What is Sports Handicapping?
Sports handicapping involves the process of determining which of two sports teams, if either, is favored in a specific event or during a series of games or how individual clubs will do in an entire season. It can also pertain to sports that feature individuals such as car racing, tennis and golf. And of course, horse races are also handicapped. If you’re interested in professional sports betting, it’s important that you understand how handicapping works, its purpose and intended result.
Some Basics Concerning Handicappers
Sports handicappers usually work for sportsbooks, for pick services or for sports bettors. Although handicapping tends to be closely associated with thoroughbred racing, it is a part of each and every sport on which people wager.
It’s rare to find a good handicapper who does all sports. These experts are not only experts on sports betting, they tend to be experts on a specific sport or a few sports. They live, eat and drink the sport and they are able to create moneylines, points spreads and over/unders that are extremely accurate.
The Handicapper’s Work
Handicapping involves a complete and ongoing analysis of a sport and its various contests, match-ups, series and games. Here are some of the activities involved in the process of handicapping.
Are You a Handicapper?
Every sports bettor is striving to be the best handicapper that they can. The job of the person who is betting on sports is to be able to analyze the matchups and the event themselves and then see how accurate they feel the odds makers who created the lines, spreads or over/unders have been.
Many sports bettors hire handicappers, often through a pick service that supplies them with a list of what teams they should go with. Although you can hire a handicapper on your own, going with a pick service is much cheaper. Even if you do pay for picks, you want to keep very involved in the sport and continue to develop your own knowledge and skills.
Handicapping demands skill, knowledge and a keenly analytical mind. At their best, a professional handicapper who supplies picks is right about 65% of the time over the course of a season. That goes to show how refined a skill handicapping is.
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Sports handicapping involves the process of determining which of two sports teams, if either, is favored in a specific event or during a series of games or how individual clubs will do in an entire season. It can also pertain to sports that feature individuals such as car racing, tennis and golf. And of course, horse races are also handicapped. If you’re interested in professional sports betting, it’s important that you understand how handicapping works, its purpose and intended result.
Some Basics Concerning Handicappers
Sports handicappers usually work for sportsbooks, for pick services or for sports bettors. Although handicapping tends to be closely associated with thoroughbred racing, it is a part of each and every sport on which people wager.
It’s rare to find a good handicapper who does all sports. These experts are not only experts on sports betting, they tend to be experts on a specific sport or a few sports. They live, eat and drink the sport and they are able to create moneylines, points spreads and over/unders that are extremely accurate.
The Handicapper’s Work
Handicapping involves a complete and ongoing analysis of a sport and its various contests, match-ups, series and games. Here are some of the activities involved in the process of handicapping.
- Understanding of the rules of the sport.
- Understanding of the sport’s strategy.
- Complete knowledge of each team including:
- Players.
- Recruiting system.
- Offense.
- Defense.
- Coaches.
- Front Office.
- Philosophy.
- Budget and salaries.
- Injuries and trades.
- Minor league or farm system.
- Fan base.
- Home field, court, ice, etc.
- History.
- Past and recent performance.
- An analysis of player and squad match-ups.
- Knowledge of recent past meetings.
- A consideration of the importance of the game for each team.
- The weather.
- Potential big time or break through performances.
- Trends.
- Changing situations.
Are You a Handicapper?
Every sports bettor is striving to be the best handicapper that they can. The job of the person who is betting on sports is to be able to analyze the matchups and the event themselves and then see how accurate they feel the odds makers who created the lines, spreads or over/unders have been.
Many sports bettors hire handicappers, often through a pick service that supplies them with a list of what teams they should go with. Although you can hire a handicapper on your own, going with a pick service is much cheaper. Even if you do pay for picks, you want to keep very involved in the sport and continue to develop your own knowledge and skills.
Handicapping demands skill, knowledge and a keenly analytical mind. At their best, a professional handicapper who supplies picks is right about 65% of the time over the course of a season. That goes to show how refined a skill handicapping is.
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