Need something to read? Here’s a complete list of sports betting books, articles & studies

Tweet

Mail

Print

Consider this V 3.0 of BTB’s ultimate sports betting reading list.

In previous editions, we outlined must-read books and scholarly articles and also included stuff written here at the site. In this updated edition, you’ll find more books, more scholarly articles and, umm, more stuff written here at the site.

Feel free to bookmark this page and return to it often. The goal is to make this the most comprehensive sports betting reading list available on the Internet, filled with (mostly) free articles and publications that can help you improve at sports betting in a variety of ways, from basic strategy to theory to market analysis to handicapping.

If you have suggestions or see any glaring omissions, feel free to send an e-mail to beyondthebets@gmail.com. Or, find BTB on Twitter at @beyondthebets.

* * *

BOOKS

1. Weighing The Odds | King Yao

• From the author: ”The purpose of this book is to give you tools to succeed at sports betting, to show you how to evaluate, compare and view sports betting from an analytical perspective, not from a gambling perspective.”
• Great for: Anyone.
• Cost: $13.99.

2. Conquering Risk: Attacking Vegas and Wall Street | Elihu D. Feustel.

• From the author: ”A majority of the book focuses on sports betting. Four in-depth winning models are demonstrated for MLB, NFL, NCAA Football and WNBA. In addition to methods for handicapping these sports, there are explanations of a variety of approaches to exploit sports market inefficiencies and incorrect assumptions of bookmakers … More fresh ideas than ever seen in a single coherent publication.”
• Great for: Advanced bettors who are competent in math and statistics.
• Cost: $24.95.

3. Sharp Sports Betting | Stanford Wong.

• From the author: ”This book explains the logic and math of sports bets, including such exotic bets as parlays, teasers, and props. Lots of NFL data.”
• Great for: Anyone.
• Cost: $13.57.

4. Sports Betting: Profiting from Point Spreads | Daniel Fabrizio & Joseph Hunter.

• From the author: ”This book introduces strategies and tactics that turn the sports betting market into a more businesslike activity. We prefer the term ‘sports investor’ instead of ‘sports bettor’ because we take a professional view of the sports marketplace.”
• Great for: Beginners.
• Worth noting: Elihu D. Feustel’s criticisms, written here in a review, are worthwhile, fair and valid.
• Cost: $13.99.

5. Bracketeering: The Layman’s Guide to Picking the Madness in March | Andrew Clark.

• From the author: ”The book details a system for filling out your men’s basketball tournament brackets in March that requires neither a masters’ degree in math nor a 24/7 commitment to the college basketball season in order to make a run at winning your pool. In the last six years, the author has picked the winner four times on his single ‘sheet of integrity.’ Even better, he has picked 14 of the possible 24 final-four teams in those years.
• Great for: Anyone.
• Worth noting: This book is only 61 pages in length, but is crammed with useful information and concepts.
• Cost: $9.95.

6. Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports Are Played and Games are Won | Tobias J. Moskowitz & L. Jon Wertheim. 

• From the author: ”This book attempts to overturn some of the most cherished truisms of sports, and reveal the hidden forces that shape how basketball, baseball, football, and hockey games are played, won and lost.”
• Great for: Anyone.
• Worth noting: While this isn’t a sports betting book, the concepts and analysis can be applied to your handicapping and help you improve your level of thinking.
• Cost: $17.16

7. The Odds: One Season, Three Gamblers, and the Death of their Las Vegas | Chad Millman

• From the author: ”This book paints a vivid portrait of Las Vegas in light and shadow and follows three [bettors] throughout the NCAA season, taking readers behind the scenes and into their lives as they win, lose and eventually risk everything.
• Great for: Anyone.
• Cost: $8.90

8. Mathematics in Games, Sports, and Gambling | Ronald J. Gould.

• From the author: ”This book shows how discrete probability, statistics, and elementary discrete mathematics are used in games, sports, and gambling situations. It draws on numerous examples, questions, and problems to explain the application of mathematical theory to various real-life games.”
• Great for: Math geeks.
• Cost: $54.15

9. Mathletics: How Gamblers, Managers, and Sports Enthusiasts Use Mathematics in Baseball, Basketball and Football | Wayne L. Winston.

• From the author:  ”Shows readers how to use simple mathematics to analyze a range of statistical and probability-related questions in professional baseball, basketball, and football, and in sports gambling.”
• Great for: Anyone.
• Worth noting: Meant to buy this book last year, but never did.
• Cost: $19.26

10. Sports Arbitrage: Riskless Investment | George Lynam.

• From the author: ”This book provides the theory and practice of this riskless investment and with many examples shows how it is possible to generate a substantial income even from a small starting bank. If you want to take a look into the exciting world of riskless sports investment, whether you’re a beginner or professional, then this book is for you. You’re guaranteed to learn something new.”
• Great for: Anyone.
• Cost: $46.52.

11. Gaming The Game | Sean Patrick Griffin.

• From the author: “Researched with dozens of interviews, court documents, betting records, referee statistics, and unique access to witness statements and confidential law enforcement files, Gaming The Game looks inside the FBI’s investigation and beyond to provide the definitive account of the Tim Donaghy scandal.”
• Great for: Anyone.
• Worth noting: The author is a friend of the site, a Penn State professor and an all-around good guy.
• Cost: $16.55.

12. The Smart Money | Michael Konik. 

• From the author: “In the book, readers get to see behind the veil of secrecy shrouding the most successful sports betting operation in America, bypassing the myths and the rumors, going all the way to its innermost sanctum.”
• Great for: Anyone.
• Worth noting: One of the characters is unofficially Billy Walters (it’s obvious).
• Cost: $23.73.

13. We Were Wiseguys | Scott Schettler.

• From the author: “This book presents a rare and unprecedented history of the early days of “old Las Vegas” and the sports betting luminaries who set the standards and culture in the evolution of sports betting in Las Vegas.”
• Great for: History geeks.
• Worth noting: Have not yet read this book; it has, however, come recommended.
• Cost: $14.99

14. Beating The Odds | Brandon Lang.

• From the author: This book describes in vivid, colorful detail Brandon Lang’s rise from small time sports-phone tout to big time national exposure, his dramatic fall, and his subsequent rebirth in the internet age.”
• Great for: People who like to read pure fiction & bullshit.
• Worth noting: Lang is arguably the worst handicapper that ever lived. People purchase his plays not to follow but, but rather to bet the opposite side.
• Cost: $18.96.

15. Lay The Favorite | Beth Raymer.

• From the author: “An eye-popping and hilarious joyride through the underworld of sports betting.”
• Great for: Anyone.
• Worth noting: You couldn’t find a bad review about this book if you tried.
• Cost: $16.50.

* * *

BTB’S FOOTBALL HEADQUARTERS 

1. NFL football

We compiled all of our NFL posts over a two-month long period during the summer and organized them categorically. You can find them here or here.

2. College football

Almost all of our summer college football analysis—including projected point spreads for all 798 games, win total projections, team breakdowns, etc.—can be found here. You’ll find the links to be useful.

* * *

SCHOLARLY ARTICLES & BTB ARTICLES

1. Testing market efficiency: Evidence from the NFL sports betting market | Philip K. Gray; and Stephen F. Gray

• This article examines the efficiency of the National Football League betting market. Results of study suggest that widely documented inefficiencies in the market tend to dissipate over time.

2. Herd Behavior and Underdogs in the NFL | Sean Wever; and David Aadland

• Building on previous research, this article exposes a new NFL market inefficiency dealing with the notion of herd behavior. A differential strategy on home and visitor underdogs with large closing lines, the authors write, can produce statistically significant positive returns.

3. Understanding Price Movements in Point Spread Betting Markets: Evidence from NCAA Basketball | Brad R. Humphreys; Rodney J. Paul; and Andrew Weinbach

• This article analyzes point spread changes and betting volume for men’s college basketball games using survival analysis techniques. The findings suggest that sportsbooks do not appear to change point spreads to induce equal volumes of bets on either side of propositions. “The ‘balanced book’ model of sportsbook behavior, the authors write, does not describe point spread changes in this market.”

4. The effects of uncertainty on market prices: Evidence from coaching changes in the NBA | Lee Colquitt; Norman H. Godwin; and Rebecca T. Shortridge

• Authors found that betting lines are more volatile and less accurate predictors of game outcomes when greater uncertainty exists. Their study looked at miseason coaching changes and found that if a new coach takes over a team at midseason, the likelihood of the lines being off is far greater than if the previous coach had kept his position, due to a number of factors.

5. Disordered Gambling: Etiology, Trajectory and Clinical Considerations | Howard Shaffer; and Ryan Martin

• The authors put together a logical, coherent argument for why compulsive gambling has decreased despite an increase in the number of overall gamblers and also the avenues by which they can gamble. The authors determine that only 0.6% of gamblers do so compulsively, and of those 0.6%, many of them have other compulsive habits.

6. A Brief Primer on Correlated Parlays | Beyond the Bets

• The correlated parlay has been called “The Holy Grail of Sports Betting” and, if used correctly, can be profitable over time. This article provides a brief overview of its benefits.

7. Teaser Bets: Should You Play Them? Sure, But Know How To Use Them To Your Advantage | Beyond the Bets

• This article outlines basic teaser strategy for beginners who are unfamiliar with how to use them to your advantage. Included are brief explanations outlining some of the key numbers you should try to identify when placing teaser bets.

8. Learn To Love The Media: Why Beat Writers and Information They Provide Is Invaluable To Bettors | Beyond the Bets

• Some of the most useful information you’ll ever find comes from local newspapers, which you can access for free on the Internet. This article explains methods and reasons for collecting this valuable information and how it can be applied to your day-to-day handicapping.

9. How To Bet When You’re Hot | David Payne Purdum

• This article looks at betting strategies employed by professional handicappers when they are on a hot streak. Should you increase bet size? Should you increase your number of plays? All of these questions are discussed.

10. Circadian Rhythms and Enhanced Athletic Performance In The NFL | Roger S. Smith; Christian Guilleminault; and Bradley Efron

• The authors hypothesized that circadian rhythms could have an effect on NFL game outcomes. They tested this theory by looking at every game played from 1970 to 1994 with an emphasis on circadian advantage in Monday Night Football games. Change of time zone is of particular importance.

12. Regional Information and Market Efficiency: The Case of Point Spread Betting in United States College Football | Daniel D. Kuester; and Shane Sanders

• The authors posit that the effect of climate aridity upon college football spread betting market efficiency can be characterized as dramatic. It is conjectured that remote market participants may need to “experience” certain types of relevant regional information, such as climate, to act in a market efficient manner.

13. Home Team Weather Advantage and Biases in the NFL Betting Market | Richard Borghesi

• In this study, it was found that weather generally isn’t taken into an account to the extent that it should by oddsmakers, and as a result, there are inefficiencies in the betting market in certain situations.

14. The Impact of Cloud Cover on Major League Baseball | Wes P. Kent; and Scott C. Sheridan

• The main focus of the study was to analyze the relationship between 11 different variables and cloud coverage in Major League ballparks.The study analyzed 35,000 MLB games from 1987 to 2002, and while the data isn’t current, the findings are still statistically meaningful. Normally when a handicapper thinks of the weather as it relates to baseball, the three ‘elements’ to consider include wind, rain and temperature. But cloud should be considered, the authors write.

15. Issues in Sports Forecasting | H.O. Stekler; David Sendor; and Richard Verlander

• This article discusses the “hot hand” theory and a number of other gambler’s fallacies that could potentially create problems for recreational bettors. Recommended read for beginners only.

16. In AFL and CFL, Sportsbooks Don’t Appear To Set Lines to Attract Equal Betting Action | New York Economic Review

• The most significant finding in this study is that, in accordance with previous studies on public betting in the NFL and NBA, sportsbooks do not, in fact, always adjust lines to generate equal wagering on both sides of the spread or the total.

17. National Television Coverage and the Behavioural Bias of Bettors: The American College Football Totals Market | Andrew Weinbach and Rodney J. Paul

• The market for totals is examined for college football. The sample is separated into nationally televised games on major networks, those games televised regionally or on smaller networks, and games not televised. A slight non-significant bias toward the over is observed for the sample as a whole. The bias is only statistically significant for nationally televised games on major networks. This bias to bet the over is likely due to a preference for scoring in games that bettors can watch on television.

18. Information Effects in Major League Baseball Betting Markets | Matt Ryan; Marshall Graham; and Nicholas McKinney

• Previous research suggests that the baseball betting market is generally efficient, with few — if any — profitable betting strategies. However, the authors of this most recent study believed that the month of April could leave bookmakers a bit exposed.

Related posts

• No related posts