A Quick Quiz-Review of Football Betting Books and What They've Got

16 August 2006

By Howard Schwartz

Okay, you're used to the regular review format, I know. But curve balls exist and this week I'm throwing a change up. Let's see if it works. I think it'll tip you to the book that suits you best in a unique way.

Let's say you're looking for a book that focuses on totals, the over/under wager, specifically for college totals. Not easy to find which book's got it is it? Well which book is it?

The answer: Phil Steele's marvelous College Football Scorebook ($24.95), from pages 343 to 367. This book's got totals for each college team from 1993 to 2005, from Air Force to Wyoming, plus information on which games were on television, since Las Vegas sports book usually only post college totals when the game is on TV.

Just how smart is the public when it comes to smart line move, here defined as at least a point and a half, in college ball? Where to find that information? Andy Iskoe's Pointspread Encyclopedia-College Football ($29.95) is where you want to go. Iskoe's book has an analysis of dozens of situations year by year for the last six years or year by year for the colleges, but the book is unique in that a special section called College Line Moves-How Smart Is The Public helps the bettor who wonders in the long run if it is better to bet early or late in the week? Iskoe here shows you how a team fared after that important line move and then shows you a breakdown of line moves from l.5 points to as many as 9.5 points (a true rarity) how all teams have done since 1990, or for the last three years and for the last six years altogether. The book also isolate hot angles like the fact that Navy is 12-4 against the line for the past three years after the sixth game of the year or that Syracuse since 2003 is 7-1 against the line playing non-conference teams at home.

Really want to go back in history for spreads and results? Pro Football Scorebook ($34.95) by Northcoast Sports (Phil Steele) takes you back to 1984 with spreads and in 1987, when totals betting got popular, the over-unders are listed from that year to 2005. This well-researched book has pre-season angles, Thursday night, Saturday, and Monday night angles, post-season angles, Super Bowl angles; the NFL tie-breaking rules for playoffs and even a fantasy football guide.

Is it true Green Bay is one of the great teaser teams of the past few years? Yes-as Iskoe's book NFL Teasers & Totals ($29.95) shows you. For the 2003-2005 seasons, the Packers are 14-5 against the line with a six-point teaser as a dog and 17-6 during that period getting six points on the road.

Fascinated with the "middling" factor? Wonder about "hedging or cross-betting"? Where can you find out more? Try Win More-Lose Less, subtitled Maximizing Profits on NFL Wagering by Don Peszynski ($24.95). There a great chapter in the book, which also discusses buying half points; teasers and money management and written by a former financial analyst.

These are only some of the questions the people at Gambler's Book Club are asked daily. Books help explain, clarify, illuminate-hopefully making the hopeful bettor smarter, more disciplined, more selective.