Middles

[Odysseus]

Yes, it was 2 and 7 - according to the website I saw it on anyway. Whether this is true or not I have no idea but it did say that key numbers in NBA aren't as important as in NFL but that the two numbers are still worth watching. However, as nobody came along to mention those two numbers before I found out I'm doubting whether they have much use.

Sorry, yes I did mean the +1.5/-1.5 handicap and not the +5/-5 totals.

One other thing I would be interested in though. I've looked at various sites on the net which explain middles and they all seem to use spreads differences of at least 2 points and totals with at least 5 points difference. I've looked at the right times(as far as I know) and I've only ever found 1/2 point or 1 point differences (with the US facing books I currently use anyway). Do these mythical middles actually exist anywhere?

You really need to ask Kidpoker about these as he has much more experience of finding them.
I don't think they exist in reality unless you're dealing with books that are particularly useless at moving their lines, and do you really want to play at these? cf bet911
Personally I've never found a middle better than half a point that hasn't been too far away in odds for me to go for. By that I mean it could have been -105 and -105 which loses too much money for my liking. I prefer an exact match or narb of say -105 and Evens.
One thing I have found is that Murphy's law definitely applies in all cases.
If you want the result to hit the spread in order to profit from a middle - it never does.
However, whenever you find a huge arb, it always pushes!
The best place to find middles is definitely with football props, where a difference of for eg +/- 50 yds against +/- 40 yds can regularly be found.

[westv]

Yes, KP seems to extract arbs from those places that most humans fear to tread!

I also discovered via the power of the information super highway that it's claimed that

NBA
Each 1/2 pt on the total = 5c juice
Each 1/2 pt to the spread = 9c cents juice.
For h/t 1/2 pt on the total = 9c juice
For 1/2 pt on the spread = 14c juice.

NFL
Each 1/2 pt off of a 7 pt spread = 15c
Each 1/2pt off of a 3 = 20c
Each 1/2 pt of of an 8 or similar = 2c.
On totals 1/2 pt = 4-5c
Certain numbers like 35,38,42,48 are worth more.

All figures approximate

Now whether any of that has any basis in reality or is just theoretical I have no idea. I also don't know if it can be applied to middles or not. It just goes shows how complex this middling lark can be.