NBA road system

Well guys, it's about that time of year again, so I figured I'd go ahead and give those who are interested a heads up.

Let me say right off the bat that I am not advocating this system as a sure-fire way to put extra cash in your pocket. People have expressed interest, so I'm going to outline the way I use it. It is a martingale system, which everyone says stay away from. But I've used it since 1998, and it has finished in the black every year, including +88.12 units last year. That doesn't mean it won't completely cave and lose 500 units this year. I just wanted to be clear on that.

First, I'll recap what the system is all about. It's really very simple, and completely takes the handicapping aspect out of the game. If you enjoy looking at trends, stats, matchups, chemistry, schedules, etc., this isn't for you.

All you have to do is look for teams that are going on a 3-game or longer road trip. They must be consecutive games on the road, and if the trip is split up over the All-Star break, it is usually discarded. This is also for the regular season only, although I think nvralock used a variation of it during the playoffs with some success.

Once you have your team, you simply bet AGAINST them and bet on the UNDER. There are some teams where we don't go against them and/or we don't bet the total. I will cover that later. On the side bet, if the road team covers, you must double your bet on the 2nd game of the trip. If they cover again, you must double THAT bet on the 3rd game, and so on. Here's an example with the Portland Jailblazers from last year. Let's assume we are trying to win one unit, and we have already decided that our unit play for the system is going to be $100.
3/14 Port(+8') @ Minn...Risk $110 to win $100
Port wins 92-83 (we are down $110)
3/16 Port(+1) @ Milw...Risk $231 to win $210
Port wins 100-99 (we are down $341)
3/17 Port(+8) @ Indy...Risk $485.10 to win $441
Indy wins 80-71 (we are up $100)
You always have to risk enough to win whatever your losses are on the trip PLUS your unit play. As soon as Portland doesn't cover, that is the end of the betting for that trip. Don't try to extend it for whatever reason.

The premise is exactly the same for the totals bet. You just bet the under until the game goes under, or until every game in the series has gone over.


I mentioned earlier that there are some teams that I don't bet against and there also some teams where I won't bet the under on their games. Using these is just my attempt to dodge 1 or 2 losing road trips during the year, because let's face it, when you lose every game in a series, it hurts like a son-of-a-bitch. If we can miss a couple of those big losses, it's worth missing out on a couple of units in wins. Here are the series bets that I NEVER make on ANY length of road trip:
Lakers TOTALS
Clippers TOTALS
Mavericks TOTALS
Spurs SIDES
Those are set in stone and I never bet the under with those teams, nor do I bet against San Antonio, regardless of how long the road trip is. There are also quite a few more that I don't bet on 3-game road trips ONLY. Here are those:
Sixers SIDES
Nets SIDES
Knicks SIDES
Bulls TOTALS
Magic TOTALS
Jazz TOTALS
Trailblazers SIDES
Rockets TOTALS
Grizzlies SIDES
Grizzlies TOTALS
These strictly come from my opinion, and they could be perfect all year long. Whether you follow them or not is up to you.

Another question that comes us is "what about pushes?" Well, if it happens in the first game of a 3-game trip, I throw out that bet. If it happens on the first game of a 4 or 5-game trip, I just reduce the length of the trip by one game, and continue on (assuming that the team does not now fall into one of my 3-game trip rules). If it happens after the first game, tough shit. That part of the system sucks, but there's nothing you can do about it.

Bankroll, bankroll, bankroll. It's hard to say exactly how much you need to play this system faithfully. One tip I've used is to see what your bet would be on the 5th game of a road trip (after doubling each time), and then double that number. If you have the means, then just pick your unit size and go with it. But DON'T increase your unit size as your bankroll grows. Suppose the first half of the season, we cruise with very few hiccups. Then, in the 2nd half (after you've increased your unit size about 250%), we lose 6 3-gamers, 3 4-gamers, and (God forbid), a 5-gamer. If you haven't increased your unit size, you could probably survive. But if you have, you are probably trying to raise rent money by hooking out on a corner hoping Blackjack comes along because he tips so well.

Anyway, that's all I can think of right now. I'll be trying to post the plays I am using every day whenever possible. I'm heading to Dallas to watch the Cowgirls play the Steelers this weekend, so if you post a question, be patient. I'll answer it Monday. Good luck this weekend, fellas!