Gambling Guide

Bookie busters: Fatten your bankroll with some midweek games

Bookie busters: Fatten your bankroll with some midweek games
You can make some cash on Anthony Davis and the Pelicans. New Orleans Pelicans/Facebook

Our bookie busters went 2-2 for the weekend, but let's examine a specific sequence from one of our plays that prohibited us from the sweep.

NBA
Friday 3/2/2018 6:35 pm
Warriors at Hawks
Warriors -13  Over/Under 227

The Picks were:
Warriors-13
Warriors Team Total over 120

Our thoughts were that the game would be high scoring due to not only the obvious in the Warrior's prolific offense but in the new-found pace, the Hawks have been playing at in the last month. Golden State played its part and scored 62 in the first half, and with less than five minutes left in the 4th quarter, the Warriors held a double-digit lead needing to cover -13. What happened in the last 2 minutes is inexcusable. Following a pair of Kevin Durant free throws to put the Thunder up 111-100 and put the spread at a baskets distance, the Warriors allowed Atlanta to go on a 9-0 run in 1:40 killing the bet.  A key to being successful betting is to learn from every wager you make whether it's a win or a loss. Go back and look at what exactly happened and did the game play at the pace you expected.

Cris Cyborg Under 1.5 rounds was easy cash as the Champion scored a first-round TKO.

Michigan State vs. Wisconsin under 132 was also easy cash as the game ended 63-60, with the number never in doubt.


NBA 3/7 9:00 PM
New Orleans Pelicans at Sacramento Kings
The Pelicans travel to Sacramento to finish a four-game round trip. (This is being written before the Clippers game) During this road trip, the Pelicans have been involved in shootouts, with all of their games seeing over 235 point totals. Not just on this road trip but going back to February 9th, all of New Orleans contest have seen their totals go over 221 points. In the past 15 games, the Pelicans rank 1st in pace in the NBA (105.7). New Orleans' Over/Under record sits at 38-23-1 on the year, the best in the NBA, with their games cashing over tickets 62.3% of the time. Their opponents, also have seen success with totals this season, and they are ranked top 5 in the league seeing the game go over in 54% of their contest while holding a 34-29-1 overall record. With the Pelicans coming off back-to-backs to finish off the road trip, I fully expect them to keep playing at the pace that has given them success on the current eight-game win streak.

Plays
Pelicans -5
Pelicans Team Total over 114.5
Over 224

More Action

ACC Tournament 3/7 1:00 PM
NC State vs. Boston College
NC State-3    Over/Under 158

NC State on a 5-1 run, scoring 74+ in the last six contest. BC 2-4 in last six games allowing 84,82,79 and 85 points in those losses.
Pick: NC State-3

Big East Tournament
St John's vs. Georgetown
St John's -4.5    Over/Under 145.5

The Red Storm averaged 73 points per game this season, and in their last five wins, they have surpassed 75+ points. They will be looking to continue that remedy. Georgetown on a four-game losing streak, allowing the opponent to score 89,74,90, and 97 on that streak. Look for an extremely fast-paced game.

Picks:
Over 145.5
St John's Team Total Over 74.5



For any questions or comments reach me @JerryBoknowz On Twitter

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ESPN Houston 97.5 FM
Astros defeat the Guardians, 5-2. Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images.

Ronel Blanco pitched five scoreless innings and rookie Zach Dezenzo homered, leading the Houston Astros to a 5-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Friday night in a matchup of division winners that could meet again this postseason.

Blanco (13-6) allowed just a single in five innings and remained unbeaten in his last nine starts. He combined with three relievers on a three-hitter as the Astros held on to win despite striking out 13 times and stranding 12 runners.

“You could make a case he's one of our best starters,” Astros manager Joe Espada said of Blanco, who has a 0.75 ERA in four September starts. “He has helped us get to this point.”

Blanco was replaced by rookie Spencer Arrighetti, who made his first career relief appearance after 28 starts.

Arrighetti was good for two innings but walked the bases loaded in the eighth. As he was lifted, the right-hander was ejected by plate umpire Mark Wegner, who didn't appreciate him spiking the resin bag on the mound or his words on the way off.

It was a new role for Arrighetti. He hadn't pitched out of the bullpen since college, but could be used that way in the playoffs.

“It felt familiar, I was just a little bit rusty,” said Arrighetti. “I think I'll be able to find a better routine the next time I do it.”

Bryan Abreu came in and got the Astros out of the eighth by striking out rookie Kyle Manzardo and All-Star José Ramírez.

Held to one hit for eight innings, the Guardians got two runs in the ninth off Josh Hader, who finished up.

Victor Caratini and Dezenzo hit back-to-back homers in the fifth inning for the AL West champion Astros, who are locked into the No. 3 seed in the playoffs and will host a wild-card series next week.

If the Astros advance, they'll play in Cleveland on Oct. 5 in Game 1 of the ALDS.

The Guardians are still chasing the New York Yankees for the top seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

After going 7-19 in April, Houston has turned it around by going 80-54 — the majors' second-best mark over that span.

After Caratini's shot to right off Eli Morgan made it 4-0, Dezenzo, who was recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land earlier in the day and struck out his first two times up, blasted a 1-2 pitch over the wall in center.

It was quite a moment for Dezenzo. He grew up a Guardians fan in Alliance, Ohio, before playing at Ohio State.

“I grew up coming to this park and I watched a lot of guys like Travis Hafner, Grady Sizemore, Jim Thome,” he said. “So hitting a home run here, there's a lot of nostalgia and really, really cool for me.”

Guardians rookie starter Joey Cantillo allowed six hits in 3 2/3 innings.

“Just threw a lot of pitches,” he said. “Just was not very sharp for the most part, for the entirety of the game. Deep counts. Falling behind."

TRAINER'S ROOM

Astros: LF Yordan Alvarez (knee sprain) ran on a treadmill in Houston and Espada said the slugger is “getting better quickly.” Espada said Alvarez will need to do more to be able to hit before he's considered for the wild-card roster due Tuesday. “You can’t just go from what he's doing now to the baseball field,” Espada said. “He’s a really, really good player but we need him to check some boxes.”

Guardians: RHP Alex Cobb (finger blister) had a productive bullpen session on Thursday as he continues progress from an injury that has sidelined him nearly a month. Vogt was vague in addressing what's next for Cobb, who has made only three starts since being acquired in a trade.

UP NEXT

Guardians RHP Ben Lively (13-9, 3.80 ERA) starts against Justin Verlander (4-6, 5.55), who will be facing Cleveland for the 57th time in his career.

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