Hardest and easiest sports to analyze

**wtt0315** · 11-11-11, 10:03 AM

people can analize all they want. Lines are set from people who do the same.All sports are a bitch and no matter what you do everyone will always cap between 45-55 percent

**jwes4907** · 11-11-11, 02:28 PM

Originally posted by wtt0315

people can analize all they want. Lines are set from people who do the same.All sports are a bitch and no matter what you do everyone will always cap between 45-55 percent

Isn't this assuming you are betting high volume. Obviously, lines are efficient but if you bet situational games it's possible to get 60%+. You would need an advanced understanding of lines and the sport you are betting on. You would also need to limit your spots and bet 4-5u instead of 1. This would all be in accordance with kelly if you truly do have an advanced understanding of your league and the lines that go with it - understanding your edge.

**brahmabull117** · 11-16-11, 05:20 PM

the easiest sport to make money in is far and away college football

there are so many games every week that it's not hard at all to find lines that are off by as much as 3-7 points

the hardest sport by far is professional football - it's really a difficult sport to win in straight up spread betting because lines are so sharp and the market is so efficient. The best way to make money in the NFL is with teasers IMO - you take advantage of all the close games in the league and you can make good money

**Romanov** · 11-16-11, 05:37 PM

Originally posted by brahmabull117

the easiest sport to make money in is far and away college football there are so many games every week that it's not hard at all to find lines that are off by as much as 3-7 points the hardest sport by far is professional football - it's really a difficult sport to win in straight up spread betting because lines are so sharp and the market is so efficient. The best way to make money in the NFL is with teasers IMO - you take advantage of all the close games in the league and you can make good money

you are wrong on the easiest but right on the hardest.

**Bobby D** · 11-16-11, 05:51 PM

Just look at the betting limits and that will tell you what's easy and what's not.

NFL Side= $100,000 LIMIT

NCAA Basketball Total = $500 LIMIT

LOL

**brahmabull117** · 11-16-11, 06:04 PM

edit: wrong thread

**Masu485** · 11-16-11, 06:18 PM

Originally posted by brahmabull117

the easiest sport to make money in is far and away college football

there are so many games every week that it's not hard at all to find lines that are off by as much as 3-7 points

the hardest sport by far is professional football - it's really a difficult sport to win in straight up spread betting because lines are so sharp and the market is so efficient. The best way to make money in the NFL is with teasers IMO - you take advantage of all the close games in the league and you can make good money

What's great about teasers is that they are more valuable with more efficient markets.

**brahmabull117** · 11-16-11, 06:26 PM

Originally posted by Masu485

What's great about teasers is that they are more valuable with more efficient markets.

exactly my point

the key is to find teams and situations where either the SU win is very likely or a close game is very likely

**BangtheBookie** · 11-16-11, 08:34 PM

Easiest = college football/hoops
Hardest (for me) = baseball

**Thunders77** · 11-21-11, 01:14 PM

Small Conference College Basketball gives alot of opportunity for the bettor Imo, I also Love Conferences like the Sun Belt in College Football.

**p19101** · 11-21-11, 01:59 PM

In general this holds true for most sports:

The smaller the league the less transparency. The harder to find facts, statuses of players and stats. If you're really dedicated and with the right contacts within such a small league you can make a buck. The problem is that for you to know more than the bookie the league will have to be so small that the stakes they accept are probably too small to make it worth you're while. Also if you hit it big over and over on a small league you'll draw the eyes to you quickly and get a limit on you. That's from my experience at least. Hardest to make money on is probably all major leagues of all the biggest sports.

**FaM0us Skins** · 11-21-11, 02:06 PM

Easiest: NCAAB

Hardest: Hockey

**jolmscheid** · 11-21-11, 02:17 PM

Easiest is baseball....football and basketball lines are too sharp..

**podonne** · 11-21-11, 05:35 PM

Originally posted by Bobby D

Just look at the betting limits and that will tell you what's easy and what's not.

NFL Side= $100,000 LIMIT

NCAA Basketball Total = $500 LIMIT

LOL

This is actually a pretty good thought, but hard to say definitively.

If a book is trying to equalize action on both sides of a bet, they would allow more action on a particular bet because EITHER they are more confident in the accuracy of the line OR just based on the amount of action they expect. Hard to say.

There is an argument that the more action there is, the sharper the line, so the harder to beat, but I don't think that's neccessarily always the case.

**Pokerjoe** · 11-22-11, 03:00 AM

Originally posted by Bobby D

Just look at the betting limits and that will tell you what's easy and what's not.

NFL Side= $100,000 LIMIT

NCAA Basketball Total = $500 LIMIT

LOL

No, that only tells you how big the market is, and how big the market depends on sports fan interest.

**podonne** · 11-22-11, 03:48 AM

Let me suggest this: The easiest sport is the one that can give a positive ROI with the simplest possible strategy. Many sports show a positive ROI just betting underdogs, or home dogs. Sometimes the books build in a consistent bias into the line because they expect action to fall on one side. That is an easy sport.

**jolmscheid** · 11-22-11, 02:15 PM

Home dogs in MLB are good...got killed this past season though...wonder about nhl home dogs? Although im sure the booms have already adjusted..

**JasonG** · 11-22-11, 05:18 PM

Yeah for me college hoops are easiest....home dogs or favs.
Hardiest for me is NFL...I love to watch a game and put some $$$ down....but any team can show up on Sunday and infuriate me!

**baskets** · 11-24-11, 11:46 PM

fiba basketball is good. sides and totals

**mmaed** · 11-27-11, 04:21 PM

Originally posted by jwes4907

less popular sport = smaller market = less efficient = easier to predict/model

ncaaf & ncaab, especially the smaller conferences are easiest to predict.

nfl/premier league are mot difficult to predict/highly efficient.

MMA = Less popular, smaller market, less efficient and easier to predict.

**Sawyer** · 11-27-11, 06:42 PM

My favourite soccer leagues are Holland, Poland & Chile. (No, none of these leagues are my domestic league, lol)

I stay away from Serie A, England Premier League, Bundesliga and France Le Ligue.

**jolmscheid** · 11-27-11, 06:45 PM

Sawyer...you ain't too shabby at nhl!

**MickeyBlue** · 12-07-11, 03:52 PM

Enjoy the thread. I agree w strategy of finding dogs that have a chance at winning outright, watching for 'super situations' that are limited (ie team still in playoff hunt, no major injuries, lost last 3 SU and Ats, game 4 covers ....giants on Sunday). Money management is key as well. I have had no luck with MLB, in part because small bankroll and favs lost. So I gave up. But reading to this thread has intrigued me. Thanks and BOL.
Mick

**willyback** · 12-07-11, 07:12 PM

Basketball...

It's the only sport where penalties are enforced with free points.

Kills the point spread covers at the end of the game when teams begin to foul on purpose. It's ridiculous.

Basketball should do away with free throws and settle penalties by giving the ball to the other team.

**willyback** · 12-07-11, 07:15 PM

Football is the easiest - especially the NFL.

The teams are pretty predictable.

**Sawyer** · 12-07-11, 07:17 PM

Smaller leagues, Less Popular sports..easier to beat.

**Choco** · 12-07-11, 08:56 PM

Some really great responses! What everyone seems to be missing is betting is not about this team or that team, this player or that player, this market or that market .... simply put, IT'S A NUMBERS GAME, plain and simple!

Learn to appreciate and respect the number, don't be emotional and don't get attached to a side. The truly great gamblers play numbers not teams.

**tenbas** · 12-07-11, 09:10 PM

It all depends on the personal style. For someone NFL is the the easiest, I know people for who tennis is a piece of cake. But people here are "ye this is the easiest".
It just doesn't work that way.

And as one poster above me said, it's all about numbers - not teams. Either you're successful or a failure. Your choice :3

GL to everyone though.

**DOMINATER** · 01-01-12, 01:46 AM

hardest sport football emotion is the fuel that power it, there is a big diffence with homefield ,not only fans also weather traveling refs.Easiest by far pro boxing in the golden years of boxing only vegas was interested

**mic000** · 01-01-12, 12:47 PM

NFL is the hardest to cap for one simple reason: limited number of games. I find that you force yourself on plays you may not like just because you don't want to miss out on a week's worth of games. If you have a bad week or month, you have fewer weeks to recoup. Plus, once you feel that you really know a team, it's week 8 or 9, leaving only two months left worth of betting.

At least with NHL/MBL/NBA, there are so many games to bet on, you have endless options