Cabrera-Bello pulls out victory in Dubai

Golf Betting Lines

02/12/2012 - Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rafael Cabrera-Bello shot a four-under 68 on Sunday, then held on for a narrow victory at the Dubai Desert Classic.

Cabrera-Bello finished at 18-under-par 270, one stroke ahead of Lee Westwood (70) and Stephen Gallacher (69). Both had a chance to force a playoff with a birdie at the 18th, but both missed their putts to end tied in second place.

Marcel Siem carded a 71 to finish alone in fourth at 15-under, while Rory McIlroy (71) was among a group of four another shot back.

It was the second European Tour victory for Cabrera-Bello, who won the Austrian Golf Open in 2009.

MORE TO FOLLOW.

Wwsportsinteraction Golf Betting News

<< Mamat cruises to Philippine Open victory
Manila, Philippines (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Singapore's Mardan Mamat fired a one- under 71 on Sunday to wrap up a dominant victory at the Philippine Open. Mamat finished at eight-under-par 280, five shots clear of the second-place Mo Joong-

<< Hantuchova downs Kirilenko for Pattaya crown
Pattaya City, Thailand (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daniela Hantuchova defended her title as she defeated Maria Kirilenko in the Sunday final at the Pattaya Open. The third-seeded Hantuchova was defeated in the first set by the fourth-seeded Kiri

<< Croatia advances past Japan in Davis Cup
Hyogo, Japan (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ivo Karlovic defeated Go Soeda in the final match as Croatia downed host Japan, 3-2, to advance in the Davis Cup. Kei Nishikori had taken down Ivan Dodig 7-5, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 to tie the match at 2-all, but

<< Korda wins playoff at Women's Australian Open
Victoria, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jessica Korda first gained control during the final round at the Women's Australian Open on Sunday, then gave it away with a string of bogeys on the back nine. But when she needed critical birdies, she

<< Suns ease past Kings
Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jared Dudley had 20 points and 10 rebounds as the Phoenix Suns eased past the Sacramento Kings, 98-84, at Power Balance Pavilion. Steve Nash missed the second quarter after taking a shot to the face

Karlovic leads Croatia past host Japan in Davis Cup >>
Hyogo, Japan (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ivo Karlovic defeated Go Soeda in the final match of the weekend, as Croatia downed host Japan, 3-2, to reach the Davis Cup quarterfinals in April. Japan's Kei Nishikori handled Ivan Dodig 7-5,

Illinois challenges No. 22 Michigan >>
Ann Arbor, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 22nd-ranked Michigan Wolverines will try to make it 15 in a row at home, as they host the Illinois Fighting Illini in a Big Ten Conference battle at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor. This is the first of t

St. John's seeks upset of No. 12 Georgetown >>
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 12th-ranked Georgetown Hoyas will try to bounce back from a recent loss as they play host to the St. John's Red Storm today in a Big East Conference clash at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. Thi

Bulls aim to continue road success in Boston >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The East-leading Chicago Bulls shoot for their sixth straight win when they finish a grueling nine-game road trip at TD Garden vs. the Boston Celtics. The Bulls, who have the NBA's best record at 23-6, hope to have Derrick

Streaking Pistons host lowly Wizards >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The improving Detroit Pistons shoot for a season-high fifth straight win when they take on the lowly Washington Wizards in the middle contest of a three-game homestand. Greg Monroe recorded 18 points and 11 rebounds as the

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.