
residence in the Big Apple.
The Knicks' cupboard i
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
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