The season is long and the list of games is endless.  Combine this with a large combination of betting exotics to choose from and the average gambler can be overwhelmed.  Here are a few money management tips that Dr. JZ has learned the hard way through the years:

1. Be smart about betting favorites vs. underdogs – If you see yourself betting all favorites or underdogs, be careful.  There are chalk lovers and upset lovers, but you at least have to try and be neutral when deciding a game.  Don’t be stubborn.

2. Home field advantage – Remember these are 18-22 year olds playing in front of thousands of people.  They are not paid professionals (except USC players) so nerves play a huge factor, especially on the field goal kickers.  This is no knock on these players, it is normal to be overwhelmed by certain situations if you haven’t done it before.  So all things being equal in a big game, side with the home field advantage.  NOTE: Notre Dame and Michigan specifically are known for getting home calls from the zebras as well. It’s like Duke in basketball.

3. Exotic Bets – Teasers, Parlays, Progressives are all exotics the house offers for one reason – they put the gambler at a disadvantage if not used wisely.  You can make money if you know when to take the edge the house tries to give you.

Parlays – I’ll give you an example about why parlays may be dumb.  Let’s say you bet a 3 team parlay ATS at 6 to 1 odds.  You think you’re getting a solid advantage but when broken down it does not seem as smart.  $100 parlay or $100 on each of the 3 teams straight for a $300 total risk.

$100 parley 6 to 1 pays $600 plus/minus certain odds.  You have to win all three games.  If you win 2 out of 3 you get jack shit back.  That means you hit 66% winners, a very respectable number in sports gambling, and you lost money.  Wow!

$100 straight bet on all three teams.  You risk $300 but let’s do the math.  You win all three you collect $300, not bad.  You win 2 out of 3 you collect $100 profit minus the vig.  You win 1 out of 3 you’re in the same situation as winning 2 out of 3 with a parlay, down $100.  So all you have to do to avoid losing the $300 is win 1 of the games.  I like my chances there.

Teasers – At a quick glance they seem very advantageous to the better.  You can get 6 or 7 points for each game, but you have to win each game.  So basically if you do a 2-team teaser bet you get to add 6 points to each team you chose, but they have to both cover.  The thing is you get roughly even odds.  So you play two games and only get even odds in exchange for the 6 points.  Be careful.  I like to use teasers in the following situation:

A team I like to win is -6 and a team I like with the spread is at a difficult number like +12.  I therefore tease the -6 team just to win and the +12 team to a great number like +18.  I am fairly certain the pick’ em team will win so now it gives me even odds on my +18 team.  If the team loses at pick’ em so be it, bad opinion.

4. Don’t get suckered into conference strength – A common mistake is to look at each conference with a broad perspective.  The SEC is my favorite conference but they are the best at the top.  Therefore if a middle of the pack team from the SEC plays a middle of the pack team from the ACC or Big 12, it will usually be even and you will get some good spreads for the other conferences because the public will play the SEC on name alone.  If you pay attention to bowl season these conferences beat each other up with no rhyme or reason.

5. Early Betting – some people like to get their bets in weeks in advance.  Be careful, things change.  You have to wait to see if players get hurt, what the weather will be, and most importantly, what the trends are.  How the line moves can be more important than analyzing the players and teams.   The injuries /suspensions can hurt you as well.  I compare it to a Kentucky Derby future bet, which in my opinion is the dumbest bet someone can make.  People bet a horse in January at better odds and 85% of the time the horse doesn’t make it to the track and no refund is given.  Let’s say you take a team at -6 and their QB goes down on Tuesday.  You do not get a refund, so be smart.  Sometimes it does make sense to take a line if you love a game.

6. Trust Your Picks! – don’t get suckered into only listening to the “gurus or experts”.  There is a reason a lot of these guys are selling their picks, they need the money.  If they were unbeatable they’d be rich and have no need to give their picks away.  You can listen to their opinions, but if you like a game, stick with your gut feeling.  It’s your money that is being bet, so at the end of the day you only want to blame yourself.  Nothing is worse than betting against a team you like because people told you to and your team covers.

That is all I have for now, I can’t give away all the lessons I have learned.  Money management is the hardest thing for us gamblers to master.  Many great handicappers pick winners but lose money, so be smart!

Here’s just a few of the things I took note of on Thursday night as games got underway…

USC scored impressively on their opening drive and immediately Lane Kiffin pulls out antics. Mitch Mustain ends up throwing an incomplete pass on the extra point and they continue to go for 2-point conversations shortly after. The Kiffin era begins…

Pitt and Utah played an epic first game and it shouldn’t have been close. In the end, Utah gets a timely pick and wins on a field goal in OT. Not a crippling loss for Pitt, but this does sting and could definitely come back to haunt them. While Utah tried to give the game away, they did a nice job of hanging on at the end.

Jacory Harris game one numbers: 12-15, 210 Yards, 3 touchdowns… in the first half. Harris sat out the second half against Florida A&M because the score was 1,044 to 0.

Congratulations, Minnesota. You beat Middle Tennessee State by a touchdown and they didn’t have their best player. Long season ahead for the Gophers who have a brutal schedule after week 2.

Two true freshmen that you MUST find time to watch. South Carolina RB Marcus Lattimore who may already have a statue up by the time you read this, and USC wide receiver Robert Woods. Lattimore netted 2 touchdowns and at times looked like centerpiece of the Gamecocks offense, and Woods showcased some sick moves when he got his hands on the ball.

Rutgers was up only 6-0 against Norfolk State at the half. Although they finished they ended up winning the game 31-0, it’s rare to see a game this mismatched (30 plus point favorite) be up by less than a TD halfway through. Not saying this trend will continue, but not really the start many Rutgers fans were looking for.

Our resident pick guru, who finished the bowl season a stout 21-9, is out of hibernation and back for the 2010 season. I’m taking a backseat for this one and lettin’ the man go to work.

Take it away, Dr. JZ.

Dr. JZ is back and ready to make some $$$. I hope all of you put the winnings from a very lucrative bowl season in a high interest savings account and are ready to roll this year. As Big Papa the Show Stoppa always says, “The less you bet, the more you lose when you win!”

Unfortunately we are going to start relatively small for Week 1, a week that Dr. JZ uses as a gauge for the offseason progress teams have made. It is also important to clear your head and treat each team as a new franchise, because unlike professional sports, year to year there is very little continuity to the strength of most programs (except the few loaded powerhouses… Florida, Oklahoma, Ohio State, etc.)

This does not mean forget the 2009 season, but instead it means you must do your homework and figure out who graduated, what coach went where, who is academically ineligible, who took a car from an agent so therefore is suspended, etc. On a side note, what an ass-clown Jeremiah Masoli is!

Week 1 does have some interesting matchups with major BCS implications. Everyone will be watching tonight as Pittsburgh heads west to take on Coach Whittingham’s Utah Utes. How many times do we have to see these mid-majors (although not mid-majors for long) beat the so-called power conferences before we jump on the bandwagon. Dr. JZ is taking Utah on home field advantage.

Saturday features a few big conference matchups, and a few teams have a TON of pressure to perform well. The most pressure will be on Wolverines as they host the underrated UCONN Huskies. I have no opinion on this game, other than Rich Rod might be turning in his playbooks a bit early if he lays in an egg in the Big House.

Louisville hosts their in-state rival Kentucky. This is a show me something game for new coach Charlie Strong, arriving as the well-groomed protégé of Urban Meyer. He has the tall task of rebuilding this program that the slithery Bobby Petrino left in disarray. I like the Cardinals to play big and beat the Wildcats.

Next we turn to the bastard stepson of Los Angeles…UCLA. Wow, how they been irrelevant for such a long time. But now with Pete Carroll’s conveniently time exit stage left, the Bruins can make strides toward regaining dominance over the Trojans and their flamboyant head coach, Lane Kiffin. Everyone is predicting a strong season for UCLA, and I am also predicting improvement. However, their first game in Manhattan, KS smells like a trap. I am not drinking the Kool-Aid just yet… take Kansas State.

Next we turn to BYU who gets Notre Dame and ESPN in the coming years and open 2010 with a toughie. They host the much hyped Jake Locker led Washington Huskies. Put the Heisman candidacy on hold, people as this stumbling block will present a huge hurdle for Locker to get over if he wants to be invited to New York in December. The Cougars will roll and the Huskies will with major disappointment.

The main matchup of the week is clearly Boise State vs. Virginia Tech. This game presents a difficult challenge for me to keep a clear head while handicapping this game. Main reason, I hate betting against Boise State and their feeble armed QB Kellen Moore. They seem to always win no matter if it’s against their Division VI opponents in the WAC conference or against the Oregons and Oklahomas. This might be too tall of a challenge for even Chris Petersen to coach his way out of….Va Tech wins this game in a low scoring affair. I don’t usually play totals, but the under 50 sounds pretty good to me.

3 Keg Plays

Kansas State (- 1 ½) vs. UCLA

BYU (-2) vs. Washington

2 Keg Plays

Utah (-3) vs. Pittsburh

Louisville (+3) vs. Kentucky

Virginia Tech (+2) vs. Boise State and under 50 (Neutral Site)

Tough Game to Touch

UCONN (+3) at Michigan

Good luck, Keg Heads!