In his first ever managerial post, Roy Keane, has proved just as inspirational in the dressing room as he was on the pitch, taking Sunderland back to the Premiership as Championship winners. To achieve immortality at the Stadium of Light however, Keane must now develop a team that can not only reach the Premiership, but stay there. PinnacleSports.com might rate eight other teams as bigger outsiders than Sunderland in their Premiership betting market, but at 251.00, the Black Cats are still a very long shot.

While the last issue of the Pinnacle Pulse introduced the basics of runline betting strategies in Major League Baseball, this week we will focus on tactical considerations when betting baseball, and the potential benefit of Alternate Runlines at PinnacleSports.com.

Futures markets are interesting animals. From PinnacleSports.com’s perspective, we know that there are individuals who are extremely sharp at betting futures, but discovering who the sharp bettors may be and how sharp they actually are can often take most of a year. Other times, you are lucky enough to catch on to them during shorter duration tournaments, and can then piggyback their moves when it comes to the opening season futures markets.

Just one week before the opening fixtures of the new Premiership season, current champions, Manchester United and FA Cup holders, Chelsea, face each other in the traditional pre-season taster, the Community Shield, taking place at Wembley for the first time in seven years. Leading online sportsbook, PinnacleSports.com, have priced United as favourites 1.926 (pk/scratch), with Chelsea, marginal underdogs at 2.00 (pk/scratch) and will be offering live betting throughout the match.

As the new Premiership takes shape, football bettors might benefit from reassessing their approach to betting on the English top flight. In recent seasons, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Man Utd (more commonly known as ‘the big four’) have widened the gap between themselves and the rest of the league as their financial strength has allowed them to consolidate their power, particularly when playing at home.

The Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, venue for the 2007 US PGA Championships also hosted the US Open in 2001, which was won by, Retief Goosen, who on that basis may attract some money at PinnacleSports.com. Goosen bagged the Qatar Masters earlier in the year maintaining a record of at least one win a year since 1995. However, the South African’s record at the US PGA is poor with a tied-sixth in 2005 standing out as the only top 20 finish in nine attempts. He has failed to make the cut on four other occasions, while it’s been two years since he won on the PGA tour.

Reading will have no time to settle into the new Premiership campaign, as they face a trip to Old Trafford on day one, followed by a home fixture against Chelsea. The Royals’ approach to those two games will give a useful insight into what they are capable of achieving in their difficult second season, though PinnacleSports.com rate them one of eight outsiders at 401.00 for overall glory in their Premiership betting market.

Though PinnacleSports.com rate Portsmouth as long outsiders at 401.00 in their Premiership betting market, they look solid enough to maintain their status in the English top flight for the foreseeable future. Fratton Park is a formidable venue; despite having the league’s smallest capacity it is arguably one of the most intimidating. Last season Portsmouth lost just three times at home beating Man Utd, Liverpool and Everton, where their form was the cornerstone of their campaign, finishing ninth.

Bundesliga Betting Analysis from PinnacleSports.com

It is a familiar joke at the country’s expense to ask someone to name five famous Belgians. Belgium may have a low-profile but probably the biggest event in its sporting calendar is the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, where with only a couple of exceptions, the race has consistently been held since 1985. Just as Belgian chocolate is the favourite for fans of the confectionary, out of the entire F1 calendar the Belgian circuit is the one most drivers and a great many fans rate as their favourite.

Although many bettors only bet the money-line in baseball, betting the run-line (also known as the handicap) can offer better value in some cases. Bettors have historically avoided the run-line markets for several reasons: the inability of the player to comparison shop money-lines versus run-lines; the high ‘juice’ or commission often carried by run-lines; and the double margins attached to run-lines (-110, bet $110 to win $100 on both sides at pick’em versus –105, bet $105 to win $100). The key to success with run-lines is being able to make the proper conversion to a money-line equivalent so as to use simple price comparison to find the best value.

While Locke is busy teaching you how to bet on that most American of pastimes (no, not Competitive Eating… Baseball), it seems like a good time to mention that the world’s game has still been going strong all summer long. Nearly all of the world’s biggest soccer leagues take a summer hiatus, but one look at the betting menu of PinnacleSports.com will show you that there is still plenty of action to bet on. Aside from the large summer tournaments like the Copa America, games are also being played in most of Northern Europe and South America. Granted, many of these leagues don’t have the big name players to capture the imagination of most bettors, but by ignoring the so-called ‘micro-leagues’ you are missing out on a lot of potential betting value.

The first qualifying round of the Champions League is now complete, leaving 14 teams by the wayside, while the same number progress to round two starting July 31st, where PinnacleSports.com will be providing a complete Champions League betting menu. Those successful sides from the first round of two leg (home & away) fixtures will probably be unfamiliar to all but the most serious soccer bettors, but in round two they will meet some far more familiar names.

Newcastle United Football Club, consistently one of the Premiership’s biggest under-achievers, approach the 2007/08 season with a renewed optimism summed up in the slogan ‘New players, new leader, new era’.

Gareth Southgate had a very mixed first season in charge of Middlesbrough football club. Having been given special dispensation allowing him to take first managerial post despite lacking a UEFA coaching badge, he saw his side humbled in the opening game of last season at newcomers Reading, before beating Chelsea at the Riverside, then followed that stunning victory with a 4-0 home defeat by Portsmouth.

Champions League Betting Preview - The Long Road to Moscow Starts Now

One simple tactic can improve the results of the majority of bettors. Amazingly, only a small portion of players take advantage of it at the Pinnacle Sports book. That betting strategy is to bet early. Overnight lines are the betting world’s gift to players, allowing them to get good numbers across the board. It even helps you pick better sides! Once you experiment with betting overnight, it will quickly become clear that it offers you better value. I’m here to explain why, and how best to take advantage of that opportunity.

Welcome to the new, improved Pinnacle Pulse, from PinnacleSports.com, the leading online sports book. Those bettors who’ve been around for a while will know that each week’s Pinnacle Pulse gives an inside look at what dictates early line movements on key games: size of the movements, expected movement before game time, and the source of the money – professional or public.

Manchester City season ticket holders will be hoping for a better return on their investment for the forthcoming campaign than last season, where the Citizens scored just ten goals in nineteen home games. Their bitter rivals, Manchester United scored 36 more goals at Old Trafford on their way to the Premiership, putting City’s goalscoring shortcomings into stark perspective. PinnacleSports.com's Premiership betting market reflects this reality, quoting Man City at 207.09 to emulate their city neighbours in 2007/08.

Bundesliga Betting Preview - 2007/08 Season