Azarenka withdraws from Fed Cup match

Tennis Betting Lines

02/04/2012 - Worcester, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka withdrew from her Fed Cup match with a lower back injury on Saturday.

She will be replaced by teammate Anastasiya Yakimova, but she is still eligible to compete on Sunday if healthy.

"It has been a while and I have been trying to take [the injury] day by day," Azarenka said in a statement. "I had the pain since the Australian Open and was hoping to recover, but did not have enough time with all the flying I did. Unfortunately, it just didn't happen. It's disappointing."

Lotteryanerica Tennis Betting News

<< Italy and Ukraine even after opening day at Fed Cup
Biella, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Italy and the Ukraine are surprisingly even after Saturday's opening singles matches of their Fed Cup quarterfinal. The matchups and home court clearly favored the Italians and Sara Errani gave the hosts

<< Kvitova, Benesova lift Czechs to lead over Germany
Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Petra Kvitova and Iveta Benesova each won three-set thrillers to give the Czech Republic a commanding 2-0 lead over Germany in its Fed Cup quarterfinal. Benesova gave the defending Fed Cup champions

<< Hawks C Collins out at least 2 weeks
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Hawks center Jason Collins will miss a minimum of two weeks with a sprained left elbow, the team announced Saturday. Collins was injured in the first quarter of Thursday's loss to the Grizzlies. He i

<< Kings, Warriors meet again in Sacramento
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In-state rivals meet for the second time this week when the Sacramento Kings play host to the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors just finished up a lengthy six-game homestand by beating Sacramento on Tuesday by

<< Clippers kick off trek in Washington
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Paul and Blake Griffin were named starters on the Western Conference All-Star squad and look to get the Los Angeles Clippers back in the win column tonight against the Washington Wizards. The Clippers will

Serbs, Belgians even after first day at Fed Cup >>
Charleroi, Belgium (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Serbia and Belgium are even after the first day of play at their Fed Cup quarterfinal. Jelena Jankovic gave Serbia the first point on Saturday with a 7-5, 7-5 win over Kirsten Flipkens, but Yanina

Berdych, Monfils to meet for Montpellier title >>
Montpellier, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tomas Berdych and Gael Monfils were semifinal winners Saturday and will meet for the title at the Open Sud de France tennis tournament. The top-seeded Berdych had little trouble in a 6-3, 6

Georgetown cruises past South Florida >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Henry Sims had 13 points, nine rebounds and five assists, as No. 14 Georgetown cruised past South Florida, 75-45, on Saturday. Otto Porter added 12 points and Jason Clark finished with 11 for the

Syracuse thumps St. John's as Boeheim ties Dean >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fab Melo returned to the Syracuse lineup after a three-game absence and the sophomore center paid immediate dividends with 14 points, as the second-ranked Orange controlled the paint and rolled to a 95-70 victory

Advantage City as Citizens edge Cottagers >>
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester City went top of the Premier League on Saturday after defeating Fulham, 3-0, on a snowy night at the Etihad. The Citizens take a three-point lead in England's top tier as riv

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 features easy-to-use online betting software that’s the most reliable in the industry. If you’re looking to bet underdogs, then this Sportsbook is the place - we have the best betting lines in the business. MySportsbook is your one-stop shop for all your betting needs - sports betting, poker, casino, and horse racing . MySportsbook offers every bet type with lightning fast settlement of wagers. Take advantage of free statistical analysis - including against-the-spread and straight-up trends - in MySportsbook’s game previews section. With MySportsbook there are unlimited free deposits and payouts - and no transaction fees!

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.