1. 01-12-11 06:04 PM #1
    TU
    TU's Avatar Become A Pro!
    Join Date: 12-30-10
    Posts: 146
    Betpoints: 42

    Books to assist with building models

    Everyone,
    I'm just getting started with attempting to build models for handicapping. I just got the following books:

    Conquering Risk
    Basketball on Paper
    Weighing the odds in Sports Betting
    Mathletics

    I was curious if there were any other books that you guys would recommend. Thanks a bunch.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  2. 01-12-11 06:07 PM #2
    Justin7
    Justin7's Avatar Become A Pro!
    Join Date: 07-31-06
    Posts: 8,577
    Betpoints: 1506

    If you're looking at baseball, "The Book" (Tango/Lichtman/Dolphin) has a lot of interesting info. It basically tells you how to build a live-betting spreadsheet for in-game MLB betting.

    I hope you enjoy Conquering Risk
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  3. 01-12-11 06:17 PM #3
    TU
    TU's Avatar Become A Pro!
    Join Date: 12-30-10
    Posts: 146
    Betpoints: 42

    Quote Originally Posted by Justin7 View Post
    If you're looking at baseball, "The Book" (Tango/Lichtman/Dolphin) has a lot of interesting info. It basically tells you how to build a live-betting spreadsheet for in-game MLB betting.

    I hope you enjoy Conquering Risk
    Thanks. I will order that one too. I'm more into basketball but was curious about baseball. I'm not sure I want to deal with football.

    Conquering Risk is the one that seems the most interesting so far. Just getting into the modeling section. It's exciting looking into this even though some of it seems confusing. I have a finance degree so some of it comes easy but seeing some of the formulas you guys throw around in here is troubling. I guess I just have more time to spend to catch up.

    Thanks.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  4. 01-12-11 07:39 PM #4
    CaptainHindsight
    CaptainHindsight's Avatar Become A Pro!
    Join Date: 01-04-11
    Posts: 20
    Betpoints: 0

    Hey Justin - saw your review on amazon for Mathletics. Is there enough handicapping/modeling info in there to make it a purchase for those wanting to use it strictly for wagering? I'd imagine most info is found in other books (like Conquering Risk).
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  5. 01-12-11 08:40 PM #5
    Justin7
    Justin7's Avatar Become A Pro!
    Join Date: 07-31-06
    Posts: 8,577
    Betpoints: 1506

    Quote Originally Posted by CaptainHindsight View Post
    Hey Justin - saw your review on amazon for Mathletics. Is there enough handicapping/modeling info in there to make it a purchase for those wanting to use it strictly for wagering? I'd imagine most info is found in other books (like Conquering Risk).
    Mathletics is a great book to get you thinking. The only real drawback is that most of the topics are covered in other publications... so if your gambling library is small, it's a great addition. If you buy anything and everything out there (like I do), there isn't much new in it.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  6. 01-12-11 08:41 PM #6
    Justin7
    Justin7's Avatar Become A Pro!
    Join Date: 07-31-06
    Posts: 8,577
    Betpoints: 1506

    Quote Originally Posted by TU View Post
    Thanks. I will order that one too. I'm more into basketball but was curious about baseball. I'm not sure I want to deal with football.

    Conquering Risk is the one that seems the most interesting so far. Just getting into the modeling section. It's exciting looking into this even though some of it seems confusing. I have a finance degree so some of it comes easy but seeing some of the formulas you guys throw around in here is troubling. I guess I just have more time to spend to catch up.

    Thanks.
    If you want to work on basketball, you should pick up one of the two books by Larry Seidel. They are more on subjective college basketball handicapping, but done very well.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  7. 01-12-11 09:35 PM #7
    CaptainHindsight
    CaptainHindsight's Avatar Become A Pro!
    Join Date: 01-04-11
    Posts: 20
    Betpoints: 0

    Quote Originally Posted by Justin7 View Post
    Mathletics is a great book to get you thinking. The only real drawback is that most of the topics are covered in other publications... so if your gambling library is small, it's a great addition. If you buy anything and everything out there (like I do), there isn't much new in it.
    Thanks. By chance, is there a thread pinned here that has a running diary of your book reviews? There is so much crap on amazon, it saddens me how Conquering Risk and King Yao's book get buried under some guy with multiple pen names writing worthless crap about capping football (Tuttle).
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  8. 01-12-11 09:41 PM #8
    CaptainHindsight
    CaptainHindsight's Avatar Become A Pro!
    Join Date: 01-04-11
    Posts: 20
    Betpoints: 0

    Quote Originally Posted by Justin7 View Post
    If you want to work on basketball, you should pick up one of the two books by Larry Seidel. They are more on subjective college basketball handicapping, but done very well.
    I'll concur here; really like Seidel's two books (Can't recall which is better - Wagering to Win doesn't have the full season of handicapping notes and throught process). The worst hoops book I have/had isn't even on the GBC's site any longer. Had an all red cover and was written on a typewriter. Can't recall now - will have to see if I can dig it out sometime.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  9. 01-12-11 10:08 PM #9
    princecharles
    princecharles's Avatar Become A Pro!
    Join Date: 11-22-10
    Posts: 827
    Betpoints: 0

    is there A real simple book you can reccommend?
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  10. 01-12-11 10:47 PM #10
    Justin7
    Justin7's Avatar Become A Pro!
    Join Date: 07-31-06
    Posts: 8,577
    Betpoints: 1506

    Quote Originally Posted by princecharles View Post
    is there A real simple book you can reccommend?
    If it's simple, it probably doesn't win. Except perhaps NFL teasers, correlated parlays and bonus whoring. Anything else in sports betting takes brains and work.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  11. 01-13-11 12:34 AM #11
    TU
    TU's Avatar Become A Pro!
    Join Date: 12-30-10
    Posts: 146
    Betpoints: 42

    Quote Originally Posted by Justin7 View Post
    I hope you enjoy Conquering Risk
    Did you write that book? I just caught that.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  12. 01-13-11 10:49 AM #12
    Justin7
    Justin7's Avatar Become A Pro!
    Join Date: 07-31-06
    Posts: 8,577
    Betpoints: 1506

    Quote Originally Posted by TU View Post
    Did you write that book? I just caught that.
    Yes.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  13. 01-13-11 12:26 PM #13
    TU
    TU's Avatar Become A Pro!
    Join Date: 12-30-10
    Posts: 146
    Betpoints: 42

    Quote Originally Posted by Justin7 View Post
    Yes.
    So many resources on this board. Glad I found my way in here.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  14. 01-14-11 12:14 AM #14
    uva3021
    uva3021's Avatar Become A Pro!
    Join Date: 03-01-07
    Posts: 537
    Betpoints: 381

    There is a book on writing basic extraction and database coding for baseball, primarily for sabermetrics, called "Baseball Hacks."
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  15. 01-14-11 12:16 AM #15
    Justin7
    Justin7's Avatar Become A Pro!
    Join Date: 07-31-06
    Posts: 8,577
    Betpoints: 1506

    Quote Originally Posted by uva3021 View Post
    There is a book on writing basic extraction and database coding for baseball, primarily for sabermetrics, called "Baseball Hacks."
    I enjoyed the book. In addition to programming concepts (of which I am no expert), it was very interesting. The examples and conclusions drawn made the book much more readable than most books on programming.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
Top
« Previous Thread | Handicapper Think Tank | Next Thread »