WinPicks Pro Basketball Analyst

WinPicks sports betting programs are some of the most popular ones around. Marketed by MicroBrothers, the programs are available separately or in a value-priced package of all four. Currently, there are programs for professional and college basketball, as well as professional football and college football. We'll look at the Pro Basketball Analyst in this review.

WinPicks Pro Basketball Analyst is a simple to use program that gives users the choice of handicapping games with several pre-loaded formulas or create your own. You also have the option of downloading formulas created by other users of the program in the Formula Warehouse.

Many of the formulas included in the warehouse have amazing records against the point spread, but remember that most of these formulas have been adjusted to match the previous season's results. An example would be a consensus formula using the four formulas that came pre-packaged with the program along with three formulas downloaded from the Formula Warehouse produced an amazing 35-14-1 record against the spread (71.4 percent) for the 2008-09 season, but just a 25-23 record against the spread for 2007-08.

Likewise, the same consensus produced a moneymaking 27-19-1 record for totals in the 2008-09 season, but was just 19-31-1 the previous year.

But for those who like to tinker with numbers, WinPicks Pro Basketball Analyst can provide many hours of checking, re-checking and calculating numbers. Those willing to work on different formulas and calculation methods will no doubt find some formulas that yield positive results.

The program is easy to use despite the fact that it has tons of features. It's a good idea to spend some time reading the user's manual and doing some exploring on your own before getting down to business.

Program users will no doubt continue to learn new things about the program long after it's purchased, which is a good thing. The more you know about the program and it's abilities the more likely you are to use it for a successful season.

The premise behind the pro basketball selections is relatively simple and uses the number of road or home games played consecutively as a key factor in making predictions, along with home court advantage and other items.

Those with a bit of self-control may want to focus on the program's Platinum Picks, which have historically performed well against the point spread. The Platinum Picks use three different variables in selecting games, including the formulas you are using, trends and past head-to-head match-ups.

Games are predicted straight up (SU), against the point spread (ATS) and against the total (O/U) and certain formulas will work better in different areas.

WinPicks Pro Basketball Analyst is a decent program that will help anybody who bets on pro basketball. The ability to edit and add formulas is a definite plus, although you are a bit limited by what variables you can include for pro predictions.

The program will require a bit of work, such as analyzing formulas, fine-tuning formulas, etc., but should be worth the effort, as the vast majority of users are likely to have a winning season. That's something only about 5 percent of those who will wager on NBA basketball this season will be able to say.

The program sells for $49.95 or is available in the Parlay Pack, which consists of programs for picking college and pro basketball, along with college and pro football, for $149.95.

Each program is essentially good for one year and updated versions will have to be purchased annually in order to include current schedules and data. Repeat customers receive a price break.

The program is only sold through Micro Brothers or their affiliates and is no longer available in stores.

Overall, WinPicks Pro Basketball Analyst is a solid purchase and is likely to pay for itself during the 2009-10 pro basketball season.