Sports Betting

Lurking around betting forums akin to panning for gold

Dodgers resting starters.

Those three words were the subject title recently used in a posting forum dedicated to baseball. The text of the message inside the Internet forum thread provided some valuable insight for anyone who bets baseball.

"Little said he is giving Garciaparra and other regulars Sunday off," was the simple message left for visitors to the sports gambling forum at Rx.com. It even gave the source for this poster's intelligence, which in this case was a local newspaper article.

Little is of course Grady Little, the Dodger's bench boss. And Garciaparra is just the eighth-best hitter in the National League. The posting on this occasion was recommending readers take the Colorado Rockies at a price of plus-150 (bet $100 to win $150).

The Rockies won the tilt in convincing fashion, 12-5.

Finding a gem like this before action closes on a particular game is invaluable. Clearly this poster saw something the bookies didn't. There's no other explanation for why Colorado was posted as such a huge dog.

When you find a gem like this, it's invaluable. But it takes some digging. There are at least half a dozen sports betting forums on the Internet. And the people who post to these electronic bulletin boards are responsible for keeping the board alive. They are the oxygen that gives a posting forum life.

Finding a post like the Garciaparra intelligence is I'm sure quite similar to the experiences men and women felt during the 1890s gold rush in Alaska. I imagine they spent days panning for gold and most of the time they came away empty handed at the end of the day. But once in awhile they found that nugget that made it all worthwhile.

Sports-betting forums are the same. You can scan through literally hundreds of pages and feel like you're wasting your time. But every once in awhile someone will post a little-known fact they read in their local newspaper that can really change the way you look at a game.

Using the sports forums during Pre-season NFL football and during the regular season for any college sport can be incredible rewarding - assuming you're connected to the right sports-betting forum.

Coaches will sometimes tell the local media how many snaps the No. 1 quarterback will see in an upcoming pre-season contest. Or, a college newspaper reporter might report something in the school newspaper that doesn't get picked up anywhere else.

Sometimes this kind of information will find its way to your friendly neighborhood Internet sports-betting posting forum. And when it does, you shouldn't ignore it. It's rare that you'll know something a handicapper doesn't.

But clearly someone was asleep at the switch behind the bettor's window when the Rockies were given a plus-150 position when most of the regulars for the Dodgers were being given a day off.

I know I wasn't asleep when I saw the posting on the Rx.com forum. Now, hopefully you won't be caught napping either.