Haas, Fish cruise in first round at Memphis

Tennis Betting Lines

02/21/2007 - Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded German Tommy Has and fourth- seeded American Mardy Fish had no trouble in their first round matches at the $665,000 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships.

Haas, who defeated Swede Robin Soderling in last year's Memphis final and also titled here in 1999, crushed American Vincent Spadea, 6-4, 6-1.

Fish, meanwhile, had no problems with Bjorn Phau, blasting the German 6-3, 6-2 at The Racquet Club of Memphis.

Additional first-round wins came for American Amer Delic, Argentine Juan Martin del Potro and Danish Kristian Pless. Delic topped his compatriot Paul Goldstein 7-5, 7-6 (7-0), the rising del Potro pasted Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 6-1, 6-2 and Pless downed Russian Igor Kunitsyn, 6-3, 6-1.

This week's top seed is U.S. Open runner-up Andy Roddick, who captured this event in 2002 and was the runner-up in 2003. Roddick will open his 2007 stay here against Swede Thomas Johansson on Wednesday.

The 2007 Memphis champ will pocket $156,550.

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Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

MySportsbook.com is a must-have for the smart veteran sports investor who enjoys following the odds almost as much as betting them. Simply put, no one offers more betting options and offers them faster than MySportsbook. This football sportsbook is known for its ability to set the early market odds on events without having to worry about weak lines. Professional players are well aware that getting a crack at the early betting line is worth as much as, and sometimes more than, huge bonuses or reduced prices. MySportsbook's fearless, yet smart bookmaking style is what keeps everyone watching, including most other sportsbooks.

This is also a great choice for those who just want to have a worry free, fun experience. The ownership’s motto is “Sweat the game, not the payout”. These are not just decorative words used to fill space on the homepage. MySportsbook aims to give their customers the fastest withdrawals in the industry. Payouts are processed within 24 hours by an online sportsbook that carries our A+ financial rating.

Those who enjoy proposition and future wagers consider MySportsbook.com a top choice. Smaller players who seek large bonuses would do better at their sister book, Sportsbooks.com.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.