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Al O'Donnell,
who know football players want their spread and total histories
and betting angles in their hands with plenty of time to spare to
prepare for the annual bookie-bettor "wars" has his 2001 edition
of Point Spread Playbook ready and it's available at Gambler's Book
Shop. The 104-page 8x11 paperbound ($19.95) is appropriately subtitled
The Informed Player's Reference.
I never assume
every reader is familiar with O'Donnell's approach, so here's what
makes the book so good, important and why it's been the store's
hottest seller for more than 20 years:
O'Donnell understands
pro football bettors. They want to see the 2001 schedule, but more
than that, they like to keep records while looking ahead. So he
provides the schedule, then tells you if the game is a conference
or divisional game or interconference and if the contest will be
on grass or turf. You'll quickly see if this game is to be played
at night, on a Saturday or Sunday and where their "open date" is.
There's a page
for each team showing the spreads and totals for every regular season
and playoff game played for the past three years; the date the game
was played; final score; and whether the game went over or under.
There are about
10 "situations" or potential angles for each pro team listed. For
example, here are a few which might be considered significant:
- The Buffalo
Bills were a money-losing play in 2000, failing to cover in five
of seven games when they were a favorite-all of which were at
home.
- Baltimore
as a road dog did well, covering in four out of five situations
and in that role have covered in 17 of their last 23 situations.
- The NY Jets
tend to go Over at home facing Buffalo (in six of their last seven
meetings); against Miami (in four of their last five meetings,
including the last two); and at New England (five of the last
six meetings).
O'Donnell shows
you in summary form, for each team, how they did for the last three
seasons altogether, or season by season, on grass; on turf; as a
favorite or dog at home or away; vs. divisional teams; vs. conference
teams; and how they did in Totals on grass; turf; at home, vs. divisional
teams, etc.
He has a handy
chart showing how a spread converts to a money line from one to
10 points; how many games last year and then from 1977-1999 altogether,
were pushes; or where a team covered by one, two or three points
or four or more points. Last year eight games were pushes, about
two per cent of all games played.
How does a team
do the week after a mid-season break? O'Donnell shows you in summary
format. Like in 2000, teams were 13-17-1 against the line. How do
the NFC teams do against AFC teams in
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