Another week of college football madness and teams are on the move in the eyes of the committee for no rhyme or reason. Oklahoma allegedly controls a game where they slip by TCU (without Boykin) by a single point despite entering as 17 point chalk…interesting. Iowa moves up the rankings while being outgained by the mighty Purdue Boilermakers, fascinating. Then there’s Notre Dame that manhandled Boston College everywhere on the stat sheet but since the final score indicated a tightly contested football game Fighting Irish stock took a solid hit. Thankfully in this crazy mixed up world we have the answer key to all of the college football community’s most pressing questions; our Vegas Top 10. William Hill Stations Westgate Cantor Bookmaker MGM Todd Clemson Clemson Alabama Alabama Alabama Alabama Alabama Alabama Alabama Oklahoma (t-2) Clemson Clemson Clemson Clemson Notre Dame Oklahoma Clemson (t-2) Oklahoma Oklahoma Stanford Oklahoma Oklahoma Iowa Ohio St Notre Dame Michigan St Baylor Baylor (t-4) Michigan St Notre Dame Baylor (t-5) North Carolina Notre Dame Oklahoma Ohio St (t-4) Iowa Michigan St Stanford (t-5) Iowa Iowa Notre Dame Stanford Baylor Baylor Oregon (t-7) Baylor Baylor Michigan St Notre Dame North Carolina Oklahoma St Ole Miss (t-7) Ohio St Ohio St Florida Ole Miss Michigan Ohio St Michigan (t-8) Michigan St North Carolina Michigan Michigan Stanford Michigan Notre Dame (t-8) Florida Stanford Oklahoma St Oregon After Ohio State’s ugly loss to Michigan St on Saturday, Alabama and Clemson are now share top billing among the oddsmakers in our poll. The only other team receiving votes for the second spot aside from the aforementioned Tide and Tigers is the Oklahoma Sooners via the Westgate Superbook. Once we get beyond the top three lines of the various polls the overall power profile gets...

The holiday spectacular podcast needs absolutely no introduction.  Payne brought his A-game like always and we had separate visits from Dave Mason of BOL to talk NFL and Scott Mitchell of Sun Media Group with a thorough preview of the 103rd Grey Cup.  We didn’t stop there; rants on gambling etiquette and movie reviews also made the show.  We capped it all off with a college football best bet from our producer Sam Panayatovich. Enjoy the entertaining listen but most importantly be smart and safe this Thanksgiving weekend…not only with your food choices and bankrolls but getting behind the wheel of a car if you’ve had too many adult beverages. Listen to the podcast here every week or subscribe on SOUND CLOUD and ITUNES Still looking for an offshore option? BetOnline has special offers just for our listeners...

Golden State is the talk of the town after steam rolling the Lakers last night to make history.  The Warriors are the first team in NBA history to start the season 16-0 and with that major milestone in the books, everyone’s attention shifts to the other side of the coin. What team will be the 1st to knock off the Luke Walton led defending champions this year?  Cantor Technology has a creative prop bet allowing you to bet on which team will indeed be the first to do so. 11/27 Suns +115 11/28 Kings 11-1 11/30 & 12/23 Jazz 11-5 12/2 Hornets 6-1 12/5 Raptors 11-2 12/6 Nets 27-1 12/8 Pacers 14-1 12/11 Celtics 16-1 12/12 & 12/18 Bucks 20-1 12/25 Cavaliers 33-1 12/30 Mavericks 65-1 12/ 31 Rockets 45-1 Undefeated 23-1...

All lines courtesy of Westgate Superbook THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015 EAGLES -3 EVEN LIONS PANTHERS COWBOYS PK BEARS PACKERS -7 SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015 SAINTS TEXANS -2.5 VIKINGS FALCONS -3 EVEN RAMS BENGALS -7 BUCS COLTS -3.5 EVEN GIANTS REDSKINS PK RAIDERS -1.5 TITANS BILLS CHIEFS -3 DOLPHINS JETS -4 CHARGERS JAGUARS -1.5 CARDINALS -8 49ERS STEELERS SEAHAWKS -3.5 PATRIOTS -5.5 BRONCOS MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2015 RAVENS -2.5***line assumed a healthy Joe Flacco...

After a prolonged international break and well received rest, our EPL resident handicapper James Kempton is back with complete fixture analysis for the weekend.  If you’re not already reading his weekly goal rush column, it’s pure gold and should be a must read for every football fan Watford v Manchester United Manchester United -0.5 and 2.25 goals Watford have struggled to find the net on home soil as they’ve scored just three times at Vicarage Road this campaign. They have only conceded four goals though so against this defend first United team it looks set to be a tight low scoring game. I like the away team to do enough and lean towards the unders in this one. United 1-0 anyone? Chelsea v Norwich City Chelsea -1.25 and 2.75 goals Perhaps some time away from the Bridge for many of the Chelsea players could help the mood of the camp? Last time the International Break came it seemed to work as they returned home and beat Aston Villa 2-0. In view of that I will not put anyone off backing the home favourite but I prefer the over. Forty three goals in the teams’ combined six home and away games respectively makes me take the over even though it is set at the 2.75 level. Everton v Aston Villa Everton -1 and 2.75 goals Sixteen of the last seventeen EPL meets of the sides have seen at least two goals with over 2.5 goals going 11-6. Villa will obviously look to keep this game tight early on as they did against Man City and make Everton work hard for their opportunities. I tentatively lean to the away dog although Villa may attempt to frustrate the long term trends suggest the value is on the...

Just when you thought the best NFL gambling podcast around couldn’t take things to new heights we came out firing this week!  Payne offered some very strong thoughts on the concept of buying points along with what it means to truly identify an edge in your betting. Dave Mason stopped by and shared plenty of thoughts not only on the parade of dogs last weekend but also what the big UFC upset meant to the house.  This was a show that ran the gamut of everything wagering related including our strong take on a few marquee matchups this weekend. Listen to the podcast here every week or subscribe on SOUND CLOUD and ITUNES Still looking for an offshore option? BetOnline has special offers just for our...

Time flies during the NFL regular season and it’s hard to believe we’re about to Week 10 in our rearview mirror after tonight’s Texans @ Bengals clash.  Payne and I had some strong opinions over the weekend but only a modest lean to tonight’s clash.  However, read the tea leaves and you’ll get a firm understanding of exactly where the market is headed for Week 11 long before it gets there. Listen to the podcast here every week or subscribe on SOUND CLOUD and ITUNES Still looking for an offshore option? BetOnline has special offers just for our...

UFC 193 Rousey vs. Holm: Armbar in Australia All fight analysis provided by Gamblou Good Saturday fight Enthusiasts. Our last fight blog produced a poor result as we dove into dogs and got duped! That said, we do what we do and today’s card from Melbourne is sure to produce a few mangy mutts….our job as we understand it is to deliver live dogs so let’s go hunting for value. Vaculik -110 vs. Martinez -110 Vaculik is 1-2 in the UFC while Martinez is 0-4. This appears to be a fight between a couple of cans but upon closer look we see a fight that will be determined by where it takes place. Vaculik is a high paced grinder who will try to get Martinez to the mat for a maul. Vaculik will have a distinct edge on the floor and that is where he intends to take this fight. Martinez returns to the 125 weight class which we feel will be an advantage for him. Danny takes this fight on a full training camp which we feel is important. He’ll own sizable advantages on the feet where his striking and power will overwhelm the Aussie if this one does not get to the floor. Which way do we go? Martinez -110 Struve -135 vs. Rosholt +115 Struve’s size and length will be an issue for the stubby wrestler for if this is a standing affair we believe it will be a long night for Rosholt. Struve’s striking and power are what will trouble the American here if he can’t get ‘up close and personal’ with the skyscraper and take him to the floor for some fun. Struve’s porcelain chin will be hard for Rosholt to touch standing but from top position on the...

It’s time to shine as we turn the corner on the 1st half of the NFL regular season.  As is the custom around these parts we love ourselves some ugly ducklings on the podcast.  Payne and I had some strong opinions on what you might expect in this weekend’s biggest games.  Dave Mason stopped by like he does every week, this time with a phone that actually worked!  Plenty of nuggets for handicapping the Bills trip to MetLife as well, listen in it’s podcast gold bound to make you rich. Listen to the podcast here every week or subscribe on SOUND CLOUD and ITUNES Still looking for an offshore option? BetOnline has special offers just for our...

http://www.toddstake.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/11-11-15.mp3 Our weekly visit with the boys in Nashville always yields interesting results.  We spouted off about the committee’s most recent college football rankings while covering lines & leans on the biggest games of the weekend.  Blaine even found a way to sneak in some college hoops discussion in anticipation of Friday’s...

All lines courtesy of the Westgate Superbook THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2015 TITANS JAGUARS -1.5 SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2015 REDSKINS PANTHERS -8.5 RAIDERS -1.5 LIONS COWBOYS DOLPHINS xxxx COLTS FALCONS xxxx RAMS -1.5 RAVENS JETS -3 EVEN TEXANS PACKERS -3 -120 VIKINGS BUCS EAGLES -8 BRONCOS -6 BEARS BENGALS CARDINALS -3 EVEN 49ERS SEAHAWKS -11 CHIEFS -2.5 -120 CHARGERS MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015 BILLS PATRIOTS...

Every Tuesday in November we’re privy to the most hotly contested debate in college sports (no, not what Mizzou administrator will get canned today); what 4 teams are deserving of inclusion in the college football playoff? Thankfully most unveilings are dress rehearsals meant to incite riots among fan bases while giving journalists plenty of fodder for their columns. The main takeaway for me every single week is how does the committee really grade the “best” teams in the land: is it win/loss record? Is it quality wins? Is it game control? Is it style points? Unfortunately the answer is YES to all of the above yet we’re devoid of a truly reliable quantitative element factored into the equation like the BCS required. In order to create an equal playing field there needs to be that math guy balancing out the process among college football blue bloods and athletic directors. Who better than an oddsmaker to share his or her take on proper valuations of the best teams in the land. To better gauge sentiment among the college football community I turned to some of the most influential football writers and oddsmakers to get their thoughts on the idea. “There is NO doubt in my mind that an oddsmaker would be a great addition to the College Football Playoff Committee, I’ve been saying that for several years. There is a bias in college football, especially with a committee whose average age is 57 after decades of being exposed to the bigger “brands” and older “styles” of football,” Peter Burns, SEC Network anchor, said. The list of current committee members reads the following: Jeff Long – Vice Chancellor and Athletic Director University of Arkansas Barray Alvarez – Director of Athletics Wisconsin (Former head football coach) Mike...