Football Handicapping Tips

Handicapping in football is the art of adjustment and being dynamic about it. Football handicapping is not for the faint of heart and yet people can get really stubborn about one particular strategy that seems to work. However, time and again we have seen successful handicapping systems laying a complete waste. So what makes them tick when they do and why do they stop working when they do?

Handicapping strategies are systems that are bound to fail from their very inception. No, it is not a conspiracy against bettors by the bookies. It is simple logic and common sense once you think about it.

Football is as organic a game as ever and just like everything organic – it changes. Star players retire, coaches change, team strategies change – basically everything changes. So in a game that changes so often, how can you expect a fixed system to last you long? Thus these systems may be great when they start but do know that they will fail eventually.

The best thing that you can do to save your money is tweak the system to suit the present. The past is past and it will never come back. If it did, betting wouldn’t exist. So all you can do is learn from your mistakes and move on.

Successful handicapping comes from understanding and analyzing information. You have to constantly look through all the data that you can manage to find. There is no substitute for hardcore research. No analyst can tell you what you can dig up yourself.

You should have all the stats at your fingertips before you start handicapping. So you have to know about all the scores, averages, histories, player changes, injuries, trends, weather conditions, everything. Unless you can dedicate yourself to this research, you can never expect to make any money at all.

If you are in it for the fun, you have pay dearly for having your fun.

Getting good numbers is crucial for successful handicapping but getting them can be tough. With so many sportsbooks around, you have to know which ones are the trustworthy ones. Keep yourself updated at all times because even a 1/2 difference can cost you the win.

Do not look at the records of the teams. Instead look at how they have done against the spreads. Only a fool thinks that the best performing team has been the best money making team. Sometimes, it is the team that does miserably that makes bettors the largest sums of money. So when you tally records, tally them against the spreads that were offered at the time.

Do not get emotional about betting. Betting is all about numbers and probabilities. There is no place for emotions here. If your favorite team is very unlikely to win, losing your money while they lose the game will not make you feel any better.

Also, be quick to recover from a loss and learn from every mistake. Learn from every correct decision you take.