Betting the Remaining Bowl Games

The bowls are here. A lot of money is to be made, but let us make sure it is not the bookmakers. One of the first blunders that so many gamblers make is that they feel they "have" to bet larger amounts on bowl games or bet every side and total.

Do not get me wrong; there are true harmless "recreational" gamblers. By that we mean people who are couch potatoes and bet only "entertainment" money to insure that they have someone to root for on that chesterfield with a Budweiser in his right hand and a remote.

While this practice defies money management, if one can objectively assert that they are not realistically expecting to make a profit, but just adding to the excitement of the game with the chance of making money along the way, there is really no harm.

The bookmaker will thank you, but there are some Joeybagofdonut guys who will bet lunch money on the bowls then regardless of how poorly or well he does not bet again until March Madness. To them, money management is mere gingerbread. But the serious player must bet postseason games using the same money management techniques mentioned in previous articles here.

The factors to look for and not to look for when handicapping are numerous. A classic gambler's trap is believing that one should focus on teams that finish the season on winning or losing streaks and to bet those streaks to continue.

The truth is nothing can break a team's momentum more than several weeks off. Conversely, not anything is more valuable to a struggling team than to have time to regroup such as which the weeks between the bowls offer.

In addition one must look at why a team performed the way they did down the stretch. Was a team really improved or just "in a groove"? Did injuries play a big part in a teams skid to end a year and did the time off help heal them? Or was it a case of several players improving as the year went on?

Sometimes there is a reason to the rhyme. Georgia, as a shining example, played much better late in the year because young players at key positions emerged or improved. Freshman running back Knowshon Moreno exploded onto to the scene and garnered legitimate comparisons to the most famous Bulldog of them all. Following injuries to senior running backs Thomas Brown and Kregg Lumpkin, Moreno came from deep on the bench to become the SEC's second leading rusher. Sophomore quarterback Matt Stafford progressed and matured as the year went on. Hence the Dogs are more than a team that simply got hot at the end of the year.

Everything must be considered when looking how a team did in September as opposed to how they performed in November. If there was a huge dichotomy one must instead of making the assumption that they progressed as the year went on—which may be the case but may not—do significant analysis and look further.

Keep an eye on injury reports, but not just of guys who return from injuries but also guys who played banged up late in the year. Did a team that struggled late in the year because of injuries get healthy over the long break? Many gamblers merely isolate teams that performed significantly better at the end of the season. Without analyzing why, such an application is fool's gold.

The author Joe Duffy is CEO of OffshoreInsiders.com and his picks are part of GodsTips on that site. OffshoreInsiders.com will have free and premium picks on the rest of the bowl games as well as free match-ups, exclusive betting previews and more.