When making the move to the Internet to switch from traditional betting to online sports betting, players that take the time to find the best sports books available will more than likely benefit by finding the best services. The difference between the sports books available usually comes down to the different promotions offered by the source, with different websites offering things like rewards, cash back, and the best possible odds available.

One sports book that capitalizes on these promotional aspects as good or better than other sites from which players can bet on baseball is Pinnacle Sports, the online destination that does what it can to make sure its service is more rewarding than the others. Promotions at Pinnacle Sports include offering up to 60% better odds for all players that sign up to use their services. Their website raves about how their low margin online betting markets offer better value than the traditional one-time bonuses that most other sites offer to their members. In addition, Pinnacle Sports also offers an online casino option, for which players who venture to that area of the site get a 0.3% Cash Back Rewards offer simply by playing any of the games offered, which range from poker, to black jack, to roulette. Players can earn VIP points by participating in these games, which give them even more added bonuses, while those that have the most success in the casino can be selected for even bigger casino tournaments.

Whether you are a new or experienced sports bettor, 5Dimes is the place for all of your sports betting needs. For the North American betting enthusiast looking for an online sportsbook to play with, 5Dimes is the one for you, as they are one of a handful of sites currently accepting North Americans. Whether you are looking for competitive lines and promotions or customer support for all of your inquiries, 5Dimes is the best sportsbook for you and you should sign up right away. Below is some further detail on why 5Dimes competitive lines and customer support are two of its biggest draws.

1. Competitive Lines - Ever since it was created in 1999, 5Dimes has been one of the premier sportsbooks when it comes to competitive lines. Not only does 5Dimes offer great nickel and dime lines for all your sports wagering needs, it also offers overnight lines used by many other sportsbooks. 5Dimes is the first place the experienced baseball bettor goes for overnight lines, as they are posted at exactly 11 pm nightly. As well, by eight AM the next morning, bettors wagering on the overnight nickel lines, can add a dime line bet to their original overnight line.

2. Customer Service - 5Dimes offers both email and telephone support for all its customers. On many other sites patrons will receive one or the other, and may not always get the best service. Nevertheless, whether you are a new or experienced patron of the site, the customer support team at 5Dimes makes you feel important. Along with support when its patrons have difficulty with the website, 5Dimes is able to assist in placing bets via telephone. How many times have you been at a bar with friends watching a game and thought, “gee I would really like to place a bet on this game”? Well, with 5Dimes not only can you call them to place a bet on the game, you can also establish your wager on the game within seconds. 

NBA betting players have had one eye on the NBA Finals, and one eye on the free-agent sweepstakes of Summer 2010, and business may be about to pick up if Cleveland has anything to say about it. This brewing free agnecy battle for Labron looks to be more fierce than the upcoming UFC 116 betting fight card.

The Cavaliers are apparently getting closer to coaxing Tom Izzo into leaving the comfortable confines of Michigan State for a chance at the pros.  The Cavaliers fired Mike Brown on May 24^th, and now they’re on the hunt for his successor, likely to try and keep LeBron James in town.  Izzo is a highly decorated coach who has been at Michigan State since 1983, and he was promoted to the head role in 1995, where he has been ever since.  His list of accomplishments is outstanding: one national title, six Final Four appearances, two Big Ten titles, a number of pro players, and the Spartans have made the NCAA Tournament every year since 1998.  He’s one of the most respected coaches in all of college basketball, and he’s a beloved figure in the East Lansing community (it also helps that Izzo is form Michigan as well).

Can he succeed?  It’ll be interesting to see if Izzo, who has been known to be a leader of men, can transfer that to the NBA, if he does decide to take the job in Cleveland.  The Cavaliers may even be looking in the right place, as Cleveland is already solid defensively, but they’re lacking badly in the offensive department, which right now consists of “give it to LeBron and make your open shots”.  If we were to place bets online, Izzo will be at Michigan State this upcoming season.

World Cup betting players don’t have to deal with free agency, and even if they did, it’s arguable that they wouldn’t have a class like the NBA will have this summer when LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and others will be on the market.

Wade said that he would speaking to James, as well as Joe Johnson, before making his decision, and this is similar to the conversations that led to this point between James, Wade, Chris Bosh and Carmelo Anthony, who decided to sign three-year contracts so they could test the market (Anthony has since signed an extension).  James and Wade on the same team would be epic, but with both being used to being the alpha dog on their team, and still being in the prime of their careers, it’s tough to see something like that working.

This is where the likes of Johnson and Bosh will come into play.  These two are very good All-Star players, but the consensus is that you’re not going to win a championship with either as your No.1 guy.  So essentially, it seems like Wade is lobbying for Johnson to be his wingman, which would be good as his outside shooting would stretch the defense for Wade.  Bosh, on the other hand, has already said that he would be waiting to see what the top dogs do.

This is shaping up to be the most interesting summer in NBA history, and whoever the big winner is, they can expect to see their sports betting odds improve significantly.

While World Cup betting gets underway in a couple of weeks and football betting tips will be the main story once it does, there is still a lot going on the sports betting world, like the Champions League final, NHL and NBA playoff betting and a pair of big MLB series.

Champions League Final Betting

Champions League final betting odds (Saturday, 2:45 PM ET) have Inter Milan as a +130 favorite at Madrid’s venerable Santiago Bernabeu, while Bayern Munich is listed at +215, which is the same as a draw.  Inter were the champions of Italy, while winning the Italian cup, while Bayern pulled off the same accomplishments in Germany.  Dutch fans will have an extra interest in this match as Wesley Sneijder (Inter), Arjen Robben (Bayern) and Mark van Bommel will all play important roles.  It’s not quite French Open betting, where Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal are slated to go head-to-head, but this will be an intriguing sport betting match.

NBA Championship Betting

Celtics Magic betting odds (Saturday, 8:30 PM ET) are backing the Celtics by 3.5 points at home after winning the first two games of the Eastern Conference finals in Orlando, but they’re playing a very good road team in the Magic, who have won five of their last seven trips to Beantown.

Suns Lakers betting odds (Sunday, 8:30 PM ET) favor the Suns by three points in the desert, where the Lakers have won three of their last five.  The Lakers hold a solid 2-0 edge over the Suns in the Western Conference final, and Phoenix is going to have to step on defense as the Lakers hit 57.8% of their shots in the first two games at the Staples Center.

Stanley Cup Betting

Blackhawks Sharks betting (Friday, 8:00 PM ET; Sunday, 3:00 PM ET) will move to the Windy City for Games 3 and 4, and the Blackhawks are a -145 favorite at the United Center on Friday night.  The Blackhawks will be out to take a 3-0 strangehold on the series.

Flyers Canadiens betting odds (Saturday, 3:00 PM ET) are favoring Montreal at -145 at the Bell Center after their 5-1 win in Game 3, but the Flyers should be awake now after winning the first two games by a combined 9-0 score.

MLB Odds

If you’re going to be looking at MLB sports betting odds, take a look at the under for Yankees Mets betting (Sunday, 8:05 PM ET) in their Subway Series finale, as C.C. Sabathia will head to the mound at Citi Field to take on two-time Cy Young winner Johan Santana.

With the Flyers out of town, Red Sox Phillies betting (Sunday, 1:35 PM ET) should take center stage, and Boston will face an old nemesis as they clash with Roy Halladay, who has dominated since moving to Philly.  The Red Sox will counter with Tim Wakefield, but the Phillies will be favored at home if you’re going to bet on sports.

On another note, how excited are you that the college football betting guide is coming out this weekend so we can shift our focus to the pigskin?

Oops! They Did It Again - Montreal Wins

First it was the President’s Trophy winners. Now, they knock out the Stanley Cup champions. What are the Canadiens drinking? Someone obviously forgot to tell them that they were supposed to lose in the first round in five games. Those betting on the Canadiens in the first two rounds made a killing.

Now, the Canadiens will face either Boston or Philadelphia in the conference finals. Both teams are grittier, but less talented than the two opponents that Montreal has knocked out. Overcoming the physical play in the next round will not be easy for the smaller Canadiens, but if they can do it, they will be on their way to the Stanley Cup finals. What a story.

Lucky Number Seven

There is a chance for history to be made on Friday. The Philadelphia Flyers can become only the third NHL team in history to overcome a three game deficit in the playoffs to win the series. This will be a highly unlikely comeback in a series that looked like it will end with a sweep. Boston is the NHL online betting favorite going into the game, but so were the Penguins. The truth is, anything can happen in a game seven. The fate of the entire season rests on a 60 minute or so performance and some luck. This is not a game to miss.

International Tournament Injuries And The NHL

Steven Stamkos may have suffered a concussion at the IIHF World Hockey Championship tournament. This, once again, brings us back to international competitions and NHL contracts discussion. As has been debated numerous times, the NHL feels that allowing players to participate in international competitions raises their chances of getting injured in games that are not part of their multi-million dollar contracts. Even with injury insurance, the NHL team risks losing a leading star player for the duration of the injury. The IIHF tournament is less of a problem because it takes place at the end of the NHL season, where only players of knocked out teams will participate. However, the Olympic tournament is the real concern, where a major injury can sideline a star player for the remainder of the season. It is still a while to the next winter Olympics, but the debate will continue.

SHOPPING AT DIFFERENT SPORTSBOOKS FOR VALUE

Most of the betting public becomes comfortable with just one sportsbook, but my advice to you is not to. I am no different in wanting to be comfortable with just one book but sometimes shopping around can net some good value. Let’s say that during the NFL season your book offered Dallas at -5.5 -1.10 and you found another book that offered the same game at -5 -1.07, would that be enough to make you switch books? Probably not, but what if you found that three games were different and you were getting a half point and three cents on all three games? Would you not be inclined to parlay those games as your chances of winning increase with each half point and your payout grows due to the lower juice. I tend to shop when playing parlays for that very reason. You can find the best value in sportsbooks by reading any sportsbook review.

MARTINGALE SYSTEM VERSUS THE PARLAY

One of the best values out there has to be the Martingale system over the parlay. You can only apply the Martingale if all the games in your parlay are being played at different times. For instance, if you had a three team parlay in the NCAA tourney the Martingale would be of great value. Let’s say you wagered a $100 on a three teamer in the tourney. Three teamers usually pay about six-to-one, so a $100 wager would net you $600 if it hits. The Martingale system would provide you with much more value. To apply the system you would wager your original $100 on the first game in the parlay. If it’s a winner you now have $200. Take that $200 and wager it on the second game in the parlay. A winner in the second game gives you a total of $400. Place the $400 on the third game and if that wins you have just turned your original $100 into $800 using the Martingale as opposed to the $600 you would have made via the parlay. A $200 difference is a monster value.

1) Ole Miss Rebels

Vital Statistics as of 2/15

Record: 17-7 (5-5 Southeastern Conference)

RPI Rating: 48

Strength of Schedule Rating: 59

Current Record vs. RPI Top 50: 1-4

Record vs. RPI Top 100: 5-6

Best Wins: vs. Kansas State (neutral court), vs. UTEP (neutral court)

Worst Loss: vs. Arkansas (home)

SUMMARY: Coach Andy Kennedy’s ballclub is squarely on the bubble. The Rebels do have the kinds of non-conference scalps that will come in handy on Selection Sunday, but in a season when the SEC West hasn’t fared well at all, Ole Miss has produced only five wins in its first 10 conference games.

2) California Golden Bears

Vital Stats (2/15)

Record: 17-8 (9-4 Pacific 10)

RPI: 24

Strength of Schedule: 1

Current Record vs. RPI Top 50: 0-4

Record vs. RPI Top 100: 4-7

Best Wins: USC (home court), Washington (home)

Worst Loss: vs. UCLA (home)

SUMMARY: Coach Mike Montgomery’s team represents a fascinating challenge for the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee. The Pac-10 has been so lousy this season that the league might get only one at-large team into the NCAAs. Cal is that team, but the Bears would like to win the upcoming Pac-10 Tournament in Los Angeles so that they don’t have to sweat on Selection Sunday. If they are forced to sit in the at-large pool, the Bears might drown.

3) UTEP Miners

Vital Stats (2/15)

Record: 19-5 (10-1 Conference USA)

RPI: 56

Strength of Schedule: 143

Current Record vs. RPI Top 50: 1-3

Record vs. RPI Top 100: 5-4

Best Wins: at UAB, at Memphis

Worst Loss: New Mexico State (home)

Sports Betting SUMMARY: UTEP came close to beating Ole Miss in the non-conference portion of its season, and a league championship will certainly help the Miners if they have to sweat out the selection process, but it’s important that this team avoid bad losses in the coming weeks.

As the betting on Super Bowl 2010 odds heats up, the bookmakers are wondering if Peyton Manning and the Colts can win their second Super Bowl of the decade. Manning has an uphill climb, but he also may be able to exploit a Saints secondary that makes gambles of their own.

The Saints secondary is great at taking the ball away from the opposing offense. They intercepted the ball 26 times in the regular season and 3 times in the playoffs. But facing interception-prone QBs such as Brett Favre can help to boost the stats of any secondary. Peyton Manning is a dynamic and precision passer who only throws an average of one pick a game. They may get to Manning, but they will be hard-pressed to get him to make any mistakes.

On the Saints side of the ball, you have to wonder if guys like Reggie Bush and Jeremy Shockey are ready for this kind of spotlight. Last year Bush disappeared in the offense when Deuce McAllister was injured and Bush was called on to carry the load. Reggie Bush does not carry the load in New Orleans anymore, but it will be interesting to see how he responds to pressure.

Jeremy Shockey’s history of being a less than helpful teammate may rear its ugly head again in this pressure situation. There is nothing higher for a football player than the Super Bowl, and Shockey has shown glimpses of cracking under much less pressure in the past.

Super Bowl XLIV will be a shoot-out between Peyton Manning and Drew Brees. While there is no questioning the leadership of Drew Brees, there is a very good chance that Peyton Manning has been grooming his young receivers for this moment all season long. When Peyton Manning wants something, he usually goes out and gets it.

Pick: Colts 21-17