Lew Racing

As the NBA stands right now, there are as everyone knows, a few elite teams that likely will, in some combination, make it to the NBA finals to battle it out for the title. We’ll take a look at some odds in a second, but a general rule of advice for the NBA.

Believe those odds.

This isn’t college basketball betting, where it’s one and done, there’s tons of young, raw emotion fueling underdog Cinderella teams into the Sweet 16.

This isn’t the NFL, where talent is spread more evenly, there’s more parity and…you guessed it…on any given Sunday….

And this sure as hell isn’t nascar betting. It’s just not.

My point is, there’s less drama than you’d think in the NBA odds, and with every series being a seven-game series, there are fewer surprises and upsets than in every other major sport. There’s a reason why only the Knicks and Nuggets have, once each, emerged from the eighth seed to see the second round. There’s a reason less than 10 teams have every come back from an 0-2 deficit in a seven-game series to win it (hello Chicago Bulls). It’s because the great teams have more than enough window of error to squeeze through any round, and because home court advantage has its biggest influence in basketball.

So, when you see the Celtics at 5/2 and Lakers at 7/4 to win the title, they’re the teams you probably want to gamble online on. When it comes to sports betting, I’m an advocate for safer bets that’ll yield less money. Just like in the casino, the odds are against you no matter what, but how you reduce those odds to work as much in your favor as possible is what’ll separate you from the losers. You can keep your parlays, you can keep your Superbowl squares and you can keep your long shot, hail Mary bets (say, for instance, the Toronto Raptors at a cool 2,000 to 1).

Remember, the NBA Betting odds makers know more than you do. If you know that, you’ve already got a leg up on the competition. Never gamble with your heart or your gut, always gamble with your brain. You might not win that once-in-a-lifetime big-money score, but you also probably won’t lose EVERY other time you throw down a wager.

For this year’s teams, especially where we stand now, I’d give consideration to the Spurs at 8/1 and the Cavs at 11/4. Everything else is a sucker’s bet, especially with so many strong teams this year. There’s no way an underdog is cutting through all of them to take the ring.

Blackjack is the most popular card game in the casino and part of the reason why blackjack is so popular is because it’s an easy game to learn. You can play blackjack with one deck of cards or as many decks of cards as you want. In most casinos they play with 6 or 8 decks of cards in the shoe although if you play online you’ll be able to play with a single deck. The goal in blackjack is to beat the dealer and in order to beat the dealer you need to be closer to 21 without going over the number. If you go over 21 then you bust your hand and automatically lose and this is why you need to have a strategy when you play blackjack.

The first thing you need to do when you play blackjack online is place the amount of chips you want to bet on the table in the designated spot. Once you’ve made your bet the dealer will deal out two cards to you and two cards to themselves. Both of your cards will be dealt face up and the dealer will have one card dealt face up and one card dealt face down. Once the cards have been dealt you need to decide what you want to do. You have several options depending on what you’ve been dealt. Listed below are the different plays you can choose from when it’s your turn to act.

* The first play you can make is to “hit” which means you would like another card added to your hand. If you choose to hit you’re allowed to do it as many times as you want until you bust or stand.

* The second play you can make is “stand” which means you’re done playing your hand and you would like to end your hand. When you stand you’ll keep the total you’re at and you’ll need to be closer to 21 then the dealer in order to win.

* The third play you can make is “double down” which means you would like one card added to your hand and that’s all. You won’t be allowed to take another card after you double down and you can only double down at the beginning of your turn. When you double down you need to place a bet that is the same size as your initial bet next to your initial bet. Generally you only double down when you have a total of 10 or 11 and the dealer has an 8 or lower.

* The fourth play you can make is a “split” which is when you split your pair into two different hands. You also need to add another bet to the new hand and the bet needs to be the same size as your initial bet on the hand.

* The last option you’ll have when playing blackjack is the ability to buy insurance when the dealer is showing an ace. If the dealer is showing an ace you’ll be allowed to buy insurance which pays out if the dealer has a blackjack. Insurance has been proven to not be profitable over the long term though, so you really shouldn’t buy insurance.

The next race is the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Kansas (Kansas 400), which takes place at the Kansas Speedway this Sunday at 2 p.m. This tri-oval track is a passer’s dream – one that Jeff Gordon has mastered twice before, the only driver to win two times here.

We’re now looking at the third race in the Chase for the Cup, and it’s separation time for those leading the pack, and make-up time for those looking to climb back into the top spots. The track is 1.5 miles in length, and it’s a 400-mile race.

Mark Martin put a bit of online nascar betting distance between his No. 1 ranking and his closest followers after his recent ascention to the top spot. But Jimmie Johnson is running strong, and seems to be sticking neck-in-neck with Martin as the chase heats up. Tony Stewart, who was the front-runner for much of the season, has slipped all the way down to sixth place, 74 points behind the leader. There was a time when Tony had the most wins, as well, but now trails Martin by 2 and is tied with Johnson at 3. Things don’t look good for the maverick, especially here at Kansas where the drivers will have plenty of room to maneuver around him and his tactics. I wouldn’t bet Stewart to win or place here, and I’d shy away from him in one-on-one bets vs. the top 8 on the leaderboard. Furthermore, his money line would have to be a no-brainer to even put $100 down on him against someone in the top 13.

Gordon knows the track, and as was mentioned has had success here, so you can’t count him out. However, he only has one win this entire season, and has fallen to 10th in the standings. I think it’s a decent bet for Gordon to place in the top 3, but I wouldn’t take a chance on an outright win.

My online nascar odds prediction is that Martin finishes second, Johnson third, and Denny Hamlin comes up with a huge victory here, setting up an even more interesting race as we wind down the season. Kurt Busch is always a threat, especially in a race like this, but I don’t see he or any of the other challengers coming up with an upset in this one.

Stick to the strong one-on-one matchups and hedge with a couple outright win bets and you’ll make some money here.