BBB accredited
Subscribe
2010 Profit: +$11,123
Avg Bet: $255

Sports Betting Insights recently tested our services and decided to write a review. Check it out!

Not ready to commit? We don't blame you. Grab a pencil and a piece of paper and head over to our Picks page. 10 minutes after the scheduled start of each game the picks will become available to the general public. Write them down! Do this for a month and then come back if and only if you're satisfied.

Who are we?

Spider Web Sports is a sub division of Spider Web Technologies, which is a Better Business Bureau accredited software engineering firm located in Newark, Delaware, USA. After learning of the demand for a consistent betting software we decided to mix our love of sports betting and our love of computer programming and see what happened. What happened was Spider Web Sports, a Delaware sports handicapping service that offers a unique picking service combining computational analysis and traditional handicapping methods.

What do we do?

Our single goal is to make money for ourselves and for our users by covering every angle of every pick such that we maximize our wins and minimize our losses. Although we do occassionally have losing days (everybody does), our results are overwhelmingly positive. In fact, our picks are so successful that only 21% of our users have chosen not to renew their subscriptions.

In 2009 we averaged 8.72 units of profit per month based on betting one unit per game. Many of our users requested a small change for 2010, so we listened! Now, instead of betting strictly one unit per bet, we will be wagering different amounts based on our perceived strength of the pick. These bet sizes will fall between one and five units per bet. We currently make picks for baseball, basketball, football and hockey. Compare our profit to any other sports handicapping service that can provide proof, and you'll see that we are the best, most well-rounded service on the Internet. We offer a bigger return than most companies for a fraction of the price. To prove our picks, we post them on our results page 10 minutes after the start of each game (this means that you can track our games WITHOUT being subscribed). Never trust a sports betting service that doesn't post its bets when the games start, because anybody can post winning picks after the results are in.

How do we do it?

The world of sports betting is all about analyzing numbers. It's about looking at past trends to determine if those trends do or don't predict future trends. It's about looking at batting averages and earned run averages, yes. But sports betting is about a lot more than the amature handicapper takes into consideration. Professional handicapping is about looking at very specific details.

We have different algorithms for every sport. I know that baseball is in the offseason, but it is perhaps the easiest sport to explain our methodology for. Here is a breif glimpse into what our computers consider for baseball games...

When betting on baseball games, it's great to know that Alex Rodriguez is batting .257 (or whatever he happens to be batting), but it's more important to know how successful he is against left handed pitchers who use a slider as their goto pitch (well, this is only important if he is playing one of these pitchers, but you get the idea).

Another example: it's about knowing that a game between any two teams played in Colorado (the most hitter-friendly ballpark) will, on average, have 60% more runs scored than the same game played in San Diego (the most pitcher-friendly ballpark).

To make the best decision, we need to know the starting lineups of each team. We need to know the likelihood of each bench player coming in during the game. We need to know, with as much certainty as possible, how long the starting pitcher will last and who the relievers will be. This is all done by our computers with a unique Playing Time;analyzer.

Humans are good at making rational, subjective desicions, but are very poor at making large calculations to determine the statistical likelihood of an event. Computers have their flaws as well, such as trying to gauge the motivation of a player or team. That is why our picks are based on BOTH human rationalization and computer analysis.

How can we help?

Everybody makes investments in their lifetime, be they financial or otherwise. When you look at sports betting at the highest level, you'll notice that it's nothing more than a financial investment. Let us help by being your financial advisor.

It is very important that you treat your approach to betting on sports the same as you would treat your approach to the stock market or to a business decision. Set some goals and write them down. Many bettors can only fathom the short term, trying to quadruple their bankroll in one night. But, I promise you, if you make and stick with reasonable goals, you will be shocked at how easily you will realize those goals. You could take a very safe, very conservative road and still double your bankroll in one year. This doesn't sound like a lot to most people, but compare that to an equally risky stock market that only averages an 8% return (that's when we're NOT in a recession) and you'll start to understand my point.

Why should you trust us?

One thing we didn't expect when we entered the sports handicapping industry was the amount of distrust carried by each and every bettor looking for a sports handicapping service. Rightfully so. After doing our own research, it has become quite apparent just how many scamming sites are out there. I once saw a site that claimed to have gone 98-1 in a season!

Hopefully I've outlined to you our credentials enough for you to have some faith in us. I'll go over them again here. For starters, we are licensed by the State of Delaware and accredited by the Better Business Bureau. Additionally, we post our picks 10 minutes after the start of each game so that you can follow along even if you aren't a paying subscriber. This way you won't have to be a paying customer to see our picks as the games are being played. You can follow our results for free and then make up your mind.

Still have questions?

If your questions haven't been answered yet, please visit our FAQ page or contact us. We take customer service very seriously, and will usually respond to your inquiry within 30 minutes.

Featured Articles

Maximizing Return on Investment

The following demonstration uses actual numbers from our picks for the 2008 MLB season.

Assume a starting bankroll of $1,000 and a betting unit equal to 3% of the bankroll. The starting bet for this bettor is $30 (0.03*1000). We suggest to you in our money management article that you should be recalculating your bet size at the end of every month. The chart below shows you exactly why you need to be doing this.

Month +-Units Bet Size Without Recalculation Profit Without Recalc Bankroll Without Recalc Bet Size With Recalc Profit With Recalc Bankroll With Recalc
March-1.99$30-$59.70 $940.30 $30 $-59.70 $940.30
April 34.17$30 $1,025.10 $1,965.40 $28.21 $963.94 $1,904.24
May 17.15$30 $514.50 $2,479.90 $57.13 $979.78 $2,884.02
June 13.31$30 $399.30 $2,879.20 $86.52 $1,151.58 $4,035.60
July 24.6$30 $738.00 $3,617.20 $121.07 $2,978.27 $7,013.87
August 1.67$30 $50.10 $3,667.30 $210.42 $351.40 $7,365.27
September 35.15$30 $1,054.50 $4,721.8 $220.96 $7,766.68 $15,131.95
October 2.1 $30 $63 $4,784.8 $453.96 $953.31 $16,085.26
Total 126.16 ----- $3,784.80 $4784.80 --- $15,085.26 $16,085.26

As you can see in this chart, the person who bets a constant $30 all season will have a net profit of $3,784.80. His ROI is then 378.48%. (Final Bankroll - Initial Bankroll) / (Initial Bankroll) = (4784.80 - 1000) / 1000 = 3.7848.

If instead the person recalculated his bet size every month to be 3% of his bankroll size then his bet size will grow as his bankroll grows. His ROI would then be 1,508.526%. Now that's a big difference. Never underestimate the importance of money management.

Sports Betting - Profit and Money Management

We tend to overthink what sports betting is and how to make money from it. In the most basic terms, sports betting is simply an investment, just like buying a house or putting money in the stock market. And, just like any other investment, your success in sports betting will be directly proportional to the amount of risk you incur. You'll often find people, even myself, telling you that sports betting is not a "Get Rich Quick" scheme. The fact is, however, that it CAN be. But, if you pursue the "Get Rich Quick" angle, you should also be prepared for the case where your effort turns into a "Go Broke Quick" accomplishment. If you are in a position in life that allows for great risk, then go for it. If not, you should adopt a more conservative stance.

Here I will outline for you a few different money management strategies for different financial situations. Depending on your current bankroll, risk allowance and profit aspirations you can pick and choose some traits from each of these methods to create a method that is just right for you.

Slow and Steady, Like a Turtle

This is for those of you who have a significant bankroll and are only in sports betting for the Long Term profit. You realize that your money will gain about 8% for you in the stock market, so you think that a "mere" 20% gain is more than enough to keep you happy. You have no interest in chasing 400% gains because you either aren't interested in the risk or the stress is just too much.

This bettor will play 1% or even less of his bankroll per play. He understands that losing streaks happen, and he will bet small enough to know that a bad week, month or even year won't wipe him out.

Vroom! Vroom! Crash?

While I do certainly preach about betting small, that's not actually what I'm trying to convey. My true goal is to inform people of the best mathematical approach to handling their bankroll. If you are at a point in your life where you can afford to take on extra risk, then it is by all means your right to do so.

This strategy is nothing more than short term calculated recklessness. It is often for people who deposit a small amount (such as $200) with their online bookie and have no patience to be making $5 bets. These people will bet 20% or more of their bankroll on every play. Over the long haul, you will lose money with this approach, but it could very well triple your account in a couple of days if successful. Just be sure to have a goal in mind. Eg., deposit $200 and be very risky until you balance reaches $600, and then calm down a bit.

One Chunk at a Time (my favorite)

As an investor I want a goal, a plateua to aim for. If my $1,000 turns into $1,3000 using one of the methods above that's great, but I'll still feel like I'm at step one of infinity because there is no end in site. This investment strategy focuses on short sprints to reach a goal. After every sprint you will have either succeeded or failed. The overall goal is to have more successes than failures. Alter as you please, but my method involves taking your actual bankroll and breaking it down into several smaller bankrolls, and playing with one of those bankrolls at a time. This is also great for people who are starting off with a very small bankroll and are okay with being risky. These people could very well use their entire bankroll as the "smaller" bankroll.

I'm going to take my $1,000 bankroll and turn it into five smaller bankrolls of $200 each. I will simply play my $200 until I either double it or exhaust it. Once one of these two endings happens, I start over with a new bankroll of $200. I am starting with five mini-bankrolls, and my long term goal is to have as many mini-bankrolls as possible.

This method is great for those who want the satisfaction of immediate results as well as the security of a long term investment.

The Benefits of a Professional Picking Service

Professional handicapping services allow you to place expert picks without doing all of the work. Some people should invest in these services and some shouldn't waste their money. Which category do you fall into?

Who Benefits from a Handicapping Service

Anybody that bets on sports for the purpose of making money will benefit form a handicapping service. Those who do loads of research on their own will benefit from a second opinion. Those who would like to invest in sports betting but do not have the time or interest to research every game will benefit by having these picks provided for them. When deciding on which handicapping service to go with you must make sure that your bankroll is large enough to make the price of the service worth it. For example, last baseball season our picking service made a profit of 126.16 units. Our subscription price, at the time of writing this, is $549.99 for an entire year. So, if you only bet on baseball, in order for our picking service to be worth purchasing you must be betting at least $4.35 per wager. Every dollar bet over $4.35 resulted in a $126 profit on the season. For more guidelines on picking a handicapping a service, see our article Keys to Picking a Handicapping Service.

Who Won't Benefit from a Handicapping Service

People who don't practice proper money management techniques will not benefit from a professional handicapping service. People who only like to place bets occasionally for a big game will probably not benefit from such a service. Generally, if making money isn't your primary goal then you probably don't need to invest in a picking service.

Keys to Picking the Right Handicapping Service

Once you have decided that investing in a picking service is worth it, it is not time to decide which service is right for you. There are plenty of legitimate services out there, but there are probably about ten times that many scam sites. We're going to give you some pointers in how to spot a keeper, and how to dismiss the scam.

Is That Service a Scam?

  • Does the service guarantee that its picks will be winners? Even rookie bettors understand that there is no such thing as a guaranteed winner. Steer clear of sites that offer these picks.
  • Does the service post their picks at the start of each game? Sites that don't do this may still be legitimate, but be careful. Anybody can post winning picks after the games have ended.

Other than following these two points, you need to rely on your common sense to spot the scams. If a service sounds too good to be true then it probably is.

Which Legitimate Service Should I pick?

After concluding that a service is legitimate you must look at the cost-benefit ratio of each service. If you can only afford to place $1 bets then you will obviously be more concerned with the price of the service than the projected ROI (return on investment). However, if you are placing $10,000 bets then your only real concern is the ROI as the cost of the service will almost nothing relative to the wager size. Most people will fall somewhere in between these two extremes. For all of you that do fall in the middle, it's time to bust out a calculator and figure out which service is going to make you the most money.


IMPORTANT: The information contained on this site is for news and entertainment purposes only. Any use of this information in violation of any federal, state or local laws is prohibited. This information comes without any implied or guaranteed accuracy. This information is not intended for the purposes of betting. Should you choose to wager based on this information, whether legally or illegally, you agree to do so at your own risk and to accept any and all consequences of such actions as your own, be they legal, financial or otherwise.