[Tommy]

Pinnacle Pulse

The inside line from PinnacleSports.com by Simon Noble

In earlier columns we’ve discussed the effect of discounted vigorish on
major sports. This week, I'd like to take a closer look at proposition
bets. A proposition (or prop bet) is simply a wager on something other
than a game spread or total. It can cover anything from which of two
batters will get more hits, to who will win the next Heisman trophy.
Proposition wagers are typically available on any major sport.

Why should you bother with propositions? The answer is simple - these are
the easiest for a player to beat. Most bettors will be shocked to learn
this, but sports books routinely lose money on props and oftentimes a
break-even day is considered a small victory.

When you see a spread on an NFL game, that spread is the result of at
least a dozen separate odds makers whose collective opinion is merged to
form the market. When you wager on a proposition, it’s typically your
opinion versus one odds maker. If you know more than that one odds maker,
you are going to get the best of it.

Sports books know that propositions are dangerous. Many try to protect
themselves by using 30 or 40 cent lines with low wagering limits. Some
will even force prop players to mix their action by playing regular lines
as a condition of continued proposition wagering. Many professional
players will confirm this – for the smaller players, betting on props is
one of the best ways to win long-term. And by playing at low juice, the
odds will be even more in your favor.

At PinnacleSports.com we use a 16 cent line on props, which offers up to
60% greater value than other books. With hundreds of propositions to
choose from including props on every major sport as well as fantasy
football player match-ups, reality TV shows, poker tournaments and even
the World Chess Championships, there is literally something for everyone.

Why do sports books continue offering props? At Pinnacle Sports we have
noticed two things that make props worth offering: 1) new players drawn by
props never leave after trying the rest of the site; and 2) prop players
branch out to the rest of our discount-priced wagering like on the games
below, which have seen interesting betting patterns early in the week.

Florida (-4 +106) at Alabama

Urban Meyer has won his last 20 games as a head coach, a streak beginning
on November 1, 2003 while coaching Utah. He hopes to earn his fifth win
this season leading the Gators into Tuscaloosa. This match-up features
two of the strongest defenses in the country; Florida allowing 232.5
yds/game, and Alabama permitting 223 yds/game.

Beware the early money, as it is usually sharp. This game was no exception
with regular sharps all over Alabama early. This opened at Alabama +4
+105, and was bet down to +4 -116 (or +3.5 -110). We are seeing some
opposition at -4 -101, but we are unsure which way this game will head
closer to the weekend.

Notre Dame (+3) at Purdue

Weis's Irish have opened up their offense, averaging 295 passing yards per
game, and 475 total yards per game. Notre Dame has not generated that much
offense in any of the last 10 years. Purdue has pursued a more balanced
attack, averaging 218 passing yards, and 210 rushing yards per game. Both
defenses seem soft and each allows roughly 300 yards per game. Statistics
are a dangerous tool to use for odds making in NCAA football, especially
in the early season. Statistics get distorted when a high tier team plays
down (like Notre Dame against Pittsburgh and Washington, or Purdue versus
Akron).

We opened this game at Purdue -1.5. Around 5:00pm on Sunday, other books
opened at Purdue -3.5.The sharp players moved in like vultures, picking
off the gap. Able to take Purdue -1.5 -105 and Notre Dame +3.5 at other
books, the market squeezed to a neutral point around -2.5 / -3. Due to our
opener, a majority of the early money was on Purdue. Once the price
stabilized, we were still seeing sharp action on Purdue at -2.5/-109 and
-3/+107.

Dallas (+3) at Oakland

The Raiders are 0-3 after losing competitive games to New England,
Philadelphia and Kansas City. Oakland is still favored at home though
against the 2-1 Cowboys. Dallas struggled to win last week against San
Francisco, scoring two 4th quarter TD's to win 34-31.

Games lined on a "3" are both interesting and frightening for a line
manager. We opened the game at +3 +105, and are seeing the sharper players
divided on this game. Raiders backers are using point buy/selling to play
-2.5, -3 and -3.5. We have other professional players on Dallas +3 and
+3.5 but none are selling down to +2.5. If the game lands on the "3", we
end up paying wagers on both sides of the game.

Indianapolis (-7) at Tennessee

Indianapolis disappointed its backers last week. After getting first and
goal from the Cleveland 7 with 88 seconds left, Indianapolis knelt on the
ball 3 times. This secured an injury-free win for the Colts and a loss for
those betting Indianapolis at -13.5 last week. The Colts defense has
played well allowing only 16 points the entire season. Meanwhile,
Tennessee has had offensive problems, managing only four offensive
touchdowns in three games.

We opened this game at -6.5 flat, and all the early action was on the
Colts. When it was bet down to -6.5 -109, we started to get money
trickling in on the dog, mostly bought up to +7. For now, we are siding
with the dog bettors and accepting Colts money by holding our price. As
with all games lined on the "3" and "7", we are seeing a lot of point
buying through the key number.

San Diego at New England O/U 47

This year, games with these two teams have averaged 49 points per game. It
is early in the season though, and team statistics tend to revert somewhat
towards the mean.

We opened this with a total of 45 and were flooded with over money at a
ratio of eight wagers on the over for every one accepted on the under.
Even after we moved to 47, there is still upward pressure as part of the
market is trading at 47.5. Those who played over 45 got great value, but
how much? The 45 hits about 3% of the time; the 46 hits 1.5% and the 47
hits 3% of the time. Therefore over 45 should win a little over 55% of the
time. Thanks to -105 pricing, those early sharps netted at least an 8%
theoretical yield on their bets.