Betting Systems - Travel

In sports betting, there are many angles to consider when choosing a particular side. Travel is perhaps one of the most underrated angles used in sports handicapping. As such, oddsmakers do not readily adjust their lines drastically. In all, if the astute handicapper chooses his spots aptly, one should be able to net a nice profit in the long run.

There are several travel angles to consider when placing a bet. On such example is going against a team at home if such a team has just returned from a long road trip (greater than 5 games). This situation only really applies to the NBA (National Basketball Association) and the MLB (Major League Baseball). Teams in such situations often are caught off guard and do not perform to their potential. In the NBA for example, if a Western team is on an 8 game Eastern road trip and finally returns home, such a team’s first game at home might be a little off. There are psychological, physical, and social factor at play here: primarily, such a long road trip may affect some players’ comfort level. Secondly, fatigue from such a long trip finally surfaces a few days after returning home. And thirdly, players are human also—they might have missed their family and friends during their long road trip—thus adding to the “unimportance” of their first home game back home.

Another angle to consider is zero days rest in conjunction with a long road trip, or a home game sandwiched between road games. Such situations are often taxing and often results in poor game performances. Zero days rest will be discussed in detail in another article, but in summary, such a situation is quite profitable in the NBA (although oddsmakers have recently began to overcompensate for this angle). Basically, it is in the best interest of the sports bettor to go against teams who are playing their second leg of a back-to-back schedule. Sandwich games are also tough for teams. As the name implies, such situations arise when a team plays a home game between road games. Teams often feel this home game as just another road game. Players attest that these types of games are the worst. They cannot hang out with family and friends, for they must return to the road, often right after there home game.

In closing, traveling is a great handicapping angle to consider when betting on sports. If used properly, one may be just able to beat the books in their own game.