Topcasinosonline NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Stars down Wild in SO
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jamie Benn scored the winner in the shootout as the Dallas Stars took a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. In the second round, Benn cut out to the right before coming back to the middle and sn

<< Rose's Bulls race past Bucks
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Derrick Rose set the tone right from the opening tip Saturday, scoring 16 of his team's first 18 points as the Chicago Bulls routed the Milwaukee Bucks, 113-90. Rose finished with 26 points and 13 as

<< Green Bay dominates Milwaukee, remains undefeated
Green Bay, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Julie Wojta and Sarah Eichler each scored 16 points to lead No. 10 Green Bay as the Phoenix remained undefeated, dominating Milwaukee, 85-39, at Kress Events Center on Saturday. Green Bay (20-0, 10-0

<< Lin leads Knicks over Nets
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A half-dozen teammates surrounded Jeremy Lin as the game ended, hugging him and slapping him on the back. The New York Knicks needed a win any way they could get it. Lin, the second-year guard out of Har

Jazz take down Lakers >>
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Al Jefferson scored 18 points and Paul Millsap added 16 with each pulling down 13 rebounds in Utah's 96-87 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Josh Howard and Derrick Favors both had 12 points and En

Parker sets franchise assists record as Spurs down Thunder >>
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tony Parker exploded for a season-high 42 points and added nine assists to become the Spurs' all-time assists leader as San Antonio handled Oklahoma City 107-96 at AT&T Center on Saturday. Tim Du

Pangos, Sacre lift No. 24 Gonzaga over Pepperdine >>
Malibu, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Pangos and Robert Sacre each scored 15 points, lifting the 24th-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs over the Pepperdine Waves, 72-60. Guy Landry Edi added 13 points for the Bulldogs (18-4, 8-2 WCC), who bounc

San Diego State handles TCU >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jamaal Franklin poured in a game-high 24 points on 7-of-11 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds as No. 17 San Diego State handled TCU, 83-73, on Saturday. James Rahon netted 16 points to go with five reb

What Is the Point Spread?

What are Sports Betting Point Spreads?

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.

How to Read Point Spreads

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:

• Philly wins the actual game by any amount of points
  OR
  
• Philly loses the game by less than 7 points.

• 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.

  For Those Who Like to Consider Things Mathematically

  Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:

• Subtracting the point spread from the favorite’s score (thus the minus sign before the number) and then compare to the underdog’s score
  OR
  
• Adding the point spread to the underdog’s score (thus the plus sign before the number) and then compare to the favorite’s score

  Who Really “Won” the Super Bowl odds ?

  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.

Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value

If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture.  Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).

For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot.  The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.

TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the  drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.

"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,'  it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."

"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.

Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash.  Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win. 

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.