The NASCAR Playoffs intensity gets dialed up another notch this week at Texas Motor Speedway. Messin' with Texas is not a good idea, but it's not quite as bad as starting a slap-boxing match on pit road. The stakes are high so let's jump right into the BetCrushers.com NASCAR Texas…
Round 3 of the NASCAR Playoffs is here and the eight drivers still in the mix are staring down the O.G. short track of the Cup Series circuit: Martinsville Speedway. With rain in the forecast, Mother Nature may have the final say when the green flag will fly. Regardless, it's…
The Yellow Flag Fiesta at the end of Sunday's race at Kansas was a nail biter. Brad Keselowski's Championship hopes were dashed at the expense of runner-up Chase Elliott. Round 3 of the NASCAR Playoffs shifts from the speedy 1.5-mile tri-oval to the half-mile short track at Martinsville Speedway. It's…
The NASCAR postseason field will be slashed by a third when checkered flag flies at the Hollywood Casino 400 this afternoon. Two drivers are locked in for the next round of playoffs and four more are effectively in, barring some sort of disaster. Who will be in next week and…
Last week's race at Talladega was expectedly unpredictable. Only a handful of the top drivers made it across the line, and most of their cars were torn up. We doubt that Kansas will be as explosive as Talladega, which makes handicapping significantly more straightforward. That said, let's jump right into…
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. said it well before Friday's final practice that he expected an 80% chance of getting caught up in a crash at Talladega when he still raced. It's inevitable. It's The Big One. And this is the BetCrushers final NASCAR handicapping at Talladega. Weekend Recap The dual practice…
The NASCAR Playoffs action is getting intense in the lead up to the Cup Series' middle race of Round 2. After six months of regular-season racing, the circuit is back at one of the United States' baddest tracks: Talladega Superspeedway. Let's roll with the BetCrushers Talladega NASCAR race preview! We…
The Monster Mile is small but mighty, and there's no doubting that the racing action will be fierce to open Round 2 of the NASCAR Playoffs. We're looking to follow up a big handicapping week at the Charlotte Roval last Sunday with another one at Dover. Our card was limited…
What a way to end Round 1 of the NASCAR Playoffs at the Charlotte Roval last weekend with a huge performance from Chase Elliott. He persevered after a major miscue mid-way through the race to get the victory. This cemented his position in Round 2 (and a profitable day of…
It's been a full weekend in Charlotte, and now it's race day! The Bank of America 400 at the Roval is the last race before four playoff contenders are cut from the field. We detailed how unique this track is in our race preview, as confirmed by the weekend practice…
The NASCAR Playoffs move further south this week to one of the most unpredictable tracks on the Cup Series circuit, the Charlotte Roval. It's a road course and an oval jammed together, exactly like how a spork is both a spoon and a fork. Bottom line: the Roval debuted in…
The NASCAR postseason intensity grows as the Cup Series hits Richmond for a Saturday night showdown. We love the night races, although our time to prepare for them is compressed. They wrapped two practices and qualifying into Friday so there's plenty to break down to fill out your betting card…
Race #1 of the NASCAR Playoffs is in the books. Martin Truex, Jr. scored an impressive win at Las Vegas, punching his ticket to the Round of 12. The win also gained him significant ground in the playoff point standings against Kyle Busch. Our betting results were very kind to…
If there's anything far from a surprise in NASCAR these days, it is Kyle Busch having one of the fastest cars on the track. Friday's practice sessions showed that the Vegas native has the potential to make a strong statement in the opening race of the 2019 NASCAR postseason. The…
The playoffs are here, and there's no better place to kick them off than Las Vegas! At least from the perspective of a handicapper and bettor, it sure can't be beat. Several of our drivers have been on the wrong side of wrecks the last couple races and we're ready…
A whole rack of drivers trying to punch their ticket to the 2019 NASCAR playoffs have officially reached desperation mode. Our Wednesday race preview touched on the troubles with this race from a race enthusiast's perspective, though most should agree there is no shortage of drama today. It's the final…
We've got an extra NASCAR feature this week because the matchups for Sunday's Brickyard 400 came out a day after we prepared our race preview. This is far from the most entertaining race of the season, but if there's an opportunity to find an edge we'll back it with our…
The NASCAR Cup Series' regular season finale is situated at one of the world's most famous tracks, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It's the last chance for many drivers to score an eleventh-hour victory and backdoor their way into the playoffs. Of course, this will be at the expense of someone…
There's nothing like a late summer night race on the Cup Series circuit, with the regular season fading into the postseason and the stakes getting higher. It's race day and you know that the BetCrushers team is serving up some last-minute NASCAR handicapping for this year's Darlington race. What the…
After a rare week off, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to action on Labor Day weekend. Our early handicapping of the NASCAR Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway will give you the insights to tackle Sunday night's race. We took advantage of the extra week to highlight the track and isolate…
The NASCAR postseason kicks in after upcoming Cup Series stops at Darlington and the Brickyard. We hold a few small Championship futures tickets made before the season began, but now it's time to look for value as we near the final ten races of the season. Handicapping the 2019 NASCAR…
Darlington Raceway: The Lady in Black. The Cup Series may be taking a week off, but The BetCrushers Team is revved up to give you our NASCAR race preview at Darlington. It's a good thing they give the teams a break after Bristol before heading to South Carolina. Darlington's tumultuous…
Corners, grooves, and grip. We've got it all in the BetCrushers.com final handicapping article for the NASCAR Cup Series Bristol Night Race. 500 laps on a Saturday night in The Last Great Colosseum? Count us in. Track officials applied the PJ1 traction compound (i.e. sticky stuff) on the low groove…
There's nothing like it in racing: the Bristol night race. Every August, the Cup Series teams duke it out in the northeastern corner of Tennessee as they jockey for playoff positioning. Our NASCAR race preview for Bristol will get you prepared to take advantage of betting opportunities Saturday night. It's…
It's race day and the weather looks beautiful for today's 400-mile race at Michigan International Speedway. We brought you a track overview and key driver analysis in Wednesday's preview, then made adjustments based on qualifications and practice sessions in yesterday's post. Saturday's duel practices told us a lot about how…
The stage is nearly set for 200 laps at one of the fastest tracks on the Cup Series circuit: Michigan International Speedway. Today's special Saturday BetCrushers.com NASCAR race update at Michigan comes at you because there's plenty to break down with this week's spread out schedule. Michigan native Brad Keselowski…
No mysterious late cautions, just pure hard racing by Chase Elliott and Martin Truex, Jr. closed out Sunday's battle at Watkins Glen. Elliott (+1000 pre-qualification; +500 race day odds) earned the pole on Saturday, then proceeded to dominate the race and take the checkered flag. Chase had struggled before hitting…
It's Sunday, and until the NFL season is up and running, Sunday is race day. Handicapping NASCAR at Watkins Glen is about as much of a challenge as racing it. OK, maybe that's a weak comparison. Regardless, this unique road course blends seven turns with long straightaways in a grueling…
Being overly selective this time of year has its pros and cons. On the positive side, you can slim down the MLB card by eliminating huge favorites and teams who've are significantly underperforming. The major detraction is that there are days where I don't make any plays. Successful sports betting…
It's road course racing time again as the NASCAR Cup circuit makes its annual stop at Watkins Glen, NY. The stock car boys have been racing here continuously since 1986 and on the track's current configuration since 1992. Road courses can be polarizing with NASCAR fans, but the BetCrushers team…
Monday's break from betting the MLB was a good example of "If the glove don't fit, you must"... OK, maybe that's not the most appropriate analogy. There's no shame in sitting on the sidelines when the games don't show me much. It's that time of year and the Monday card…
No task seems too tall when a team is in a groove. Of course, it doesn't hurt to have Christian Yelich's spot in the lineup come up when needed the most. Yelich was clutch against Kimbrel in the 10th and Hiura sealed the deal with a 2-run bomb of his…
The NASCAR Cup series' second stop at Pocono in 2019 goes to green Sunday afternoon. Saturday marked two practice sessions capped off by a qualification run. As we detailed on Wednesday, Pocono Raceway is a unique 2.5-mile, three-turn track that can put added stress on inexperienced drivers and their teams.…
The NL Central is arguably one of the more disappointing divisions in MLB this season. Division-leader St. Louis is 9 games above .500 with Chicago and Milwaukee right on their heels. The Cardinals have been propelled to the top via a scorching hot run and now the Cubs and Brewers…
Miles Mikolas gave up the 3 runs that was expected of him in the Thursday afternoon divisional showdown. Fortunately for us Cardinals backers, he did so over 6 solid innings and the bullpen was stout enough to hold the 6-3 margin. Pittsburgh's Musgrove lived up to what appeared to be…
After successfully backing the Cardinals Tuesday, I laid low on the MLB card for a number of reasons. Generally speaking, the card quality peaks in June and then we start seeing too many starters that are tough to back or too expensive to fade. There are still gems in the…
The NASCAR Cup series travels back to the Pocono Raceway for the second of two 400-mile races this season at the northern Pennsylvania track. The BetCrushers team is coming at you with a brief track overview and highlights of some interesting matchups we have our eyes on for Sunday's race.…
Buying low on the Texas Rangers last night was the result of ill-placed confidence in them righting the ship against a Mariners club that has essentially given up on the season. Marco Gonzales escaped a 2nd inning disaster with a 0-2 deficit and never looked back. Sampson got little support…
The dog days of summer usher a lot of new faces to the MLB diamond, especially on the pitcher's mound. This means plenty of matchups that have lopsided lines and/or unproven pitchers at the major league level. All of this equates to a lot of passing on my part, including…
So the Reds bullpen CAN hold a lead. Saturday's Reds F5 -136 wager pushes as Mikolas dueled Castillo to a 0-0 deadlock after 5 innings. The Cards then cracked Castillo for a solo shot but the Reds answered and held on for a 3-2 win. My hesitancy to get behind…
A combination of family matters and a lack of a convincing bet-on game led to a "day off" from wagering the MLB. I had an opportunity to run through Saturday's slate late on Friday from the hotel and circled one game that looked like a viable opportunity. Arizona and Atlanta…
Atlanta/Milwaukee was one hell of a game Wednesday. An early mistake by Keuchel was costly, though the Atlanta offense made sure their club was never out of the game. The Brewers had the "big inning(s)" that I figured would be the difference maker and proved to be the difference in…
I sat Tuesday out from MLB wagering as the betting slate showed me nothing appetizing to bite on. Instead, I gave a quick overview of a couple key matchups I am exploring for this weekend's NASCAR Cup Foxwoods Casino 301 at New Hampshire. Our team has also been grinding on…
BetCrushers 7/15/2019 MLB recap and NASCAR New Hampshire Foxwoods Casino 301 matchup preview.
San Francisco's offense is a bit of a head scratcher. When you put it in the context of a full MLB season, hot or cold streaks for teams, offenses, pitchers, etc. are just a routine part of the 162-game grind. Tyler Beede did a phenomenal job of scratching out nearly…
When it comes to the starting pitchers in last night's Reds/Rockies game, I was completely wrong. Roark got hammered for 13 hits, 3 homers, and 7 runs. Freshly-recalled Kyle Freeland did not give up a single home run or a walk. Walks and home runs needed to be the Reds'…
Speaking of which, it's certainly good to be back on the MLB grind. It doesn't hurt when the Red Sox have your back and smack down the Dodgers 8-1. Rodriguez exceeded our high expectations with only 1 earned run and 10 strikeouts against the potent LA lineup. Maeda was as…
After an extended time overseas, it's definitely good to be back. Baseball is back with a full slate, NFL preparations are heating up, and all is well in the handicapping world for the BetCrushers team. Before the All-Star Break, we were sharpening our approaches to live betting the MLB...and with…
Oof. Yesterday's faith in Julio Teheran and Merrill Kelly was poorly placed. They were both in good current form as I detailed yesterday. Unfortunately, both of these starters were anything but good. And their offenses did little to bail them out. deGrom was lights out in his complete game, while…
As you can see from the header post, it's deja vu all over again. After last night's late-inning blowout of the Mets, the price to back Atlanta continues to balloon as they continue their hot streak. Oh wait, they're the dog tonight? More on that later. Atlanta's convincing 12-3 win…
If you laid the juice on the Dodgers last night, you cashed. If you're a sucker like me and played the run line with Hyun-Jin Ryu on the mound, then you're out of luck. The Dodgers had plenty of opportunities to do more damage against Quintana but did not convert.…
There was a lot of painful action in the MLB on Saturday, at least in the games that I had my eye on. Nick Senzel fouled one off of his face, JT Realmuto caught a foul ball in the junk, and Sean Newcomb took a scorched liner to the side…
I have to admit that when Lucas Giolito gave up a 1st inning solo shot to Luke Voit last night, my first thought was how Giolito has truly been due for a dud outing. Then CC Sabathia took the mound and my impression of the game quickly changed back to…
My BetCrushers boys were giving me flack for hitting the links before cranking out an article first thing this morning. To my credit, I was up and handicapping before the morning scramble. I was fresh off a refreshing Thursday evening in which I had nothing booked, especially after the Braves…
Some days it just ain't in the cards. Wednesday was one of those days for my handicapping, most notably in Colorado where the Rockies were dominated by the Cubs. Senzatela laid one of his eggs and Hamels pulled an impressive outing out of the jaws of a 1st inning bases-loaded…
What are the odds? Tuesday's 1-1 split makes it the fourth straight day with such a record. I scratched out +0.09 units on the split, lifting this week to 2-2 for +1.35 units. Arizona disappointed me though their offense battled hard, missing a pair of late-game 3-run homers by a…
Monday's 1-1 split marked the third straight day with such a record. However, yesterday's split earned +1.26 units because of Texas' big +226 underdog win in 11 innings. As ho-hum as last week ended, this one began with a bang. As noted yesterday, Mike Minor was poised to keep the…
Sunday's 1-1 split was a fitting end to a ho-hum week 11 in the MLB. The week finishes up with a 5-6 record that cost me 0.98 units. Nothing too out of whack, but I am without a doubt well behind my season-long pace. Since I will be in Europe…
Saturday started strong with an Arizona shutout and ended with a disappointing display from the Rockies. Colorado had their opportunities but Steven Matz went deep into the pitch count and struck out 10 with his nasty curve and pinpoint fastballs. On the flip side, Zack Greinke squashed the Jays offense…
Although close doesn't pay, Friday's two plays damn near got there but fell short. It cost me 2.16 units and took the week down to 3-4 for -1.02 units though. Either way would have been a loss, but I avoided a Nationals bullpen meltdown by taking the first 5 inning…
I do all of my MLB handicapping early morning before heading to the office, so I often miss out on several games that are not on the board. I can be proactive at times when the starters are known and create a line range in which I would make a…
The Twins offense vs. Carlos Carrasco matchup was a big draw for a +118 underdog bet on Minnesota before Carrasco was scratched due to unfortunate medical concerns. When the game came back with Tyler Clippard as the Indians starter, the line flipped to Twins -120. After adjusting for the pitching…
When it comes to having a plan, yesterday's included a pair of plus-money games to keep an upward trend alive. Unfortunately, the Miami Marlins completely ran Chase Anderson out of his own building and pounded the Brewers 16-0. I had identified Anderson as the weak link in Tuesday's run line…
Wade LeBlanc damn well could have gone a full 9 innings if Seattle didn't use a starter last night. LeBlanc gave up 1 run on 3 hits and a walk over 8 great innings as the Mariners fell to the Astros 4-2. The damage was done in the 1st inning…
Last week's rough end bled into week 9, which started with a thud. Eventually it wrapped up with an 8-11 record and an unpleasant loss of 3.06 units. We roll into week 10 on a more positive note; the last three days brought in 4.55 units on a 6-2 record.…
Opportunity knocked Saturday, but the Reds could not open the door...in multiple situations. As noted in yesterday's article, Nats' pitcher Erick Fedde had been solid but was not expected to go past the 5th inning. He left after 4 innings, having run up 85 pitches with 6 hits and 3…
The Orioles proved to be an unlikely hero for me last night, amazingly winning both the F5 and full game underdog wagers against the Giants. A wacky 1st inning saw the Giants put up 5 in their half and the Orioles with 6 in the bottom. You could call it…
We all know the deal: three strikes and you're out. Yesterday started with an extra-innings slugfest between Arizona and Colorado that fell just short for the +127 road dog. The Rockies owned the D-backs in that 4-game series, in which my two wagers on Arizona lost by a single run…
Without it, you're just a spectator. And you're not in this just to watch the game, you're in it to win.  It's your bankroll: your ammo, your lifeline, your ability to stay in the game. If you're doing it right, it is investable capital that produces returns. There are plenty…
When the boys in the AL West get together, you better buckle up because their games don't land smoothly! Sitting on Oakland and Texas tickets yesterday, I knew this going into those games and certainly got my money's worth! After a Cincinnati beatdown, a split on my AL West tickets…
A pair of one-run losses last night leads to a nasty -2.4 unit loss for Tuesday, and now makes three one-run losses in a row. We'll see about getting that turned around soon. A sloppy first inning by the Yankees spotted the Padres 4 runs, which was just enough for…
Due to a lack of cooperation from the Reds and Diamondbacks, we're off to a lackluster 0-2 start (-2.15 units) to week 9 in the MLB. Cincinnati was super sloppy in game one of their Memorial Day doubleheader with the Pirates. A balk, fielding errors, base running gaffs, and a…
Sunday wrapped up a down week with a 2-1 record that netted +1.00 units, despite going 6-8 for -2.11 in week 8. At week's end, the season tally stands at -0.49 units. Not where we want to be by any stretch of the imagination but a down April is being…
At least there's the Twins. Their 8-1 dismantling of the White Sox easily covered the run line and provided the lone W yesterday. Cincinnati gave it a good run as a +137 dog but fell short as the game got late. Rangers/Angels was a pitchers duel that went down to…
Friday's 2 plays were a...you guessed it: a split. 1-1 on the day (-0.04 units) moves the week to 3-4 for -0.95 units. The weak link was St. Louis. I tried to buck the Cardinals slump off a day of rest with the Braves coming into town after a 13-inning…
The Twins finally got their series sweep against the Angels yesterday after the game was delayed from Wednesday night. I implemented a -1 run line using a 50-50 split of the money line and traditional -1.5 run line. Turns out that it wasn't necessary as they launched 8 home runs…
Guess the outfield was a little on the soggy side last night for the Twins/Angels series finale. This cancelled one of my two plays, which is unfortunate because the other play (Diamondbacks/Padres) was a complete bust. Eric Lauer was painting the corners while Merrill Kelly was allergic to the strike…
So I made no progress on my run line bet approach research last night. And the way this week's work schedule looks, this project may end up taking place on my flight down to BetCrushers HQ Friday evening. What better way to spend a couple hours on a plane than…
A colossal bullpen failure compromised the Texas +120 run line play, but fans in the Metroplex still went home celebrating a Rangers 10-9 win. Despite being up 10-2 going into the 8th inning, this game was far from over with the Texas and Seattle bullpens in action. Seattle's 7 runs…
The rigorous schedule of a 50+ hour job collides with MLB handicapping sometimes, as it has early this Monday morning. Fortunately, the slate is extremely light as I write this article: only 6 games are up on the board (1 of which is at Wrigley). I planned to give an…
Chop 'em up again! Saturday's 2-2 split was par for the course this week, which moves to 7-7 for a profit of +1.16 units. Spoiler alert: I've got 2 tickets for Sunday's MLB action and I would not be surprised at all if I get another split. But we're playing…
Every handicapper and bettor has a particular approach and style. Whether it is the use of a system, access to great information, or a solid handicapping approach, consistent winners find a way to get it done. A guy like me makes 1-4 plays a day during the MLB season (typically…
Luis Castillo's wizardry was damn near thwarted by the 3rd base bag in the 1st inning last night. Fortunately, the unfortunate circumstances at the beginning of the game were returned as a favor via wild pitch in the bottom of the 5th. Cincy held on after a considerable rain delay…
Tuesday: my nemesis this MLB season. Fortunately, I played yesterday's slate about as good as I could have. My handicapping process led me to 4 sides that had promise but I was hesitant to overextend and potentially take another big hit. I sharpened the pencils, played 2 wagers, and left…
After triple-checking my handicapping on the Astros/Tigers game yesterday morning, I punched a single MLB ticket for the short Monday slate. The downside to the Astros +105 run line wager was the strong possibility that Matthew Boyd would shut the Houston offense down and the Tigers would do enough to…
Week 6 wrapped up Sunday with a thud (0-2, -2.05 units), but I won't complain after churning out another weekly profit. The 10-9 week had promise going into the weekend, yet I squeezed out a modest 1.20-unit win despite a disappointing finish. Getting some momentum rolling over the last few…
Handicapping bullpens can truly be a "playing the percentages" part of the game. Whether this is more evident in the MLB these days as compared to the past, I do not know and frankly don't have any interest in researching. Consistently good, consistently bad, or downright volatile relief units can…
The Rocky Mountain Hangover strikes again. San Francisco returned home yesterday after a series in Colorado only to get steamrolled 7-0 by Luis Castillo and the Cincinnati Reds. This makes the Hangover a perfect 6-for-6 in 2019. It's truly difficult to split out where the Hangover impacts began and Castillo's…
Opening Day did not disappoint me and the BetCrushers Team (who did better than my solo pick with a couple add-on winners). Berrios was absolutely dominant, which was a must for the Twins to get a +105 W over an on-point Kluber in front of a depleted Tribe lineup. When…
And with that, the excitement of a new MLB season fades into number-crunching. 15 games on Thursday's slate, 15 opportunities to start on the right foot. I model games to determine a probable score based on team and starting pitcher projections (and actual stats once we get a body of…
When spring comes into view, our focus splits between increasingly heated NCAA basketball action and the prospects of a profitable new MLB season. Spring training gives us insight into each team's season outlook while building excitement for over 2,400 games and even more wagering opportunities. Wait, over 2,400 games?!? This…