NFL Week 5 Top 10 Betting Plays

 The first quarter of the NFL season is in the books. My record to date for these weekly picks is 22-16-2 which equals 55 percent. Not bad, but not great considering the 10 percent juice on the losing plays. At that rate I am still making a positive return on my money but of course I want more.

Moving into Week 5, there are a number of great games on the state. Some of my picks jumped right off the page once the opening lines were released. Others took some deeper analysis of all the pertinent stats, facts and recent betting trends.

The Oddsmakers have been crushing it this NFL season with close to 50 percent of the games won by either side against the spread. There is a slight edge favoring the OVER on the total line.

These picks are part of my weekly sports betting coverage for Scores & Stats. This is one of the most popular sports betting sites for anyone looking for true insider information to gain that all-important edge over the books.

Dave’s Top 10 Best Bets for NFL Week 5

NFL Week 4 Top 10 Betting Plays

 Three weeks into the 2020 NFL season and I have a 60% winning percentage on my top ten picks for each week's games. Amazingly enough, the Oddsmakers have a perfect 50/50 record with their betting lines. The favorites have covered against the spread in exactly 50% of the 48 games played. The home team has also covered 50% of the time.

Week 4 of the season will be impacted by COVID-19 after players and staff of the Tennessee Titans tested positive for the virus. Sunday's game against Pittsburgh has been postponed. Both of those teams have gotten off to a 3-0 start so bettors are missing out on a great matchup.

Putting that game aside for now, I still came up with 10 more "best bet" plays for this Sunday's games. Hopefully I can keep my hot streak going for another round of picks.

Dave’s Top 10 Best Bets for NFL Week 4

2020 Preakness Stakes Betting Preview

The final Triple Crown race of the season will take place on Oct. 3 with the running of the 145th Preakness Stakes. Normally held in May, two weeks after the Kentucky Derby, this year's race will be the featured betting event in Pimlico Race Track's Saturday card.

Authentic won last month's Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. Trained by Bob Baffert, he has been opened as the 9/5 favorite to win this race on the morning line. Breaking from the No. 9 post, jockey John Velazquez will get the call.

The second-favorite in the field of 11 is Art Collector. A minor foot injury kept him out of the Kentucky Derby but trainer Tom Drury Jr. has him ready to go at 5/2 opening odds. He will start No. 3 with jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. on board.

The lone filly among this field of three-year old colts is trainer Ken McPeek's Swiss Skydiver. She actually placed second to Authentic in this year's Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland. There is quite a bit of value in her 6/1 odds breaking from the No. 4 post with Robby Albarado as her jockey.

I am also looking forward to watching Baffert's Thousand Words on Saturday. He was a late scratch for the Kentucky Derby and more than capable of shaking things up Saturday at 6/1 odds. He will start No. 5 with jockey Florent Geroux getting the ride.

2020 Preakness Stakes Trifecta Pick:

1) Authentic

2) Thousand Words

3) Swiss Skydiver

I also previewed this race for Scores & Stats as part of my weekly horse betting coverage.

NFL Week 3 Top 10 Betting Picks

 The new NFL season moves to Week 3 with a few early 'must win' scenarios on the board for teams still looking for their first win. 

Monday night's showdown between the 2-0 Kansas City Chiefs and the 2-0 Baltimore Ravens is the biggest game of the week with each team vying for the early edge in the race for the No. 1 seed in the AFC. The key showdown in the NFC sends the 2-0 Green Bay Packers on the road to face the 1-1 New Orleans Saints on Sunday night.

As far as this week's top betting picks, I started things on a strong note with Miami's 31-13 upset over Jacksonville as a road underdog. I actually took the UNDER on 47 1/2 points. For the rest of my picks please check out the following post on the popular sports betting site Scores & Stats:

Dave’s Top 10 Best Bets for NFL Week 3

NFL Week 2 Top 10 Picks

 My Top 10 picks for the second week of the NFL season got off to a great start with Cincinnati covering the six-point spread in Thursday night's 35-30 loss against the rival Cleveland Browns. The Bengals have now been able to cover against the spread in 10 of their last 12 games against Cleveland.

Making picks solely based on past trends ATS is not the best idea in the world since so many different factors go into handicapping any upcoming game. However, these types of trends among division rivals do carry more weight. 

In sports betting, familiarity does lead to a higher level of predictability.

Recapping my Top 10 picks from Week 1, my overall record ATS was 6-4. I was actually very happy with that result in the absence of any preseason play. Bettors were going into the 2020 season blind as far as what to expect.

A few takeaways from the first round of games would include Kansas City and Baltimore being as good as advertised. You could also add that the betting public has over hyped both Dallas and Tampa Bay.

San Francisco's loss to Arizona was one of my straight-up upsets of the week. Once again, the recent trends came into play. They all leaned heavily towards towards the Cardinals in this matchup. Second, hangovers can be severe for the team that lost last season's Super Bowl.

As far as my nine other 'best bets' for Week 2, you can find them all posted at Scores & Stats:

NFL Week 2 Best Bets

NFL Week 1 Top Parlay Picks

 It is Week 1 of the 2020 NFL season and to kick things off on a high note I have released my Top Three Parlay Plays including a two-team upset special.

For all three parlay picks, check-in with Scores & Stats at the following link:

Best NFL Games to Parlay for Week 1 to Cash in Big

2020 Kentucky Derby Betting Strategy

 Four months late is 10 times better than no Kentucky Derby at all. The grandstands at Churchill Downs will remain empty this Saturday, but the races go on. The coronavirus pandemic may have put a kink in this year's Triple Crown racing series for the best three-year old Thoroughbreds but the Crown Jewel is up for grabs among 18 worthy contenders.

You could say that this year's 'Run for The Roses' offers one strong favorite and 17 contenders giving chase. 

Tiz the Law has already won the Belmont Stakes, which was the first Triple Crown event this year. In the midst of a four-race winning streak, this New York-bred three-year old was opened as a 3/5 favorite to win the second leg this Saturday.

Even though he will be breaking from the far outside No. 17 post, the oddsmakers are more than confident he is the horse to beat. Jockey Manny Franco is once again on board after guiding Tiz the Law to each of those first four victories. 

Picking the favorite to win will be a very popular betting strategy for the 2020 Kentucky Derby. However, the return on any bet will be minimal. 

You need to develop of betting strategy that can maximize your overall return on investment. This is a two-step process that involves bets at both your favorite online sportsbook and racebook.

The first step is to find a few high-value contenders to go along with Tiz the Law. I am putting Thousand Words at 15/1 high on my list. He will break from the preferred No. 10 post with jockey Florent Geroux. The mastermind behind this three-year old Kentucky-bred colt is famed trainer Bob Baffert. 

Another contender with excellent value in his longer odds is Money Moves at 30/1. Trained by Todd Pletcher, he will also break from a favorable post at No. 6 with jockey Javier Castellano getting the ride.

We are going to use these three entries in three different bets. The first is a Tiz the Law and Thousand Words exacta through the actual racebook. You can place this bet straight-up since the favorite is winning this race.

Shifting to your top online sportsbook, we are going to look for some favorable head-to-head matchup odds for Thousand Words and Money Moves.

Turning to BetOnline as my preferred online book to bet the Kentucky Derby, I am going with Thousand Words at +200 against Honor A. P. as a heavy -260 favorite.

Another high value matchup bet is Money Moves as a -130 favorite against Storm the Court as an even-money +100 underdog.

Anything can happen when you send 18 thundering three-year old Thoroughbreds down a dirt track over a distance of 1 1/4 miles. The opens the door to a small hedge bet in case things do not go as planned. 

In this case, I am going to take The Field at +105 plus-money odds against the favorite, Tiz the Law at -135 odds.

For my full preview of Saturday's Kentucky Derby, you can click through to Scores & Stats using the following link 2020 Kentucky Derby Picks, Odds & Preview.

I turned to BetOnline as my top online book to bet the Kentucky Derby.