Betting On Baseball

The first pitch in Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2013 season has been thrown and that's great news for fans and bettors alike. With professional hockey, basketball, and football, more or less on hiatus when the summer rolls around in North America, it's up to baseball and Major League Soccer (MLS) to keep bettors and fans entertained. With each of the 30 MLB teams playing 162 games per season there's definitely plenty of action on a daily basis, including the annual All Star Classic.

Betting on baseball is quite popular with serious bettors as it's viewed by many as being the easiest sport to make a profit on. But oddly enough, the casual fan doesn't wager on baseball games with the regularity they do with other major professional sports. One of the reasons for less betting activity on baseball could be the fact that some fans aren't exactly sure how to go about it, so let's deal with that situation right off the bat.

In baseball you'll find that there's no point spread in use like there is in many other sports and this could be a little confusing to some people. The first thing bettors need to do is get a grasp on how the sport's money line operates. Some baseball bettors like to bet on the underdog quite often as they can still come out with a decent profit even when winning less than 50 per cent of their wagers.

When betting on the sport you'll also come across the run line, which is basically the money line and point spread combined into one. There's a constant 1.5 spread of runs in baseball betting and on the odd occasion you may see this increase to 2 or 2.5 runs. The ball team which is favoured in the money line will be favoured on the run line as well.

For example, on a regular money line, which means you're just going to pick the winning team, the odds could be +170 on the Toronto Blue Jays and -165 for the New York Yankees. This means Blue Jays' bettors can win $170 on a $100 bet while Yankees' bettors will need to lay down a $165 wager to win $165. However, if a bet is made with a run line the odds will change. For instance if the underdog Blue Jays are bet on at +1.5 in the run line the odds could read -125 and if the favoured Yankees run line is -1.5 then the odds could be +105.

This now means Blue Jays' bettors will have to wager more than they can win as it'll take a $125 bet to win $100. However, these bettors are being given 1.5 runs in the run line. This means those who laid a wager on the Blue Jays will win their bet even if Toronto loses the game by one run. A lot of bettors like to go with big favourites in the run line since they can get reduced odds when giving 1.5 runs. Betting on the run line basically makes the favourite the underdog.

You can also bet over/under when betting on baseball, which means to bet on the total number of runs predicted for the game. They're typically called totals in baseball wagering. The totals are the same as in other sports. While in ice hockey and soccer they're presented as goals, and in American football, basketball, and rugby they're points, in baseball they're represented as runs. All you have to do to wager on an over/under is to predict if there will be more or fewer runs scored than what the oddsmakers have selected.

For example, the betting line may read like this: Toronto Blue Jays OV 7.5 -120 and the New York Yankees UN 7.5 +130. If you want to bet on Toronto with more than 7.5 runs being scored you'll need to wager $120 to win $100. To bet on New York with fewer than 7.5 runs coming across the plate you can win $730 on a $100 bet. Just remember, that in baseball, when you're betting the extra innings count for run line bets and the over/under.

The pitchers are the key in most baseball games and the money line is decided based on who's going to be pitching for each team. Sometimes the money line is adjusted if a scheduled starting pitcher is substituted. However, you can wager on the contest as 'action' which means you want to make the bet no matter if there's a pitching change. The wager will still be active, but the payout could be different as the odds may have changed because of a pitching change.

If you bet on a baseball game based on the starting pitchers who have been listed by the sportsbook then the bet will be returned if either of the pitchers doesn't start. In addition, a bet can be made based on just one team's pitcher. If you bet on a specific starter for one team and don't care who the other pitcher is then the bet is active as long as the team you wagered on starts the scheduled pitcher.

You can also wager on correct scores, at-bats, hits, balls, strikes, home run leaders, and innings played etc. Of course, bets can be made on division winners and World Series champions. There are a lot of options when it comes to baseball betting and it's typically quite easy to get the hang of it.

Global Demand for Maori Tattoo

The internet has given people direct access to images and information they could not find anywhere else, particularly Maori tattoo designs. The endless assortment of styles, such as mixed Polynesian with Samoan and Hawaiian is just the tip of the ice burg.

Tattoo Artists have been quick to take advantage of the opportunity to use these designs on the internet to promote their business through the creation of Maori inspired tattoos.

But as time has progressed there has been an evolution in Maori design as people are looking deeply into the meanings and discover many of the Maori inspired designs seen on the internet have limitations where meaning is concerned.

As more information about Maori tattoo and Ta moko is made available it is having an impact on what people are wanting to include in their design regarding family, love, protection, strength and power to name a few. Many people are coming to the realization that Maori tattoo is not just a decoration with a few abstract lines and circles, but a way of being. It is used to identify a person's status, to identify who they are, to enhance their life or to tell their story.

Ten years ago the key words, Maori arts, Maori design and Maori tattoo hardly featured on Google. As people become aware of this art form websites are now featuring in flash art and articles.

What is a Maori inspired design?

Firstly, I do not have a problem when it comes to non Maori respectfully wearing a Maori tattoo. We all borrow from other cultures and is what enriches our own.

A Maori inspired design looks like a Maori design but genuinely has no specific meaning. If it does it is very generic. Usually created by someone who does not necessarily have in any depth knowledge in Maori arts. I get many people sending pictures of their tattoo wanting to know what the meaning of it is, and I encourage them to go back to the source, their artist. Often, "there is no meaning ' it's a Maori inspired design.

What defines a genuine Maori tattoo or design?

Some say that only Maori people can get a Maori design because it is based on their tribal affiliations, and their culture? As a designer, I do not have designs for Maori and designs for non Maori. I use the exact same process resulting in a fully customized design tailored to meet your needs based on the information that you have provided me with, it may be about your culture, your life story, your family and important aspects in your life. As a Maori artist I specialize in using Maori symbols, elements and motifs. Each design is different and unique because no person is the same.

History of Tattoos

Tattoos are a passionate topic today. People get tattoos for many reasons. Millions of variations have been applied and continue to be fashioned. But tattoos aren't a new craze. The history of tattoos is a novel, not a short story, and they've been here for a long time.

Oetzi The Iceman

Nobody can truly state just when the history of tattoos began. The most ancient recognized tattoo was exposed in 1991. It was found on a mummy named Oetzi, an Iceman dated to be not less than 5300 years old. His tattoos are comprised of horizontal and vertical lines. There is a certain amount of dispute as to the reason the tattoos are there.

Since discovering the remains, researchers have been able to do little but guess that this most primeval form of tattoo was for the purpose of fending off evil spirits, or that it might have been a certain type of rite-of-passage. The most widespread view is that the tattoos were designed for medicinal purposes.

Oetzi's fifty-seven tattoos are positioned on various joints of the body. The notion is that the tattoos were created as a type of acupuncture was applied to relieve tender joints. In the present day, the same locations are used for acupuncture. Additional ideas vary from social standing and ritual markings to ethnic inscription or just preference.

Collectively on his backbone and at the back of one knee and on one ankle, the Ice Man had approximately fifty-seven tattoos. Even though it's impossible to do more than speculate as to the actual rationale for them, it nevertheless demonstrates that tattoos aren't unique to the contemporary era.

As the Ice Man was the most primitive mummified human remains discovered in Europe, tattoo lovers of the present era have history on their side. There's nothing "contemporary" about the history of tattoos!

Ancient Egypt

The Egyptians have one of the most renowned ancient cultures for tattoos. Dating back to 2100 BC, discovered mummies have been shown to be adorned in various tattoos. Women have been shown to display tattoo designs that were restricted to women only. These designs were generally a series of lines and dots around the body. Tattoos in Egyptian society are thought to have been forms of ritual markings.

Oriental Tattoos

In Japan, tattoos were first used on clay statues. These human shaped figures were representative of a deceased individual and have been discovered in the tombs of the person they resembled. The tattoos had been engraved or painted on the faces of the figures. It is thought that these designs have religious or mystical significance. The figures have been found in burying places that have been dated to 3,000 BC.

Japan's earliest recognizable tattoo is from 297 AD and has been demonstrated to be for ornamental purposes only. Tattoo designers were called the "Horis" in Japan. The Horis were acknowledged as masters and eventually created the full body suit tattoo.

Although Oriental symbols are extremely common for tattoos in America, it is not commonly recognized that both the Japanese and Chinese cultures have maintained a deep-seated resistance to the custom of tattooing throughout history. With both societal and religious viewpoints agreeing that tattooing is something which shouldn't be done, it is considered to be a way to contaminate one's body.

For the ancient Chinese, tattooing was applied as a punishment for criminal activity, putting such visible marks on someone to forever brand him as being a law breaker.

Tattoos have been found in all of history and throughout the world. They have been shown to be a statement of a variety of things such as social position, religious conviction and many times just for adornment.

Mistakes Most Lottery Players Make

Which Mistakes Are YOU Making?

Sure you can easily stroll into just about any store and buy a lottery ticket. It's just that easy. That's just as it should be. Playing the lottery can be a fun and easy diversion with the chance of a major payoff. You, however, are a more serious player. The fact that you are reading this shows that. You are motivated enough to wade through detailed information to learn how to cut out the bad habits and practices and find a better way to play the lottery in an intelligent manner. Here is a list of 10 too common mistakes that lottery players make. Every single one of these items could be costing you ticket money, time, frustration, and perhaps even millions of dollars. Read them, take them to heart, and then put them into practice.

 Playing Birthdays as Lottery Number Picks

Trust me, I know. You have a series of numbers that you have chosen based on your children's birthdays and the day you got married and your mom and dad's wedding anniversary date. Bad move. Here's why.

When you choose lottery numbers based on meaningful dates you limit your choices to the number of days in a month. In other words you are limited to numbers from a pool of 1 to 31. As an example of the problem in this method think about this. In the Texas Lotto game 6 numbers are drawn from a pool of 54 numbers. 54 numbers give you a whopping 25,827,165 possible combinations! When you choose from the pool of numbers ranging from 1 to 31, how many combinations do you think there are to choose from? There are a measly little 736,281. Think about that. When you choose between 1 and 31 you get 736,281 possible combinations BUT you absolutely, positively lose out on the other 25,090,884 possible combinations! Choosing birthday numbers decreases any chance of your having the winning combination by almost 97%. That's insane.

I know, you read about several people who chose birthday numbers and won millions. I also realize that your string of birthday numbers has EXACTLY the same chance of being drawn as any of the other 25,827,165 possible combinations. It's true, each combination has the same chance of being drawn. Still, are you willing to cut out almost 97% of your possible winning chances? I am not willing to give up almost all of the possible winning combinations simply to use sentimental choices. My goal is to play smarter than that.

Inconsistent Playing

Consistency pays. It is to your advantage to be a little fanatical about making sure you are in the mix for every drawing. Lottery corporations constantly chant the mantra 'You Can't Win If You Don't Play' as a sales tool, but they are right on the money. You can't win if you don't play! You should never miss playing the game of your choice, the one you have set your sights on winning. If you cannot afford to play some system you are fond of or as many tickets as you wish you could, if you have no partners to pool money with, whatever the reason, you should ALWAYS have at least one ticket in each and every drawing in your game.

Some lottery guides give the advice to stay out of certain overplayed drawings. Perhaps if the odds are extreme, the competition too fierce, or the payoffs too small, then yes. But in general there is no good reason to sit out. Think about this, what if the numbers you meant to play were chosen the one night you chose to watch that rerun of that sitcom rather than traipse out into the world to get your ticket? If that happens, don't call me to cry, though I would like to hear the story. Just don't expect a shoulder to cry on. You've been warned. Sitting out with not even one ticket is the same as saying you don't want the chance of becoming filthy rich this week.

Playing the Wrong Lottery Games

Have you ever really considered which games you play and why? How much money do you really need to win? What amount of winnings would make an impact on your life? Here in Texas we have many different choices. You can play a large multi-state game like Mega-Millions with HUGE multi-million dollar payoffs but the unfortunate odds of only 1 chance in 175,711,536 of taking home the jackpot! Wow, that's one ticket for each of over half the population of the U.S.A.

On the other hand the Texas Two-Step lottery prize begins at $200,000 and has often reached a million dollars. The odds of winning the smaller game are only 1 in 1,832,600! By switching from the Mega-Millions game to the Texas Two-Step you increase your chance of winning a

prize by over 95 times! Put another way you would have to buy 95 Mega-Millions tickets to have the same odds of winning with one Texas Two-Step ticket.

In the area you live there are probably the same choices between small games with small prizes like pick thee games, five and six ball games with mid-range payouts, and the huge multi-state games with incredible odds against you.

 Playing Too Much or Too Little

You should first decide which game is the best one for you to play, than make a commitment to play it regularly. Next it would be wise to make a quick budget of what you can afford to play or what you are comfortable wagering. I once read about a young immigrant man in Houston, Texas who won several million dollars. Great news! Then I read that he played several hundred dollars worth of tickets each week for several years before winning. I actually worried a bit for him. Everyone has a budget they can live with but most could not and would not want to spend that much money on lottery tickets. Was he married? Was he neglecting his family? Did he have a gambling problem?

So please, spend on lottery only the excess small amounts you might normally spend on coffees or other treats. Do not spend money you cannot afford to lose. Make sure you can afford the game you play. But make sure you also play, at least once in every drawing. The one headline you will never see is the person that didn't buy a ticket and still won the lottery.

Playing Common Combinations of Numbers

Read this carefully. It would be a good idea to avoid strange combinations of numbers. Examples would be 1-2-3-4-5-6 or 49-50-51-52-53-54. Avoid sequence choices such as 5-10-15-20-25-30 or 2-4-6-8-10-12 or 7-14-21-28-35-49. Never fill out a lottery slip by checking all of the boxes on the left, or right, or spelling out a number or letter or word with the darkened squares on the play slip.

Why? Because in every drawing there are dozens, sometimes hundreds, and even thousands of folks doing the same thing as you. Imagine going to bed after checking your numbers and knowing you had won a million dollars, only to wake up the next morning to discover 99 other folks are sharing your million dollar dream. Hey, any lottery win is better than no lottery win, but a million dollars will take you a lot farther in life than $10,000! Go for the big one, and if you have to share, hope it is with a lotto pool partner instead of 99 strangers.

Using Faulty Data, Math, or Systems

Many systems have better written advertisements than actual materials and plans, and others use cumbersome software or require endless hours of drudgery and record keeping. Many are some form of wheeling system that works best (and only a little better than simply chance) if you can afford to buy hundreds of tickets in a drawing. It is easy to lose interest when a lot of work is required and the chance of winning does not change much with the system. Seek out the best ways of playing, ways that create more winners, require little or no work on your part, and are easy to use.

Giving Up On the Dream Too Soon

Have you ever heard of the 'loser's limp'? It is said that many a football player will make a stunning run down the field, magically skirting past opposing team members, only to slow and falter in the final few yards, being tackled, and failing to make that all important touchdown. You may have seen players do this very thing and wondered what in the world they were doing. At times it makes me even wonder if the darn game is fixed! Truth is though, loser's limp is real and to be found not just in football but in every human endeavor. It's always darkest before the dawn is what they say. Remember, if you don't play you can't win. That one drawing you miss might have been the one. Persistence pays!

Don't give up on the dream. You CAN win the lottery! Someone will!

Being Tempted By New Plans and Schemes

There are dozens if not hundreds of complicated plans and schemes out there that use slick ads and empty promises to sell the latest flavor of information on how to win the lottery. One mistake many players make is to fall to the temptation of the slick advertising and empty promises. Are you one of those people who always must try every new lottery "winning" system you see? Do you buy tickets one way for a few weeks and then totally switch your methods? Lottery games are mostly a losing proposition. The odds are HUGE and against you. Spending time and money on various faulty systems, plans, and software takes away from your goal of actually taking home the big one. Find one good method and stick with it for the long haul.

Not Using Guaranteed Lottery Numbers

You have so many choices on how to approach lottery games. You can just blindly buy quick pick tickets and let fate have its way with you. How has that worked out over the years?

Or you can invest large amounts of cash into complicated systems, hard to figure out software, and keeping records of cool and hot numbers, number sums, wheeling choices, and a thousand other details, and in the end have just about the same chance of winning the lottery as when you began.

Spending Money on Less Effective Games

I am not a big fan of, nor can I ever suggest that you spend money on, 'scratch-off' style games. Lottery odds are bad enough but if you dig deep in the odds and payout figures on scratch off tickets, WOW, they are a major hole in the ocean in which to toss your hard earned cash.

I can almost hear you saying "But come on, they are a fun diversion". Hey, it's your money so spend it how you want to spend it but know in advance it is a losing proposition. Unlike the lottery where creative types have found a few ways that can significantly affect the odds making it a chance worth taking, scratch-off tickets are like shooting in the dark. Often the bullet will hit you!

If you are going to tell me about Uncle Louie who "always wins with those things," well, I have dozens of friends and not one of them ever has returned from Las Vegas with tales of losing money. They ALL won. However do the casinos pay the electric bills on all of those neon signs? For the smart player scratch-offs are not an option.