Last week was probably the best week I have had all year as a bookmaker. Not only did the public fall on its face again, the sharp players also had a tough week. When you combine those two, it makes for a very profitable week to be a bookmaker.
It started on Saturday with the squares having another awful day. This makes three straight Saturdays where they have lost almost everything. It is good, but also bad in a way, as it is getting to the point where many of them may not be able to pay on time, if at all. The public's biggest plays were on Iowa, Virginia, Alabama -3.5, Arizona State and Oregon, all of which lost. Their only winner was on Texas, which beat up on Texas Tech. I also had a lot of local action on Auburn against LSU, but not enough to matter.
The sharp players were firing hard again on Saturday, but they mostly shot blanks. The biggest winner was on Arkansas against Georgia, but most of the square action came on the Bulldogs, which helped out. The sharps also took Tennessee +3.5, which cancelled out most of the square action on the Crimson Tide. Vanderbilt and SMU were their other winners on the day, but they were small in volume compared to Arkansas.
The big volume losers were numerous, starting with Syracuse against Pittsburgh. Texas A&M was the biggest loser on the day, as the line closed at -6.5 after opening the day at -3.5.
Nebraska was another big mover, closing at -2 after opening +3 against Missouri. San Jose State was also a big loser, as it lost to Hawaii at home. Other games that were popular sharp losers were BYU, Tennessee OVER, Oklahoma State and Texas UNDER.
For the day, the biggest bet sharp games were 4-8 at my book. On Sunday, the public was killed again, with their only winners on Washington and Indianapolis against San Francisco and Houston. They also had losers on Seattle, Buffalo and Green Bay.
The sharp players had a big victory on Minnesota on the early games and Arizona late, but lost with Houston, Philadelphia and Seattle. They were 2-1 on the biggest totals plays, winning with Seattle UNDER and Arizona UNDER, while losing with San Diego OVER. Overall, the sharps were 4-4 on the day, but a small winner because of the volume on Minnesota and Arizona.
I also won on the World Series in Games 1 and 2 as most players went with Houston in both games. With no Sunday night NFL game, most of the public went with the Astros in Game 2 to try to get even for the week. This was the most action I have had on any postseason game all year.
While it is good to win all the time, it can also be a negative if many of your players run out of betting money and can not afford to pay or keep playing. Hopefully, readers of this newsletter are not anywhere near this position! Always remember to play smart, and not over your head.
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