Who Are The Best Sports Handicappers to Follow?
What Is A Handicapper?
When you're betting on sports, you may see the word handicapper thrown around. It's an interesting word but isn't very self-explanatory, so if you're new to the world of sports betting, you may be wondering what it means.
In this article, we'll look at who a handicapper is, what they do in their line of work, and how they can help you when betting on your favorite sports.
What is a handicapper in relation to sports betting?
Handicapping has a couple of different meanings. For example, in golf, a handicapper is the person responsible for assigning players' handicaps, ranking them to allow them to enter competitions that are suited to their skill level.
However, that's not what we mean when we refer to handicapper in relation to sports betting.
In this instance, the term refers to someone who studies and analyzes sporting events to find an edge when placing bets on games. Anyone can do it, but professional handicappers will spend hours pouring over facts, figures, and statistics in the hope of finding a nugget of information that'll give them an advantage when filling in their betting slip.
The factors handicappers may look at include past performance in similar games, the number of back-to-back away games a team has competed in, injuries, and the form of individual players. They may even have developed their own statistical models to help them do this.
Some handicappers keep their insight to themselves, while others may share them. At OddsChecker, our team of expert sports handicappers publishes their picks ahead of every major game to help you make the best bets on your chosen sport.
What are the different types of handicappers?
Some handicappers get involved in just about anything that they can bet on, making picks for football through the fall and winter, basketball in the spring, and tennis and golf during the summer. These are often referred to as "generalists".
However, most handicappers prefer to specialize, focusing on one or two sports, rather than spreading their attention thinly across a broader selection. This allows them to spend longer researching, analyzing, and making their picks.
It's hard to say exactly which type is better, as there are great handicappers in both groups. At least in theory though, specialists should do better as they have the time to build a better understanding of their chosen sport.
Some handicappers will base their picks on models that they've developed, feeding in data that they collect to make predictions. These are not infallible but can have strong track records in making winning picks.
Other sports handicappers prefer to base their predictions on opinion and feeling. That's not to say they're just spitting in the wind, they still use their research to form these opinions, but they prefer not to have prescribed systems make the decisions for them.
You'll find every type of bet covered by handicappers too. Some may prefer one type of bet, such as a moneyline or a spread, others will vary their bet type depending on the odds on offer and the insight that they've gained from their research. That said, the most common betting picks are:
- Moneyline Picks
- Over/Under Picks
- Picks Against the Spread
- Parlay Picks
Do you have to pay to read a good sports handicapper's picks?
Some websites may try to charge you for their handicappers' picks. But at OddsChecker, we don't like this approach. We help sports fans make the right betting decisions and find the best odds without charging them a penny.
That's why you'll find all of our picks completely free of charge on our website.
We don't compromise on quality either. We have some of the most experienced and respected sports handicappers in the business, covering just about every sport you could want to bet on.
We display the ROIs of all of our handicappers on our website so you can be sure you're following someone with a track record of picking winners.
Where can I find the best handicappers with the best ROI's?
When you're using the picks of a sports handicapper to place your bets, you want to make sure you're following one that's skilled and experienced at backing winners.
We make this easy too. On each of our sports handicappers' profile pages, you can see how many of their most recent picks were wins, losses, or pushes. We also publish their ROI to make comparing handicappers easy.
Can I make money tailing a handicapper?
Tailing a sports handicapper allows you to take advantage of their years of experience and the hours of painstaking research and analysis they do when making their picks. This is great for bettors that don't have the time or resources to do all of this heavy lifting themselves, as well as those that are just starting to bet on sports.
You can absolutely make money tailing a handicapper, especially if you find one with a long track record of backing winners. That said, it's important to remember that past performance isn't a guarantee of future success, so you should always bet responsibly.
What sports do handicappers pick on?
You can find expert picks from handicappers for just about every sport. At OddsChecker, our team covers all of the major US leagues, including the NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL. We also publish picks for college games, horse racing, and international competitions.
So no matter whether you're looking for picks for Monday night NFL games or for futures bets on the NBA Championship, our expert sports handicapping team has you covered.
We regularly publish picks for these sports and more:
- NFL
- College football
- NBA
- College basketball
- NHL
- MLB
- Soccer, including MLS, EPL, Champions League, and more
- Rugby
- Aussie rules
- Horse racing
- Tennis
- Golf
- NASCAR
- Formula 1
- Cycling
- Boxing
- Darts
- MMA
Where can I find a free golf handicapper?
Just like any other sport, you can find betting picks from expert handicappers for golf, including all major competitions like the Masters and the Ryder Cup.
At OddsChecker, our resident golf handicapper is Geoff Feinberg. He is world-renowned for his vast golfing knowledge and the entertaining approach he takes to sharing it with others. Geoff has a long track record of picking winners and has grown a following through his regular appearances on leading podcasts.
You can see Geoff's track record for golf handicapping on his personal picks page, including his ROI from recent months.
You can also find all of OddsChecker's golf picks for upcoming events on our golf picks page.