Cabrera exits early against ChiSox
Baseball Betting Lines
09/07/2010 - Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit Tigers infielder Miguel Cabrera left Tuesday's game against the Chicago White Sox after the fifth inning with an undisclosed injury.
Entering Tuesday's action, Cabrera was batting .334 with 33 home runs and 110 RBI in 134 games. He is clearly in the running for the AL MVP award and is among the league leaders in those offensive categories.
Ryan Raburn replaced Cabrera in the lineup.
Renton, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Seahawks on Tuesday re-signed defensive back Jordan Babineaux. Babineaux, who was released by Seattle over the weekend, registered a career- high 105 tackles as the starting free safety last
<< Williams advances to the semifinals
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time champion Venus Williams
advanced to the semifinals of the U.S. Open Tuesday night with a 7-6 (7-5),
6-4 win over French Open champion Francesca Schiavone.
The third-seeded Williams, the las
<< Reds recall Volquez from Single-A Dayton
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds recalled pitcher Edinson
Volquez from Single-A Dayton so he could be a part of the team's pitching
staff down the stretch.
Volquez missed most of the season after Tommy John sur
<< Garcia leaves start early
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Freddy
Garcia left Tuesday's start against Detroit with what appeared to be a lower
body injury.
Garcia lasted two innings and allowed two runs on three hits.
The 3
<< Jets bring back FB Richardson
Florham Park, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Jets re-signed Tony
Richardson on Tuesday, just two days after releasing the veteran fullback.
He had re-signed with the team in March after blocking last season for the
NFL's t
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dillon Gee was sensational in his major league debut, carrying a no-hitter through five innings, as the New York Mets topped the Washington Nationals, 4-1. Gee (1-0) allowed just one run on two hit
Reimold, Jones help Orioles down Yanks >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nolan Reimold hit a two-run home run and Adam
Jones had a key two-run single to back the solid pitching of Jake Arrieta as
Baltimore stymied New York, 6-2, in the second of three meetings at Yankee
Stadium
Rangers continue slide, fall to Blue Jays >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vernon Wells went 3-for-3 with a pair of solo
homers and Adam Lind clubbed a two-run shot, as the Toronto Blue Jays defeated
the American League West-leading Texas Rangers, 8-5, in the second of a four-
game se
Tigers chew up White Sox >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Verlander pitched seven strong innings
to lead the Detroit Tigers to a 9-1 win over the Chicago White Sox in the
continuation of a four-game series.
Verlander (15-8) allowed one run on five hit
Giants activate Mota from DL >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco Giants activated relief
pitcher Guillermo Mota from the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday.
The right-hander had been out of action since August 23 with IT band
syndrome in his le
Sportsbooks to bet on football
Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.
He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.
"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.
He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.
Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.
Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.
Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.
Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.
With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.
Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).
And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)
The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.
While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.
Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.
One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.
Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.
What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.
That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.
MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.
"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.
"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."
So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.
In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.
MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.
The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.
Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.
MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.
To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.