jacked from covers but I read it every year before college football season ....the rule about not making big games your big bets is so real....I usually always shy away from those games
1. Set goals
You must set goals for yourself as to what you want to get done. In terms of how much do you want to win. Every year my goal is to win 5K at the end of the year. Figure out your goal so you have something to strive for
2. Be disciplined
You have to be disciplined in terms of how much to bet and when not to bet on certain games
3. Its ok to watch games you don't have bets on
I notice a decent percentage of guys here don't watch a lot of games they don't have bets on. I love college football and i'm a college football junkie so i watch the Thursday Night games,The Tuesday Night MAC games,The Saturday afternoon Army game etc. I would say a lot of the bets i've won have been from watching games i don't have bets on
4. Homefield isn't always worth 3 points
I here it said that no matter what team it is homefield is worth 3 points. No it isn't at some places its more and others less. For example if LSU has a home game at night that may be worth 6-10 points for LSU. If its a day game it could be 3-4 points. For whatever reason LSU plays better at night than during the day. If you've ever seen an Eastern Michigan home game sometimes the players have the fans outnumbered
They average less than 2,000 fans per game. Homefield is worth or more less in different spots
5. There are no locks
I hear this said all the time and i want to punch that person who says/writes it in the face. I thought a couple years ago NC State was going cover the +7.5 vs UNC. UNC scored a TD then had a bad snap on the 2 point conversion they pick it up throw the ball to the end zone and convert the 2 and UNC wins by 8. Believe me there are no locks
6. Have fun
I have a blast doing this all football season. watching/betting games commenting here etc. Now i have more fun when i win. But college football is a great sport and quite frankly i consider it a more exciting game than the NFL but thats another debate for another day. Enjoy the game guys we'll have winning and losing weeks but try to enjoy the game it goes by fast.
7. You must accept you will get screwed
Whether you bet a lot of games or few you will get screwed at some point. It could be a backdoor cover or a bad call but its going to happen and its not fun. The last 2 years i have lost 2 bets where by team had a 38 point lead in the 3rd quarter
It sucks but you have to get past it and move forward
8. Find your niche
There are 128 FBS teams,There are 10 conferences and 4 independents. You have to find what works for you. We have a guy here named CarterSECPicks all he does is bet games involving SEC schools and he wins. You'll never see him with a bet on the Marshall-Akron game. Find what works for you
9. Study teams in your area
You may live in Illinois and not care about Northwestern,Illinois and Northern Illinois but by living there you have an advantage. Watch their games,read up on the teams. Do you need to know who the 3rd string Left tackle is on NIU? No but follow those teams because you can find an edge in the line
10. Never bet more than you can afford to lose
If i have to explain this then i can't help you
11. Why do i bet these crappy Tuesday Night MAC games?
This happens every someone here who doesnt follow the MAC at all they'll bet the Tuesday Night MAC game between NIU and Ball State their team is down 17-0 in the 1st quarter and they make threads saying"Why do i bet these Crappy Tuesday Night MAC games" And i respond"Do you bet MAC games that are played on Saturday?" They say no every time. I bet each game as if it were on Saturday. I don't bet the Tuesday MAC game and Wednesday Sun Belt game because i need action.
Now someone may say "Packers LY you had some Tuesday MAC Bets" And you're right but i also had
Saturday MAC bets. I've said this here 1,000 times for 95% of the betting public betting a MAC game on Saturday is like going to the bar and ordering water. I guess i like water. Look it'd be weird on a big Saturday of college football if at a Vegas sports book if you went up there and said"Hi i'd like to bet $770 on Akron -4" They probably look at you like a 3 headed nun. But if thats the best bet then bet it. Same goes with C-USA,Mountain West,Sun Belt etc. I've won a lot of money the last 2 years in C-USA. Why? IDK. FIND THE WINNERS
I have more tips to post and i'll do so in a minute
12. The Big game doesn't mean a Big play or even a play at all
Its a common mistake i see made a lot that the game of the week or the game that College Gameday goes to should be bet big. Most of time i say no. The Game of the century and the Gameday etc IMO rarely warrant a play because those games are hyped all week. Usually those teams are public teams so there isn't line Value. The big game for me is the one i have a max bet on. Bet a grand on this years Idaho-Appalachian State game and it will be a big game. As a matter of fact here are list of big games i bet that were Max plays{Max play for me is a grand}:
Arizona-UNLV,Iowa State-Tulsa,Ohio-Akron,San Jose State-Hawaii,Maryland-Wake Forest,Cicninnati-Memphis,UAB-Marshall,California-Colorado,UCONN-Temple. These games got no hype at all and i did Ok. Try to concentrate on games most don't care about because you get line value
13. Don't be afraid to bet totals
If the winner in your mind is a total bet it. Too many guys are scored off by totals but if you do a little research you can find edges in betting totals. the oddsmakers are focused on getting the spread right. Most offer totals because their competition does
14. If you can find multiple places to bet
Its hard to do especially with the government not legalizing online gamblng and all that b.s but if possible have multiple places to bet whether its offshore or wherever
15. If you lose pay on time
You may say "Packers when i win i don't get paid always on time" that may be true but if you lose pay on time and be done with it. treat others better than they treat you
16. Invest in preseason magazines
I don't care if you bet big,small medium etc you have to invest in preseason preview magazines. Phil Steele,Marc Lawrence playbook,Lindy's,Athlon,Sporting News are the ones i would say most of us have. If you had to have only 2 i'd say Phil Steele and Marc Lawrence would be the 2. hell when i'm watching games i have the Phil Steele magazine right near me.
17. When in doubt... skip it
There are 128 FBS teams there's anywhere from 50-60 games a week If you have any doubt about a game skip it don't waste time on it move on and find the winners
18. I like Duke Packers1992 likes Georgia Tech and he usually does well so i'll go with Packers because he's normally right
No you will not go with me because i'm right. Because i may not be right. No one here on covers,or some talking head should change your opinion on a game. If Duke in your mind is the play bet Duke. There are a few guys here i really respect but they aren't going to sway me on any game nor will i sway them. Don't flip-flop on a game because someone you may like or dislike likes the other side
19. When you bet on a team know that team's style
There was a guy when i 1st joined covers who had a big bet on a game involving Army. Army was down 2 or 3 scores in the 3rd quarter and he wrote the following"Why doesn't Army get in the shotgun and throw the ball'?"
He bet on a Triple option team and when you bet on a team that runs the Triple Option and they can't run/they're down 2-3 scores you're screwed. he bet on Army without knowing they are an option team
Please don't be that guy
Well guys that wraps it up fpr me. I hope you enjoyed reading what i wrote and i hope this may help you going forward. College football is closer to being here and now we have a 4 team playoff to look forward to. The season can't get here fast enough. BOL this season guys
Your thoughts are welcome