UFC Picks For Football-less Weekend
Sports betting news and picks for bettors by bettors.
Sad face. This is the first weekend in 23 weeks without a true NFL game. (I do not bet on the Pro Bowl. I’ll probably watch it for a little, but not much else).
But the NBA has been heating up in a big way over the past few weeks, so you can expect some emphasis on basketball going forward. The UFC is my bread and butter, and that will not change. We have eight straight weeks of UFC events, including two PPVs.
We have plenty of Super Bowl prop bets on the site as well, and my Gaming Today teammates and I will keep turning those out. No, I will not be betting nonsense like the coin toss or color of Gatorade dumped on the winning coach’s head. You shouldn’t either (although my sometimes off-balanced editor promises some insight into coin-flip betting).
UFC Plays For Fight Night On Saturday | A Note On Bankroll Management
I have four bets on a single fight for Saturday. That’s a lot. All of the plays are correlated with the general idea the fight will go on longer than sportsbooks are projecting. But no fight is guaranteed to go the distance, so bet these cautiously and with proper bankroll management.
Shavkat/Harris Fight Starts Round 2 -158 (FanDuel) Risk 1.58u (to win 1u)
Shavkat/Harris ‘Over’ 1.5 Rounds -120 (DraftKings) Risk .5u (to win .42u)
Shavkat/Harris Fight Starts Round 3 +138 (FanDuel) Risk .33u (win .46u)
Shavkat/Harris Fight Goes To Decision +230 (FanDuel) Risk .25u (to win .58u)
If the fight goes to decision, these bets would go 4-0 for a profit of 2.46 units. If the fight gets out of the first round, we break about even. If there’s a first-round finish, we lose just 2.6 units. Bet carefully!
Stagger your bets here, and don’t bet a full unit on each time prop.This fight has a better shot to go the distance than +230 suggests. If you look at the odds across the market, most sportsbooks have this prop priced at under +200, some closer to +180.
Four 1-unit bets on these props is not effective bankroll management. Follow the strategy I have mapped out above.
Steven Peterson Wins By KO/TKO +950 (FanDuel)
I wrote about this fight in the UFC Vegas 47 picks article we published Tuesday. Julian Erosa has been knocked out five times, including in four of his last five losses. There is no reason to bet Erosa as a -300 favorite, even in parlays.
Read: UFC Vegas 47 Odds, Picks, And Predictions
Gerlacher: Louisiana Sports Betting > New York Sports Betting (Per Capita)!
Louisianans are really showing off their engagement in sports betting. According to a report by Gaming Today’s Chris Gerlacher, 3.6% of the state’s adult population placed a sports bet within the first 36 hours of last Friday’s launch. This is slightly above New York’s 3.3% during its opening weekend of legal sports betting.
Read: Check out this fascinating story by Gaming Today’s Chris Gerlacher! Geaux Tigers!
More Gerlacher: New Jersey ESports Betting Goes Live
A double dose of Gerlacher for your Thursday! Bettors in New Jersey will now be able to bet on esports like Call of Duty, DOTA 2, and League of Legends!
Looking to bet on Dr. Disrespect or Z-Laner in CoD? Now is your chance.
Read: Esports Betting – Live Through New VIE.gg Platform
Sportsbook Promotions, February 3: NBA Same Game Parlays
Each week, I search the sports betting market for promotions. Sometimes they are awesome, other times not so much. Rest assured, you will not miss another “no-brainer bet” again.
DraftKings Sportsbook: Opt-In and bet $10 or more pre-game on NBA Same Game Parlays through Friday and receive $2 toward a free bet for every qualifying SGP. Must be 3+ legs and minimum odds are +300. Go to promos page to opt-in.
FanDuel Sportsbook: TNT Thursdays! Get $10 in bonus credit on an NBA Same Game Parlay tonight whether the bet wins or loses! Must have odds of +400 or greater.
Caesars Sportsbook: Last week to qualify! Caesars extended this promotion through Feb. 7, a benefit for users in New York and Louisiana. The conditions and promo codes are the same. Grab a free NBA jersey on top of your already extremely generous new user promotion from Caesars using promo code TODAYRF. Go to the promos page and use code TODAYRF to qualify. Terms and conditions apply. Odds boost markets (no super-boosts), round robins, parlays, teasers, and player props all qualify for the promotion. Must be NBA only.
All you need to do is bet $100 cumulatively on NBA markets by Feb. 7. Win or lose, you qualify for an NBA jersey. You will get an emailed NBAStore.com credit for $150 (cost of a jersey). Pick your favorite player and enjoy!
Lawsuit: Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross Offered Brian Flores Bonuses To Lose Games
After he was shockingly fired as Miami’s coach after two straight winning seasons and has failed to land a job since, Flores filed a lawsuit against the NFL citing racial inequality in teams’ hiring practices. Flores also claims Stephen Ross offered him $100,000 per loss in 2019, as Ross wanted a higher draft pick.
Boy, this is a troubling accusation and could give the Dolphins owner trouble holding onto the franchise. Ross denies the claims.
Flores says he rebuffed the offer, but if the allegations are true, an owner bribing a coach to lose is as obscene as it gets. Add to that, Ross is a major investor in a company involved in sports betting, and it looks even worse.
This lawsuit could be the biggest one we have seen in sports in years.
More: Everything You Need To Know About Stephen Ross/Brian Flores Tanking Games
As always…. “Bet with your head, not over it…” -- Furio Giunta
~ Erich Richter, GamingToday Sports Betting Expert
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