[alling]

Looking for something that includes other sports as well ie NHL, NCAAB, etc

[norsemann]

Software that is a useful tool for hoops and even College Football is WinPicks from MicroBrothers. They remedied some issues last year with the "play window" but I use it for NBA and College Hoops. Extremely affordable. You can have it search for any kind of trends u can think of. If u decide to pull the trigger on it I'd be happy to give u some advice based on experience. For hockey, Ive found nothing useful. Same with baseball and Ive tried a couple. I've got "system" that has worked for NHL totals (7-4 TY) and finished +90 units LY but it's not a sofrware program.

[Joe Dogs]

norsemann

Ive heard allot about the WinPicks software,seen it advertised in the gamblers book store.

How user friendly is the software.......Im curious to know how your results were using the software for the NBA.

[norsemann]

Hey Joe,

Responded to Inbox as well... getting some connectivity msgs so don;t know if you received reply. So here it is as well

The WinPicks does come with pre set formulas and there are about 20 fields that makes up one formula. However, there is a "Formula Tuner" where you can select a formula and run the tuner. I have found that with the formulas you will have formulas for Side plays and formulas for Total plays. So if there is a formula currently hitting 58% +27 units when run against all College Basketball game for the current season or a date range, you can run the tuner and it manipulates each of the fields and tests them against the games. You can let it run for minutes or hours but it always saves what field definitions gave you the best ATS number or +units or both. Besides the preset formulas there is an online warehouse that you can connect to from Winpicks (as long as you are connected to the internet) and download additional formulas created by other users.

The Learning Curve is not that steep. It is user-friendly so you can dive right in and start using it but it aso has a lot of other advanced features. There is a Trend feature and again you can see trends based on the two teams playing each other - again for any date range you would like. If a team has covered 4 straight, and they are at home as a 4point fave the system will note that Notre Dame is 2-2ATS after 4ATS wins; ND is 0-4 ATS after 4 straight wins when favored by 4 or more. It works for Over/Unders as well.

There is also a Trend Alert feature where you can think of a specific trend - how a team fares after a double-digit loss at home to a conference opponent just for example. If you find one with valid resuts, you can save it and when that situation comes up during the season, you are alerted.

They also have Consensus plays, which is what I use. I take my top 7 formulas with the best ATS % and put them in a Consensus set. You can define to display plays where 2 formulas match, or only when 3 forumalas match. These are all simple drop-down lis selections. I have Consensus set that has 7 ATS formulas and one tht has my top 7 Totals formulas. Again, I have found it rare that you get a super formula that is great at both.

Last year they added a Platinum Play feature. It was a great idea but a pain to define which formulas to use. This year, they have made it much easier as you can define to use your consensus sets. The Platinum Plays displays 'Platinum' plays, 'Strong' plays 'Possible' plays. Each one of the you can view their record by individual day over a season or date range. The difference from the Platinum Play against the Consensus, as I understand it, is that it gives more weight to trends and past head-to-head match-ups.

One huge knock on the past that so far it looks like it has resolved is that one of the formula fields is Lower Betting Window and Higher Betting window. In the past, sometimes a play would disapper as a play because the line moved in a direction that ADDED more value on the play. If that game didn't cover it skewed your results. They have since addressed that and I have had plays show up when the line has moved to make it a value play and plays have been removed as plays if the line has moved, taking away the value.

Keep in mind you can handicap any day of the week. So you can handicap games scheduled on Saturday on Monday but as weekly games are being played and the database is being updated and lines moved, the recommended plays can change.

It is by far the best software I have used. I am using the 2010 version for College football and will defintely use it for the NBA and College hoops season. The NFL I handicap each game using a variety of systems Ive gathered after 20 years so I dont use it for the NFL.

Finally, it is difficult to say exactly how well I've done because I admit I have not played some plays and I've modified the formulas. However, with this 2010 version, I only had 4 O/U plays LW and I went 4-0 on those. In the first week on my sides I won +28 units (72%). This past week I went 5-5 on my College sides and again 4-0 on my totals. And since then, I've fined tuned some of my formulas. They way you 'tune' your formulas can make it so you have a lot of plays, so you could hit 56% but be up +30 units if you're playing a ton of games. I go by % so one of my best Totals formula recommends 2-3 plays a week and is 11-2 TY.

Again, the software is user-friendly and you can do a lot of stuff. I would direct you to the formula tuner, the Trends feature and Platinum Plays area as places to start. Oh, you don't have to add the lines, they are downloaded, if that is a concern.

I hope this helps; if I missed anything let me know. I have used PDS Sports for hockey and baseball and was not pleased. Winpicks is a great tool and the Support is responsive and I will buy the NBA/College Parlay package. I'm excited to see how the 2010 version works after my early success with the College version.

[rise]

good stuff i just got the free demo to try out

[Joe Dogs]

Thanks Norsemann......I appreciate the info......I might give it test drive.

I see allot of good reviews of the software on the net.....Very inexpensive also.

[Formulawiz]

norsemann

Ive heard allot about the WinPicks software,seen it advertised in the gamblers book store.

How user friendly is the software.......Im curious to know how your results were using the software for the NBA.

In the past I have used MicroBrothers software as a tool to try and produce winners. I also utilize other sports handicapping packages. My thinking is, the more tools available to you, the better your chances are of winning. After each week, I sit down and compare each software package selections and and then compare the win/loss records for both college and pro football and the results are stunning. It is my observation MicroBrothers software is not in the same league as others and it always comes in dead last. I have used every tool available in their software package with poor results and success. My final observation of MicroBrothers software is this. Yes the software is fancy but I would NOT wager my money on their softwares picks. If you do, I can assure you your bankroll will be depleted very quickly. There are much better software packages out on the market with proven results. If you would like my input just email me.
I also see someone went through a detailed description of MicroBrothers software. What good is it if the software utilizes old systems that no longer work. MicroBrothers has not come up with any new ideas in years. As a matter of fact they tried to steal ideas from other handicapping software but failed miserably.

Well good luck.

[saratoga1927]

I have used MicroBrothers software for 3 years now along with other packages. I can assure you they are not in the same league as other handicapping software. The softwares prediction capabilities are terrible and I can assure you it wont take long for you to go through your bankroll. There are better software packages out there with proven results. Your telling me their "support is responsive"? Try reaching them by phone. Good luck they have no phone number. In addition they have copied other sports handicapping packages and still cant pick winners or get the numbers right.

Can you share which packages might be best or better?

[Formulawiz]

Can you share which packages might be best or better?

Just email me. I am not going to sponser any software here. As a matter of fact your welcomed to join our football, basketball and baseball threads. We are in our third year and are pretty successful making money.

[norsemann]

Hey,

As a quick reply to Formulawiz, I want to be clear that I use WinPicks simply as another tool. And it does give you fast access to trends as well as a create your own - so it is a huge time-saver in that regards. I've had success using a handful of formulas in a consenus set. I've seen and used other software apps and it comes down to how comfortable you are in investing your $. I know there are apps that go for several hundred of dollars and I won't comment on them cuz I haven't used them. But, I prefer making my own plays - why I handicap NFL using my own Power Ratings and Systems I've compiled. I also have 4 days to break down 13 - 16 games.

For me, the time that the app saves me gathering info in sports like College Hoops where in mid-season you have 30+ games 4 days a week is worth the small investment. I'm using the 2010 College football (only for 2 weeks) but I also have systems that I use. I wouldn't bet any play blindly. If I was gonna do that, I'd buy a reputable tout (if one exists). That said, I admit I am betting the plays of one Over/Under Consensus of 7 formulas (I have it set to display 3+matches) and it went 4-0 LW and currently it has the following (each # notes how many formulas has the play)...

3*UTEP/UAB under 61
4*HOuston/Rice under 64

So there you go... Oh, Platinum Play has...
OSU/Wash OVER 60
Idaho/ LA Tech OVER 56

So there you go... You'll know by Sunday. Please note, this aint a demo or a sale nor am I even saying to play 'em, just posting what the program gave me based on my setup.

[Formulawiz]

Hey,

As a quick reply to Formulawiz, I want to be clear that I use WinPicks simply as another tool. And it does give you fast access to trends as well as a create your own - so it is a huge time-saver in that regards. I've had success using a handful of formulas in a consenus set. I've seen and used other software apps and it comes down to how comfortable you are in investing your $. I know there are apps that go for several hundred of dollars and I won't comment on them cuz I haven't used them. But, I prefer making my own plays - why I handicap NFL using my own Power Ratings and Systems I've compiled. I also have 4 days to break down 13 - 16 games.

For me, the time that the app saves me gathering info in sports like College Hoops where in mid-season you have 30+ games 4 days a week is worth the small investment. I'm using the 2010 College football (only for 2 weeks) but I also have systems that I use. I wouldn't bet any play blindly. If I was gonna do that, I'd buy a reputable tout (if one exists). That said, I admit I am betting the plays of one Over/Under Consensus of 7 formulas (I have it set to display 3+matches) and it went 4-0 LW and currently it has the following (each # notes how many formulas has the play)...

3*UTEP/UAB under 61
4*HOuston/Rice under 64

So there you go... Oh, Platinum Play has...
OSU/Wash OVER 60
Idaho/ LA Tech OVER 56

So there you go... You'll know by Sunday. Please note, this aint a demo or a sale nor am I even saying to play 'em, just posting what the program gave me based on my setup.

If you are interested in creating and automatically finding your own trends and situations and then post it to your website if you have one, send me an email and Ill let you know who has the best software out there to do so.

[gordan21]

so winpicks isnt a good choice? what do you think is good and easy to use?