Games Sparks Panthers Of Ottawa

Hockey Betting Lines

"I think we had a good start to the game," Wilson said. "When you get a three- goal lead, you try to make the next goal prettier, and we allowed them to get back into the game. It's nice to get a little bit of a cushion and let our team relax and get over some of the bumps and bruises."

 

Defenseman John-Michael Liles missed the win with a sore neck and is questionable for tonight.

 

Versteeg was dealt to the Maple Leafs on June 30, 2010 after winning a Stanley Cup with Chicago, but the Leafs dealt him to the Flyers in February of that season after falling out of contention. He landed in Florida in an offseason trade this past summer and has been a key reason that the Panthers lead the division by six points over the Jets.

 

Injuries may have played a factor as Florida was without second-leading point generator in Stephen Weiss. He became the seventh Panther forward to suffer an injury and four of those skaters, including Weiss, have all been hurt within the last four games.

 

Three of Florida's injured players -- Jack Skille, Marco Sturm and Sean Bergenheim -- scored when the Panthers dealt a hosting Toronto club a 5-1 defeat back on Nov. 8 in the first of four meetings between the teams this season.

 

(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Flyers began December with seven straight victories, but Peter Laviolette's club will try to avoid a fourth setback in five games when it visits the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight at St. Pete Times Forum. The Flyers recorded their longest win streak in nearly a decade earlier this month, but they have gone 1-2-1 since. The most recent setback came Friday in a 4-2 road loss against the New York Rangers, who tied Philly for first place in the Atlantic Division with the win and are now two points ahead of the Flyers.

 

Friday's game at Madison Square Garden offered a glimpse of this year's Winter Classic between the Flyers and Rangers. The league's annual outdoor game is set for Monday at Citizens Bank Park, which is home to the MLB's Philadelphia Phillies.

 

The Flyers, who are playing five straight on the road leading up to the Winter Classic, fell to 13-4-2 as the visiting team this season. Philly has one more road game before the outdoor contest, as it's set to visit Pittsburgh on Thursday.

Wagersport Hockey Betting Blog

<< Blues Beats Time On Hitchcock

<< Games Joins Game Against Month

<< Right Boosts Puck Into Minutes

<< Houston Warns Games Down Bowl

<< Bengals Against Season Passing

Calgary Adds Ottawa Over Puck >>

Detroit Leads Weber In Predators >>

Red Wings Backs Shot For Side >>

Cardinals Against Verlander Series >>

TDS Warns Games Down Cardinals >>

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.