from nick dogdanvick


MAKE YOUR LINES RIGHT NOW FOR NEXT WEEK'S CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
I've been encouraging bettors to do this for years. Here's a chance for YOU to try this approach out and see if it helps your handicapping.
One of the biggest factors, some might argue the SINGLE biggest factor that separates sharps (professional wagerers) from squares (the general public) is that sharps are ready to attack OPENING numbers. They've made up their mind on a game even before it hits the board. They have a number on the game themselves. They know what they'll do if they see something different.
If you're not clear on what I mean...let's say sharps believe the home team should be a 5-point favorite. If they see a line of -3, they jump on it immediately...grabbing full value at a critical number. If they see a line of -4, they probably still act quickly because any point represents value. If the game opens at -5 they pass. On the other side, if the game opens at -7, they're very likely to bet the dog immediately unless they anticipate the public driving the line further in the wrong direction.
The point is, they're READY at the outset. This is how they position themselves to get the best lines, and to shoot at middles after line moves.
If you're like most sports gamblers, you haven't even thought about next week yet. Once this weekend's games are over, you might wonder what the lines will be. You'll wait to see what oddsmakers say. You'll wait to see if there are early moves. Then, many days later, you'll finally decide who you like and bet it. (And, if you're like most squares, you'll have talked yourself into the favorite even if the line is bad!).
After finishing this article today, don't do anything else until you've decided what the line should be in these games:
Pittsburgh at New England
Baltimore at New England
NY Jets at Pittsburgh
NY Jets at Baltimore
Chicago at Atlanta
Seattle at Atlanta
Green Bay at Chicago
Green Bay at Seattle
There are only eight games, which makes it manageable. You're not overwhelmed by a 16-game pro schedule and 40 college games. You're not watching a million games on TV right now and too distracted to think. There are only eight teams involved, eight teams who you should know very well by now because the regular season is over and you watched half of these teams win last week!
Go through the games. What do you make Pittsburgh at New England? How much will you tweak that if either team (or both) have to go to absolute war to survive this week? How do you respond to an upset? If the Jets stun the Pats, do you give them "momentum" points heading into the AFC Championship? Or, do you figure they're going to let down so you dock them a point or two?
THINK ABOUT THIS STUFF NOW!
Then, when the openers go up, you'll know exactly what to do. You may even position yourself for middles after the lines move. You'll have started the process of thinking like a sharp, and betting like a sharp.
No excuses. There are only four games this week, and only eight possible matchups next week. You can do this. YOU MUST DO THIS if you're serious about becoming a legitimate sports bettor and not just some guy who roots for bets on the weekend before going back to your 9-5 job on Mondays.
Take it from a many who sits in the middle of the legal sports betting markets as his 9-5 job...but lives it round the clock instead of just for eight hours a day!
Bad bets come from bad habits. Good bets come from good habits. Start doing things right, and you'll be amazed what a difference it eventually makes on your bottom line.