Each day, one of our experts will offer up a best bet (or two or three) that mobile sportsbooks are offering. It might be a traditional spread bet, a player prop or one of the various odds boosts that books offer.
Here are our best bets for Wednesday, Oct. 19:
TOP PLAY
The play: NFL Week 7 teaser, Saints +8.5 over Cardinals and Raiders -1 over Texans
The odds/bet: -120 ($36 to win $30)
The book: Caesars Sportsbook
Time: Saints-Cardinals on Thursday at 8:15 p.m. ET; Raiders-Texans on Sunday at 4:05 p.m. ET
Our take: First the Saints. We hit them on the teaser last week in our NFL picks column (and should have hit the pick of victory), so we’re going back to the well. The Cardinals aren’t good enough to be laying points to anyone right now, so it seems logical they won’t blow anyone out, either.
This pick is as much against Arizona, which is even more dysfunctional than New Orleans at the moment, all the while the “fire Kliff Kingsbury” watch is well underway. It looks like Andy Dalton will start at quarterback for the Saints, but even if it’s Jameis Winston, it wouldn’t change my thinking, especially with wide receiver Chris Olave returning.
New Orleans HAS to have this one to remain relevant in the playoff chase, while the Cardinals are done whether they win or not. Even with DeAndre Hopkins coming back, his effectiveness and playing time has to be in question. And without Hollywood Brown, it should be easier for this injury-riddled Saints defense to cover Hopkins.
Meanwhile, the Raiders and Texans are both coming off a bye week, and Las Vegas seemed to figure things out against Kansas City. The Texans have been really bad (even for them) on the road except for the unexplainable win at Jacksonville in Week 5, and they have lost 10 of their past 13 straight up with nine of those losses coming by a touchdown or more.
ALCS GAME 2 TOTAL
The play: ALCS Game 2, over 7 runs in Yankees at Astros
The odds/bet: -110 ($11 to win $10)
The book: Caesars Sportsbook
Time/TV: 7:30 p.m. ET (TBS)
Our take: So we took the Yankees in Game 1, and we really like them in Game 2, but we don’t want to scare off too many people. Therefore, we’ll go with the other play we like just as much.
After the Bronx Bombers had to travel with no rest and top pitchers going for both teams, it’s understandable not a ton of runs were scored. That should be different tonight, as both teams likely are receiving plenty of rest before this one.
New York’s Luis Severino and Houston’s Framber Valdez have pitched well, but these offenses are ready to shake loose in the warm Houston weather before heading back to chilly New York.
HOW WE’VE FARED
NBA money line: Pelicans over Nets (WON $39)
ALCS Game 1: Yankees over Astros (LOST $10)
Wednesday’s profit/loss: +$29 (1-1)
Total for the week: +$109 (5-1)
Total for October: +$314.20 (24-11)
Total for 2022: +$113.50 (269-294)
NOTE: If a line or odds are minus, it considers the juice one must lay to place the bet. Ex: Team A is -160 on the money line, one would have to bet $160 to win $100 (or $16 to win $10). OR Team B is a 5-point favorite at -110, one would have to bet $110 to win $100 (or $11 to win $10.)
Conversely, on positive lines, if Team C is +140 on the money line, a $100 would bring in $140 (or $10 to win $14).
