Books worth reading about sports betting??

**Ganchrow** · 10-04-08, 09:33 AM

Check out Fixed Odds Sports Betting: Statistical Forecasting and Risk Management by Jospeh Buchdahl, Sharp Sports Betting by Stanford Wong, and possibly Weighing the Odds in Sports Betting by King Yao.

**NotSoHot81** · 10-04-08, 09:42 AM

Thanks for the ideas. Those are three that I saw online, but wasnt sure if they would be worth reading.

**20Four7** · 10-04-08, 10:06 AM

I"ve read the last 2, need to check out the first one.

Now if I can find a decent book that focus's on hockey

**pats3peat** · 10-04-08, 10:26 AM

I was wondering the same thing.. going to check out those books unless anyone has an even better book to suggest

**durito** · 10-04-08, 10:32 AM

Those are the 3 "best" books you will find on sports betting.

After reading them, read all of Ganchrow's posts in this forum, which would make for a far superior book.

**pats3peat** · 10-04-08, 10:34 AM

Originally posted by durito

Those are the 3 "best" books you will find on sports betting.

After reading them, read all of Ganchrow's posts in this forum, which would make for a far superior book.

yeah i didnt think many useful gambling books out there existed, better to read on forums.

**TotallyTilt** · 10-06-08, 07:35 PM

Getting The Best of It by David Sklansky also has a small section on Sports Betting that is very good.

**donjuan** · 10-07-08, 12:10 AM

Sklansky is pretty clueless when it comes to sports. Great poker author though.

**Wheell** · 10-07-08, 01:31 AM

Sklansky was good at beating the weakest sportsbooks in history. That was the end of it.

**reno cool** · 10-07-08, 02:43 AM

One poker author who I believe has a great understanding of gambling in general is Mike Caro. "In the beginning everything is even money"

**TotallyTilt** · 10-07-08, 02:17 PM

Originally posted by donjuan

Sklansky is pretty clueless when it comes to sports. Great poker author though.

I actually thought he had several good pieces of advice about NFL games that I hadn't read in any other book. I have no idea if they are outdated at this point or still work but at the very least, they are things to keep in mind when evaluating a line.

I can't speak to his sports betting track record, I have absolutely no idea how well or poorly he did/does.

**Lippsman** · 10-08-08, 09:03 PM

Sharp sports betting is very good. You can go to the website and get updated tables

**skrtelfan** · 10-09-08, 01:40 PM

If you are interested in soccer betting try the books by Jacques Black.

**Data** · 10-09-08, 08:42 PM

I have read a couple of dozens books on sportsbetting and did not find ANY of them to be of use provided you have read the forums and paid close attention to Ganchrow's posts. There are two classic books I found helpful to put things in perspective for a trader/sportsbettor:
Reminiscences of a Stock Operator
Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds

**pats3peat** · 10-09-08, 08:44 PM

i read like 5 chapters o reminscences of a stock operator. Pretty confusing for me... but its enjoyable. I quit reading it though, need to get back to it.

Havent heard of that second book, amazon reviews not so great, but what do you like about it?

**Data** · 10-09-08, 10:47 PM

Originally posted by pats3peat

what do you like about it?

It is thought provoking and that is a property of any book I like.

**Ganchrow** · 10-10-08, 12:07 AM

Originally posted by Data

Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds

I'd also highly recommend Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.

**Bullajami** · 10-10-08, 05:34 AM

Originally posted by Ganchrow

Check out Fixed Odds Sports Betting: Statistical Forecasting and Risk Management by Jospeh Buchdahl, Sharp Sports Betting by Stanford Wong, and possibly Weighing the Odds in Sports Betting by King Yao.

I love it when the answer I was about to give is the answer Ganchrow already gave.

Too bad this is only the second time it's happened in three years!

**marcoforte** · 10-10-08, 07:25 PM

Originally posted by Data

I have read a couple of dozens books on sportsbetting and did not find ANY of them to be of use provided you have read the forums and paid close attention to Ganchrow's posts. There are two classic books I found helpful to put things in perspective for a trader/sportsbettor:
Reminiscences of a Stock Operator
Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds

I agree. Read both books 15 years ago when I first started investing in the market. Buying value means buying what no one wants.

**Peep** · 01-27-09, 07:19 PM

Anyone read "GA is for Bitches"?

http://www.amazon.com/GA-Bitches-Betting-Winningly-Challenged/dp/1440424152/ref=tag_stp_st_edpp_url

**smitch124** · 01-30-09, 04:55 PM

Originally posted by Peep

Anyone read "GA is for Bitches"?

http://www.amazon.com/GA-Bitches-Bet...tp_st_edpp_url

92 pages? Thats a red flag, $30 for a pamphlet...

**smitch124** · 01-30-09, 04:59 PM

This is a baseball book to avoid as well:

Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Guide-Beating-Baseball-Consistently/dp/1438211767/ref=pd_sim_b_3

100 pages with like 18 pt font, stay away

**BSW-GM** · 01-31-09, 09:36 AM

Originally posted by NotSoHot81

Does anyone have any suggestions for books to read about betting on sports? Ones that may offer an insight to understanding the lines, value, etc. I have been a sports fan all my life, but being a fan doesnt make you a winner. Any ideas would be helpful. Thanks.

NotSoHot - BetSportsWeb (SportsbookReview.com rating: D+) offers weekly expert articles which are current and offer punters solid advice. They are written by Brian Edwards from Vegas Insider. This weeks is Super Bowl XLIII- Betting Props Galore!

Articles are linked from the left menu on the BetSportsWeb homepage.

**Peep** · 01-31-09, 12:08 PM

I read ABOUT the "GA is for Bitches" book(ette) for about 15 minutes, mostly self-serving blabs. But was interested in his claim he could "turn -110 into +120". Wondered if anyone had read it, so I could hear what that was about.

**coldhardfacts** · 01-31-09, 12:14 PM

It's not about betting, but "Moneyball" did more to improve my baseball handicapping than anything I've ever read.

Also a great read.

**Scorpion** · 01-31-09, 02:55 PM

I dont read many books. I read this book by sonny riezner 7 years ago
very interesting storeis in it:

http://www.gamblersbook.com/product.php?productid=16161&cat=1167&bestseller=Y

**whatisit** · 03-06-09, 05:23 PM

Anyone know of any books/websites that will teach you how to use statistics with excel?

**Wrecktangle** · 03-06-09, 08:35 PM

The classic in NFL handicapping is "The Winner's Guide to Pro Football Betting" by Art Glantz (pubed in 1982) wherein he describes his Dudley method. Dudley was a marginal system, but if you played with the math, Yards per point jumped out at you. Glantz had a lot of other advice that was mostly pretty good, but his example betting year was fabricated as it hit 80% winners.

Another good early classic was: "Basic Betting" wherein James Jasper described an NBA sides method (with Basic code) that held 57% for a number of years for a large fraction of games. His systems for other sports were interesting, but nothing was as good as his NBA program.

If you find either of these on e-bay grab it, they are worth a read...I just saw a Amazon that Basic Betting is listed at $1.12, and Glantz's book is almost $300.

Now for a piece of junk: "Beat the Sports Books" by Dan Gordon, wherein Danno describes a method straight out of the '80s: an A,B,C,D,E team grade system that is so subjective it makes me feel embarrassed for him. It is obviously a book written to make money and not give anything away. Bad Danno.

I've a few others, but nothing else was really worth the money except for the gambling math books described earlier in this thread.

**Dark Horse** · 03-07-09, 10:40 AM

Win More, Lose Less by Don P. is easily worth the money.

Next on my list is Steve Fierro's Four Quarters of Horse Investing. Not necessarily to get into the ponies, but because he calculates his own lines and overlays, and goes from there. This is what I do, so I may be able to use some of his ideas.

You're not going to find real winning systems in print. Unless someone on his death bed decided to share his wealth of knowledge. But ideas are readily available; most bad, some good. You're more likely to pick up ideas here than in books. An area that, I think, is relatively unexplored is MOV to determine strength of method (instead of just W/L). It was mentioned here, and I'm playing around with it a little.

I'm not expecting much from it, but I may pick up a copy of the Betting Doctor. Just because he almost won the Hilton contest. For better insight into the world of gambling, Gambling Wizards is worth a read, as is the Smart Money. These last two will give you quite a bit of info on legendary sports bettor Billy Walters (in case you want to aim high).