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01/14/2012 - Honolulu, HI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Maggert fired a six-under 64 Saturday to join Matt Every in the lead after three rounds of the Sony Open in Hawaii.
Every, who led by two after the second round, posted a two-under 68 and ended alongside Maggert at 12-under 198. They are two strokes clear of three other players at Waialae Country Club.
Every will go for his first PGA Tour title on Sunday. Maggert owns three PGA Tour titles, but hasn't won since the 2006 FedEx St. Jude Classic.
Charles Howell III and Johnson Wagner carded matching four-under 66s and were joined in third place at minus-10 by Brendon de Jonge (67).
Duffy Waldorf (66) and D.A. Points (64) are tied for sixth at nine-under 201.
Maggert, 47, started the day four off the lead and played five groups ahead of Every.
He tapped in a short birdie try on the fourth, then made four straight pars before draining a nine-footer for eagle on the par-five ninth to join Every in the lead.
Every was one-over through five holes at that point after dropping a shot on the second, but he regained control of the tournament before making the turn.
The 28-year-old bladed a wedge from off the green on the sixth and his ball rolled into the cup for birdie. He poured in a 29-foot birdie try at eight and followed with a two-putt birdie on the par-five ninth.
Every made the turn at 12-under, where he was two strokes clear of David Hearn, who dropped down the leaderboard with three bogeys early on the back nine.
Maggert birdied the 13th to get within two of the lead and sank a five-foot birdie putt on 16 to move to 11-under. He joined Every atop the leaderboard with a two-putt birdie on the par-five 18th.
"Obviously, my game has been pretty good this week. My short game has been solid and I've been putting very well," Maggert said in a televised interview. "I never lost the competitive edge, the game just wasn't there and I've had a couple injuries.
"I appreciate more of how good your health needs to be to compete out here. There's just so many good young players, and when you get to my age, you've got to take care of your body and just hope for the best."
Maggert owns a share of the 54-hole lead for the first time since the 2003 Masters.
Every parred the first six holes of the back nine but stumbled to a bogey at No. 16 after dropping his approach in a greenside bunker. After a par on 17, Every got up and down for birdie on the 18th to end alongside Maggert.
"First of all, it was weird starting off today because I didn't sleep real well last night, and then I just got off to a shaky start," Every said. "It could have gone the wrong way fast, but I was pretty proud of myself the way I hung in there. Two-under is nothing to be ashamed about on this course, especially on Saturday. I'm happy with it and really looking forward to having a chance to win tomorrow."
Steve Stricker is one 11 players tied for eighth place at eight-under 202 after shooting 67. If he can rally for the win, Stricker would be the first player since Ernie Els in 2003 to capture the season's first two events.
NOTES: Maggert has a piece of the 54-hole lead for the 10th time in his PGA Tour career, however he won just once in the previous nine times...Every shares the 54-hole lead for the first time...Since 80 players made the cut, 10 were cut after the third round, a group that included Chad Campbell and Tommy Gainey.
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Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.
He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.
"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.
He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.
Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.
Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.
Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.
Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.
With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.
Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).
And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)
The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.
While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.
Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.
One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.
Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.
What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.
That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.
MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.
"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.
"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."
So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.
In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.
MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.
The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.
Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.
MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.
To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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