Entropy's Vegas Plays


Customers get private directories on the web site. In your directory you will find links to all the information for the leagues you purchased.

First you get access to data files for all scheduled games. These contain much of what I am considering in the process of determining the Vegas Plays. They are too large to display on this page, but if you click here, you can view a sample file in another window. This is some serious business. Some customers subscribe just for these libraries.

Moving on to the best bet postings, NFL picks for a week might look like the following:

early leans:
Denver +4.0 over New England
Indianapolis -6.0 over Cincinnati

Vegas Plays:
Denver +4.0/3.0 over New England
Indianapolis -6.0/7.0 over Cincinnati
Jacksonville +3.0 over Tennessee

half-unit plays:
Dallas -8.0 over Cleveland

Generally, football early leans are posted Mondays and Tuesdays. The Vegas Plays and half-unit plays appear between Wednesday and Saturday. Some early leans won't make the cut, and some Vegas Plays will be games that did not become good plays until the line moved or other trends were discovered. Either way, you will be in good shape whether you like to jump on early lines, or if you save your wagering until 5 minutes before kick-off.

For football, a list of "half-unit" plays is provided. These picks are made with the same analysis, but some factor indicates caution. In 2009/10 the half-unit plays ended up having higher win percentages than the confirmed selections for the NFL. For basketball, with games happening nearly every day, there is not time to mess around with early leans. Some basketball plays are posted late at night for the next day's games, and some are posted on game day.

Where two numbers are given, the first is the best line that is or was available at some point, and the second is the least desirable line that would still be recommended, in case the line moves. If Denver moved to +2.5, in this example, they would no longer be recommended.

I don't do write-ups. Opinions on games can be found all over the Internet, and anything I write won't be any more illuminating. I encourage people to read opinions, as it is a good way to pick up on various issues that could be influencing a game. However, I am simply not in the write-up business. I make my picks, and stand by my win rates.


Customers also get projections for margins of victory, point totals, and money lines for every game. Prediction lists come in two sections, and look like the following:

winner                     by loser                      %      ML
------------------------------------------------------------------
Auburn                   3.05`Mississippi State        0.573   134
Temple                   6.11 Central Michigan         0.673   205
West Virginia           10.24`Marshall                 0.775   344
Houston                 20.41 UTEP                     0.921  1165
Georgia Tech            12.08`Kansas                   0.811   429

totals
------
Mississippi State        56.68 Auburn
Temple                   49.24 Central Michigan
Marshall                 43.58 West Virginia
Houston                  64.30 UTEP
Kansas                   52.11 Georgia Tech

The ML column indicate the minimum money line values that would be favorable. When a book offers a money line greater than our number, it is a recommended play. An example from above: If the Auburn money line was greater than -134, they would be a play, or if the Mississippi State money line was greater than +134, they would be the play. The % column estimates the predicted winner's chance of winning.

Another list is supplied showing the Las Vegas over/under alongside our projection, the difference between the two, the recommended play (O=over, U=under), and an * marking recommended plays. Customers have found this list extraordinarily helpful in that the difference column can be quickly scanned to spot games to keep an eye on for line changes. If a difference is quoted at 4.62 points, and you want to wager on games with differences greater than 5, then you quickly know that you are waiting for a half-point line move on that particular game. Sample list:

home                    road                     proj.  Vegas    diff   play
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tulane                  S.M.U.                   52.75   48.0    4.75 * O
Southern Cal            Oregon State             53.26   54.0   -0.74   U
Connecticut             Louisville               46.87   51.5   -4.63 * U *
Wake Forest             Navy                     49.87   54.0   -4.13   U
Western Michigan        Temple                   51.86   51.5    0.36   O
West Virginia           Marshall                 46.37   51.5   -5.13 * U
Pittsburgh              Syracuse                 50.16   47.5    2.66   O

Plays marked with a second asterisk are recommended for a higher wager, such as 1.5 or 2 units.

For college and pro basketball, prediction lists are provided for the upcoming two days of games. Football is handled one week at a time, of course.


When there is time, I provide some situational analysis. This type of information is more useful than any write-up, in my opinion. At this point it is still an experimental feature, not posted for every game. If it becomes popular enough, it could become a major feature. Here is an example that was posted the first week:

10/14/2010, Kansas State -3.0 at Kansas:

Advantage: Kansas State, 14 covers to 10
Result: Kansas State covered


You also get lists of each team's power rating in only recent games. Fro basketball, the last five games are rated, and for football the last three. At a glance you can determine which teams are hot and cold. Below is an example: The first section is sorted by the over-all power ratings, while the second section is sorted by delta values. At a glance one can see which teams are the hottest and coldest.

The power column shows current power ratings, last5 gives power ratings for only the last five games played, and the delta column is the difference between the two. A positive delta indicates the team has played better in its last five games, and negative indicates worse.

    NBA, 12/28/09
 
    team                     w  l  t    power   last5   delta
    ---------------------------------------------------------
  1 Atlanta                 21  8       97.73   95.08  - 2.65
  2 Boston                  23  6       97.18   92.47  - 4.71
  3 Cleveland               24  8       96.79  108.04  +11.25
  4 LA Lakers               24  5       96.29   95.03  - 1.26
  5 Orlando                 22  8       95.42   92.04  - 3.38
  6 Denver                  20 11       94.43   90.86  - 3.57
  7 Phoenix                 19 12       94.27   93.26  - 1.01
  8 San Antonio             17 11       94.26   94.35  + 0.09
  9 Portland                20 12       94.21   99.50  + 5.29
 10 Dallas                  22  9       94.20   92.83  - 1.37
 11 Utah                    17 13       93.00   94.13  + 1.13
 12 Houston                 18 13       92.72   86.45  - 6.27
 13 Oklahoma City           15 14       92.46   95.24  + 2.78
 14 Miami                   16 12       91.64  100.97  + 9.33
 15 Milwaukee               12 16       88.55   83.83  - 4.72
 16 Memphis                 13 16       88.54   93.39  + 4.85
 17 Charlotte               11 17       88.54   87.53  - 1.01
 18 Sacramento              13 16       88.17   83.54  - 4.63
 19 Toronto                 15 17       87.54   95.82  + 8.28
 20 New Orleans             13 15       87.12   87.61  + 0.49
 21 New York                11 19       86.95   85.80  - 1.15
 22 Detroit                 11 19       86.86   76.78  -10.08
 23 Washington              10 18       86.60   87.11  + 0.51
 24 Philadelphia             7 22       85.78   84.76  - 1.02
 25 LA Clippers             13 17       85.71   85.15  - 0.56
 26 Golden State             8 21       85.28   82.45  - 2.83
 27 Indiana                  9 20       84.85   82.78  - 2.07
 28 Chicago                 11 17       84.47   89.67  + 5.20
 29 Minnesota                7 24       81.10   86.90  + 5.80
 30 New Jersey               2 28       79.34   74.62  - 4.72
  
  
    team                     w  l  t    power   last5   delta
    ---------------------------------------------------------
  1 Cleveland               24  8       96.79  108.04  +11.25
  2 Miami                   16 12       91.64  100.97  + 9.33
  3 Toronto                 15 17       87.54   95.82  + 8.28
  4 Minnesota                7 24       81.10   86.90  + 5.80
  5 Portland                20 12       94.21   99.50  + 5.29
  6 Chicago                 11 17       84.47   89.67  + 5.20
  7 Memphis                 13 16       88.54   93.39  + 4.85
  8 Oklahoma City           15 14       92.46   95.24  + 2.78
  9 Utah                    17 13       93.00   94.13  + 1.13
 10 Washington              10 18       86.60   87.11  + 0.51
 11 New Orleans             13 15       87.12   87.61  + 0.49
 12 San Antonio             17 11       94.26   94.35  + 0.09
 13 LA Clippers             13 17       85.71   85.15  - 0.56
 14 Charlotte               11 17       88.54   87.53  - 1.01
 15 Phoenix                 19 12       94.27   93.26  - 1.01
 16 Philadelphia             7 22       85.78   84.76  - 1.02
 17 New York                11 19       86.95   85.80  - 1.15
 18 LA Lakers               24  5       96.29   95.03  - 1.26
 19 Dallas                  22  9       94.20   92.83  - 1.37
 20 Indiana                  9 20       84.85   82.78  - 2.07
 21 Atlanta                 21  8       97.73   95.08  - 2.65
 22 Golden State             8 21       85.28   82.45  - 2.83
 23 Orlando                 22  8       95.42   92.04  - 3.38
 24 Denver                  20 11       94.43   90.86  - 3.57
 25 Sacramento              13 16       88.17   83.54  - 4.63
 26 Boston                  23  6       97.18   92.47  - 4.71
 27 Milwaukee               12 16       88.55   83.83  - 4.72
 28 New Jersey               2 28       79.34   74.62  - 4.72
 29 Houston                 18 13       92.72   86.45  - 6.27
 30 Detroit                 11 19       86.86   76.78  -10.08

As if all that was not enough, I will remind you again of the data files displaying loads of useful historical data for each and every game. Clients are finding this data extremely interesting to peruse. If anything is going to help a bettor win, it is habitually watching lists like these. CLICK HERE to see sample game data files.

All the information is presented through a master index file that clearly organizes everything. There is a lot of information to navigate, but we make it all easy to find.

How many services provide this much information for such reasonable prices?! None that I know of.


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