Sports Handicapping is the science of determining the point spread winner of a Sporting Event. Oddsmakers set a "line" against which the Sports Handicappers make their determinations.

THE LINE or ODDS are numbers placed on each gaming contest designed to equalize "action" on both teams. This line is not necessarily indicative of the true performance differential between two teams, but rather is a reflection of the public's perception of these two teams. Las Vegas, for example, wishes to have equal action on both teams so they have little risk and can guarantee themselves a profit, regardless of the actual outcome. For example: Dallas plays at San Francisco this Sunday and is installed as a 4 point favorite. If we travel to Las Vegas and play $110 to win $100 on Dallas -4 while another visitor plays $110 to win $100 on the 49'ers +4, Las Vegas is guaranteed a $10 profit regardless of the outcome. Las Vegas, however, may choose to adjust the point spread so as to attract more action on the side they (the Casino) are "short" on. If the point spread is Dallas -4 and more money is bet on Dallas, the spread may be moved to -4 1/2 or -5 or more so as to attract interest on San Francisco who would now be PLUS 4 1/2 or 5 points. Large transactions and the recorded input at each Casino requires both a clever mind and sophisticated computers to keep track of quick adjustments on a number of games simultaneously.

An infinite variety of factors play into each line, such as: weather, injuries, home field, tradition, motivations, revenge, scheduling, starting participants and historical data to name a few. Las Vegas' hires experts and consultants to help them with the odds, which again are initiated by many of the above factors plus the teams current power statistics, trends and of course - public opinion.

Who will cover the spread? That is the answer which the Handicapper is searching for. The Sports Books have conveniently, for them, placed numbers on the game to "equalize" betting on both sides. These numbers or odds make the job of selecting or handicapping the winning team more difficult. All the factors available to you as a Handicapper are available to the Oddsmakers. Now what? Common sense? Hunches? TV game interest? Personal team loyalties? These are all nice instruments to react to, but over the long run will not win you many games!

The best and most successful Handicappers are money managers looking for ideal situations and playing games with only a high percentage return. Remember, many intangibles play into a number of contests over which no Handicapper has control.

Professional Handicappers gather all information available through the latest in available statistics, trends, weather, injuries, emotional angles etc. Each Professional Handicapper uses a different set of priorities as to how his research has shown that these factors affect the point spread outcome of the sport he is analyzing. SportsChronicles.com will make the selections of those Professional Handicappers who have the integrity to have their selections monitored and made available to the general public here on the SportsChronicles.com Site. All records will be documented by our computer and manually checked by our staff daily. All records published by the Professional Handicappers will be monitored daily. If you see a record being quoted by a Handicapper or Sports Service, be leery! Most Handicappers are actually "Scamdicappers" who out and out lie about their records. If you see the record posted here, you can rest assured that the record is a documented and credible fact.