By Tony George www.sportsaudioshows.com  

It is always a decision making point at this time of year for Sports Bettors to try moneyline wagering, for their sports junkie fix. With the NBA winding down here, there is no sports betting on a pointspreads this time of year till football other than WNBA or Arena football, which are not all that popular, so you are left with baseball. In my opinion one of the easiest sports to win money at, however a novice sports bettor can get in trouble wagering the moneyline if he or she is not up to speed on one basic principle. Less is more, and I will explain my approach in clear terms.

I have netted 63% moneyline winners in baseball to date so far through the first week of June. I have done it with around 45-50 plays to date since the season began. With this type of win rate and only 1 loss with a MLB totals play to date, I get numerous e-mails about putting out more plays from clients and prospects on a daily basis. Here is an exact pasted e-mail quote from a client in South Carolina named Bill, "Tony, I am unclear and uncertain why you refuse to post more than 1 play a day, or in many cases only put out maybe 5 or 6 plays week? With your weekend selections you have had only 1 losing weekend in the last 7, but you refuse to give us more plays, and this is upsetting to me since I buy your weekly packages and really would like to see more selections. I am making great money but would like to see more! Please explain this?".

The answer is simple folks, LESS IS MORE. I am not an action junkie so to speak but like to wager, but I clearly understand they key to moneyline wagering. When you have a sport like MLB or for that fact even the NBA and College basketball, there are games everyday. If you spread it around too much, there is no way you are going to win money, trust me on that. I recently saw a "known" sports monitoring service where one of the top 3 guys ranked has 117 losses on the year to date, but had 140 wins. There is no way that a recreational sports bettor, or even a seasoned pro like myself with 15 years of betting and sports handicapping experience can handle, organize debt, or pay for 117 losses in a 3 month span no matter how many wins you may have. That is not sports handicapping, it is an attempt to sell as many plays as humanly possible regardless of the clients pocketbook. Furthermore, managing a bankroll with that many plays is out the window since it involves playing heavy favorites of over -170 or higher in order to achieve that many wins. A recipe for disaster in my book.

My approach is simple, and I do it in the NBA and I do it in baseball. Find the best bet on the board, using handicapping techniques that are proven successful over a 145 year span, and bet the play. You have action almost everyday, and your chances of winning at weeks end with a nice tidy profit are 100% higher than betting 20 games a week. Remember, the players in MLB are pro's, all of them. You have the best of the best playing at a high level, and anyone can beat anyone. Anyone playing in pro sports today making the money they are making is a stud, even for the D-Rays and Royals. You cannot count on a team with an ace pitcher laying -260 against a bottom feeder, at home, to win all the time. It happens everyday, and I am very aware of this and cautious of reality in this respect.

I am also proud to say that I have not laid over -160 on any game to date this season. This is a major key in winning money on the moneyline. In 2006, I laid over -150 only 19 times and never laid over -170 in any one game last year. Out of those 19 plays I won 14 of them, so I was pretty sure of myself when stretching the moneyline out to a dangerous point. I look for short favorites or underdogs as well as totals plays at -110 as a rule on a daily basis. The handicapping is harder and more in depth but the profits are higher and the downside is limited.

So remember, manage your expectations when it comes to moneyline wagering and use some discipline. Stop yourself from chasing losses on a moneyline play if you laid a high number and got killed, and use moderation in getting back into the books pocket by simply finding the best bet on the board and betting it, at a reasonable price (-150 or lower). Also wager early in the day before the line shoots up 20 cents or more. The value is found betting before noon central on a daily basis. You can and will find a nice profit at seasons end and plenty of extra cash when the king of all sports wagering, football, hits in late August.