The dog days of summer can lead bettors to do some interesting things.  With NBA & NHL playoffs in the rearview and football seemingly years away so how is the betting community supposed to whittle away the time? Surely it’s not getting caught up in the baseball grind or the 2nd tier domestic soccer leagues that add as much intrigue to a July day as a grape Otter pop. For those that are a bit more adventurous there’s always tennis and the opportunity that comes with maximizing investments during the grass season.  Pinnacle Sports has offered a very extensive series of articles and previews that can help inexperienced bettors learn a thing or two before the fortnight comes to an end.  As Wimbledon closes the 2nd round and heads into the 3rd there’s no reason you can’t be reading and observing this year’s tournament attempting to identify patterns in live trading, line movement, or player tendencies that might benefit you in the future. If you’re looking for 3 accomplished sources of tennis betting information this trio of gambling follows gets my stamp of approval: @So_Money_Sports @Stuckey2 @Winafy Here’s a list of some greats reads courtesy of Pinnacle… Men’s Wimbledon Betting Preview – Expert Dan Weston looks at the tournament and gives bettors a look at the edges they can find Women’s Wimbledon Betting Preview – Another Weston look, this time at the WTA field: Live betting opportunities at Wimbledon – A series of live tennis trading points that should help any bettor: How do the Top 10 perform in Grand Slams? – A look at the top ATP stars and how much of a sure thing each offers. Best betting tips for grass season – A look at the characteristics of grass play and...

The 3rd tennis major of the season gets underway in London at the end of this month.  For those who think Grand Slams are dominated by chalk, well guess again.  In 2 of the last 3 majors we’ve seen massive longshots in Marin Cillic (US Open) and Stan Wawrinka (French Open) cash pay days of 125-1 and 50-1 respectively.  So much of a player’s prospects to win a major hinge on the draw they’re dealt so trying to identify value this far out can obviously be a bit of challenge.  There should be no surprise that world #1 Novak Djokovic remains nearly a scratch favorite to win Wimbledon given the way he’s dominated this season (last Sunday’s match not withstanding).   As far as the ladies are concerned, Serena Williams will continue her quest for the 2015 Grand Slam opening as a 7-4 favorite over a very competitive womens side typically ripe with upsets.  Aside from Serena, the only other women with odds listed in the single digits are Petra Kvitova (7-2) and Maria Sharapova (8-1).  Happy hunting to those looking to beat the market and lock up value before the professionals make their move.   If you’re looking for good tennis follows not only for the majors but year round I highly recommend @So_Money_Sports @Stuckey2 @Winafy   WIMBLEDON ALL ENGLAND LAWN TENNIS AND CROQUET CLUB – LONDON, ENGLAND JUNE 29-JULY 12, 2015   ODDS TO WIN MENS SINGLES: NOVAK DJOKOVIC        11/10 ANDY MURRAY             3/1 ROGER FEDERER           6/1 STAN WAWRINKA          12/1 RAFAEL NADAL           15/1 GRIGOR DIMITROV        20/1 KEI NISHIKORI          25/1 TOMAS BERDYCH          30/1 MILOS RAONIC           30/1 MARIN CILIC            40/1 JO-WILFRIED TSONGA     40/1 NICK KYRGIOS           40/1 JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO  50/1 JOHN ISNER            100/1 DAVID FERRER          100/1 BERNARD TOMIC         100/1 JERZY JANOWICZ        125/1 GAEL MONFILS          125/1 ERNESTS GULBIS        125/1 FELICIANO LOPEZ       150/1...

While the 2014 tennis season winds down, oddsmakers begin to shift their attention towards the first major of 2015.  Here’s the complete list of newly unveiled odds to win both the mens and womens draw down in Melbourne come January. TENNIS   AUSTRALIAN OPEN MELBOURNE PARK – MELBOURNE, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA JANUARY 18 – FEBRUARY 1, 2015   ODDS TO WIN MEN’S SINGLES: NOVAK DJOKOVIC            3/2 RAFAEL NADAL              7/2 ANDY MURRAY              11/2 ROGER FEDERER             8/1 STAN WAWRINKA            12/1 MARIN CILIC              15/1 GRIGOR DIMITROV          20/1 KEI NISHIKORI            20/1 JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO    30/1 TOMAS BERDYCH            40/1 JO-WILFRIED TSONGA       40/1 MILOS RAONIC             30/1 NICK KYRGIOS             40/1 DAVID FERRER             80/1 BERNARD TOMIC            80/1 ERNESTS GULBIS           80/1 GAEL MONFILS             80/1 JERZY JANOWICZ          100/1 JOHN ISNER              100/1 RICHARD GASQUET         150/1 FERNANDO VERDASCO       200/1 FELICIANO LOPEZ         200/1 DOMINIC THIEM           200/1 LLEYTON HEWITT          250/1 NICOLAS ALMAGRO         250/1 PHILIPP KOHLSCHREIBER   300/1 FABIO FOGNINI           300/1 KEVIN ANDERSON          500/1 ROBERTO BAUTISTA AGUT   500/1 ALEXANDER ZVEREV        500/1 DAVID GOFFIN100/1   ODDS TO WIN WOMEN’S SINGLES: SERENA WILLIAMS           8/5 VICTORIA AZARENKA        13/2 MARIA SHARAPOVA           7/1 SIMONA HALEP             13/2 NA LI                      XX EUGENIE BOUCHARD         10/1 PETRA KVITOVA            12/1 CAROLINE WOZNIACKI       12/1 AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA      25/1 ANGELIQUE KERBER         30/1 GARBINE MUGURUZA         30/1 SLOANE STEPHENS          40/1 ANA IVANOVIC             30/1 SABINE LISICKI           50/1 DOMINIKA CIBULKOVA       50/1 EKATERINA MAKAROVA       50/1 SAMANTHA STOSUR          50/1 MADISON KEYS             60/1 JELENA JANKOVIC          60/1 FLAVIA PENNETTA         100/1 SARA ERRANI             150/1 LUCIE SAFAROVA          100/1 VENUS WILLIAMS           60/1 SHUAI PENG             ...

2014 Winter Olympics (Sochi, Russia) – Snowboarding – Women’s Snowboard Cross          Lindsey Jacobellis                          9/4 Dominique Maltais                          9/4 Eva Samkova                                   9/4 Maelle Ricker                                   7/1 Alexandra Jekova                            9/1 Helene Olafsen                               14/1 Yuka Fujimori                                   25/1 Nelly Moenne Loccoz                      30/1 Jacqueline Hernandez                   30/1 Deborah Anthonioz                         40/1 Zoe Bergerman                               50/1 Michelle Brodeur                             50/1 Zoe Gillings                                      50/1 Carle Breneman                              50/1 Charlotte Bankes                            50/1 Chloe Trespeuch                            50/1 Belle Brockoff                                   66/1 2014 Winter Olympics (Sochi, Russia) – Snowboarding – Men’s Snowboard Cross     Alex Pullin                             7/2 Markus Schairer                  7/2 Nate Holland                        11/2 Konstantin Schad                10/1 Omar Visintin                       10/1 Christopher Robanske      10/1 Jarryd Hughes                     10/1 Stian Sivertzen                     12/1 Trevor Jacob                         12/1 Nick Baumgartner               14/1 Luca Matteotti                       20/1 Pierre Vaultier                      20/1 Lluis Martin Tarroch           20/1 Lucas Eguibar                     25/1 Jonathan Cheever               25/1 Kevin Hill                               30/1 Robert Fagan                       30/1 Paul Berg                              30/1 Jake Holden                         40/1 Alex Deibold                         40/1 Tomasso Leoni                   50/1 Analysis: Courtesy of Tyler Tate Snowboard Cross is the action sports version of NASCARs Talladega Speedway; it’s the very definition of chaos. At any given moment on a compact course, a less talented rider can eliminate any of the favorites. After crashing on the final jump in the lead, the last 2 Olympics, Lindsey Jacobellis seems to have learned her lesson. She no longer showboats down the course. She sticks to her line, stays low over the jumps and maintains her speed to stay ahead of the other riders. Jacobellis is currently riding injured however the injury seems to have pushed her to ride angry and determined. Even though her natural talents have always been far greater than other riders, she now seems mentally strong enough to withstand the chaos around her on the course and will...

2014 Winter Olympics (Sochi, Russia) – Snowboarding – Men’s Halfpipe Shaun White                         2/5 Yuri Podladchikov                6/1 Danny Davis                         7/1 Peetu Piirooinen                  14/1 Taylor Gold                           16/1 Taku Hiraoka                       14/1 Nathan Johnstone              25/1 Gregory Bretz                       12/1 Markus Malin                       40/1 Brad Martin                          66/1 Kent Callister                       80/1 Scott James                         50/1 Seamus O’Connor              100/1 Analysis This is the worst field of Halfpipe riders in years. 13 riders will compete…only 3 are even remotely close to bettable. To the public, snowboarding halfpipe is a 4 year sport but in reality the best competition in the sport happens yearly in non Olympic events. Due to the qualifying system, several of the best riders from the USA and Canada are left out in Sochi allowing for the select few top riders that make it to coast to easy wins. That being said, Shaun White is the favorite. He has the biggest amplitude out of the pipe and maintains a tighter run allowing him to add an extra trick into the run. This gives him a major advantage over the other riders because he has another trick to bump up his scores from the judges. White did not compete in the X Games to focus solely on competition in Sochi. After pulling out from the Slopestyle event citing “dangerous conditions”, White has shown he is only concerned about one thing; winning the snowboard halfpipe competition. White clearly is feeling the pressure of being a renowned name that NBC can lean on for all of their promos needing a win to validate the non stop media coverage from NBC I think the pressure gets to White and he wont complete the run he is aiming for meaning his second best run wont be enough opening...

Freestyle Skiing- Women’s Slopestyle     Dara Howell                                     3/1 Keri Herman                                      7/2 Kaya Turski                                        9/2 Devin Logan                                      9/2 Katie Summerhayes                           8/1 Tiril Sjaastad Christiansen               9/1 Maggie Voisin                                    10/1 Lisa Zimmerman                              10/1 Emma Dahlstrom                             10/1 Kim Lamarre                                      10/1 Yuki Tsubota                                     33/1 Evelin Bhend                                     33/1 Analysis The best in the sport at the moment is Devin Logan. She is a dual threat in the pipe as well as the slopestyle course. Her skills from the pipe make her tricks on the jump portion on the slope bigger than the other riders. She has good rail presence and she will need it with the way the course is set up. Until an injury sidelined her, Kaya Turski was the best in the sport. She has had some good competitions including the US Grand Prix and X Games to get her health and riding style back to gold medal form. Kaya is the most technical rider on the rails doing tricks no other female can complete which will be critical since half of the judges score comes from the rail. Dara Howell is wildly overrated at 3/1. She shouldn’t be considered the favorite in my eyes at such a short price. At best she is a silver medal contender in this competition. Her rails are average and her jumps aren’t as big as others. To win the gold, Howell will need falls from Logan, Turski and even Keri Herman. Keri Herman is the best rider in the field and she enters with zero pressure or an expectation to win placed on her shoulders. I expect Keri to put a run down that will put her into the top spot, but it will force Logan and Turski to dig for their best, which will give them the top spots....

Adventure sports expert Tyler Tate is back to offer his betting wisdom for the Men’s and Women’s Freestyle skiing.  There may not be longshot value here like he found with Sage Kostenberg but he will get you to the window. 2014 Winter Olympics (Sochi, Russia) – Freestyle Skiing- Men’s Moguls   Michael Kingsbury                           4/7 Alexandre Bilodeau                         7/5 Patrick Deneen                                 9/1 Alexandr Smyshlyaev                     14/1 Bradley Wilson                                33/1 Sho Endo                                           25/1 Marc-Antoine Gagnon                     33/1 Matt Graham                                     33/1 Dale Begg-Smith                               66/1 Analysis Michael Kingsbury is currently ranked first in the world and rightfully so. Kingsbury has perfect form; knees remain parallel through the entire run and he maintains proper vertical position from hips up. His hand position never bounces and he will win the gold. It is as simple as that. If Kingsbury wilts, his teammate Alex Bilodeau knows how to beat him. Recently Bilodeau beat Kingsbury at the Freestyle World Cup at Deer Valley and if you don’t read the bib numbers you may mistake them for the same skiier. They are well coached and share similar traits plus Bilodeau is the reigning Gold Medalist in the sport. Bilodeau is the value bet at 7/5. The pressure is on Kingsbury from Team Canada to medal this year since Bilodeau was the gold medalist last year. Team USA Skier Pat Deneen has a great shot at getting the gold since the field is incredibly narrow. He is the best Freestyle skier on the men’s side that Team USA has put out since 2002. He has the form and tricks for the two jumps to make him a podium contender. Best Bet: Michael Kingsbury Value Bet: Alexandre Bilodeau Long shot: Patrick Deneen Dark Horse: Sho Endo 2014 Winter Olympics (Sochi, Russia) – Freestyle Skiing- Women’s Moguls Hannah Kearney                             ...

Money made during the wee hours of the morning is just as green as the cash we collect betting our favorite American sports.  Since every sporting event offers opportunity, I called in friend of the program adventure sport expert, Tyler Tate, to find us value in Sochi. Here are his breakdowns of the men’s and women’s slopestyle events. All prices are courtesy of Bovada SNOWBOARDING SLOPESTYLE 2014 Winter Olympics (Sochi, Russia) – Snowboarding – Men’s Slopestyle Mark McMorris                      7/2 Maxence Parrot                     5/1 Roope Tonteri                        9/1 Staale Sandbech                    10/1 Billy Morgan                          11/1 Sven Thorgen                         12/1 Sage Kotsenberg                   14/1 Chas Guldemond                   14/1 Janne Korpi                           14/1 Sebastien Toutant                 14/1 Yuuki Kadono                        16/1 Peetu Piiroinen                     20/1 Gjemund Braaten                  25/1 Seppe Smits                           25/1 Jamie Nichols                         30/1 Ryan Stassel                           40/1 Charles Reid                          40/1 Analysis Mark McMorris is the prohibitive favorite in the sport even if snowboarding icon Shaun White reverses course and re-enters the competition. McMorris is coming off an injury in the 2014 Winter X Games where he took a fall to his rib cage in the rail section. Normally good on the rails, McMorris seems to have struggled lately on that same section. With the entrances and exits on the rails in Sochi being steeper and faster, this will be a major factor in the judge’s scores. This number at 7/2 is fair but risky; he is the favorite but but current form says otherwise. He will draw the public money thanks to his sponsorship from Red Bull. Even though he competes for Team Canada, he’s often confused with being a member of Team USA given the strong sponsorship ties. With the influx of money that came to Team Canada during the Vancouver games, the Canadians are strong and well trained to go along with their natural talents....

Wimbledon is less than 24 hours away and this week we’re going to look at market moves for the top contenders over the course of this season. The ideal for any bettor is to strike a bet when the price is at its highest point and hopefully seeing that bet increase in value as the price drops closer to the start of the respective tournament. We’ll take a look at why prices have moved at certain points to give a better understanding of how to approach futures markets in tennis at the Grand Slam level going forward. Written by Jay Jarrahi MEN Novak Djokovic Jan 1: 11/4 Now: 5/4 High: 11/4 (Jan 1) The world number one’s price for Wimbledon remained fairly consistent for much of the first six months of the season (a starting high of 11/4) but that price has now nose dived (5/4 now) after a favourable draw. There was no way of being able to be sure that Djokovic’s price would drop to this extent since there was a 50/50 chance that Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer could land in his half. In the end Djokovic’s best case scenario became a reality with Nadal and Federer landing in the bottom half meaning he’ll only have to beat one of Andy Murray, Nadal or Federer to win the title and may even not have to face any of them. Djokovic’s price would just have easily swung in the opposite direction had Nadal and Federer ended up in the top half of the draw. Andy Murray Jan 1: 3/1 Now: 4/1 High: 9/2 (mid-June) Like Djokovic, Murray’s price has remained fairly consistent throughout the season until he picked up a back injury just before the French Open. Having been 3/1 and 7/2...

Things to know about the French open for those new to tennis: This is the lone major of the year played on Clay. Clay is slower and as a result the points are longer and it always favors players in great shape and those who are steady, allowing them to construct points rather then playing into the hands of big hitters who want to end points in less then three shots. Betting on Spaniards, Argentinians, and against Americans blind isn’t the worst strategy for this event. Written by Adam Chemerinsky Follow him on Twitter adctennis Conditions:  The Forecast says rain is a possibility the first week. If this is true, expect the court to be even slower because the ball will be heavier and won’t bounce as high either. Know how this suits your player before wagering on a match where rain could interfere with your expectations. However, every rain delay is unique, don’t live bet off your pick just because it rains. Future market: I will be shocked if Rafa does not bite into the trophy and win this tournament. However at -150 pre tournament odds I think a ML rollover starting in the 3rd round is the best way to go about making money on him. Nadal was -205 vs Djokovic in their lone clay court meeting this year and Djokovic won in straight sets. The ML rollover will pay better then -150 assuming they indeed meet in the semis. The bottom half of the draw: Rafa and Djok are on the top half; Andy Murray and Del Potro are injured and not playing. This means the bottom half is open to a possible outsider to make a run at the finals. I have hit Ernests Gulbis at 175-1 and 150-1 and...

Written by Adam Chemerinsky (follow him on twitter @gamblingkings) The first grand slam is about to start and for two weeks there will be plenty of value on the daily betting board. Much like The NCAA tournament where you have 30+ games to choose from in the opening round, be selective! Without overloading you with paralysis by analysis, here are a few betting basics to get you through the open. Chalk Talk: Even if you have never watched a tennis match you probably can figure out that backing Djokovic, Andy Murray, and Roger Federer will be a winning proposition: Only problem is that you will find them in the opening week around –6000 (Djokovic is –6000 first round against Paul Henri Matheiu) and not realistic options for straight betting. Match to watch: Kevin Anderson faces Juan Monaco (the 10 seed). Anderson comes in brimming with confidence after making the finals in Sydney. He possesses all the tools to beat Monaco thanks to a big forehand and strong service game. His goal in Melbourne will be to play first strike tennis against a clay courter who wants to play long rallies and prefers the slower surface. Monaco has an injured hand and has pulled out of his scheduled events so far in 2013 so we should have the makings of a live dog. Betting Options Moneyline: This is the best bet in tennis and for any novice handicapper I would suggest only playing the moneyline. Like any sport where heavy juice is the norm, best practice is to avoid large favorites. You will consistently find big matches at -600 (very common in high profile tennis matches) where you will you have to win 7 in a row without losing one to make money. First round...

by Adam Chemerinsky (follow him on twitter @gamblingkings ) Monday marks the start of tennis’ final Grand Slam for 2012. Betting tennis offers value throughout the year and the US OPEN is no different. Tackling the final major requires knowing the matchups, tendencies, and styles of play along with the unique features that differentiate play in Flushing Meadows from other venues. KNOW THE SURFACE: When looking at a match-up, it’s obviously important to know the head to head records between players but make sure to dig deeper and uncover how they fare against one another on North American hardcourt. If two players have not played since 2006 and their matchup was on clay back then, I’d put zero stock in that result predicting future outcomes. Keep in mind when a player hasn’t competed all summer since Wimbledon, he probably can’t be trusted on hard courts. My favorite website to utilize for tennis match history is matchstat.com for those looking to uncover hidden gems. KNOW THE CONDITIONS:  The US OPEN’s most unique (and notorious) feature to combat is mother nature. The wind needs to be checked and confirmed before each wager you place. Jim Courier, former player and now commentator, has said “I can tell you as a player that the wind in Ashe is the most inconsistent wind of the four major stadiums.” Four things to know about the wind and how it affects the match: 1) The wind plays a bigger factor in larger stadiums like Arther Ashe then it does on the outer courts. Always do your homework to know which court will play host to each match. 2) In windy conditions, try to avoid betting players with high ball tosses (i.e Sharapova, Berdych.) 3) Favor the more experienced player in the wind. (this holds especially...