Our soccer coverage of the biggest leagues in Europe is on the rise!  I want to personally welcome @SlickLizardSports to the team for this upcoming fall.  His knowledge of Bundesliga and La Liga will be on display throughout the season adding to our already comprehensive EPL game capsules.  I know you’ll enjoy his content just as much as I do, especially with increased TV coverage beginning this fall. Bayern Munich-Hamburg SV Bayern -2.5 and a total of 3.5 Bayern are the class of Bundesliga once again and have their opponent outclassed in this one. The question isn’t if they’ll win but rather by how much and will they play it hard until the end. I’m reluctant to get involved with a side in this one but will lean to the Over 3.5 as the Reds should score at least 3 themselves and a fourth is not unlikely nor would I count out HSV sneaking one into the back of the net. FC Augsburg- Hertha Berlin FC Augsburg -.5 and a total of 2.25 Hertha Berlin managed a poor offensive showing last season to match their constantly atrocious defense. Without the addition of a striker this offseason, it’s difficult to see any improvement on the horizon. Augsburg should come through at home and I will back them to win against this bottom of the table side. Bayer Leverkusen- Hoffenheim Bayer Leverkusen -1 and a total of 3 Hoffenheim lost a first round match in the DFB-Pokal to second tier side 1860 Munich just a few days ago. I can’t see that as a sign of confidence for the start of a new campaign. Bayern have the offense to put a few in the net and open with a comfortable win at home. Bayer laying a...

The opening weekend of the EPL season offered plenty of surprises.  James Kempton is back to share his thoughts on how he sees the 2nd week unfolding highlighted by a rare Friday night kickoff by Man United’s trip to Aston Villa to start the weekend before a finishing kick pitting the last 2 champions Man City and Chelsea against one another. Looking for Division 2 stats? Click here Aston Villa v Manchester United Manchester United -0.75 and 2.5 goals United have an incredible record in this fixture having won seven and drawn three of the last ten meetings. Both teams squeaked 1-0 wins to start the season and Villa Park will be rocking for this Friday night EPL game. I lean towards United but sense it will be tough in the red hot atmosphere so will prefer an unders play. Southampton v Everton Southampton -0.5 and 2.25 goals Since the Saints returned to the EPL in 2012 the home side in the game has dominated the meetings between these two teams. Five home wins and a draw have been seen with only two goals scored by the away team with Everton firing blanks on each trip to the south coast. Both sides drew two apiece last weekend but the Saints’ result was a far better start to the season. Give me the home team laying the half goal Click here for the official EPL Podcast Sunderland v Norwich City Sunderland -0.25 and 2.25 goals Both teams lost by two goal margins last weekend but Norwich showed some encouraging signs it looks bleak again this year for Sunderland. The home team are not great in this spot hosting weaker opposition so I will take a piece of the road dog. Swansea City v Newcastle United...

UFC FN73 Teixeira vs. St. Preux: Tennessee Tapout All fight analysis provided by @Gamblou Welcome fight Enthusiasts. The UFC fight card from Nashville seems steeped with shepherds so in keeping with our ‘Swing it Easy’ approach, we’ll dive deep with dirty dogs. Tonight we’ll be hunting for hounds marauding Music City like a mastiff in the trash at Jack’s BBQ. A real surprise eh? UFC 2015: 57-70 + $1,217.00 (All GambLou.com releases are understood to be a standard and hypothetical $100 per position unless otherwise stated. We employ $100 to easily track results as every GambLou.com release is accounted for each Monday AM. Public accounting allows us to display bottom line profitability while providing our readers with 110% disclosure). -Let’s Fight- Kakai -115 vs. Saenz +105 The opening fight on the Fox preliminary card features a wrestler/grappler in Saenz against a relatively one dimensional striker in Kakai. Kakai has been put on the mat in prior bouts so we feel this sets up well for Saenz. Frankie opened -130 and the traffic has come in on the Swede whose had to travel into the USA for this opportunity. We’ll grab some value and take the higher paced more well-rounded fighter in this one as we mentioned on MMA Meltdown Radio this week….. Saenz +105 McMann -260 vs. Nunes +240 We chuckle at ‘expert’ fight prognosticators claiming the scale for McMann was wrong yet no other fighters from yesterday’s weigh-ins had issue with their announced weight. Sara McMann is a very capable fighter yet the distraction from missing weight coupled with the raw numbers that display disadvantage for doing so empowered us take a poke at Nunes +220 (half) post their weigh-in. Nunes is a fierce fighter who may own early advantage provided she can...

It’s great to have the Premier League season back in full swing…although sometimes it feels like it really just ended.  As he will every week this year James Kempton is back to offer his game capsules of every fixture on the betting board. Click here for the season preview Looking to do more digging and bet lower division football this season?  The stat packs are a very affordable and useful tool for bettors of all ability levels. Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur Man U -0.75 and 2.5 goals A new season means new hope has descended over Old Trafford as their big name impressive signings could lead them to challenge for the title. Spurs also appear to have recruited well as coach Pochettino looks to further drill his philosophy into this side. On the match line I will pass but lean towards the overs on the goal market. AFC Bournemouth v Aston Villa AFC -0.5 and 2.25 goals This looks a good opening day opportunity for both sides to start the season with a victory. The small ground on the south coast will feel more like an FA Cup trip for the big boys this season and they could spring plenty of surprises. However on opening day I can’t lay half a goal with a newly promoted side, even if they are playing Aston Villa! Everton v Watford Everton -0.75 and 2.5 goals The Toffees and Roberto Martinez sides always look vulnerable early in the season so Watford will travel north with great belief. Martinez is 1-3-4 on opening day as manager so giving up three quarters of a goal on the handicap line does not appeal to me. With the goal markets looking like a mystery as well I will take a watch...

Pleased to announce that James Kempton, our EPL analyst, will be back for another season of contributions.   We’ll have other big announcements regarding our soccer coverage coming in the next few days as well so be sure to stay tuned. The season is here, well at least it will be this weekend, and if you bettors over the pond think the six months of college and NFL football is hard enough then try handicapping the nine months of the EPL grind!  However, futures betting in EPL markets is far easier than the NFL simply because the chances of an outsider making a run for the title is zero. The economic might of the top teams is so great that it’s impossible to look past the top four clubs in Arsenal, Chelsea and the two Manchester clubs. Depending on which book you wager with there are a couple of other season long bets that appeal to me which you may be able to invest in as well. Here’s your analysis on how the big 4 shape up this season…in order of how they finished last year. Before you read the official analysis, listen to the preseason podcast… Chelsea are the defending champions managed by the legendary Jose Mourinho who is known as the master tactician. At the current market price of +160 they look too short of a price for me to tie up my money for nine months waiting to collect. Last season they avoided any significant injuries to their key players and their squad still only looks to be about 14 players deep. This philosophy of a small but very high quality squad has worked over the last couple of years for Jose so who are we to argue? Manchester City are...

Welcome fight Enthusiasts. Tonight’s UFC slate from Rio offers interesting match-ups. There was a time not so long ago in the UFC that Brazilians fighting in Brazil were close to unbeatable as they were usually favored, fought furiously and at the end of most fights had their hands raised. Lately (and many may speculate as to why) this advantage has been eroded. Whether it is competition addressing the dominance of Jiu-Jitsu, stringent testing, or simply better matchmaking the results speak for themselves. As we view tonight’s card we see a combination of match-ups, matchmaking and styles that indicate it could be a big night for the Brazilians…except for a rowdy rumble or so. It happens that most of our selections today were released either on MMA Meltdown Radio Tuesday with Gabriel Morency or via Twitter this week as we attempted to grab line value… All fight analysis courtesy of Gamblou UFC 2015: 54-68 + $1,009.00 (All GambLou.com releases are understood to be a standard and hypothetical $100 per position unless otherwise stated. We use $100 to easily track our results as every GambLou.com release is accounted for each Monday AM. Public accounting allows us to display bottom line profitability while providing our readers with 110% disclosure). -Vamos Lutar-* Hester -155 vs. Miranda +145 Hester is the more complete fighter but his fight IQ, cardio and defense are all holes in his game. We believe also that the weight cut may have been tough for he missed slightly which indicates a potentially tough travel to Brazil and certain distraction if even for an hour. If Hester uses his mind he’ll forget pride and take Miranda to the floor and make this a boring maul on the mat. Miranda (a Brazilian) has a granite chin, is...

We’re getting close…so close we can taste the college football season just a few weeks away.  Inevitably discussion leading up to the season focuses on the 4 teams that will find their way into the playoff (yes 4 teams, I’m not having that 8 team discussion here and now).  Offshore sportsbook 5Dimes has followed the lead of Bovada and hung Yes/No props on 23 teams that most believe will be vying for college football supremacy. Ohio St remains the only program favored to get into the playoff and with good reason.  Even Alabama and TCU, favorites to win their respective conferences, are listed as mild underdogs to be selected for the postseason given rugged league schedules capable of derailing title dreams.  While the markets are indeed high hold / low limit offerings, value for most schools exists on betting the “No” prices.  So much needs to go right during the year for these schools to punch their tickets to the postseason that 1 loss easily derails the delusions of grandeur. NCAA Division I – College Football Playoff Thu 9/3 28101 Ohio State makes 4 team playoff  -230 12:00PM 28102 Not selected for 4 team playoff  +170 Thu 9/3 28103 Alabama makes 4 team playoff  +190 12:00PM 28104 Not selected for 4 team playoff  -270 Thu 9/3 28105 TCU makes 4 team playoff  +190 12:00PM 28106 Not selected for 4 team playoff  -270 Thu 9/3 28107 Auburn makes 4 team playoff  +350 12:00PM 28108 Not selected for 4 team playoff  -530 Thu 9/3 28109 USC makes 4 team playoff  +340 12:00PM 28110 Not selected for 4 team playoff  -510 Thu 9/3 28111 Florida State makes 4 team playoff  +315 12:00PM 28112 Not selected for 4 team playoff  -445 Thu 9/3 28113 Oregon makes 4 team playoff  +400 12:00PM 28114 Not selected for 4 team playoff  -600 Thu 9/3 28115 Baylor...

UFC Fox 16: Dillashaw vs. Barao II: Omaplatas on Oak Street Fight analysis provided by @Gamblou Welcome fight Enthusiasts to Dillashaw vs. Barao II. Recent fight cards have featured more favorites than your local Baskin Robbins outlet and our recent results reflect it. However, we are a stubborn lot and believe deeply in our process so with a touch of ‘gut feel’ today we will back off less and begin to get back to the ‘Swing it Easy’ approach that has served us so well. We believe we’ve spotted some spaniels on today’s card so let’s trust we have diagnosed a few horrid hounds. Most of today’s releases were publicized Tuesday night on MMA Meltdown Radio with Gabriel Morency. We expressed then that they were ‘pending weigh-ins’. We do not always publicize the leans we broadcast on his show but in today’s case we’ll use most of what we liked Tuesday. We were able to get enhanced pricing playing these positions yesterday post weigh-ins but we’ll use current pricing from today. Please note: unless we release a position early with a price we will always work with current pricing so it sometimes pays to keep an eye on our twitter feeds to obtain at least what we believe will be market edge…. UFC 2015: 52-66 + $999.00 (All GambLou.com releases are understood to be a standard and hypothetical $100 per position unless otherwise stated. We use $100 to easily track our results as every GambLou.com release is accounted for each Monday AM. Public accounting allows us to display profitability while providing our readers with 110% disclosure). -Let’s Fight- Phillips -155 vs. Duke +145 Phillips is 0-2 and the pundits are wagering on her like they’ve already seen the fight. Our concern is that they...

http://www.toddstake.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/7-22-15.mp3 The weekly tradition continues…sports gambling banter with a uniquely 3HL twist to keep things entertaining.  College football win totals, prop bets, and naturally a barrage of questions regarding the social scene in Vegas filled the airwaves in...

Re-publishing a story that originally appeared July 13, 2013 however if you haven’t read it before it’s new to you Every year around this time we hit the sports gambling doldrums known as summer. Gone are the residual crumbs from the NHL/NBA playoffs and the start of football seems just a little too far away (CFL does not count) for the recreational bettor to get excited. Handicappers and bookmakers alike have completed analysis of win totals and game of the year lines but until teams reconvene for camp, there aren’t a whole lot of other variables to factor into the equation unless you consider inevitable UGA suspensions. This is the the time to take summer vacation and leave sports on the backburner, at least for a few days.  However, that gambling IQ shouldn’t go idle so we’ve provided our bookmaker approved summer reading list. For those averse to reading books without pictures, I’ve included a few movies that will entertain the sports enthusiast even if they don’t inform the same way as the written word.  Out of principal, you won’t see me endorse Two for the Money anywhere on this somewhat professional blog because frankly, well that’s an entire blog post in itself. Note: Special thanks to everyone that contributed their votes for the best books and movies worthy of inclusion on this list, without your input consolidating a list made for a daunting task. We Were Wiseguys and Didn’t Know It – By Scott Schettler (description courtesy of Amazon) We Were Wiseguys and Didn’t Know It by Scott Schettler presents a rare and unprecedented history of the early days of “old Las Vegas” and the sports betting luminaries who set the standards and culture in the evolution of sports betting in Las Vegas....

Weather be damned!!! There’s still opportunity to make a few bucks on the Open that will now carry through the weekend until Monday’s final round.  Here are the updated prices courtesy of the Westgate Superbook as we head towards what should be an eventful weekend of the year’s 3rd major BRITISH OPEN ODDS TO WIN (updated after Friday’s play): DUSTIN JOHNSON        7/4 ADAM SCOTT            6/1 JASON DAY            12/1 JORDAN SPIETH        10/1 LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN     10/1 DANNY WILLETT        12/1 ZACH JOHNSON         20/1 JUSTIN ROSE          25/1 LUKE DONALD          25/1 MARC WARREN          30/1 PAUL LAWRIE          25/1 HIDEKI MATSUYAMA     25/1 CHARL SCHWARTZEL     60/1 ROBERT STREB         50/1 RETIEF GOOSEN        80/1 JIMMY WALKER        100/1 MARTIN KAYMER       125/1 PAUL CASEY          150/1 BRANDEN GRACE       125/1 SERGIO GARCIA        30/1 GEOFF OGILVY        125/1 STEVEN BOWDITCH     125/1 PHIL MICKELSON      150/1 PATRICK REED        250/1 RUSSELL HENLEY      200/1 ANIRBAN LAHIRI      200/1 PAUL DUNNE          300/1 FIELD (all others)   40/1...

We hear the stories of success in sports betting all the time; miraculous covers, circus odds parlays that somehow connect, massive futures that cash…but there is in fact another side to sports betting. For every winning streak or heater in this business there’s always someone on the other side going through a nasty slump. Losing skids are inevitable, they come with the territory. While it’s not the most heart warming topic to discuss I felt it was apropos to speak from first hand experience about some techniques I’ve employed in the past to get me through rough patches. Ironically enough, this blog will serve as affirmation while I struggle through a slump of my own right now. Here are 5 things to think about until the worm turns… Scale down your unit size This idea should seem straight forward and logical however you’d be surprised at how many recreational bettors don’t even consider this possibility. I understand the thought process; “my unit is $50 and if I scale back to $25 and suddenly get hot it will take me twice as long to recoup my losses.” It’s funny how a gambler’s brain works because while this can be true the other potential scenario is that when a losing skid persists you’ll be damn glad you took your foot off the gas. Kelly Criterion is a concept every bettor should understand as well helpful in determining an optimal size of a series of bets although I’m realistic when it comes to employing Kelly to the letter of the law. Most casual gamblers don’t have a clearly defined bankroll so reassessing correct stake factor on a daily basis can be a challenge. Besides, good luck calling in a bet for $23.26 instead of $25 if you...