|
|
NFL Futures.
By Greg Dempson
I will wager on at least 6 NFL futures this season. If you haven’t made a future wager, remember that even if your bet has won in week 7 or 8, the ticket cannot be cashed until the end of the regular season.
The following two betting incidents don’t fall into the same category as a future wager of over 7 wins in the NFL and your selected team is now at 8 – 0 after week 8, but I will share one experience I remember first-hand and the other from watching on TV. It is always wise to check your ticket and read the payment policy of the sports book especially when it pertains to prop bets. When making a first half side or total NFL wager a half time winning ticket cannot be validated/cashed until the game has been completed. A friend of mine played the first half over on a Monday night game in Vegas and even though his bet won, he couldn’t cash the ticket until the game was completed. He was on a charter flight back to Winnipeg and had just over an hour before the plane left. He asked, "What should I do?" I looked him straight in the eye and said, "Next time bet more money, that way your winnings will off-set the cost of re-booking another flight." All kidding aside, I flew back the next day and cashed his ticket for him.
Does anyone recall the "under" that went "over" in the World Series only to go "under?" Well, the game went over the total until the final score was adjusted. The batter (his name escapes me) didn’t run the entire bases so only one run counted and the game that should have gone over the total remained under. Never throw away a ticket until the game is official
Okay, Back to the Futures. This is the inaugural season of the Houston Texans. The Texans franchise originally played in Dallas before they moved to Kansas City and became the Chiefs.
The AFL began league play in 1960 and that resulted in teams such as the Buffalo Bills, Boston Patriots, Houston Oilers, Oakland Raider and so forth. Too many teams on a level playing field in the same season so there wasn’t any merit when looking for an expansion edge. Last years Super Bowl winners, the New England Patriots, played their first league game on Friday September the 9th in 1960 and were laying more than 2 touchdowns Vs the Broncos. The Boston Patriots lost straight up 10 – 13. In that same year, the Houston Oilers entered the league and went 10 – 4 straight up. Don’t expect a repeat performance with the 2002 edition of NFL Texans now residing in Houston.
In 1976, two NFL franchises put the pads on, Tampa Bay and Seattle. The draft, selection process or "pool of talent" back then wasn’t the same as the expansion teams of 1995, Jacksonville and Carolina. Back in 1976 Seattle went 2 – 12 straight up while Tampa Bay went 0 – 14.
The 2002 expansion team, the 5th since ’76, has the same head coach that lead Carolina in their first year, Dom Capers. The "Dom" went 7 – 9 straight up in 1995 while his counterpart; Tom Coughlin won 3 of 16 games as head coach of the Jaguars. The "expanded" Browns whom were coached by Chris Palmer in 1999 won 2 out of 16 contests. I will most likely make a wager on the over/under with these Texans.
Hedging A Future Wager.
Another situation to keep in mind is a possible hedge on a future wager. Let’s say you wagered on team A to win over 7 games for the season. It’s the final week of the regular season and your team won 7 games straight up and is now laying 7½ points Vs team B, who might be 4 – 11 straight up. You could take the 7½ points and win both ways should you’re A-team simply win the game straight up by 7-points or less. If neither team had a chance to make the playoffs refer to a previous Winner’s Edge column of mine entitled The Loser Bowl System.
I will offer up a futures bet before the start of the pre-season in the Hot Sheet.
I don’t have a MLB play this issue as we are on vacation. I will have 2 interesting systems that have performed very well at my web site though. One has gone 10 – 1 while the other is 19 – 2 ATS. They will be posted during the next 2 weeks at www.gregdempson.com.
|
|
|
