Considering Days Rest
When betting on teams, one has to consider that one is also betting on individuals. Aside from statistics and current trends and angles, one must also realize the importance of rest. For example, if a team is playing 5 games in the past 6 days, then such a team will not be to their potential when they are playing that 5th game. It is very hard physically and mentally to play a game when one is tired, thus looking at the amount of days rest is a critical angle to look at when betting on sports games.
In the National Basketball Association (NBA), the amount of days rest is rather crucial. Even the very best teams lose some of their ‘greatness’ when they play back-to-back games (games where they have zero days rest). This angle even becomes stronger when such a team is traveling; even still stronger if such a team is going from a road game to another road game. There are physical and psychological factors at play when one uses this angle.
Primarily, it is an issue of fatigue. Players, even the professional ones, amazingly do get tired. When the body is subjected to lack of rest, such conditions limit and hinder the body’s potential. Hence, little rest equals hindered potential. In handicapping games, one can use this ‘rest angle’ in determining one’s plays—one does not obviously want to play on a team that is tired. In the NBA specifically, teams who have zero days rest perform horribly on their second game. Except for a few select teams, which the sports gambler should identify during the season, teams generally do lose the second leg of a back-to-back. Teams who are on the road for that second game are even still worse.
In Major League Baseball (MLB), zero days rest is very common. Often, teams play two, three, and sometimes even four games in a row before they can have rest (one game a day, not including double-headers). So, in this instance, one has to combine the travel angle in junction with days rest to determine plays. A strong angle that has been working pretty successful in the past couple of years in the MLB is to go for a home team in game one that has been resting for a while at home (playing its 3rd home game series) and is currently playing a road-weary opponent (playing its 3rd road game series). The visiting team has an unfair disadvantage of lack of rest, while the home standing team has a great edge. One can also modify this angle to go for and against certain teams (go for rested home teams and go against unrested visiting teams). This angle works best for the first game of a series.
In summary, one has to consider days rest when gambles on sports.