Bookmaker's Corner: AFC & NFC Championships Recap
by Richard Gardner | Bodog Sportsbook Manager - 1/26/2010
While some fans may disagree, over at Bodog’s online sportsbook we’re inclined to think that the first couple of weekends of the NFL playoffs gave us more stinkers than classics. But last weekend? That was something else. The AFC and NFC Championships delivered big time in entertainment.
Let’s start over in the AFC, where the Indianapolis Colts fought back from being down 11 points to beat the New York Jets 30-17. We would’ve preferred that the Jets had covered the 8-point spread and still lost the game, but you can’t win them all. Most of our bettors were on the Colts to cover or the Jets moneyline.
In the NFC, the New Orleans Saints needed overtime to beat the Minnesota Vikings 31-28. We got exactly what we wanted here, as most of our bettors were once again on the favorite (Saints by 4) or the moneyline (Vikings +160) of the underdog.
It seems that bettors who like the favorite tend to like them to cover the spread versus with the moneyline, where the payout isn’t as juicy. Moreover, bettors who like the underdog just say, what the hell, and take them to win the game outright. Anyway, that’s been the story thus far.
As far as futures go, we’re glad the Jets were eliminated because we would’ve paid out some serious money if New York had won the Super Bowl in two weeks. (Sorry, Jets fans.)
Also from a futures perspective, the Saints advancing to the big game was good for the book. The Vikings had all sorts of bets placed on them as soon as they signed Brett Favre, a story that you might recall generated some buzz. (And that would be putting it lightly.) When Minnesota jumped out to a 6-0 start and every second word out of ESPN’s mouth seemed to be Favre (or “gunslinger”), even more bets were placed.
Just a quick closing note on the totals for the two games, both of which ended up going over: the book took its biggest loss of the weekend in the Vikings-Saints affair, where the total was set at 54.5.
We opened the Colts as 6-point Super Bowl favorites over the Saints at Bodog. With the total for the Super Bowl opening at 56.5, we expect plenty of action once again on the over. We also expect one hell of a football game, folks.
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