Betting News

The Betting Directory have added a Fantasy Football column to their pages which will be regularly updated with the latest fantasy football news. Below is a copy of the second article. Log in regularly for all the latest tips!

The key position you need to focus on to have a championship fantasy football team is running back. Running backs are the core of almost any winning team for two reasons: They usually score the most points of any player, and they are normally the most reliable players. In almost every league I draft, I will take RBs with my first two picks because they are that important. In my previous article, I gave you a breakdown on what your overall draft should look like, but this article will focus strictly on which RB you should target and when.

The Big 3
Larry Johnson, Kansas City
After taking over for the injured Priest Holmes midway through last season, all LJ did was set the league on fire and become the most dominant player in fantasy. With Holmes either not playing or on the bench this year, Johnson has a shot at breaking the single-season rushing record if he can stay healthy. He is the clear No. 1 pick.
Shaun Alexander, Seattle
The reigning league MVP should put up similar numbers to last year, and if you have the No.2 pick, you should feel lucky to grab such a great player. Alexander is the most consistent RB to come along in years, and he plays on a good team, so he should be churning out the yards late in games to close them out.
LaDanian Tomlinson, San Diego
I would say at least 75 percent of fantasy drafts this year are going to have LJ, Alexander and LT going in the top 3 spots. Tomlinson was the top-rated RB going into last year, and while he had a good year he has been passed up by the top two. San Diego might struggle this season, so LT might not have as many rushing opportunities as the other two, but he is a much better receiver than LJ and Alexander, so if your league counts receptions and/or receiving yards, you can’t go wrong with him.

The Next 3
Edgerrin James, Arizona
As I stated in my last article, the top 7 picks in my mind are the big 3 RBs, Peyton Manning and these next 3 RBs. These three RBs aren’t in any particular order, so be happy to get any one of these guys if you’re in the 4-7 slots in the first round. The Edge moves to the desert of Arizona and should continue to be a top-flight producer even though he moves away from the high-powered of offense of Indianapolis. Arizona actually might have as good a passing game as Indy this year, with Kurt Warner at QB and top 10 receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin to take the focus off of James. The Cardinals also have a very good offensive line, so Edge should be just as good as he’s ever been.
Tiki Barber, NY Giants
No back has more heart than Tiki, and the past two years he has turned into a premier RB. His production is close to that of the top 3, but the only reason he is grouped lower is because of his age. Tiki is 31 this year, and most RBs really start to lose it once they hit the big 3-0. As I said, Tiki has a ton of heart and will always do everything he can to get on the field, but this should really be his last top-level year. If you’re drafting in a keeper league, I’d move Tiki down in your rankings.
Clinton Portis, Washington
Portis is the one back I really see making a noticeable improvement this year, and the reason is that the 'Skins have hired former KC offensive coordinator Al Saunders. Saunders was the engineer of KC’s running game for the past few years and turned Priest Holmes (and Larry Johnson last year) into a fantasy force. The plan is to use Portis exactly the way Holmes was used the past few seasons, so if he can stay healthy Portis could put up top 3 numbers. The only X mark on Portis’ resume is he does get nicked up a lot, so make sure you draft Ladell Betts, his backup, in a middle-to-late round.

Potential, Potential, Potential
I will rank these guys in order of preference, with a note about each. Remember, once the top 7 are gone you can start to pick these guys and feel just fine about it. If you are at the end of the first round (pick 8 or later) go ahead and draft a RB here and then assuming it’s a snake draft (where you’ll pick near the beginning of the 2nd round), take the next best RB. There are no QBs or WRs who are as good a value here as having two good RBs.
Steven Jackson, St. Louis – Look for Jackson to have a career year this year due to two things: Marshall Faulk is now out for the year (and possibly his career), and new coach Scott Linehan wants to focus on the run.
Rudi Johnson, Cincinnati – Rudi has slimmed down and wants to take a step up to the top level of RBs. He has been very productive and reliable thus far, but the only drawback to him is that he isn’t much of a receiver and the Bengals love his backup, Chris Perry.
Kevin Jones, Detroit – I probably have him ranked a lot higher than most other experts, but I really think Mike Martz will do wonders with him. He sees him as his next Marshall Faulk and is going to do everything he can to get him the ball. If Detroit can get decent QB play out of Jon Kitna (or Josh McCown), KJ is going to be a stud.
LaMont Jordan, Oakland – After having watched Jordan play in college and play behind Curtis Martin for a couple of years with the Jets, I knew he’d be a great player if given the opportunity. He got that shot last year with the Raiders, and much like Kevin Jones just needs good QB play to turn him into a star.
Ronnie Brown, Miami – With Ricky Williams heading to Canada to do whatever it is Ricky does, Brown gets his shot as the lead RB for the Fins. Coach Nick Saban has big plans for Brown and needs him to be the complement to the passing game he is trying to implement with Daunte Culpepper. There’s a reason Miami took him so high in the draft last year, and this year we’ll see why.
Julius Jones, Dallas – JJ could be a superstar if only Bill Parcells would let him. Parcells seems to have a soft spot in his heart for Marion Barber III and plans to give him more carries than he should. Watching Jones in his rookie year I saw a lot of the same things Walter Payton brought to the table and thought he would be incredible in his sophomore season. This is a situation to monitor closely in the preseason. If Jones looks like he’ll get 25 carries per game, I’d rank him even higher. If not, he stays here or moves down if Barber gets more carries.
Cadillac Williams, Tampa Bay – Cadillac had a great rookie year and is very tough. The only reason I have him this low is the presence of Michael Pittman and the fact that Williams is a little on the smallish side. He is a great runner, but I have a feeling he’s going to be injury-prone once he takes a lot of pounding.
Brian Westbrook, Philadelphia – Westbrook is like Tomlinson-lite. If you’re in a league where receiving is important, Westbrook moves to the top of this group. With the departure of Terrell Owens, coach Andy Reid has stated he plans to run the ball a lot more and Westbrook will be the beneficiary, IF he can stay healthy.
Willis McGahee, Buffalo – McGahee is just as talented as those above him, but he has a lot of question marks coming into this year. His primary problem is lack of good QB play. Without a good passing game, teams are going to stack eight in the box and shut Willis down. If JP Losman can take some pressure off McGahee, then he can return to the level he was at going into last year.
Domanick Davis, Houston – Davis has potential to move to the top of this list, but like the others here he has issues to overcome. The first issue is he is currently injured and is a question mark to begin the season. The second is lack of a passing game, much like McGahee. If David Carr can get a solid connection going with Andre Johnson and new WR Eric Moulds, then Davis should be a top-10 guy.
Jamal Lewis, Baltimore – Potential, potential, potential. Every year Lewis is ranked highly, and every year except one he has not lived up to it. He’s either been hurt or in jail and now he has competition in Mike Anderson. Lewis has the skills to be a top-3 guy but he is really a question mark this year.
Reggie Bush, New Orleans – He will probably be overvalued in your drafts and will go much higher than he should. There happens to be an All-Pro back already in the New Orleans backfield going by the name of Deuce. He’s going to take a lot of the carries Bush should get, but like Westbrook Bush will be much more valuable in a league with receptions and/or a big emphasis on receiving yards.

The Rookies
All of these guys are in similar situations, currently the backup but with poor performance or injury by the starting RB, they could shine:
Laurence Maroney, New England
Joseph Addai, Indianapolis
DeAngelo Williams, Carolina
LenDale White, Tennessee
Keep an eye on their situations during the preseason and try to grab them in a middle round if it looks like they’ll help you. These are also guys to grab as backups to the main guy. I often like to grab a tandem of guys, and then I’m guaranteed to have the starter every week.

The Best Of The Rest
All of these guys have issues: age, uncertain playing time or just not as good as what they once were. These should be guys you target as your third back. These are in preferential order.
Cedric Benson, Chicago -- assuming he wins the job over Thomas Jones
Tatum Bell, Denver -- assuming he wins the job over Ron Dayne
Chester Taylor, Minnesota -- I like him as a sleeper
Warrick Dunn, Atlanta -- bound to breakdown sometime and has T.J. Duckett to share carries with
Reuben Droughns, Cleveland – has the job but just isn’t that great.
Willie Parker, Pittsburgh – Good for yards but not for TDs.
Deuce McAllister, New Orleans – Moves way up if Bush doesn’t sign soon but will still be a decent 3rd RB for your team even if he splits time.
DeShaun Foster, Carolina – Productive when he plays but has injury issues and DeAngelo Williams to deal with.
Frank Gore, San Francisco – Splits carries with Kevan Barlow but should take over the starting job by the end of the year.
Dominic Rhodes, Indianapolis – Will start out with the job but Joseph Addai is more talented.
Thomas Jones, Chicago – Will probably lose his job to Benson, but if he starts he moves up to a top-15 guy.
Fred Taylor, Jacksonville – Avoid if possible, but he has a shot to be productive. He’s just so unreliable.
Ahman Green, Green Bay – How the mighty have fallen. He was a top-two RB two years ago and is now fighting to stay on the field and to keep his job. Age, a bad offense and Samkon Gado are his problems.
Ron Dayne, Denver – Will probably back up Bell, but should he get the job he moves up to the top 15. Denver always gets great RB production. I’d draft the Bell-Dayne tandem and hope for the best.
Curtis Martin, NY Jets – Stay away. Stay far away. He’s half the player he once was and will get picked much earlier than he should.

By Chris Goudey
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

// posted by Tony M. @ 7:15 PM

With the rising popularity of poker spreading across the globe, thousands of new players begin learning how to play poker every day. Even as an experienced poker player, I’ll never forget when I first learned how to play. As a new student to the game of poker, if you’re anything like I was years and years ago, you are probably full of excitement, energy, passion and a craving for everything poker.

This article covers the top three common mistakes, in my opinion, made by beginning poker players. After years of playing, it’s generally fairly easy to spot beginning poker players, as well as their rookie mistakes. If you are a beginning poker player, you should read this article several times and attempt to avoid these common mistakes. Learning to spot them will save you money, frustration and time.

The mistakes covered in this article can apply to any type of poker game (Texas Hold 'Em, Omaha, Stud, Razz, etc.). These mistakes aren’t necessarily game specific, but we will generally use the game of Texas Hold 'Em for our examples.

No. 1: The top mistake seen in most beginning poker players is playing too many hands. This is a very common mistake that most new players get caught up in. When you first begin playing poker, it’s easy to want to play every hand you get dealt. Many beginning players get easily bored when folding hands, so they play the majority of their starting hands. You should be fairly selective when it comes to choosing which starting hands you are playing. If you are playing more than 25 percent of the hands you are dealt, depending on the game, you are generally playing too many starting hands. Playing this many starting hands can always lead to trouble and a quick draining of your poker bankroll.

No. 2: The second most common mistake made by beginners is playing above their bankroll. It’s not rare to see newer poker players who might have a bankroll of $400 to their name, step into a $1/$2 NL game with their entire stake in front of them. When you first begin playing, only play at limits you can afford to play. Newer players will often lose track of their financial situations in the excitement of learning to play poker. If you are a beginning player and you step into a game with all of your money, you might have a very short poker career. It’s extremely wise to only play at limits you can afford without risking your entire bankroll at once.

No. 3: The final mistake is not leaving emotion at home. Leaving emotion at the door is an extremely important poker lesson that some players learn the hard way. If you’ve had a huge fight with your wife and just got a speeding ticket for going 18 over, you probably don’t belong at a poker table. If you come to a poker game without leaving your emotions at the door, your game will suffer and you’ll end up losing lots of money. You must learn to not mix your negative emotions with your poker game and play.

By learning to avoid these common problems, you will start your poker career on a much better foot than the majority of newer players who will often bite on these mistakes.

By Colin Fagras
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

// posted by Tony M. @ 7:05 PM

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// posted by Tony M. @ 3:10 PM

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Choose to play alone or with other players, enter one of their tournaments or play for a big money progressive jackpot - the choice is yours.

And remember, unlike other online casinos, when you win big, you get paid out in full! As an added bonus, you can practice as much as you wish in the casino and InterCasino will give you $5,000 to play with!

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// posted by Tony M. @ 2:32 PM

The new Football League campaign gets underway this weekend and what better way to stay involved right through the season than to bet on the Season Points market. Sporting Index is, as always, offering a prediction on how many points all 72 Football League teams will end up with next May. Anyone looking for a shrewd bet before a ball has been kicked should take advantage of the free £200 per goal football bet on offer to all new Sporting Index clients** (details below). Below are some thoughts on the current spreads, to help you get started.

Long Haul

All eyes will be on the teams battling for play-off and promotion places in the Championship. Steve Bruce appears to be well positioned to lead the Blues back up at the first attempt, with few noticeable departures and money to spend following the sale of Heskey and Pennant. Sporting Index make Birmingham the favourites to head the table come the end of the season predicting a total of 76 to 78 points. However, the tough Geordie is under extreme pressure to deliver, and with the board watching his every move, punters may disagree and bet ‘low’ on this prediction.

The real focus will be on teams vying for the play-off positions and a 70-point total should see a side break into the top six this year. Both Sunderland and Crystal Palace have appointed former fan-favourites in Niall Quinn and Peter Taylor to guide them back into the big time. Their spread of 69.5 to 71.5 points for both should see them in the mix come May.

Wolves will also be popular with the punters with their spread set at 63.5 to 65.5 points. Having brought in the top-flight experience of Breen, Bothroyd and Clapham, Mick McCarthy will look to repeat his conquests of 2005 with Sunderland. At the opposite end of the table, there doesn’t seem to be much support for the three newly promoted clubs. Colchester have dithered in appointing a new manager, and have a prediction of 45.5 to 47.5 points. That suggests Geraint Williams will have a tough task of keeping The U's in the second tier of English football.

£200 Football Bet for New Clients**

Tempted to try your hand at spread betting? If so, Sporting Index is offering all new clients* a free football bet, to get the ball rolling:

Open a Sporting Index account*, place ten sports bets and claim a free £200 per goal bet on any live Premiership, Championship or League match. Each qualifying bet must be able to win or lose you £20.**

*Credit and suitability checks, **terms and conditions apply. See site for further details about an account with Sporting Index. Sports spread betting involves a high level of risk and you can lose more than your original stake. It is not suitable for everyone so please ensure that you understand the risks involved and only bet with money you can afford to lose.

For full details of these offers, and to open your Sporting Index account, click here

How Does the Season Points Market Work?

Let’s take the favourites Birmingham as an example. Sporting Index are predicting that Steve Bruce’s men will finish the season with 76 to 78 points. If you think they will finish on less than 76 points this season, bet ‘low’. Alternatively, if you think Brum will finish on more than 78 points, bet ‘high’. How much you win, or lose, depends on how right or wrong you are.

For example, the choice you have to make:

a) Will Birmingham get more than 78 points?
OR
b) Will Birmingham total less than 76 points?

Let’s say that you think St Andrews will be witnessing Premiership football next season and stake £10 per point on the outcome...

Let’s say you’re right and Forssell and co. fire the club to 85 points. You were betting on them to get more than 78 points, at £10 per point. You would therefore win (85 – 78) x £10 = 7 x £10 = £70.

However it could go the other way. Let’s say that Brum scrape into the play-offs and end the season with a total of 72 points. Because you bet “high” at 78 points, there is a shortfall of 6 points (78 minus 72). At a stake of £10 per point, this would result in a loss of (78 – 72) x £10 = 6 x £10 = £60.

For all the latest prices on this match, and to open your account, click here

Sporting Index is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Please note that all prices are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change.

The information contained herein is for your general information and use. In particular, it does not constitute any form of advice or recommendation by Sporting Index Ltd and is not intended to be relied upon by users in making (or refraining to make) any specific decisions.

// posted by Tony M. @ 9:27 AM

We are pleased to inform you that InterPoker is now listed in the poker rooms at the Betting Directory

InterPoker is one of the fastest growing online poker sites in the world.

Opened in 2002, it has quickly become the poker room of choice for the discerning online poker player, and with good reason: They offer some of the best and most secure games available online, up to $100 in monthly bonuses for each player; and more than $4,000,000 in guaranteed tournaments - every month.

On the site, you have the choice between Texas Holdem, 7 Card Stud, and Omaha; fixed, pot, or no limit tables - you even have the choice between US Dollars ($), Pound Sterling (£), or Euros (€)! Downloading and installing the software is simple, free, and secure – press download now, and you’ll be playing within minutes.

Also, they’ll match any amount over $25 up to $100 on your first deposit, every month - this means that you could be getting up to $1200 a year absolutely free! So, if you like bonuses, you’ll like InterPoker – they offer more than any other online poker room.

If you want to play in the World Series of Poker, they give you the chance to qualify through satellites running daily, with the entry fee as low as 200 MPP’s (My Poker Points). Winning a seat at the WSOP couldn’t be any easier. Their package gives you entry into the main event, 15 nights accommodation at the Rio, travel and spending money – but that’s not all. They’ll also give you a $1000 entry into Event 40, as well as a seat at an exclusive $200,000 freeroll in Las Vegas.

// posted by Tony M. @ 7:22 PM

By Dan The Man
Co-Host of “The Sports Edge” Radio Show

Mike Sexton has won several tournaments in his career, including a World Series of Poker bracelet, and more than $2.9 millions in tournament winnings. He is also in the top 10 for all-time number of finishes in the money at the WSOP, with 37 cashes. However, Sexton is better known for his promotion of various poker events and services.

He is the main host of the World Poker Tour and spokesman for PartyPoker.com, the biggest online poker room. He has written for Card Player Magazine and the Gambling Times. For all his work promoting poker, Sexton is often known as the "ambassador of poker." We got a chance to catch up with Mike while he was at this year's WSOP in Las Vegas and had already won $1 million.

Q-You just won $1 millon in the 2006 Tournament of Champions. Can you lend me a few bucks (Sexton donated half of his post-tax earnings to five charities)?

A-(laughing) Well, it was a great honor to win a tournament that featured my peers that have been past champions in the WSOP. I beat Daniel Negreanu to win it all and whenever you can beat the best, which Daniel definitely is, it is an honor. It was a lot of fun and a heck of a way to start the month-long festivities of the WSOP. I have had some cashes since then as well, so things are going very well for me, and I couldn’t be happier.

Q-Talk about the growth of the WSOP.

A-It really is amazing because I remember not too long ago when there were 600 people in the whole tournament, now we are looking at 6,000 and I have even heard upwards of 8,000. The WSOP is by far the showcase event in the world of poker, but with all of the TV coverage like the World Poker Tour that I host on the Travel Channel and ESPN’s great coverage, you don’t have to win the WSOP Main Event to be considered a great poker player. That being said, I don’t think anyone wouldn’t mind the $10 million first prize, but it is just so hard to win it these days with all the people that play on the WSOP now. I always go into the event thinking I can win it, though, and it will be no different this year.

Q-Do you think that the projected 7,000-8,000 participants in the WSOP Main Event is too many?

A-I think it's a great thing for poker, for the exposure of poker and for the opportunity it gives the everyday player to play with the best in the world. Poker is the only sport that literally anybody with either the $10,000 buy-in or spending as little as a penny and winning a satellite can play in the tournament as has a chance at the big money. Now, as I said, it makes it much harder to win when there are 8,000 people as opposed to 600, but I would take the popularity and visibility of poker the way it is today any day over having a better chance to win the WSOP by having a smaller field. People tend to forget sometimes that the reason the pots are so big is because the more people that play, the more money is out there to be won.

// posted by Tony M. @ 2:01 PM