Beat The Sports Books

When it comes to betting the NFL, Beat the Sports Books is a very solid book that offers a tremendous amount of quality information. Now is it the Bible to betting the National Football League? No, but nothing is or ever will be.

What it does offer is some very good advice on why and how oddsmakers set the lines, as well as how you can create your own NFL power rankings (this is by far my favorite part of the book).

Dan Gordon is a professional sports bettor and actually goes through step by step how he handicaps an NFL game. He gives great insight into how he creates his power rankings and makes adjustments to them in certain situations.

I have never read an NFL handicapping book that goes into such detail in creating your own power rankings. For novice sports bettors, that information alone is reason to purchase this book.

Although some of the concepts and information may be a little dated with all of the technology we have available today, for the most part, it's still very good to know and can be applied to your handicapping. Let's first look at what I thought were some of the most important concepts addressed in Beat The Sports Books by Dan Gordon.

Although I have read reviews from other "sharp" handicappers that weren't big fans of the book, I personally feel it offered and revealed a lot of good advice for the beginning to intermediate handicapper.

A lot of individuals have no idea why NFL lines are made the way they are, but I will say that Beat The Sports Books does a great job of explaining it in layman's terms. You'll see that much more goes into setting NFL lines than just how much better or worse a team is than it's opponent.

Dan goes into great detail of how oddsmakers set the lines and then gives some real life examples throughout the NFL season. While we do cover most of this in our NFL Betting Guide, for those that haven't read it or are just beginning, this should really open your eyes.

I feel the most revealing section of the book relates to how Dan creates his own power rankings. This is fantastic information for any handicapper in my opinion...especially if you've never created your own power rankings before.

It may be a little complicated for some, but it shows you how much time and work must go into handicapping the NFL...although again, everyone has their own strategy. I think this is a real eye opener if you're not aware of the intricacies that go into being a successful handicapper.

Once he takes you through the particulars of creating power rankings, he then goes through situations throughout the NFL weeks and how he adjusts his rankings for each one. Obviously, this is his philosophy to handicapping the NFL, but there are some great tips and strategies that can be picked up and applied to your own style.

I also like how he covers what a typical week is like for him and just how much time is dedicated to actual handicapping. He then takes you through every bet he made in the 2004 season...pretty interesting information and again, it gives you great insight into a professional handicapper.

Before moving on to a few of my dislikes in the book, I do want to mention that as opposed to creating your own power rankings (as they are lined out for you in the book), Dan offers software for his own that is updated every week throughout the season.

It's pretty reasonable at $90 and if you don't create your own, then I'd encourage you to check it out. Just click NFL Football Software for more information.

To be honest, there really wasn't a whole lot that I didn't like about the book. I thought he made some good points and really gave some great insight, especially if you're new to handicapping football.

One thing that did disturb me a little is that he does run his own service, but when he was listing his plays for the 2004 season, his clients weren't able to get the same lines as him in about 5 games, thus making their results quite a bit worse than what he listed in the book.

Although this probably is a minor detail, I do commend him for actually mentioning this information, as most "touts" would have skimmed right over that. Since the book is a few years old now, and with so many online sportsbooks today, his clients should be able to get the same lines as him.

As you can probably tell by now, I fully endorse and recommend Beat the Sports Books. Although you may read a few harsh reviews out there, I don't find them to have much of a basis unless you're an extremely sharp handicapper that is already aware of all the information he shares...you may not have to agree with it, but it is good to know especially for novice to intermediate football handicappers.

For anyone who bets or is wanting to bet the NFL, then this book is an absolute must read. He shares some fantastic advice that is almost as good as our NFL Betting Guide (not that we're biased though).

Dan Gordon does a great job and is one of the most honest and ethical football handicappers (they can be tough to come by sometimes). He's very up front and tells it like it is.

He doesn't sugar coat anything and certainly does not make promises of "get rich quick" schemes. He knows the grind of a professional handicapper and does a great job explaining it.

Down the road (heck we may have it up now), we'll be reviewing his handicapping service. Check it out on our Sports Betting Services page.

To order the book from Amazon or read what others are saying, simply click on one of the links on this page. As always, best of luck in all your sports betting endeavors.

New! Comments

SBI!

Beat the Sports Books by Dan Gordon

New! Comments

Beat the Sports Books
by Dan Gordon