[Mark Cuban]

What are the general qualifications for betting the middle and trying to win on both sides? Anybody try it often or very sporadically? And has anyone made the right play and won big?

[Louisvillekid1]

suckers bet

[ShamsWoof10]

Game line middles are sucker bets unless you can get them at -105 on each side or better then it's ....OK... I bet halfs and I also am a middler... I try and middle halfs because it's much more likely then a game line...

[Mark Cuban]

So if I'm going to bet the middle do I tease a second bet to create my different line, or do I find another book with a slightly different line and make the bet there? I like the betting halfs idea. Why do you think this is so?

[ShamsWoof10]

find a book with a slightly differant line...

[Mark Cuban]

A half point isn't enough, is it?

[pico]

you'll middle yourself out of a win most of the time.

[Mark Cuban]

Originally Posted by picoman

you'll middle yourself out of a win most of the time.

seems logical

[Louisvillekid1]

Just stay away from middle's. . . The rare time you hit them you might feel like your the best capper in the world but its not a long term winning stragety. . . Handicap the game if you like a winner play them straight up.

[ShamsWoof10]

Originally Posted by Mark Cuban

A half point isn't enough, is it?

For a HALF..??? FFFFFFFFFFFF*CK YEAH IT IS!!!

I like PK and +1/2 for halfs...

[Mark Cuban]

Originally Posted by ShamsWoof10

For a HALF..??? FFFFFFFFFFFF*CK YEAH IT IS!!!

I like PK and +1/2 for halfs...

pk?

[HedgeHog]

Originally Posted by Mark Cuban

pk?

Pick Pick'em 0 spread. Man, you are new. Why do this now; this is not the road to riches.

[Mark Cuban]

Originally Posted by HedgeHog

Pick Pick'em 0 spread. Man, you are new. Why do this now; this is not the road to riches.

Life's boring

[ShamsWoof10]

How are you looking into middling when you don't know what PK means..?

That's like going to space but not being able to feed and clothes the humans on earth...

[Mark Cuban]

Originally Posted by ShamsWoof10

How are you looking into middling when you don't know what PK means..?

That's like going to space but not being able to feed and clothes the humans on earth...

I am looking into it all. I'm sorry I didn't know that knowing what pk means comes first before trying to figure out what betting the middle is. I'm not sure your analogy works, but I'm glad you are trying, and if you keep reading what I right, you might learn something about life. Just like if I keep reading what you write, I might learn something about gaming. But that may be up to you, I mean if you have the patience and can work on not insulting people with your petty comments.

[ShamsWoof10]

Originally Posted by Mark Cuban

I am looking into it all. I'm sorry I didn't know that knowing what pk means comes first before trying to figure out what betting the middle is. I'm not sure your analogy works, but I'm glad you are trying, and if you keep reading what I right, you might learn something about life. Just like if I keep reading what you write, I might learn something about gaming. But that may be up to you, I mean if you have the patience and can work on not insulting people with your petty comments.

Naaah I got no patience... I'll lean about life myself...

Thanks anyway...

[HedgeHog]

Fair enough. Sometimes regular poster, pull this dumb thing as a joke to see who bites. I now believe you're the real deal. Stick to regular (straight) bets, no middling, no teasing. Worry about your handicapping, not how you'll bet them. Pick winners and bet straight at -105; I can't make it any more simple than that.

[Mark Cuban]

Originally Posted by ShamsWoof10

Naaah I got no patience... I'll lean about life myself...

Thanks anyway...

Obviously

[Mark Cuban]

Originally Posted by HedgeHog

Fair enough. Sometimes regular poster, pull this dumb thing as a joke to see who bites. I now believe you're the real deal. Stick to regular (straight) bets, no middling, no teasing. Worry about your handicapping, not how you'll bet them. Pick winners and bet straight at -105; I can't make it any more simple than that.

Thanks hedge, seems sensible, I am just trying to (ya know) crash course this mf.

[Shark79]

I insist this guy is John Gayfield

[ShamsWoof10]

Don't offer to "teach" me about life dude... If something comes up in a thread and you have some good input then fine but don't make it sound like you are going to come in and teach me something about life...

[Art Vandeleigh]

Originally Posted by Louisvillekid1

suckers bet

Guilty as charged.


Nevertheless, I play middles for a variety of reasons

- I'm cheap and I can get excellent odds

- If there's an overlay. In the NBA for instance, if team A is favored over team B by 3.5 points, and the difference between taking team A on the M/L and taking team B +3.5 gives you effective odds of over 10-1, that would be greater odds than the expectation of landing on those numbers. Exchanges provide good opportunities for these overlays.

- Some teams very rarely win by a large margin when they play each other. When Indy and New England play, and the line is 4, recent history indicates that neither team is likely to win by more than 2 TD's. Therefore, all points nearer the spread are more likely to occur, than a random game. Middling these types of games can provide overlays as well.

- Miscelleneous reasons. If a team coached by Tony Dungy plays a team coached by Herm Edwards, and these two coaches are old and dear friends, then the chances are greater that they will call off the dogs before there is a blowout and embarrass the other guy. Once again, in this type of situation, all numbers close to the spread become more likely to occur, and middling can provide overlays.


Please help this sucker understand the flaws in his logic.

[Louisvillekid1]

Why everyone gettin on this guy? . . He came to a place to learn, help him or ignore him, don't insult him for trying to learn. . .

[ShamsWoof10]

Originally Posted by Art Vandeleigh

Guilty as charged.


Nevertheless, I play middles for a variety of reasons

- I'm cheap and I can get excellent odds

- If there's an overlay. In the NBA for instance, if team A is favored over team B by 3.5 points, and the difference between taking team A on the M/L and taking team B +3.5 gives you effective odds of over 10-1, that would be greater odds than the expectation of landing on those numbers. Exchanges provide good opportunities for these overlays.

- Some teams very rarely win by a large margin when they play each other. When Indy and New England play, and the line is 4, recent history indicates that neither team is likely to win by more than 2 TD's. Therefore, all points nearer the spread are more likely to occur, than a random game. Middling these types of games can provide overlays as well.

- Miscelleneous reasons. If a team coached by Tony Dungy plays a team coached by Herm Edwards, and these two coaches are old and dear friends, then the chances are greater that they will call off the dogs before there is a blowout and embarrass the other guy. Once again, in this type of situation, all numbers close to the spread become more likely to occur, and middling can provide overlays.


Please help this sucker understand the flaws in his logic.

First of all... I love the honesty.. and then of course I think that is a pretty good write up...

[Mark Cuban]

Originally Posted by ShamsWoof10

Don't offer to "teach" me about life dude... If something comes up in a thread and you have some good input then fine but don't make it sound like you are going to come in and teach me something about life...

I apologize if I offended you by saying that

[jjgold]

Nowadays most lines are at most 1 point difference and the majority of time lines the same at most books or a 1/2 point difference so middling is a waste of time.

[ShamsWoof10]

Originally Posted by Mark Cuban

I apologize if I offended you by saying that

That's fine Mark... excepted and forgotten about.. well you know what I mean...

[Mark Cuban]

Originally Posted by ShamsWoof10

That's fine Mark... excepted and forgotten about.. well you know what I mean...

Dude, its accepted

[ShamsWoof10]

Yeah I noticed after it posted and I usually edit when I catch them that's why my posts always have "edited by" under them.. I was just too lazy ...f*ck it...

Anyway these guys are right game middles are worth it only if you can get a half point and -105 or better on each side... IMO halftimes are very worth it so if you do middle ...middle halftimes not game lines....

[Ganchrow]

To give you an idea of the expected profitability of any given middle, check out my half-point calculator.

[eric dy]

Don't waste your time with middles. You are better off betting boxing matches to finish in a draw! I have seen studies on this.........

[m3vr6]

Originally Posted by ShamsWoof10

Yeah I noticed after it posted and I usually edit when I catch them that's why my posts always have "edited by" under them.. I was just too lazy ...f*ck it...

Anyway these guys are right game middles are worth it only if you can get a half point and -105 or better on each side... IMO halftimes are very worth it so if you do middle ...middle halftimes not game lines....

ShamsWoof10, I'd wished i had given u an at platinum instead of that loser VSDSPREAD. Platinum has 5 cent lines.

[ShamsWoof10]

Originally Posted by m3vr6

ShamsWoof10, I'd wished i had given u an at platinum instead of that loser VSDSPREAD. Platinum has 5 cent lines.

Hey bud how's it goin... Give me a call if you still have my number.... I tried PMing you but I wasn't able to...

[VegasDave]

The best way to get a middle opportunity IMO is to be sitting on the comp constantly hitting refresh until you get the lines AS SOON AS THEY ARE POSTED. Do a quick scan of the games and bet a side if the game looks very likely to move... example PIT / NE -13 I'd have bet PIT 13 because NE has had 2 close call games in a row and Pit is respected... line moves to -10.5 so now I bet NE -10.5 and have a middle opportunity landing on 11 or 12. 12 is fairly unlikely, but 11 is feasible.

When making that first bet though, only make a bet you can live with assuming no middling opportunity shows up. That way if the line ends up only moving a halfpoint or whatever, you are happy enough with the side you are on that you don't regret jumping the gun.

Good luck... I've only successfully middled once and rarely try... 2 years ago I think it was I got Jax at +7.5 over Indy and the line moved to Indy -6.5... final score 28 - 21 or something like that.

[Mark Cuban]

Yeah, it would seem middles are hard to come by, just wanted to get some tested experienced thoughts on it. Probably a bet I don't make until I get my handicapping down a little better. Thanks guys, very informative stuff though, keep it up before long you may call me a tout, then, you can fade me. Ha HA