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OFF THE SHELF
 Howard Schwartz, the "librarian for gamblers," is the marketing director
for Gambler's Book Club in Las Vegas, a position he has held since 1979.
Author of hundreds of articles on gambling, his weekly book reviews appear in numerous publications throughout the gaming industry.
August 29, 2001
Iskoe's College Football Angle Analysis: NFL Record/Fact Book Super
Of the myriad publications available for football handicappers, Andy
Iskoe of Logical Approach annually produces some of the most fascinating
statistical analysis. He knows bettors are always searching for a new
way to beat the game and they always feel "they're on to something new." So he
constantly searches for the hidden factors that might be helpful to
them.
Bettors look at statistics, angling for some play, some pattern, or a
factor someone might have overlooked-much like a gold miner hoping someone's
overlooked a nugget here and there or bypassed a mother lode. In his
Pointspread Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, Colleges (141 pages, 8x11 plastic
spiralbound, $29.95), Iskoe looks at 34 different situations for almost
every major board team in the nation, and in a marvelous time-saver of a
section covering 11 pages, examines the all-time question of college
line moves-just how smart is the public. Was smart money "properly directed?"
What is a smart money move? He defines it as a situation where there
"was a difference of at least 1 ½ points between opening and closing lines. In
this instance he's referring to the Stardust (in Las Vegas) line. His study
goes back 11 years and looks at 3,200 situations where "smart money moves"
occurred.
Is "smart money" really smarter than the rest of the general public?
What years were good for the "smart money" bettor and which ones were
disasters? You'll have to read the book and Iskoe's conclusions if you want the
answers.
Meanwhile in the main body of the book, he gets to the nitty-gritty of
it all. Just how good is Notre Dame as a home dog against the spread-let's
say for the past five years? You look, you find. The Fighting Irish have
been home dogs five times since 1995 and covered the spread in that situation
in four opportunities.
For some strange reason Navy is a good bet on artificial turf since
1998. They've covered in eight of 10 opportunities during that period of time.
Look at Mississippi -- they're great as a road favorite since 1995, having
covered in seven of eight chances since then.
Want to know how a college team fared against quality teams at home or
on the road; in sandwich or reverse sandwich games or in their first
conference game for the past three years; six years or year by year since 1995?
Iskoe shows you. Teams are listed in alphabetical order, and many small teams
are included like the Akron Zips of the Mid-American Conference and Arkansas
State of the Sun Belt Conference.
***
One new arrival at Gambler's Book Shop doesn't give a mention to a
pointspread or betting angle, but it's an annual popular seller for a
variety of reasons. Titled the NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, it has
some unique features. The 504-page paperbound ($16.95) has diagrams of every
NFL stadium, which theoretically will help the sharp bettor comprehend the
impact of wind on passing efforts. It also shows you in which quarter
each individual team scored how many points (on a cumulative basis) (example:
Cincinnati scored only 24 points in the first quarter all last season,
while opponents clicked for 92 in the same quarter. Meanwhile the St. Louis
Rams scored 116 points in the initial quarter while allowing opponents to
score 94.).
The book lists team records; individual records for a season or single
game; all-time NFL records; post-season and Super Bowl records (for
teams, individuals); biographical tidbits about the entire coaching staff;
player birth dates; uniform numbers; which games will be televised what week by
what network; the NFL scheduling formula; what realignment will look
like in 2002 and the new scheduling formula; the NFL passer rating system and
how it works; an explanation of the NFL waiver system operates; what players
are approaching individual or league records; what the NFL tie-breaking
procedures are should it get tight in the league's final weeks and how
instant replay is designed to operate this season with a history of how
many games has "reversal" calls.
Trivia buffs will love the listing of every NFL score since the league
came into being (no spreads remember); a summary of every past Super Bowl;
results and summary of every overtime game ever played; a listing of all
first-round selections by each team from the 1930s to today; a list of
NFL officials their position, number, their college (no NFL official has the
number 13 by the way) and what their actual occupation is off the field;
officials' signals and finally, an eight-page digest of NFL rules and
definitions of terms.
(These books are among dozens of football betting titles available at
Gambler's Book Shop, 630 South 11th Street, Las Vegas, NV 89101. They
can be ordered by Internet at www.gamblersbook.com or by phone at
1-800-522-1777 or by fax at 702-382-7594. The store is open from 9 to 5 Pacific Time Monday through Saturday. It is located two miles from Downtown Las Vegas, about the same distance from where The Strip begins and a black west of Maryland
Parkway, just off Charleston Boulevard. You may order by using a
MasterCard,
VISA or Discover card (no AMEX). Books are usually shipped the next
working
day by Fed Ex. You may send a check or money order for the book, adding
$6.50 for one book, $1 additional for a second book. The store, now in
its
37th year of operation has a free 80-page catalog (available online as
well), which will be sent at no charge to anyone who requests it. More
than
1,000 different books in 30 areas of gambling including sports betting
are
listed, along with computer software and videos.)
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