It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

Sports betting news and information for bettors by bettors ...

Oct 20, 2022

Don't worry, I'm not going to start talking about Christmas already (I have too much respect for Halloween and Thanksgiving to do that). No, I'm talking about this weekend. What makes it so wonderful, you ask? The answer is as simple as who to bet on when Tennessee takes on UT Martin this weekend (if it were lined, anyway).

On the calendar, we have playoff baseball, college football, the NFL, NBA, NHL, Major League Soccer, the English Premier League, NASCAR, golf, and UFC 280 — there is something for everyone to bet on this weekend!

Pick an app: The best sports betting platforms on the market

Don't like betting on baseball? No problem, give the NFL a shot. Are you not feeling the NFL? No worries, the NBA and NHL seasons are underway. Do you prefer to bet on MMA action? The UFC has an incredible card on deck for Saturday.

Just about every major sport has something going on this weekend. If that doesn't make this the most wonderful time of year, I don't know what will.

The 2022-23 NBA Season is Here!

If the NBA could figure out how to package the offseason into a VH-1 style reality show (think The Surreal Life, Rock of Love Bus, that Flavor Flav dating show, etc., it would be must-see-TV. So much drama! Some of these guys put the Housewives to shame.

But the season has started. So, now we can put the drama to the side and enjoy (and bet on) another season of great basketball.

When it comes to betting on the NBA, you've got options, and we've covered quite a few of them recently:

You can keep up with the latest NBA Championship odds on our dedicated page throughout the season.

Tonight’s NBA Lines

It's Getting Real Football Fans

At this stage in the college football season, we will start seeing teams separate themselves from the rest of the pack. You know, like Tennessee did last weekend when the Vols beat Alabama. We're going to start seeing some separation in the NFL, too. We already knew the Bills were a solid team, but taking down the Kansas City Chiefs in Arrowhead last week helps drive the point home.

This week doesn't feature games like the Bills-Chiefs or Tennessee-Alabama, but there is a lot of great NFL and NCAAF action for bettors to enjoy, and we've covered a lot of this week.

Thursday Night Football:

More NFL

NCAAF

Elsewhere In The Wide World Of Sports Betting…

If you want betting options this weekend, you have them. Are you not feeling the NFL, NCAAF, or NBA? Maybe one of these sports will be more to your liking:

The NLCS and ALCS roll on today as the MLB postseason gets closer to the World Series.
Stanley Cup Odds 2023: Avalanche Open Season as Betting Favorites
NHL Odds: Pucklines & Betting Bonuses for Upcoming Games
UFC 280 Odds & Props: Oliveira vs. Makhachev Headlines Loaded Abu Dhabi Card

This Week On The Sports Betting Legal/Business Landscape…

It's been a busy week on the legal/business landscape of the sports betting industry. Two states took steps towards launching. Massachusetts is on track to launch next year, and there could be a couple of “underdogs” among the sportsbooks.

Sports betting is set to launch by January 1 in Ohio, and it looks like FanDuel and Barstool will be among the books going live on New Year’s Day.

In-person betting is already live in Maryland, and online betting should get off the ground later in the year. When it does, DraftKings will be among the books available to bettors.

Elsewhere on the legal/business landscape:

Sportsbook Promotions: October 20, 2022

The following sportsbook promos could come in handy this weekend:

DraftKings: Bet $5 on any moneyline, Get $200 Instantly (eight $25 free bets)
FanDuel: Bet $5+ and get $150 in free bets & a free 3-Month Subscription to NBA League Pass!
Caesars: All Sport Parlay Insurance: Opt-In and place a parlay wager on MLB, NBA, NHL, NFL, and/or NCAA games between October 19 and October 25, 2022, to get a Free Bet equal to 100% of stake up to $25 if you lose exactly one leg of your parlay.
BetRivers: Four Sport Parlay Bet and Get -- Place a $25+ 4-leg Parlay with 1 leg from each of NBA, NHL, MLB, and NFL to receive a $10 Free Bet!

Beginner's Beat: -110 odds

Last week, I interviewed Casey Degnon, Senior Risk Supervisor at the Westgate SuperBook and the winner of the first quarter mini-contest of Bookies Battle 2022.

I asked him if there was one thing he wished every novice sports bettor knew.

“If you want to make money betting on games, stick with the -110 odds,” he said. “Stay away from parlays and longer odds.”

Casey’s point: While lots of public bettors like to swing for the fences for a big score, parlays tilt the edge even greater in the bookmaker’s favor. Against -110 odds, you need to hit 52.4 of your bets to break even. Now, it’s unlikely you’ll reach that threshold over the long term, but it’s still a better proposition than trying to beat the house by playing parlays.

Of course, it’s easy to give in to the temptation of parlays. When I bet parlays, I tend to go combine favorites with minus odds, preferably between -105 and -200. The odds favor the house when it comes to parlays, but if my legs have minus odds, I figure I have a better chance of winning.

While -110 is the standard vig on point spread bets, shop around to different sportsbooks to see if you can find -105 or +100 on the side you like. That will make a big difference in your success as a sports bettor.

That's it for this edition of the Gaming Today Playbook. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much or more as I enjoyed writing it. If you have any questions or want to request a topic to get covered in a future newsletter, you can reach me via email at travis.pulver@catenamedia.com or via Twitter at @FatManWriting.

To close out the GTP this week, I want to share this (in case there is anyone that still thinks Russell Wilson is cool):