Tag: futures

NFC South Betting Preview: Saints are a legit threat to knock off Tom Brady’s Bucs

Do the Bucs have one more title run left in them?

With the NFL preseason in full swing, Bet FTW is taking a dive into each division to preview how each team stacks up and separate the contenders from pretenders in order to select the best futures. This is the NFC South.

The Bucs had one of the weirder off-seasons this summer thanks to Tom Brady’s mysterious retirement and near-departure for Miami only to reverse course and come back, as head coach Bruce Arians stepped down, only to step away again during the preseason. But with the GOAT quarterback in the lineup, Tampa remains one of the more dangerous teams in the NFC.

That same dangerous team that nearly knocked off the eventual Super Bowl champs in the playoffs also lost twice to the division foe Saints last season, however. So is New Orleans, or another team, ready to take that next step?

Odds courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook.

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NFC North Betting Preview: One surprise team is rising, but not fast enough to knock off the Packers

No Davante Adams. No problem.

With the NFL preseason in full swing, Bet FTW is taking a dive into each division to preview how each team stacks up and separate the contenders from pretenders in order to select the best futures. This is the NFC North.

The biggest move of the offseason in the NFC North wasn’t an addition, but rather the departure of Davante Adams from the Green Bay Packers. However, even that move will end up being of no consequence.

In the North, there’s Green Bay, and then there’s everyone else. And that will remain the case post-Adams. The Packers’ defense is legit, their running backs make up maybe the NFL’s best tandem, and the quarterback is still the reigning MVP. Bet on them winning the North, and here are a few more bets you can take to the bank.

Odds courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook.

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Albert Pujols has until Oct. 5 to reach 700 home runs. Don’t doubt The Machine’s chances.

The St. Louis Machine never breaks.

It’s starting to feel a little bit like 1998 again in St. Louis, isn’t it?

Sure, Aaron Judge is the only one in baseball who is chasing the single-season home run record (which is 73, not 61), but Albert Pujols’ quest to hit 700 home runs for his career feels significantly more urgent.

Judge may have another crack at Barry Bonds’ record. Pujols has made clear he intends to retire after this season whether or not he becomes the fourth player in MLB history to reach 700.

Sportsbooks all over are rushing to price out the odds here. One oddsmaker and market analyst told BetFTW the true percentage for Pujols to hit 700 is 18 percent—odds that translate to about +425.

At the rate he’s currently hitting, the Cardinals legend will surely make that number look comical by the end of the year.

Of course, that’s not how baseball works. Small sample sizes are often more fun in the abstract. The reality is Pujols rakes against lefties and does little damage against anyone else.

Baseball-Reference gives him a 15 percent chance to reach 700 even at his current rate:

But let’s consider a few important factors here.

  1. Those RHP/LHP splits are no joke.
    2022 Stats BA OBP SLG HR
    vs. RHP .184 .285 .316 4
    vs. LHP .398 .436 .807 10
  2. The Cardinals are five games up on the Brewers for first in the NL Central and have the third-easiest schedule remaining. Seven of those upcoming games are in extremely hitter-friendly stadiums like Wrigley Field and Great American Ball Park.
  3. Pujols is going to get every opportunity possible to mash a home run. No matter the score, the inning or if he’s on the bench.

Any time a lefty enters the game, it’s fair to assume Pujols will, too. So if Baseball Reference is assuming that 15 percent chance comes with him playing in just 59 percent of St. Louis’ remaining games, it’s not hard to imagine him surpassing that threshold and increasing his odds.

Here’s the other bit of reality: Watching great players chase historic milestones never, ever gets old. Crazier things have happened in baseball than someone who’s nickname is literally The Machine continuing to produce at a ridiculous rate.

Bet on Pujols hitting No. 700 this year. Bet on it because no one wants to root for this under to hit. Bet on it because many of the prices offered will be so far off the true value it’s impossible to turn down. Bet on it because we all deserve to witness greatness while we can.

But first accept that the odds are stacked against you before you place that bet. Because baseball, if nothing else, is cruelty in action.

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Yankees’ slump is sending their World Series odds in the wrong direction. Buy now

It’s time to buy low on the Yankees.

The New York Yankees sure don’t look like anybody’s future title-winning team right now. After holding down one of the two best records in the majors for most if not all of the season, they’ve seemingly just forgot how to play.

New York has a 7-11 record since the All-Star break and is just 1-6 in its last seven games, including a five-game losing streak. The Yankees even forgot how to run bases in Tuesday’s loss to the Mariners.

As a result of the skid, their odds to win the World Series have tumbled. They went from +350 at the start of August — second-shortest behind the Dodgers — to +450 ahead of Wednesday’s game. Those Tipico Sportsbook odds now have them a distant third behind the Dodgers (+320) and cross-town rival Mets (+350).

They took a similar slide at other sportsbooks.

However, this little slump isn’t a reason to sell your Yankees stock. Rather, it’s a perfect opportunity to buy their futures at odds longer than we’ve seen since June.

Looking at how they’ve performed, particularly since the start of August, there really isn’t one particular problem area holding them back. They’ve seen good pitching and good offense in spurts, and simply haven’t been able to put the two together at the same time.

They lost Tuesday’s game 1-0, squandering a 13-inning gem by Gerrit Cole and the bullpen. But before you blame the offense, they scored nine runs in each of the previous two games. They won one but lost another because they allowed 12 runs. This isn’t a Marlins situation, where the team simply can’t score. And the pitching as a whole hasn’t been good of late, but most of the same arms are still there from earlier in the season.

The delayed return of starter Luis Severino from the injured list is certainly a concern, especially after New York traded Jordan Montgomery at the deadline. But as long as the Yankees have a healthy rotation going into the postseason, I trust the law of averages to balance things out. With so much talent, they’ll be as competitive as anybody.

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CFB coaches and oddsmakers agree on the top four teams, but not much after that

USA TODAY Sports’ coaches poll deviates quite a bit from the odds.

Futures odds aren’t an exact ranking of how teams are expected to perform because big bets can swing odds and cause teams to leap or drop a few spots. And other factors beyond actual ability can also change the order of odds. However, it isn’t exactly the worst ranking system. By and large, the better the team, the shorter the odds. And the worse a team is, the longer its odds.

With that in mind, I took a look at the recent USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll to cross-check the rankings with national championship odds at Tipico Sportsbook. And while the coaches and odds agree on the top four teams — Alabama (+190), Ohio State (+330), Georgia (+350) and Clemson (+1200), with a considerable gap between three and four — there were a few discrepancies after that may reflect who the coaches see as overrated and underrated.

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Roquan Smith’s trade request is another reminder to fade the Chicago Bears while you still can

Last place in the NFC North? Worst record in football? It’s all very much in play for Chicago now.

It seems like the Chicago Bears can’t go a day or two without creating headlines for the wrong reasons.

If it’s not Teven Jenkins absence from practice, it’s N’Keal Harry’s ankle injury. On Tuesday, the Monsters of the Midway were dealt their biggest blow yet: a trade request from defensive cornerstone Roquan Smith.

There’s no understating how much this sets back the Bears in their rebuild. Smith has been as productive a linebacker as Chicago could’ve hoped for when it drafted him No. 8 overall in 2018. Through the first 61 games of what’s turning into a brilliant career, the Georgia product has recorded 524 tackles, 14 sacks, 17 deflections, five interceptions and scored one touchdown with a forced fumble and fumble recovery on his resume.

He was on his way to joining a list of Bears linebacker legends like Brian Urlacher, Dick Butkus and Mike Singletary. Now he can’t get out of town fast enough.

The Bears apparently didn’t see the value in keeping a player like that well-payed and satisfied. That’s their loss. The rest of us can capitalize and what should be an absolutely abysmal football season in Chicago and at least turn misery into profits.

With Smith likely out of the picture, here are the best bets you can make as the Bears prepare to fight for the top pick in 2023.

All odds via Tipico

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Sports Betting Futures: World Series, WNBA and preseason Super Bowl odds entering August

Justin Verlander is the new favorite for AL MVP.

It’s the start of August, which means the NFL is ramping back up with preseason play. So, it’s no better time than now to make yourself aware of the Super Bowl odds for each team, as they could potentially change as position battles are won and injuries inevitably occur.

In baseball, the Dodgers and Yankees remain the two World Series favorites, though the Astros and Mets have closed the gap a little. The award races are less tight, as Aaron Judge and Paul Goldschmidt have shortened their respective AL and NL MVP odds by a lot over the last month. And Justin Verlander is the new favorite for the AL Cy Young Award.

Here’s a look at all of that and more entering August, with odds from Tipico Sportsbook.

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The 2022 MLB Draft caused all sorts of chaos for bettors and sportsbooks

Few bettors saw Jackson Holliday going No. 1 overall

After whiffing on the top picks in the NBA, NHL and NFL drafts earlier this year, there was plenty of pressure on sportsbooks to avoid going 0-4 when the MLB Draft rolled around on Sunday.

This, of course, presented its own problem because baseball’s draft is the least straightforward of the four major North American sports. Rarely will MLB teams with the No. 1 pick select the top overall prospect. Not if they can get a player to sign under slot value to help spread their bonus pool money out.

So despite being the the consensus top player in this year’s class, Druw Jones was not selected No. 1 overall by the Baltimore Orioles. Jackson Holliday  (+900) was.

And neither bettors nor sportsbooks really saw it coming.

2022 Open Championship: Sportsbooks clean up as Tiger Woods misses the cut

Bad day for bettors. An even worse one for Woods.

Well, so much for everyone who blindly tossed a few units on Tiger Woods at the 150th Open Championship this weekend.

The Old Course at St. Andrews just totally ate up the GOAT, beginning with his first drive off the tee at No. 1 on Thursday, which landed in a divot and saw him start the round with a double bogey.

Woods officially missed the cut on Friday after finishing 9-over par. His final walk down the 18th fairway was an exceptionally emotional scene for Woods and his fans.

It was less emotional for oddsmakers, who had tremendous liability on Woods this weekend.

Over at Tipico Sportsbook, 10 percent of bets were on Tiger to win (+7000), but 71 percent of bets placed had him missing the cut.

A rough week in Scotland for Woods was expected, as much as bettors wanted to believe otherwise.

Here’s hoping Tiger still has better days ahead of him.

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5 ridiculous names Canadians can legally bet on to become the next President of the United States

Actors, entrepreneurs, wrestlers and that’s not even the half of it

In order to legally wager on United States elections, you’ll have to visit a sportsbook outside of the country. While handicapping poll results is nothing new, there are still some very understandable reasons why it hasn’t made its way to the states.

If you live close enough up north, you can, however, hop across the border with your cellphone and start placing wagers now in Ontario.

DraftKings Sportsbook has posted live odds for the 2024 U.S. presidential election, and while many of the names are quite familiar, there are another handful that will stop you cold in your tracks—and also maybe have you considering a small bet on them.

Let’s run through the most absurd “candidates” here.