Betting Systems - Bad Teams Part I

Sports betting is not as easy as it seems. Las Vegas casinos and hotels were not built on gamblers’ winnings, and as such, sportsbooks would not be in business if the gamblers they attended to always won. In this sense, the author highly suggests to not bet against bad teams simply because they are ‘bad’. Oddsmakers know more about teams, more so than most coaches know their own team. But, as this article will show, betting against bad teams in the right situations can be a profitable bet, if done properly.

In general, the public masses love to bet on the hot, new flashy team that scores points; vice-versa, they love to bet against the bad, ugly offensive teams. As the author earlier stated, oddsmakers take this account when they base their lines. In the National Football League (NFL), betting on bad teams and against the public is a very profitable betting strategy. Since the NFL is the king of all sports betting, the betting public often dictates such lines. Oddsmakers love the NFL season, for they often show profits at season’s end. The culmination of the NFL season is the Super Bowl, and not surprisingly, such an event is the biggest betting event of the entire year. Public money pours into this event, and as such the line is often not the ‘true’ power line between the two teams. In short, it is generally a good idea to bet against the public money in NFL games.

Another situation in which to bet on bad teams occurs in national spotlight games. Such games offer a bad team to ‘shine’; and often times, such teams rise up to the occasion (and consequently cover). Coaches also use this big underdog situation to motivate his team. Imagine being told you are a double-digit underdog to professional football players. Not only will this motivate them to play their best, but they will also enjoy the role of spoiler if they in fact win the game.

In our next article, the author will delve into the situations whereby one can bet against bad teams and the rationale behind it.