Why Not Bet the Longshot – January 19

Sometimes, betting on the longshot makes complete sense. As defined, a longshot is a prediction or a wager that has only the slightest chance of succeeding or being accurate. Last night in the NBA, for example, the Washington Wizards were a longshot to beat the New York Knicks. The Wizards closed as a 12-point underdog to the Knicks and were given moneyline odds of +520 to win. New York won the game, but the Wizards did cover the spread. If you had bet the longshot Wizards to cover, you would have won.

Betting on a longshot often leads to a big payday. These teams or individuals are longshots for a reason. Consider tomorrow’s NFL divisional round playoff games. Ask anyone and it’s likely they will agree that there is simply no way the Houston Texans will beat the Baltimore Ravens. The same holds true for Green Bay. The Packers play in San Francisco tomorrow night. Green Bay is a 9.5-point underdog and Houston is an 8.5-point dog. Both teams are a +360 longshot to win their road playoff game and advance.

Betting the Longshot Pays Off

When done right, a bet on a longshot can help increase a bettor’s bankroll substantially. Bettors can find a longshot with great odds on a daily basis in sports like tennis, golf, auto racing, and MMA. Take golf as an example. Right now, The American Express tournament is taking place in Hawaii. World-ranked No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is a +550 favorite to win the event. Justin Thomas, who has won the PGA Championship twice, is ranked No. 29 in the world. He’s still one of the best in the world, but he’s a +2000 longshot to win The American Express.

How about a tennis longshot? The Australian Open is going on right now. The No. 1 player in the world is Novak Djokovic. He owns the Australian Open. Djokovic has won the event 10 times. He’s favored to win it again this year. In 2017, he was the overall favorite. In his first-round match that year, Djokovic was a -8000 favorite to defeat 19-year-old Denis Istomin.

Djokovic jumped out to an early two-set lead but, in one of the sport’s biggest upsets, Istomin roared back and won the match in five sets. Istomin was a huge longshot, given odds of +3000. A simple $10 wager on the longshot Istomin paid out $300! It’s common for first-round tennis matches featuring highly ranked players to have such odds. It makes betting on the longshot pretty enticing.

When to Bet on the Longshot

Like any bet, the experts here at Sports Hub recommend that you do your homework. Wildly betting on a longshot because of the favorable odds is not a wise decision. However, dialing in the information on a certain team or individual and coming up with a betting decision based on that information can lead to a strong bet on a longshot. The other thing that can solidify a longshot bet is consulting with the world’s best sports handicappers. They are right here at Sports Hub. 

Each and every day, our handicappers provide picks – some free, some premium – to bettors all around the world. Our cappers have a proven track record of success. In a moment, we are going to see just that when we look at yesterday’s leaderboard. Sports Hub experts make betting decisions for a living. To give you just a snapshot, the top-5 SportsHub handicappers over the last 30 days all have winning percentages above 58 percent. Three of them are over 60 percent and all five are up at least $1500. The point is that our handicappers can help you determine whether or not it makes sense to bet on a longshot.

Our Cappers Can Help You Find a Longshot

It was another strong day for Sports Hub handicappers. Jhon Walsh, a top-25 capper over the last 90 days, was yesterday’s leader with a perfect 4-0 day. Jhon led a strong contingent of Sports Hub handicappers that dominated yesterday’s top-10. Eight of the ten were Sports Hub experts. These cappers can only be found here at Sports Hub, so if you don’t have an account here, you can’t access their picks. Relax though, registering for a Sports Hub account is very easy.

Let’s take a look at those cappers from yesterday.

• Big dog: As mentioned, Jhon Walsh went 4-0 yesterday. He collected winnings of $400. Over the last three days, Jhon is now 8-3 with his picks.
• Mad dog: Our friends at Madjack Sports put together a solid day yesterday. These guys have been around for a while, since 1998 to be exact. Yesterday, their picks went 4-1 and earned $390 to finish second on the board. 
• The computer dog: If you don’t know how our Computer Picks work, here’s the short version. We use algorithms, heavily based on stats, that provide picks only when there is at least a two-point difference in the actual betting line and our computer-generated line. Last night, that resulted in 29 picks. My partner in crime Computer Picks won 58.62 percent of those 29 picks and won $380. Most of those picks were on college basketball totals. Keep in mind that our Computer Picks have a winning percentage right around 59 percent over the last four-plus years.
• Old dog: Remember yesterday? Yeah, Sal Lombardi was at the top of the board. Today, he’s fourth. Another strong day from Sal…8-4 and $370 earned, which puts him up $1010 for the last seven days.
• Rest of the top-10: Five of the six remaining members of yesterday’s top-10 were Sports Hub experts. Four of them went 3-0 and one, Bill Blatt, went 4-1. I mention Bill because he’s in the top-5 over the last 30 days…Mr. Consistency.

Trending Sports

The NBA trade deadline is still out there. A number of players are among those being talked about as potentially landing in a new home. Pascal Siakam didn’t play last night as the Pacers beat the Kings, but he will be a welcome addition to Indiana as they try and move into the top-6 in the Eastern Confernece standings.

Let’s take a look at what’s trending today.

• Bill O’Brien has a new job: Ohio State head coach Ryan Day is announcing that former Penn State and Houston Texans head coach Bill O’Brien will be the Buckeyes new offensive coordinator. O’Brien was the New England Patriots offensive coordinator last season.

• 9th year?: It’s getting a little ridiculous at the NCAA. College football’s governing body turned down Taulia Tagovailoa’s request for an additional sixth year of eligibility earlier this week. Then yesterday, the NCAA granted Miami TE Cam McCormick a ninth year! Yes, nine years of college football. McCormick was in the same high school recruiting class as Justin Herbert, Jalen Hurts, and Nick Bosa. All of those guys are NFL veterans.
• Anthony Edwards: Edwards shot 11-of-19 from the floor last night, including 5-of-6 from three-point range, scored 28 points, grabbed five rebounds, and dished out five assists as the Timberwolves beat Memphis 118-103 last night. It was Minnesota’s fourth straight win.

How to Spend Your Friday

It’s Friday and soon we’ll be talking about the NFL divisional playoff games that are coming this weekend. Tonight though, we get a nice NBA ESPN doubleheader. College basketball gives us a handful of games, most from mid-major conferences, and the NHL offers a few games ahead of their big day on Saturday. 

Let’s check the schedule.

1. Friday night NBA: The ESPN doubleheader features a huge one in the early game. It could be an NBA Finals preview. Denver plays at Boston tonight in a game that begins at 7:30 p.m. ET. The late game pits Brooklyn at the Los Angeles Lakers. Game time is 10:30 p.m.

2. Friday night on the ice: There are only four NHL games tonight. The Detroit Red Wings, who are 7-2-1 in their last ten games, are at Carolina.
3. College basketball prepares for the weekend: It’s a mid-major fest tonight as college basketball gets ready for a huge Saturday. The only ranked team in action tonight is No. 11 Wisconsin. The Badgers will host Indiana in a Big Ten matchup.
4. International soccer: The international soccer schedule has been light since the beginning of the New Year. Spain’s La Liga does have one match today. The one Bundesliga match for today – Mainz vs. FC Union Berlin – has been postponed. There are several matches in multiple pro leagues around the globe. Check our database for today’s soccer picks.
5. Australian Open: The Australian Open continues for both men and women. Men’s favorite Novak Djokovic cruised into the fourth round with another win yesterday.
6. The American Express: The second round of this weekend tournament is today. Zach Johnson and Alex Noren entered the day at the top of the leaderboard.

We’ve made it to the end of the week. There’s plenty of betting action today. If you’re looking for a solid longshot bet, visit our members’ area and consult with the best handicappers in the industry. Remember, you can search our database by sport, type of bet, time frame, and much more. That way you can quickly find the handicapper or handicappers that can help lead you to success.