Fellas, I was wondering which NFL handicapping Workbooks/Annuals have alot of the systems like what Phil Steele has in his NFL Workbook? Does Andy Iskoe include a few of these in his NFL Workbook? I know MTI-Killer Sports Annual usually has quite a few (maybe not as many as Phil). Every year their will be a few posters here and there that will mention when there is a play on a league wide system. I've always wondered where the original source was for most of them? Thanks in advance.
While most of us aren't fond of him, Jim Fiest actually put out an excellent book on football. And the tidbits he gives in his schedules are usually very valuable as well. Now all this is aimed more at the beginner to low-intermediate bettor, but if that is your level then his stuff is rather good. Same goes for his website and his annuals are decent for betting purposes. Just stay away from paying for any of his picks or giving him your address/phone and he can be a good resource.
His tale is a sad saga of a guy that I think actually did well for some time betting on sports, but then realized there is a lot more money to be made selling picks than worrying about winning or losing. Same goes for his stable, Cokin is a very sharp guy. Jim Barnes was one of the best back before everyone had a computer and access to the internet.
His tale is a sad saga of a guy that I think actually did well for some time betting on sports, but then realized there is a lot more money to be made selling picks than worrying about winning or losing. Same goes for his stable, Cokin is a very sharp guy. Jim Barnes was one of the best back before everyone had a computer and access to the internet.
If you want systems, there are plenty of books out there that abound with them - but make sure you check any out on your own - many of them are out of date, or just plain wrong.
If you like trends, then Al O'Donnells Pointspread Playbook is a must - it's always up to date and very accurate
If you like trends, then Al O'Donnells Pointspread Playbook is a must - it's always up to date and very accurate
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Mr NJ Sports:
I LOVE that Phil Steele college preview. Best 7 bucks you can spend. I always send in the NFL thing (Free stuff is free stuff)Plus it does have some good trends and lists the last 5 years logs for the reg season and playoffs.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Just today I was looking at my local HASTINGS for all the guides... the most valuable one to me last year was 'Inside Players' Pro Football Guide' (the website listed in last years guide is footballnews.com - I looked today and no mention was made of this publication). I was unable to find it, will check the other Hastings tomorrow. Anyone know if this is getting published again this year?
As far as Steele goes, his NFL selections just seem awful to me. There have been several times over the past 3 years when he has picked the opposite side of games that I was very confident in... and I was right every time.
Best example being that San Fran at Indianapolis game right after Thanksgiving 2 or 3 seasons ago, the one, where after SF crushed Indy, Jim Mora whined 'Playoffs? PLAYOFFS?!'. Steele had Indy. Terrible stuff.
BUT his gathering of trends is great, so I will be buying this college guide to get the free NFL guide.
E
I LOVE that Phil Steele college preview. Best 7 bucks you can spend. I always send in the NFL thing (Free stuff is free stuff)Plus it does have some good trends and lists the last 5 years logs for the reg season and playoffs.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Just today I was looking at my local HASTINGS for all the guides... the most valuable one to me last year was 'Inside Players' Pro Football Guide' (the website listed in last years guide is footballnews.com - I looked today and no mention was made of this publication). I was unable to find it, will check the other Hastings tomorrow. Anyone know if this is getting published again this year?
As far as Steele goes, his NFL selections just seem awful to me. There have been several times over the past 3 years when he has picked the opposite side of games that I was very confident in... and I was right every time.
Best example being that San Fran at Indianapolis game right after Thanksgiving 2 or 3 seasons ago, the one, where after SF crushed Indy, Jim Mora whined 'Playoffs? PLAYOFFS?!'. Steele had Indy. Terrible stuff.
BUT his gathering of trends is great, so I will be buying this college guide to get the free NFL guide.
E
Those are pretty harsh words for one of the most consistant NFL handicappers over the last five years.
According to The Sports Monitor, this is Steele's record for the regular season over the past five seasons:
2003 29-17 63.0%
2002 28-23 54.9
2001 31-20 60.8
2000 29-22 56.9
1999 28-20 58.3
Tot 145-102 58.7%
That's not only consistant. That's an outstanding record over a five year period. The volume is low each year but the win pct. is superb!
If you want to criticize anything he does, criticize his college picks and his prices are extremely expensive but don't criticize his NFL handicapping.
According to The Sports Monitor, this is Steele's record for the regular season over the past five seasons:
2003 29-17 63.0%
2002 28-23 54.9
2001 31-20 60.8
2000 29-22 56.9
1999 28-20 58.3
Tot 145-102 58.7%
That's not only consistant. That's an outstanding record over a five year period. The volume is low each year but the win pct. is superb!
If you want to criticize anything he does, criticize his college picks and his prices are extremely expensive but don't criticize his NFL handicapping.
Eibon - The NotrthCoast Playbook is great for systems - there must be hundreds in there. And there are a ton of stats.
Just make sure you check out the systems recent history before you use it - many of the systems are out of date, valid before the salary cap, but no longer effective.
Also, the stats are pretty good, but there are a lot of mistakes in them also - so be careful with them also.
I use the book a lot as a reference - it can be very helpful - but it's not my bible.
Just make sure you check out the systems recent history before you use it - many of the systems are out of date, valid before the salary cap, but no longer effective.
Also, the stats are pretty good, but there are a lot of mistakes in them also - so be careful with them also.
I use the book a lot as a reference - it can be very helpful - but it's not my bible.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Sixth Sense:
Those are pretty harsh words for one of the most consistant NFL handicappers over the last five years.
According to The Sports Monitor, this is Steele's record for the regular season over the past five seasons:
2003 29-17 63.0%
2002 28-23 54.9
2001 31-20 60.8
2000 29-22 56.9
1999 28-20 58.3
Tot 145-102 58.7%
That's not only consistant. That's an outstanding record over a five year period. The volume is low each year but the win pct. is superb!
If you want to criticize anything he does, criticize his college picks and his prices are extremely expensive but don't criticize his NFL handicapping.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I'd like to see WHAT plays they are monitoring... ALL of his plays, the 4 star plays, the 3 star plays, the 2 star plays? The 'trend play of the week' or whatever he calls it? This my main criticism of Steele - he breaks this stuff down into so many categories that it is hard to tell what is what
E
Those are pretty harsh words for one of the most consistant NFL handicappers over the last five years.
According to The Sports Monitor, this is Steele's record for the regular season over the past five seasons:
2003 29-17 63.0%
2002 28-23 54.9
2001 31-20 60.8
2000 29-22 56.9
1999 28-20 58.3
Tot 145-102 58.7%
That's not only consistant. That's an outstanding record over a five year period. The volume is low each year but the win pct. is superb!
If you want to criticize anything he does, criticize his college picks and his prices are extremely expensive but don't criticize his NFL handicapping.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I'd like to see WHAT plays they are monitoring... ALL of his plays, the 4 star plays, the 3 star plays, the 2 star plays? The 'trend play of the week' or whatever he calls it? This my main criticism of Steele - he breaks this stuff down into so many categories that it is hard to tell what is what
E
bblight, thank you my friend for the info on Phil Steele's Systems in his NFL Workbook. I too love Al O'Donnels's PointSpread Playbook.
Sixth Sense, will be purchasing a second copy of your book the "Unemotional Football Bettor" as a gift for a friend later this month. An excellent book that you should be very proud of my friend. It's truly a great read in my opinion.
Sixth Sense, will be purchasing a second copy of your book the "Unemotional Football Bettor" as a gift for a friend later this month. An excellent book that you should be very proud of my friend. It's truly a great read in my opinion.
Eibon:
The record shown for Phil Steele by the Sports Monitor is for his "Late Phone Selections" only. Those that he releases on Sunday morning which are 4* or 3.5* as his top play and two other 3* plays. His 2* play is usually for his "Monday Night Magic" play, that is not considered a late phone play but is monitored separately by The Sports Monitor. These plays are available to not only his Executive members but via the phone for anyone wishing to purchase them on a weekly basis. They are the same plays to everyone. All other plays are of the opinion level, either a top opinion or a regular opinion no matter how it is presented on his comp line or private play hotline. His late phone record as monitored and presented by Sixth Sense is accurate. He has struggled with college in the last few years, although not horrific. Just around the mendoza line overall for the past two years.
As for his college annual, it is a quality review particularly for the price. His NFL Workbook is very in depth, his College Workbook is in depth as well, but repeats quite a bit of his work presented in the annual preview. Likewise, his NFL annual is somewhat repetitious of his workbook.
Lastly, he publishes two newletters. His primary is Power Sweep and his secondary is Power Plays. The former being a decent newsletter for most, the latter basically is a newsletter based around his own power ratings and projects a final score, yardage, turnovers, etc. and rates the side or total for each game with many more 4* plays then are shown in Power Sweep. Hope this helps clarify any confusion.
The record shown for Phil Steele by the Sports Monitor is for his "Late Phone Selections" only. Those that he releases on Sunday morning which are 4* or 3.5* as his top play and two other 3* plays. His 2* play is usually for his "Monday Night Magic" play, that is not considered a late phone play but is monitored separately by The Sports Monitor. These plays are available to not only his Executive members but via the phone for anyone wishing to purchase them on a weekly basis. They are the same plays to everyone. All other plays are of the opinion level, either a top opinion or a regular opinion no matter how it is presented on his comp line or private play hotline. His late phone record as monitored and presented by Sixth Sense is accurate. He has struggled with college in the last few years, although not horrific. Just around the mendoza line overall for the past two years.
As for his college annual, it is a quality review particularly for the price. His NFL Workbook is very in depth, his College Workbook is in depth as well, but repeats quite a bit of his work presented in the annual preview. Likewise, his NFL annual is somewhat repetitious of his workbook.
Lastly, he publishes two newletters. His primary is Power Sweep and his secondary is Power Plays. The former being a decent newsletter for most, the latter basically is a newsletter based around his own power ratings and projects a final score, yardage, turnovers, etc. and rates the side or total for each game with many more 4* plays then are shown in Power Sweep. Hope this helps clarify any confusion.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Sixth Sense:
Eibon,
Understand what you are saying. This is his Executive plays or whatever they are called.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Oh OK... the only plays I've ever seen of his were in the newsletter, so I wouldn't know about those
Eibon,
Understand what you are saying. This is his Executive plays or whatever they are called.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Oh OK... the only plays I've ever seen of his were in the newsletter, so I wouldn't know about those
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by oldmanTED:
Eibon:
The record shown for Phil Steele by the Sports Monitor is for his "Late Phone Selections" only. Those that he releases on Sunday morning which are 4* or 3.5* as his top play and two other 3* plays. His 2* play is usually for his "Monday Night Magic" play, that is not considered a late phone play but is monitored separately by The Sports Monitor. These plays are available to not only his Executive members but via the phone for anyone wishing to purchase them on a weekly basis. They are the same plays to everyone. All other plays are of the opinion level, either a top opinion or a regular opinion no matter how it is presented on his comp line or private play hotline. His late phone record as monitored and presented by Sixth Sense is accurate. He has struggled with college in the last few years, although not horrific. Just around the mendoza line overall for the past two years.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
This is my thing with Steele, and a lot of other handicappers... they have 234,124 different banners which they put their picks under:
Late phone selections
Super trend play
Stat play of the week
etc. etc. etc.
I SUBSCRIBED to his newsletter (Power Sweep) one year, I believe it was 1998-99. I wasn't impressed at all with his regular season NFL selections. Now, his NFL preseason was awesome (I went 3-0 with him one day) and his college seemed to be quite good, so I'm not saying he is a waste or a scamdicapper or anything. Just saying that his NFL regular season plays, in his newsletter, have not impressed me at all.
As a matter of fact, I would wager that I will have a better percentage than him this season in NFL, my 5 picks a week vs. his star-rated newsletter picks.
E
Eibon:
The record shown for Phil Steele by the Sports Monitor is for his "Late Phone Selections" only. Those that he releases on Sunday morning which are 4* or 3.5* as his top play and two other 3* plays. His 2* play is usually for his "Monday Night Magic" play, that is not considered a late phone play but is monitored separately by The Sports Monitor. These plays are available to not only his Executive members but via the phone for anyone wishing to purchase them on a weekly basis. They are the same plays to everyone. All other plays are of the opinion level, either a top opinion or a regular opinion no matter how it is presented on his comp line or private play hotline. His late phone record as monitored and presented by Sixth Sense is accurate. He has struggled with college in the last few years, although not horrific. Just around the mendoza line overall for the past two years.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
This is my thing with Steele, and a lot of other handicappers... they have 234,124 different banners which they put their picks under:
Late phone selections
Super trend play
Stat play of the week
etc. etc. etc.
I SUBSCRIBED to his newsletter (Power Sweep) one year, I believe it was 1998-99. I wasn't impressed at all with his regular season NFL selections. Now, his NFL preseason was awesome (I went 3-0 with him one day) and his college seemed to be quite good, so I'm not saying he is a waste or a scamdicapper or anything. Just saying that his NFL regular season plays, in his newsletter, have not impressed me at all.
As a matter of fact, I would wager that I will have a better percentage than him this season in NFL, my 5 picks a week vs. his star-rated newsletter picks.
E
OK guys, in another thread people were asking me how I got 58.3% last year, what I read, etc. Earlier in this thread I was asking where to get this guide...
I found the Inside Players' Pro Football Guide... only this year it is called Marc Lawrence's Playbook - 2004 Football Handicapper's Yearbook.
I got it at B&N, it is $8.95, sealed in plastic. It has a cover sheet and also a free magazine with Phil Steele's preseason Top 25 and more. Also, this edition has college and pro (last year's was only pro), over 5000 trends, Monday Night stats, monthly breakdowns, everything I was raving about with the one I got last year. This one is printed cheaper, with smaller type and black and white text/photos most of the way through, but the info is the exact same as last years, only it is laid out differently.
I strongly suggest you get this book! The only thing lacking that I can see is NFL playoff trends/systems.
E
I found the Inside Players' Pro Football Guide... only this year it is called Marc Lawrence's Playbook - 2004 Football Handicapper's Yearbook.
I got it at B&N, it is $8.95, sealed in plastic. It has a cover sheet and also a free magazine with Phil Steele's preseason Top 25 and more. Also, this edition has college and pro (last year's was only pro), over 5000 trends, Monday Night stats, monthly breakdowns, everything I was raving about with the one I got last year. This one is printed cheaper, with smaller type and black and white text/photos most of the way through, but the info is the exact same as last years, only it is laid out differently.
I strongly suggest you get this book! The only thing lacking that I can see is NFL playoff trends/systems.
E
Eibon:
Just to further clarify. Many sports services provide newsletters such as Steele's Power Sweep and Nationwide Sports Gold Sheet that are completed the Sunday night one week in advance of the following weeks games and mailed to their subscribers on Monday morning. This deadline allows a limited amount of time for full analysis. Much can change in a week before gameday. Their bread and butter are the Late Phone releases either the day before or on gameday. These are the plays that are monitored. Newsletter releases should be viewed for information only and not comparable to Late Phone releases. Steele charges $3500 a year for his Executive Late Phones, although early discounted prices are available. His newsletter, Power Sweep, costs $135 a year, although early discounted prices are available as well. Big difference in what one receives. That being said, usually throughout the year, someone will have a thread with all the Late Phone selections from the various services posted on Saturday and Sunday and available for all to view right here in the RX forums. Best of luck to you this coming season.
Just to further clarify. Many sports services provide newsletters such as Steele's Power Sweep and Nationwide Sports Gold Sheet that are completed the Sunday night one week in advance of the following weeks games and mailed to their subscribers on Monday morning. This deadline allows a limited amount of time for full analysis. Much can change in a week before gameday. Their bread and butter are the Late Phone releases either the day before or on gameday. These are the plays that are monitored. Newsletter releases should be viewed for information only and not comparable to Late Phone releases. Steele charges $3500 a year for his Executive Late Phones, although early discounted prices are available. His newsletter, Power Sweep, costs $135 a year, although early discounted prices are available as well. Big difference in what one receives. That being said, usually throughout the year, someone will have a thread with all the Late Phone selections from the various services posted on Saturday and Sunday and available for all to view right here in the RX forums. Best of luck to you this coming season.
