Week 17 games, an additional playoff team for each conference…America’s appetite for the NFL is insatiable.  For someone who has made his living the past 25 years betting on sports, people are surprised when they learn how little time I spend in front of a television watching a game.  I simply don’t have the time.  Especially during peak basketball/football season, with so many games on the board, I am glued to a computer screen watching line moves.  Once a bet is in, I generally won’t know whether it won or lost until I check my account at the end of the day.  It is not that I don’t love sports.  I do.  I’m just not what you would call a “fanatic”.  That said, the NFL playoffs definitely are an exception.  I look forward to sitting down the next few weeks with friends and family and watching the drama unfold.

This truly is a year where anything can happen.  In the AFC, I don’t think anyone would be surprised if any one of 5 or 6 of the teams made the Super Bowl.  In the NFC, while the Packers are certainly the favorite, no one would be shocked if the Bucs, Cowboys or Cardinals made the big game.

Pay Attention To The Covid Factor

In addition to the parity, the Covid factor cannot be ignored, especially when it comes to the challenges it has presented for professional bettors.  For the most part, if a team is missing its most important player (i.e. the starting quarterback), my inclination is to stay off the game.  There simply are too many unknowns.  That said, other Covid absences can be overvalued by the public.  Just as I have always said with regard to injuries, the backups who are now getting to play still are professional athletes waiting for their time to show they belong and that they deserve starters’ money.  For one game, any player can rise up to the challenge.  The bottom line is, regardless of the sport, while I pay attention to the Covid report for each game, I do not overvalue player absences and often find value on that “depleted” team if the line over-moves.

Sports Betting Picks Recap

Let’s dive into my sports betting picks recap for the last week. Other than the National Championship on Monday between Alabama and Georgia, another NCAAF Bowl season has come and gone.  Believe me, I am sad to see it go. KrackWins went 4-2 with 2 late cancellations (+3.1 units) making for a final bowl record of 7-2 with 3 cancellations.  We are very pleased for all of our members that benefitted.  NFL totals continued to dominate, going 2-0 (+3.5 units).  Basketball for the week, NBA (2-2, -.4 units) and NCAAB (5-5, -1 unit), remained at “kiss your sister” levels.  Overall, for the week, we went 13-9-3 (+5.2 units), bringing our winning momentum into the new year.

Looking ahead, college basketball teams are back from the holiday break and NBA teams are getting back to their regular lineups.  As much as I enjoyed seeing Joe Johnson, Lance Stephenson, and Mario Chalmers back in the NBA, my handicapping forms from 2014 are long since discarded.  Enjoy the first NFL Week 18 ever and let’s get ready to cash in on the expanded playoffs as we head towards the Super Bowl.