LVASports.com handicapper Fezzik responds:
Good handicapping refers to having an ability to set lines that are sharper than the marketplace on select games. When a good handicapper's "number" (for a game's pointspread) differs from what's being dealt by a significant margin, he fires away. Simple! However, it's by no means easy.
Strong handicapping requires not only the skill and knowledge to create accurate power ratings, but also an ability to take into consideration intangibles, such as motivation, scheduling spots, team match-ups, and much more. The different techniques are known as "fundamental" and "situational" handicapping, but neither is necessarily good enough by itself. Here's an example. The horrible Rams play the Packers at Green Bay this Sunday. The situational handicapper, knowing winless teams off byes historically are dynamite against the spread, will play this trend and land on the Rams +14.5. The fundamental handicapper, however, will land on GB -14.5, as pure power ratings make the Packers more like a 16.5-point favorite. The complete handicapper will come up with a line in the 14- to 14.5-point range and pass the game.
The good bettor may or may not know all the techniques outlined above. The best bettors certainly will know some or most of them, but there are good winning bettors that may not know any of it. A good bettor takes advantage of favorable wagering techniques to win at sports betting. For example, he might attack this game by playing a correlated parlay (favorite to over, dog to under). The sharpest will likely try to play a first-half (or second-half) correlated parlay. Many books limit action on these types of plays, however. Further, the sharp bettor will notice that the first-half total line is sitting right on the big key number 24, while the side is on the dead number of 9. Then he'll do his best to search out an over 23.5 or under 24.5 on the total, while not wasting much time on the first-half side, as 8.5, 9, and 9.5 are all worth about the same. So a good bettor might find 9 and 23.5 on the 1st half, and get in a bet -9 parlayed with OVER 23.5.
The good bettor might not be able to name a single player on either team. He doesn't have to, because he's counting on the market to be efficient, meaning that the "market numbers" are pretty much right on the games. The good bettor knows that if he keeps making solid bets like this, he's going to get the money in the long run.
