A good book on sports gambling is worth its weight in gold and that’s exactly what King Yao delivers in the follow-up to his widely acclaimed Weighing the Odds in Hold ‘em Poker. If a sports gambling book helps bettors avoid one losing wager or points them to one winning bet they may have otherwise passed, it will pay for itself many times over. It’s impossible to come away from reading this book without that happening.

One of the best things about Weighing the Odds in Sports Betting is that King Yao manages to pack plenty of information into just 254 pages. There is something for sports bettors of all experience levels and even veteran bettors will enjoy reading some of the material for less experienced bettors, as it’s presented in an easy-to-digest manner and filled with valuable pointers. While most books on sports gambling are targeted towards a particular group of bettors, such as beginning/intermediate or experienced, Yao’s book seems to have been targeted at all sports bettors, which is a refreshing change.

The early chapters give a solid foundation of a mathematical perspective of sports betting, which is really at the heart of the matter. Winning sports bettors don’t always wager on the teams they believe are going to win, but wager on the teams where they perceive there is good value for the money. This book will make the job of determining which teams those are a bit easier.

Scalping, Middling, and Hedging

The real strength of the book, in my opinion, are the three chapters that deal with scalping, middling, and hedging. Yao presents a solid analysis of how to determine if scalping or hedging is worthwhile in particular situations, something many sports bettors don’t take into consideration when placing an additional bet.

Any bettor who places halftime wagers or places bets early in the week during football season with the expectation of betting the other way late in the week is sure to benefit from the book and its description of looking at them from an Expected Value perspective.

Many Topics Covered

Another strong point in the book’s favor is that Yao covers a multitude of sports and include tips on first half betting in the NFL, baseball totals and first halves, along with ideas on March Madness, Super Bowl propositions, office pools, futures and a lot more. There are plenty of charts and tables presented for readers, which make some of the concepts easier to follow, although none of them are too complicated.

It’s difficult to try and mention everything Yao covers in the book, as he does a solid and thorough job detailing numerous topics that are of interest to sports bettors.

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