Sports Betting Book Buyers Beware
I'll admit to being a bit spoiled when it comes to books written about sports betting. I was fortunate enough to have grown up at a time when people like Jim Barnes, Mike Lee, Ernie Kaufman, Huey Mahl, and Jim Jasper were writing frequently and those are some of the sharpest minds the sports betting fraternity has seen in quite some time.
I'm still on the lookout for decent sports gambling books, and while one may occasionally find something worthwhile, such as King Yao's Weighing the Odds in Sports Betting, but for the most part, there is little out there.
Naturally, as one who is always on the lookout for new sports betting books, I always check the new arrivals at Gambler's Book Club, as well as other online bookstores, such as Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
The offerings at Gambler's Book Club can generally be counted on to provide some value for readers, but that isn't always the case when you buy from the other online booksellers.
And making it more difficult for perspective buyers is that plenty of these essentially worthless books on sports betting are given high ratings from "readers."
But buyers should use caution when looking at these ratings, as many come from the authors themselves or friends of the author under assumed names.
On Amazon, the best way to check out a rating is to look at the "See all my reviews" link and look to see what other books this person has reviewed. If the book being reviewed is the only one listed it should raise a red flag, as should a reviewer who only reviews the works of a selected author or group of authors, who all just happen to publish books through the same self-publishing company.
Days Gone By
In the old days books were all printed by publishing companies, so you could be sure that books were copy-edited, proofread, and checked for quality. That's the primary reason that the vast majority of worthwhile sports betting books are the older ones.
It's different today in that there are self-publishing companies who will essentially print anything they're sent, regardless if contains anything worth reading or not. The publishing companies aren't concerned with the content. For them it's simply a matter of getting the book to press and printing copies when requested.
Even the most poorly written sports gambling book does have some value, even if it's to prove that it's possible to turn money into nothing.
But if you would like to get a bit more value for your money, do a little research before plunking down your hard-earned money on a sports betting book and don't be afraid to buy something that's a bit dated. In all probability you'll find some good information that is still relevant and get some good ideas that you can incorporate into your handicapping process.
