The playoffs in the NFL differ greatly from the other three major North American sports, for the simple reason, that the playoffs are single elimination. What takes roughly two months to determine a champion in basketball, baseball in hockey, only takes a month in football. What’s more, placing your bets at the start of the playoffs can net you a bigger return, then if you jump on the bandwagon at the start of the Super Bowl. In other words, the odds alter from 12 to one for a long shot, to two to one. Meaning to say, if you are a New York Giants fan, and you took the Giants at the start of the playoffs, you can be paid higher, then if you took them this week, where they a two to one underdog to win the Super Bowl.

Betting on the NFL playoffs also provides the bettor with excellent value. In essence, because there is an increase in the volume of traffic from sportsbook to sportsbook, some shops may offer lower value then others. For this reason, you could take the Giants at 30 to one to win the Super Bowl, instead of 10 to one. Meaning, that if the Giants win the Super Bowl, a $100 wager turns into $30000 instead of $1000.

Understanding key numbers can indicate to you what a bookie is attempting to do with a spread. For instance, despite knocking off the Pittsburgh Steelers in overtime 29 – 23 and covering the eight and a half point spread, the Denver Broncos opened up against the New England Patriots, as a 14 point underdog. While Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow receives all of the credit for the Broncos success, the truth is, the Broncos defense is too good to lose by 14 points to the New England Patriots. The last time the two teams met, the Patriots won the game 41 – 28, which were 13 points, and one under what the spread is.

When looking at what the bookies are trying to do, they are seeing if fans and handicappers alike, will both bite on such a high number. The Patriots are a really good team, but with the momentum from a huge victory on the Broncos side, can we really believe they’ll lose by 14 points? With such a high point spread, the bookies are expecting to receive a balanced amount of money on the line for the game.

When it comes down to sports betting, far too often new players are quick to jump right in to the action without taking the time to understand how the games are being played. While they may have a wealth of knowledge in a certain area or the other, it can sometimes not be enough, and it is important to always understand sports odds whether it has to do with the NFL or any other sport.

The first step is identifying the type of line that you are looking at, as it could be anything from a spread to the money line, and figure out what the value of that bet should be. From there, take the time to understand what a potential win would pay compared to a loss, and try to justify whether or not that payout is good enough to take the risk. The next step involved identifying the favorite, but not so much in a literal sense as it is meant in a figurative sense. The pay head bookies will manipulate the numbers in order to make the most money and avoid losing more than they make, so pay attention to whether or not teams should actually be considered favorites or underdogs, and bet accordingly. Sports betting will never be an exact science, but understanding the sports odds are the first key to success. The window could sometimes close fact, but learning the basic rules is very simple.

The term money management is used to depict your ability to create a budget and stick to it while wagering on your favorite teams or casino game. One of the main reasons why people end up in gamblers anonymous is because they are addicted to odds and thus do irrational things. For example, many people have lost their house, because they have doubled up on an NFL game, they had no business doubling up on. Conversely, some of the most successful bettors have hardly placed any bets, because they have set out a budget and stuck to it.

When establishing your budget, the trick is to use a small amount of the extra money you have, after paying bills for essential services. What we like to do is break down every bill, and then if there is money left over, donate five percent to our betting fund for the week. Then, within the betting fund, we break the money down into another five percent and play within that five percent until we are out of money.

In order to play within the five percent, your goal is to take 0.10 percent and place it on a game. If you win the game, you take the winnings from that 0.10 percent and put it back in your budget. Then, you put another 0.10 percent down on the next bet on your list. By the end of the night you should have enough of a pool in your budget from the winning wagers.

Entering the National Title Game, LSU continues to hold the edge on Alabama, as not only have they beat them once this season already, but they are also the only undefeated team in the entire NCAA. The Tigers and Crimson Tide showed fans and media alike, that they own the best defenses in the entire league. As we saw in the grueling nine to six victory for LSU, if you can get the ball over the 50-yard line, then you belong in the NFL.

In the rematch between these two historic clubs, fans and bookies alike, are anticipating a higher scoring affair then the first game. Essentially, now that each team knows what works and what doesn’t against their opponent, expect more explosive offensive plays. For example, in the first game, there were as many dropped balls by LSU receivers then there were good defensive plays. With the nerves out of their system, expect LSU to be more comfortable when they play Alabama the second time around.

On the other side of things, the Alabama will be looking to silence their critics across the country. Many people believe that the Crimson Tide will be playing with a chip on their shoulder, as the they want to show that despite not playing in the SEC title game, they very much deserve to be playing for a National Title.

Jon Jones is considered by many fans and analysts alike to be as good if not better then the UFC’s two other poster boys, Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva and Welterweight Champion GSP. In fact, many fans are hoping that the world’s top MMA promotion somehow figures out a way to convince Middleweight Champion Silva to move up in class to take on the winner of Jons and Machida at bookie software event UFC 140 in 10 days time.

All of the hype surrounding Jon Jones meteoric rise is similar to that of his upcoming challenger Lyoto Machida. It was only a couple of years ago, that Machida was the Champion, and everyone was led to believe that he would be the champion forever. However, when Machida lost his title to Shogun almost two years ago, everyone and their uncle basically forgot he was still in the division. While Shogun would lose to Jones in his only title defense, Machida never really got a chance to become that contender or go to guy until this current fight. As a result, it seems highly unlikely, that Machida stands a chance against the current champion Jones.

But then again, while we all believe Jones will defeat Machida on talent alone, didn’t we say the same thing about Cain Velazquez against Junior Dos Santos three weeks ago? If you recall in that fight, Junior destroyed Cain. Can Machida shock the world by defeating Jones?

Dan Henderson and Shogun Rua each enter this Saturday’s matchup with a ton to prove. Henderson wants to prove, that despite being in his 40s, he can still hang with the younger fighters in the division, such as the current champion Jon Jones. Meanwhile, Shogun wants to show that his quick defeat to Jones at UFC 128 was jut ring rust, and not the fighter we can expect from now on.

On paper, this fight features two excellent grapplers that can either draw out the fight or end it quickly. For the sake of the bookie software odds, taking this fight to go the limit is unlikely. In each fighter’s last fights, they ended their opponents in the first round. Theoretically, both Henderson and Shogun will go into this fight in better shape then they have been in their entire careers. For this reason, we feel that Shogun will be able to end the fight in the second or third round by knockout.

The other big fight on the card is Wanderlei Axe Murderer Silva taking on California’s own Cung Le. Le a former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion is a fan favorite of sorts, as at 39 years old, he boats one of the most impressive records in the octagon. Conversely, Silva continues to receive big ticket slots on fight cards although his results are mediocre at best. If Cung Le makes short work of Silva, as we expect him too, look for Silva to be finding a different promotion to fight with.

Mike Repole will be a busy many Saturday, as he enters not one but two colts into the Breeders Cup Classic. On the one hand, Repole will be submitting unofficial horse of the year Uncle Mo into the race, the colt’s biggest, after missing the Triple Crown. On the other hand, Repole will also be entering Stay Thirsty, who in recent months has added itself to the Three Year Old Eclipse Award conversation. Stay Thirsty surprisingly enough, will be entering the race as a 12 to one dog, despite running in more races then Uncle Mo. Uncle Mo, will be running with odds of seven to two despite missing 85 percent of the season due to illness.

However, while NHL fans have trouble deciding which one of Repole horses to bet upon, they won’t have much difficulty on which filly to choose from. Havre De Grace, the four year old filly sensation, will enter the Classic, with five to two odds at winning this year’s race. Havre De Grace similar to former rival Zenyatta has dominated the races for the past couple of seasons, mostly against all male fields. This season, Havre De Grace has gone five and one in six starts, with her lone loss being a second place finish by a nose.

UCLA Bruins At Arizona Wildcats – The lone Thursday night game, features two of the most underrated football programs in the country. The all PAC 12 matchup features the three and three UCLA Bruins travelling to Arizona to take on the one and five Arizona Wildcats. Both schools are known more for their basketball programs, however, it should be noted that UCLA has gone three and one against the spread this season. Meaning to say, despite being a four point dog to the Wildcats, look for the Bruins to not only cover the spread but win the game outright.

Oklahoma State Cowboys At Missouri Tigers – NFL fans looking for an underdog to cheer for, should look no further then the Oklahoma State Cowboys. In a conference that includes, Oklahoma and Texas, it is easy for hardcore handicappers to forget about the Cowboys. That was until last weekend, when they beat the Texas Longhorns by an impressive 12 points. The Cowboys are looking to build up the wins and showcase their defense in the next few weeks, before an eventual showdown with interstate rivals the Oklahoma Sooners. In theory, the Cowboys should be able to win against Missouri by more then two touchdowns.

Auburn Tigers At LSU Tigers – A Battle of the Tigers, has last year’s National Champion taking on who looks to be this year’s National Champion. LSU will be looking for revenge this weekend, as they have never lost to Auburn in back to back seasons, since 1999-2000.

UFC Betting – Saturday, 7:00 PM ET

Maynard (10-0-1, 1 NC) may be the biggest fighter in the 155-pound weight class, which he uses to “Bully” his opponents around the octagon (hence his nickname). Maynard isn’t the most technical striker you’d ever hope to see, but he packs a lot of power behind his punches and he almost ended his second fight with Edgar in the first round.

But Edgar (13-1-1) showed why he is rated highly among those who use price per head services as he not only survived Maynard’s first-round flurry, but he also fought back enough that some people felt he deserved the win. Edgar has shown a lot of will in his career and he never thinks he is out of a fight, even prior to his first upset win over former lightweight king B.J. Penn.

The champion comes in as a -150 favorite in this contest, and he’ll be cautious of the power of Maynard, who is listed at +120. Edgar has a more balanced attack and is adept at sticking to a gameplan, and this time, he’ll finally avenge the only loss of his MMA career. Bet on Frankie Edgar in your online wagering book.