by William Foote
Tuesday, October 7, 2003
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It is not my style to hoot, holler and howl about accomplishments. It never has been and never will be. This industry is full of that and Superior Sports tries to separate a bit from the crowd by being straightforward and relatively understated. That said; this is an extremely competitive industry, there are literally several new handicapping web sites coming online each day and hundreds and hundreds already online.
Needless to say, to compete in it, a certain amount of sales talk is necessary. Those that have been with us for years upon years have noticed we are a bit more promotional now than in the old days. That said; we are always straightforward and always honest. Win or lose, our selections are posted on the Track Us page and I have always spoke candidly about the ups and downs of sports betting. In turn, when there is something I am excited about, I let our marketing department know so they can convey the message in our newsletter and on our web site.
The reason I say all this now is because we are nearing what is, and always has been, one of the most incredible opportunities available in the world of sports betting. Quite simply, NHL Hockey is that opportunity. There is no better sport and there is no better time than the NHL right now. For those of you not familiar with hockey and that have not played with us in the past, let me briefly explain.
To start, the odds makers do not pay much attention to Hockey. Odds makers concentrate on the sports they receive the most action in. In order of merit, Football ranks first, then Basketball followed by Baseball and then Hockey. Obviously, if a bookmaker is receiving $100,000 worth of action per week in Football and only $1,000 a week in Hockey, his attention will be focused on Football.
With the MLB playoffs, Football in full swing and Basketball right around the corner, Hockey is the forgotten stepchild. While NHL Lines are never as sharp as the other three sports, the first several months of NHL lines are even more out of whack. Since the odds makers are not paying full attention, they are using last year’s power rankings or only a small portion of this year’s numbers to set the line. I am here to tell you this type of information has very little to do with the outcome of an NHL Game early on in the season. In no uncertain terms, NHL lines are softer than any of the other major sports
This fact alone allows the sharp player to absolutely clean house. Let me give you an example. I’ve used this same example last year and I think the year before, but it is still very relevant and conveys the message appropriately. Our first Superior Daily NHL Selection in 2001 was Pittsburgh and Ottawa ‘over’ the total. We also handed out the Pittsburgh side to our High Roller Subscribers. The total was 5.5 and Pittsburgh was a +135 Underdog on the Money Line. In the write up, we told you that this line was out of whack because of some misleading final scores in the first several games. In fact, Pittsburgh was 0-4 at the time but had a few days off and had made some internal changes to their offensive scheme.
In any other sport, the oddsmakers would know about this and incorporate the info into their line. Therefore; there is no value in it. Not so in Hockey! The odds makers were simply relying on stats they had seen through the first four games and had little idea about what was actually going on. We knew this because we use almost the same exact formulas to set a line that the lines makers do. However, we had supplementary information from our NHL sources that told us Pittsburgh was due for a “Break Out” offensive performance, as they had been extremely sharp in practice and their changes certainly had made a difference. Our prediction for that game was Pittsburgh 5-2. Well, Pittsburgh did win 5-2 and gave us a Free Pick winner on the Over and our High Roller Clients benefited from a side winner on Pittsburgh +135.
This isolated example of winning with the exact score on both the total and side is not used for the purpose of saying we are larger than life because we were right about that particular game. After all, even a blind squirrel can find nuts every once in a while and anyone can guess a final score if predicting enough games. What I am trying to convey however, is that myself, along with a few very knowledgeable consultants that work with me have access to several “NHL sources” that give us extremely accurate insider type of information. The odds-makers had no idea Pittsburgh had made a few offensive changes and were due for a break out game. We receive similar information about several NHL games per night.
Last year we started the first few weeks of the season hitting at an 80% clip. This was simply because we had entirely more accurate info than the odds maker had. Before you ask, the answer is no. We did not continue that pace, as it is impossible to hit 80% over any extended amount of time. However, 65% winners day in and day out, over the course of a couple of months will put your bookmaker out of business. In fact, I am no longer welcome at several books and have been put at grade school limits at other books for this very reason.
Most of you could care less about Hockey and that is fine. This NHL summary is really not for you. I wrote this for those serious players that are truly interested in finding an edge, no matter what the sport. As you all know, to win consistently you need to have more accurate information than the odds-makers. It is you against them and most of the time they know more. I truly can say without a doubt in my mind our power rankings, our contacts and our consultants know more than the books and can give you a rare opportunity to take your man to the cleaners.
Given how much Superior Sports has grown over the years and the number of smaller and first time players now interested in our service; I’ve chosen to reduce the rate of our program from the $1000 to $499. If you are very serious about winning, I strongly advise our NHL High Roller Club this season. We are very selective with these picks, but they are the best we have and they have ripped the books to shreds over the years.
Very rarely will I write an article solely to promote one of our services, as the mission of Superior Sports is to inform and educate our readers about the world of sports betting. But, the second part of our mission is to make available the information to help our reader’s sports betting become more profitable. And the NHL is as good of chance as any. Whether it is with us or on your own, give the NHL a look. Quite simply, the lines are not as sharp and the edge is certainly available for those that know what they are doing.
