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Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza


by Doc's Sports - 12/19/2017

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady

Underdogs posted a fast start out of the gate in this year's college football bowl season with straight up victories in four of the first five games on this past Saturday's opening round of betting action. With the help of expert handicapper Raphael Esparza , we will try and uncover one or two more dogs to ride in this week for the Doc's Sport's betting faithful as an early holiday gift.

Once known in sports betting circles as the Vegas Sports Informer, Raphael worked his way to the prestigious position as the Director of the Race and Sports Book for MGM Grand's Aria during a long and successful career in the Las Vegas sportsbook industry. At the same time, he worked his way up the ranks to become one of the best sports handicappers in the nation. Since his retirement from the sportsbook industry in 2013, he has been splitting his time between Las Vegas and the Big Easy in New Orleans running a successful and diverse sports investment service. The following is this week's Q&A with one of Doc's most interesting handicappers.

Doc's Sports: The college bowl season got off to a highly-profitable start for anyone riding the underdogs in the first five games of this year's 40-game schedule with a 4-1 SU run. Looking ahead at the next 14 bowl games on the slate right through Christmas Eve this Sunday night, can you give us one or two more dogs to ride in their upcoming bowl game matchup?

RE: Right off the bat, I think there is some solid value in UAB as a 7.5-point underdog against Ohio in Friday's Bahama's Bowl. I am not saying that the Blazers win this game SU, but I would take them and the points. Another possible value play would be Fresno State plus the 2.5 points against Houston in Sunday's Hawaii Bowl. The Bulldogs, playing out of the competitive Mountain West, do have what it takes to win this one outright.

Doc's Sports: Most of the betting attention for last week's NFL games was focused on the AFC showdown between the New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers. New England went on to win a last-minute thriller 27-24. So, who came away with the lion's share of the money wagered on this game; the betting public or the Las Vegas books?

RE: The books appeared destined to take a beating on this game all week long leading up to Sunday's kickoff, and they did. New England covering the 2.5-point spread accounted for a substantial loss. However, the interesting thing is that most of the bets on either side of this matchup were on the moneyline given just how tight the spread was between these two NFL powers. The size of the actual loss still varies quite a bit from one book to the next depending who I talk to, but it is safe to say that the Patriots' win was costly to every sports betting outlet in town.

Doc's Sports: The anticipated lineup of the six teams qualifying for this year's NFC playoffs could set the stage for one of the most competitive rounds of matchups in recent memory all the way up to the NFC Championship Game on Sunday, Jan. 21. Heading into the final two weeks of the regular season, which NFC team would be your early favorite to represent the conference in Super Bowl LII?

RE: I would put Minnesota at the top of my list as the best all-around team in the NFC playing at a very high level on both sides of the ball. That being said, I was extremely impressed with the way that the Los Angeles Rams beatdown Seattle on the road last Sunday coming off that tough loss to Philadelphia.

Doc's Sports : The NBA traditionally takes center stage on Christmas Day with a full slate of marquee matchups. Looking ahead to next Monday's five-game schedule, which one is at the top of your holiday wish list as 'must see' TV?

RE: A few key injuries currently cloud the Cleveland at Golden State matchup, so that one is on the backburner for now. I am somewhat interested in the Philadelphia at New York game to start things off Christmas Day given the early play of some of each team's top players, but the game at the top of the list right now is Houston at Oklahoma City.

The Rockets are not only the best team in the NBA through the first few months of the season; they are also really fun to watch from a scoring aspect. The Thunder are starting to turn things following a slow start to add even more excitement to this game.

Doc's Sports: Seeing how you have established yourself as one of the most diverse professional handicappers in the nation, did we miss anything on the board over the next several days that might already be on your betting radar?

RE : I could get involved with some crazy props involving snow on Christmas Day, but I am not a big fan of tracking the Weather Channel. There is a big UFC card at the end of the month, but right now I am focusing a good deal of my energy on the college bowl season given the number of interesting matchups yet to be played.

Click here to visit Raphael Esparza's Insider's Page at Doc's Sports for more information on his amazingly-profitable sports handicapping picks. Also, get $60 worth of Esparza's member's picks absolutely free - no obligation, no sales people - you don't even have to enter credit card information. You can use this $60 credit for any sport Esparza handicaps. Click here for $60 worth of free picks from Raphael Esparza .

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