Swisscom Challenge

After Roger Federer won the French Open, Pete Sampras, the man he tied with the most grand slam titles at 14, came out and said Federer is the greatest to ever play the game. How can you argue when the one man you’d make a case for sides with the opposition? Maybe Sampras faced stiffer competition when he played on FullTilt.it, maybe not. But one thing Pete never captured was the elusive clay triumph at the French Open. So as we march on into the heart of the tennis season, is there any doubt Federer should be the guy you put money behind with Wimbledon right around the corner?

Here’s one statistic you should be aware of right out of the gate. Between 2002 and 2008, Federer won 65 straight matches on grass, including five Wimbledon titles in a row. On the other side of the fence, but equally as impressive, he’s only lost 12 best-of-five matches since earning the No. 1 ranking in the world. Guess who eight of those losses have been against? Yep.

Running June 22-July 5, Wimbledon is arguably the most prestigious of all the grand slam victories, although for legends like Sampras and Federer, the easiest to attain. While that may affect the poker on line money line, it shouldn’t affect your gambling decisions. Federer is still the safest play this side of the overhead lob.

You figure Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will be the stiffest competition (even with Nadal’s knee issues, I see him as being in the thick of the competition), and here’s the only wrench I’d throw into the Federer party this early. If all three of these superstars make it to the semi-finals, two of them are going to face off before the final round. Depending on the seeding (when taking into account where hometown boy Andy Murray will fall), if Federer has to face either of these two in the semi’s, even if he gets the win, they’ll offer strong competition, and might wear the “greatest” down a little before the other can take a stab at him in the final round.

So, are we primed for another tennis betting epic Nadal/Federer showdown? If we are, Federer is still the better bet, but depending on the payoff from Nadal, he’s worth consideration. His incredible energy can elevate his game to the very limits of his equally inspiring talent, and he shouldn’t be dismissed, especially since he’s had more success against Federer on Poker Stars than anyone else. And don’t forget it’s Nadal, not Federer, that currently carries the #1 ranking.

If it’s a Nadal/Federer final, expect a -300 Federer to +210 Nadal line, or something similar. If it’s Federer against the field, that opens up to at least -350.

With one of the biggest tennis betting tournaments of the year in full swing, we’re getting an idea of who’s looking good so far and who you should avoid betting if you haven’t done so already.

Federer, of course, went into his second-round matchup against Simon Greul as a huge favorite (-50000 to +3000). You get chills when you think about that one time in a blue moon Roger might suffer the huge upset, and all your money goes down the drain with it. For that reason and the diminished returns, it usually doesn’t make sense to bet the heavy favorites until at least the semi-finals (or before the tournament begins as a straight shot to take the title). It’s not going out on a limb or anything, but Federer will be there in the finals, and even if he meets up with a streaking Andy Murray, he’ll fight his way to being the champ again.

Here’s the wild card that should be on everyone’s radar, Nadal. He made short work of Full Tilt’s Gasquet, something he would’ve done healthy anyway. The question, though, is will his knee hold up when he really gets put to the test? And your guess is as good as the next gambler’s, so it’s all about weighing the line and the risk/return. If Nadal still commands too much of a heavy favorite tennis odds line, especially when he gets into the quarterfinals and further, I’d be extremely cautious before laying down any huge bets. Somebody out there is salivating at the prospect of making a name for himself by escorting Nadal out of the tournament. You often hear that line “even a Nadal at 80 percent is better than most of the players on tour,” well he’s got a huge target on his back right now regardless of what percentage he’s at. On the other side of the coin, though, if his knees do hold up, look for the risk/return to be well worth the investment if he gets to the semis. It will likely be considered an upset if he tops Federer or Murray, who also happens to be sponsored by PokerStars, but he certainly has the talent and hunger to get the job done. He’s also proven himself on hard court enough to know he’s comfortable with the movement and brimming with confidence with early victories right now.

Although one could argue there are a ton of stats that are important to consider when betting on basketball, looking at a team’s performance at home and on the road could well be the most important statistic a basketball bettor can rely on. Many individual teams appear to be two entirely different squads when they play at home than they are on the road when looking at the numbers. When a team demonstrates a Jekyll and Hyde type of personality, a basketball bettor is wise to bet according to their personalities.

Sure, it is natural for a team to perform worse when on the road than they do on their home court. However, a good team’s record will deviate minimally when they are on the road. In the 2008-2009 NBA basketball season, the world champion Los Angeles Lakers possessed a 36-5 record on their home court, while dropping twelve and winning twenty-nine on the road. The San Antonio Spurs lost only two more away games than they did home games in the same season. When compared to teams such as the Dallas Mavericks, who were 32-9 at home and 18-23 on the road, or the Sixers (24-17 home, 17-24 away), there is a huge difference.

The public expects good teams to play well regardless of the venue. Additionally, when fans see their team win regularly at home, they expect the same results on the road. For most teams, this is not the case. Teams like the Spurs demonstrate consistency regardless of whether they are home or away. The Sixers and the Mavericks, both of which made the playoffs and had at least .500 records, are a tale of two teams.

When the Spurs played at home during the 08-09 season, they averaged 97.9 points per game. On the road, they scored an average of 96.2. The difference in their average score was less than two points between their home and away games. By comparison, the Mavericks netted an average of over 106 points per game on their home floor. On the road, their offence produced nearly ten points less on average, as they managed to score an average of 97.3 points when on enemy court. The difference in the points the Mavs put up in home vs. away games is often the entire point spread for even the most lopsided of NBA match ups. When a team plays well on their home court but poorly when on the road, often it is profitable to follow these teams, bet them at home, and bet against them when they are on the road.

I’m excited about the ALCS. The two teams that deserve to be there are there. The Yankees are the powerhouse of a few years ago returning to glory, and the Angels are the powerhouse of the past few years who have yet to get over the hump. Both teams are disciplined and win the right way.

Jered Weaver, who pitched game 2 against the Red Sox, will take the mound for the Angels in Game 3 and face battle-tested veteran Andy Pettitte. Andy was solid in his one game pitching against the Twins, giving up just 1 earned run in more than six innings of work. His overall numbers for the season were average, especially for being in the Yankees, and you do have to wonder about age vs. experience at this point in the sportsbook.com playoffs with a guy like him. Still, he knows how to win. Is there anyone else on their staff right now you’d want with the ball in his hand in a big game?

Weaver, likewise, was a start in Round 1. He matched the one earned run, but over 7.1 innings, and K’d seven in the process. Weaver had four complete games this season, two of which were shutouts. He knows how to keep the ball on the ground and force the Yankees to make a play on the bases.

I’m guessing the line will be very tight, perhaps slightly in the Angels favor. -115 Angels, +110 Yankees. And depending on whether they can manage a split in New York, the Angels will have incredible drive to go up on the series when they return home, or prevent themselves from falling further into an 0-3 hole. The Yankees know all about those.

Playoff baseball is usually pitcher-driven by this point, and the over/under in the sports betting world will reflect that. I’d be comfortable taking the over here, though, as it might be too adjusted, and I think both offenses are clicking to the point where you’ll see a few runs on both sides.

The New York Jets started off the season with a perfect 3-0 record and everyone was talking about how the Jets were looking unbeatable. Fast forward a few weeks and the Jets are now sitting with a 4-3 record and are second place in the AFC East behind the New England Patriots. The Jets had such a promising start to the season, but now they are barely in the playoff picture. In order for the Jets to make the playoffs this season they’re going to need to go back to playing simple football.

In the first few weeks of the season the Jets played simple football and it paid off with wins. The Jets outscored their opponents 64-33 in the first three games. A lot of this had to do with the defence playing amazing, but it also had to do with the Jets playing smart on the offence. The past few weeks we have seen the Jets move away from what works and it has cost them some games. Overall this season the defence has played pretty solidly minus one game against Miami, but the offence has been struggling lately.

With Brett Favre gone from the Jets this year they brought in a rookie QB by the name of Mark Sanchez. If you didn’t know who Mark Sanchez was before the season started you definitely know who he is now after the online footbSall betting season now. Sanchez played pretty good football the first few weeks by keeping things simple on the offence. Since then Sanchez has been anything but consistent. He has been turning the ball over a lot more lately and it is costing his team dearly at this point. There has been some speculation about whether or not Sanchez should sit for a bit so the Jets can try and salvage their season. I personally think that Sanchez needs the experience and that the Jets should keep him in for the entire season so that he can be better for next season.

One thing that the Jets were missing most of the early part of this season was a WR. They have since added a number one receiver by the name of Braylon Edwards, but it hasn’t quite worked out yet. Braylon had a huge first game for the Jets on Monday night, but since then he hasn’t done that much really. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have been making sure the Jets offence keeps the ball as long as possible. Between the two of them they have combined for a total of 931 yards. Jones already has 7 TD’s himself as well, but Washington has yet to get a TD under his belt. The Jets have the #1 rush game in the league thus far and if they want to make a push for the playoffs they will need to continue running the ball down the throat of their opponents.

We already know that the Jets defence has been performing great this year and they shouldn’t really be a question mark heading into the second half of the season. The Jets main concern right now should be whether or not Sanchez is ready for the NFL odds. He has been doing great considering this is his rookie season, but we all know that QB’s in the NFL don’t get that much time to prove themselves.

BlackJack is one the most popular casino games, being played across the world. The combination of a game of luck and certain elements of chance make it the favorite casino game for many gamblers.

With the advent of the internet, gambling reached a new era, the online casinos allowing gamblers to play from the privacy of their own homes. In fact, the main advantage of playing online black jack is anonymity: for the blackjack site you represent just a betting value and an IP address. No one else knows that you play blackjack.

Being able to play from the comfort of your own home is great for developing your blackjack strategy: it’s hard to focus on the game in the noise of a land-based casino, but if you’re at home, you can listen to your favorite music while playing your favorite casino game.

Another reason to play blackjack online is that it is generally safer. There are risks with online transactions, too, like if your computer gets hacked, but generally, it is much safer than carrying around cash for playing at a land-based casino.

Some websites allow you to play for free, to be able to master the game before you make a deposit and play for real money. This is not possible in a brick and mortar casino, where you will likely lose some money before you know the game well enough.

Online casinos are cheaper to run because it costs a lot to build an upkeep a land-based casinos. That’s why, when you sign up for playing blackjack, they are able to offer you many bonuses (such as 100% of the first deposit), something which is unseen at brick and mortar casinos.

You can play online blackjack at anytime: it’s available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, you can play it during a break as a way to relax in your own home. You don’t need to go many hundred miles to play it and you’ll save a lot of money you’d otherwise spend to go to places like Las Vegas.

Some casinos also offer live blackjack, which allows you to play your favorite game with a real live dealer. This is an excellent option for people who like to play with a real cards deck and not get the cards generated randomly by a computer.

Online casinos offer far more variety than any city may offer: each casino website may offer many variants of blackjack and there are hundreds of casinos from which to choose from.

The fact that your decisions actually affect your chances of winning makes blackjack one of the most fun casino games. Whether you play it for entertainment or for trying to get lucky, you’ll have a great time.