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07/27/2010 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jose Bautista went 4-for-4 with a pair of home runs and knocked in five, as the Toronto Blue Jays downed the Baltimore Orioles, 8-2, in the second of a three-game series at Rogers Centre.
Vernon Wells chipped in with a two-run double for the Blue Jays, who extended their winning streak to 11 straight over the Orioles and have won four of the last five overall. Fred Lewis and Yunel Escobar each finished with three hits.
Ricky Romero (8-7) earned the win after working 7 2/3 quality innings. The left-hander, who beat the Orioles for the third time this season, allowed two runs on nine hits and one walk with eight strikeouts.
<< No Strasburg, no problem: Nationals shut out Braves
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miguel Batista, thrust into emergency duty
after the late scratch to phenom Stephen Strasburg, hurled five scoreless
frames as Washington downed Atlanta, 3-0, in the first of three games at
Nationa
<< Broncos sign draft picks Beadles, Decker
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Broncos came to terms with their
second and third-round draft picks, offensive lineman Zane Beadles and wide
receiver Eric Decker, the team announced on Tuesday.
Terms of the deals were not di
<< Caps sign Fleischmann for one year
Arlington, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals inked forward Tomas
Fleischmann to a one-year contract on Tuesday.
The 26-year-old native of the Czech Republic notched career-highs with 23
goals, 28 assists and 51 points in
<< Big Hurt returns to White Sox as team ambassador
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time American League MVP Frank Thomas, who
announced his retirement last winter, will rejoin the Chicago White Sox as a
team ambassador.
Thomas, who played 19 seasons in the majors, will have his un
Mets return home, rock Wainwright and Cards >>
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Francoeur and Jose Reyes each homered as
the New York Mets made a successful return to Citi Field by roughing up Adam
Wainwright and the Cardinals, 8-2, in the opener of a three-game series.
The Mets
White Sox rout Mariners, Floyd strong again in victory >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alexei Ramirez, Paul Konerko and Andruw Jones
each homered, and Gavin Floyd threw seven scoreless frames for Chicago en
route to an 11-0 annihilation of Seattle in the second meeting of a four-game
series.
Tomlin wins in major league debut for Indians >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Tomlin pitched into the eighth inning
in his major league debut and bested former Indians ace CC Sabathia in a 4-1
Indians win against the Yankees.
Tomlin was recalled from Triple-A Columbus Tues
Phillies use long ball vs. D'Backs to stay hot >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Howard finished 2-for-4 with a two-
run homer, three RBI and two runs scored as Philadelphia rallied past Arizona,
9-5, in the opener of a three-game series at Citizens Bank Park.
Cody Ransom and
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.
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