When the national rankings were adjusted once again to open the week, it was no surprise to see the Ohio State Buckeyes back in the top spot. Consecutive wins over Illinois and Indiana was enough to bolster the Buckeyes, and if they can close out the year with wins at Penn State and home to No. 10 Wisconsin, Ohio State will close out a regular season sweep. The Buckeyes lead the No. 6 Purdue Boilermakers by just one game in the Big Ten standings, and that makes the finale against the Badgers even more crucial, especially considering that Wisconsin was responsible for one of the Buckeyes’ two college basketball betting losses this year. However, Ohio State seems to have finally shaken off their tough stretch that saw them lose two of the three, and now the focus becomes even broader.

The Buckeyes will likely clinch the Big Ten title and the top spot for the national title tournament. It’s no betonline com scam, but the top seed has long been considered a jinx for potential champions, if any team is strong enough to overcome those online sports betting odds, it should be Ohio State. With leading scorer Jared Sullinger averaging an incredible 17.4 points per game and 9.8 rebounds, the Buckeyes have a superstar to rally around, with William Bufford providing the perfect compliment. The bench is deep, and Ohio State has shot an incredible 49-percent from the field, the third best mark in the country. The top seed may be a jinx, but that doesn’t make the Buckeyes any less of a threat heading in to the madness.

Poker and sports betting are two popular entertainment pastimes with little in common on the surface. However, some similarities and comparisons can be drawn. Here are a few characteristics that poker and sports betting share.

Both Poker and Sports Betting Can Be Enjoyed Online

Both poker and sports betting lend themselves to online action. The combination of the Internet and poker or sports betting is particularly nice because it brings these gaming options to those who might not otherwise have access to them, because there is no sportsbook or casino in their area. It also allows players to see quickly and easily the bets that they want to make and can make note taking and money management easier.

Both Poker and Sports Betting Involve Risk

Obviously, both poker and sports betting are types of gambling. You risk a certain amount for the shot at a commensurate reward. The trick in both poker and sports betting, and in fact in any kind of gambling, is to make sure that you have an edge, so that the results are not quite as random for you as they are for others. In this way, even if you lose in the short term, you can come out ahead in the end.

Both Poker and Sports Betting Are Stimulating

There’s a good reason why millions of people flock to poker rooms and sportsbooks every year, whether they win or they lose. It’s exciting. The idea of instantly winning money as a result of your own (hopefully correct) decisions is a thrilling one. The adrenaline rush from watching or participating in an event with serious money on the line is difficult to compare. This is one of the great things about poker and sports betting, but it is also one of the most dangerous. If you have an addictive personality, you need to be very careful about how much time you devote to poker or betting on sports. It’s a good idea to participate in these activities with a level headed friend, who can keep you grounded and on track if you should start to go astray.

Many online sports betting fans are new to the sport of mixed martial arts, so we’re going to briefly run down everything you need to know to turn your weekend penchant for elite level violence into a fun way to line your pockets.

The first thing you have to understand about mixed martial arts is it is crazy unpredictable. Anything can happen on any given night. And it does.

With that in mind, betting favorites in MMA is risky. It is generally not a sound investment to bet favorites in MMA unless you’re really sure, or you just have some connection to a particular fighter.

Betting underdogs, on the other hand, can be a very wise move. Even if you’re unsure about a particular fighter’s ability to get it done in a fight, an attractive enough line can warrant a small bet. These are called value bets. A skewed line can ensure a small bet pays off serious dividends, and if the fight goes down as anticipated, your losses aren’t significant. This is where it pays to know the fighters, know their styles, and know how they match up. If you’ve never seen a fighter before, and you’re curious about breaking down their style, youtube is your friend.

MMA odds are presented as betting lines. Let’s say in the main event for UFC 124, GSP is a heavy favorite. The fictional line for GSP going into the bout is -300. That means, a winning bet of $100 will win you your original $100 back, as well as $300 in winnings. The fictional betting line for his opponent, Josh Koscheck could be +200. That means, a winning bet of $200 on Kos will get you your original $200 back, plus another $100.

As a new bettor one your goals when betting on sports should be to find value. Value is defined as a deal that separates you from the rest of the crowd. Meaning to say when sports betting on your favorite team prior to a game, you could find a line that offers your team at a -105 instead of a -125. In this example you are finding value by risking 20 cents less for the same game.

When betting the underdog in sports, finding value is especially important. The biggest bet which allows you to find at least a little bit of value is on the money line. Here, bettors are asked to risk more for the team that is deemed as the favorite while getting back less. For an underdog, the roles are reversed and bettors are required to risk less to get back more.

For instance, you take a team at +280 over 10 games. Now if you realize that this underdog at +280 is likely to win 40 percent of their games, you would be finding value, because although they will likely lose 60 percent of the games, you can show a profit at the end of the day. To make this idea more clear, we would risk $100 to win $280, we’ll likely lose the $100 six out of the 10 times. However, with the four victories we should end up showing a profit of $280 by the end of the 10 games.

Value tends to come from rather high odds whether you are betting on the favorite or the underdog. When considering value, it is important to research other factors that may appear in the money line. Such as how well a pitcher plays against a certain team.

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 Northbet.com 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.