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PostHeaderIcon Top Five Beginner Mistakes In Online Poker

In your life you encounter some rules that are Golden, rules that really apply. Once you find them you should always remember and don’t forget them.They can show you how throughout all your life. When you define your goals, begin searching for the Golden Rules that connect with it. Chart your course by these Golden Rules and allow them to guide you to achievement and success.

Golden Rules, the 5 best ones for beginning to play Online Poker for real money.

Golden Rule # 1, Be patient and play tight..The tried and tested purpose of doing it this way is that when you are new to poker, you avoid alot of trouble situations by folding marginal hands like T8 off suit and A7 suited. Once you become more experienced, you can expand your opening range and play more hands but at the beginning, tight is always right.. Remember, if you play the top 15 starting hands in poker, you will always have an edge over your opponents who play junk hands.

Golden Rule # 2, Don’t play above your bankroll or with money you can’t afford to lose. It would be best to manage this carefully because the psychological effects of playing with money that you can’t afford to lose is immense, you will often find yourself making mistakes when you place too much emphasis on the value of your stack and what it can buy in the real world. Understand that you should only ever play with money that you can afford to lose.

Golden Rule # 3, Don’t play out of position. This is certainly advisable because more experienced players will tear you apart when you start playing hands out of position, this means in early positions such as under the gun.

Golden Rule # 4, Don’t bluff too much.. If you want you can do this by carefully selecting your places to bluff and by setting up your bluffs so that 90% of the time you will have the nuts but on the odd occasion you can get away with bluffing. Bluffing too frequently is just putting chips in the middle with nothing and will get you nowhere.

Golden Rule # 5, Leave your emotions at the door. Ways to accomplish this step include not playing above your bankroll, taking regular breaks, not playing when drunk, and remembering that a bad beat is a good thing because you’ve gotten your money in with the best of it. You’ll want to accomplish this carefully. It is essential to becoming a very good poker player.

Whenever you follow these golden rules to beginning to play online poker for real money and you will become a very profitable player, you will find your life easier, your progress speedier as well as your successes more pronounced and frequent.

Want to find out more about online poker? Visit our section on poker strategy articles on our website Rakeback Power.

PostHeaderIcon Getting Started With Online Poker: A Beginner’s Guide

Online Poker is a booming multimillion dollar industry with fortunes won and lost everyday. As a poker player keen to start playing in the online poker world, it can be daunting with some many poker rooms and bonuses available.

There are many common mistakes and pitfalls that can be easily avoided and this article aims to deliver over ten years of online poker experience is an easy to follow guide.

1) Select a popular, reputable poker room – Obvious but often overlooked. The most popular poker sites are also the most reputable and these include Pokerstars, Full Tilt Poker, Ultimate Bet and Cake Poker. Choose one of these to start with.

2) Choose a rakeback provider to sign up to the poker room – When you sign up, you have the option of getting bonuses and rakeback for the rest of your poker career. There are numerous around but you need to sign up through a Rakeback Website in order to maximise profits. Rakeback sites provide a) Deposit Bonus, b) Rakeback, and c) Rake Races. Some popular sites include Rakeback Power, Rakebrain and Raketherake.

3) Get used to the poker room and practice with play money – Start at the play money tables. Tweak the poker room settings to your liking and get used to buttons, sounds, and graphics. When you are comfortable with the room, it’s time to consider a real money deposit. Deposit Bonuses usually match your initial deposit i.e. Deposit $600 and get a $600 Bonus. The bonuses are slowly released after you play a certain number of hands.

4) Finances and Depositing – There are a few security procedures to go through when depositing real money. Often you might need to provide evidence including a license and utility bill to ensure you are a real person. There are many deposit options available and you should take the time to read through the different options available and work out the best for you. A recommended international and secure option is Neteller.

5) Strategies and Forums – There are an abundance of strategy and forum websites on the internet to assist you. Two Plus Two is a recommended website.

6) Reading Material – I recommend reading as many books on poker as you can get your hands on. Two recommended first books include Harrington on Holdem and Super System. Both excellent beginners books.

7) Software – I would firstly recommended Holdem Manager – A database that records all the hands you play so that you can review mistakes. It also allows you to have real time statistics about your opponents while you play. Table Ninja is a use program that allows you to use hot keys instead of clicking the buttons – Very useful if playing many tables.
8) Training Websites – Numerous poker training sites exist to make you a better play and the leading site would be Card Runners – packed full of poker training videos for all games and skill levels, blogs, strategy forums and coaching also available. Worth checking out. Other training sites include Deuces Cracked, Poker Savvy, Grind School and Poker Pwnage.

9) Bonus Whoring – As crude as it sounds, collecting multiple deposit bonuses is a very legitimate and recommended way of generating a bankroll early in your poker career.

10) Have fun and look after yourself – Poker is supposed to be entertaining. It can be hard on your financially and emotionally, but also very rewarding. Take the time out to relax a little and try to keep smiling.

Looking to find the best deal on Poker Rakeback and Bonuses, then visit www.rakebackpower.com to find the best advice on the best rakeback deals for you.

PostHeaderIcon A Look At Horse Mats

Animals are a great joy to many people who take a lot of pride in tending to the needs of their pets. Providing them a clean dry place to live is just as important as making sure they have plenty of water, food and exercise. Horses have some additional needs that can be managed by the use of horse mats that help maintain health and cleanliness of the horse stables.

Cleaning out the horse stalls is probably the least enjoyable experience for an equestrian, but with the help of easy to clean mats the job takes much less time. With the extra time you have more time to enjoy riding and just being with your favorite equine friend. There are plenty of reasons to go horseback riding.

Once the horse stables are clean it is time to go riding, and every good equestrian knows that is the best time of all. Fresh air, sunshine and a nice breeze, there is nothing else that can equal the sensation of being so free. Over hill, over dale, and off to the neighbors house to meet with the rest of riders.

There is no other way for an equestrian to spend time than horseback riding with friends. However, you are glad you bought mats for the trailer to help the horses keep their balance while pulling off down the road. With horses loaded the sense of adventure mounts and the riders load up in their trucks and off to the new trail ride.

Having arrived at the destination, the horses are being unloaded and everyone saddles up for the ride to the hills. Saddles and bridles of all types and descriptions jingle a tune only an equestrian sing along with. There a sense of lyrics that fill the atmosphere with the days of fun ahead. Riding off into the forest are an assortment of horse breeds in many sizes and shapes.

Someone shouts out the way to go and all the other riders rein their mounts to follow in that direction. A short distance down the path and the opening of a large cave looms on the left, as some of the horses become skittish and jump to the side. Riders grab leather in an effort to hold on, and everyone cheers and shouts as laughter fills the air.

There is no other aroma like those experienced in the forest of earthen smells, mixed with the fresh air coming in on a breeze, and a picnic table in the clearing invites the riders to stop and rest. Tying their horses to the hitch rail, and removing the food items from saddle bags, the club begins to start a fire in the cook pit. There are plenty of hamburgers to grill of the fire, and someone brought enough marshmallows for everyone to enjoy.

This place was chosen for the saddle club meeting because just around the cliff side is a natural waterfall that fills a pond nearly half the size of a football field. After everyone has enjoy the cook out and roasting marshmallows, they mount up on the horses riding bareback and head for the water. The horses especially like to swim and the riders hang onto the thick manes.

Looking for a cost-effective stall mat for your horses? These environmentally-friendly rubber mats may be just what you need. These stall flooring provide comfortable support for your horses, and help to relieve join pressure and can absorb shocks.

PostHeaderIcon Surf Travel And Real Time Vacation

It is an undeniable truth that surfing is one of most incredible activity for people of all ages. Basically, the most important equipment that a surfing enthusiast should have is the surf board. A surf board is utilized by the surfer to ride or move along the giant waves. Another important requirement in surfing is obviously the giant waves from the ocean. And because the world is blessed with several bodies of water, surf travel becomes popular. Whether surfing enthusiasts or those experienced ones, they often hop from one surfing destination to another. Fundamentally, their travel to different places to seek a totally unique surfing experience and is influenced by the following factors at the same time.

Climatic conditions. Because there’s a required water temperature for surfing, surfers constantly prevent to surf in wintry months of a specific spot. They travel simply because they wish to surf in a really favorable atmosphere for learning and for mastering a surfing skill.

Beautiful sceneries. More often than not, it is not solely surfing that entices surfing enthusiast to try out different surfing destinations. It is the place and its spectacular atmosphere and view. At times, surfing is just part of the several reasons why they do travels. Actually, their ultimate reason is to spend time to unwind with their loved ones and families. They want to break free from the humdrum of their ’structured life.’ Nevertheless, surfing is still one important reason they do surf travel.

Experience diverse culture. Several surfers are naturally socially inclined. So these people adore interacting with new people and discovering the diverse cultures in the entire world. They love doing it simply because they’re continuously in search for new ideas and new insights and they are certainly important for looking for life’s meaning. Indeed, these people become philosophical since they’re carrying out what the majority of people do once they spend holiday. They ’soul search.’

Food and beverage. The exploration of surfers is also not limited to tasting delectable dishes and drinking classic wines in different places. In other words, they not only need to satisfy their mental and psychological needs, they also have to succumb to physical necessities which include unabashed consumption. The dishes and wines are few of the quintessential reasons why people love to surf travel around the world.

Family Bond. Traveling to surf various beaches is a very valuable chance. This really is primarily because it can be used to enhance the relationship of the family members. Living inside a home or traveling to different places, whether or not to surf, as long as the entire family is intact is incomparable.

Generally, surfing is one of the most interesting and popular sports in the world. There have been competitions and contests that aim to gather amateur and seasoned surfers from different countries. All of them want to experience the burst of water, the huge waves and of course the panoramic view of the beach. As for some surf enthusiasts who are big on vacation, they travel because they know how to get a life.

Surfing is a hobby that everyone will surely love. There are certain places offering this service such as Surf travel. Or you may want to try surf ireland.

PostHeaderIcon Japan’s Judo Gold Medalist Satoshi Ishii Looks For A ‘Home’ In MMA

It may be a bit of a stretch to call Satoshi Ishii the Michael Phelps of Japan, but not by much. His victory in the heavyweight judo competition at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing was easily the defining moment of the games for his countrymen and was considered by most media outlets the #1 highlight of the year in all of sports. Though Japan does well at the Olympics for a country of its size and has won gold medals in a number of sports, its important to keep in mind that until the late’70s judo was the country’s most popular sport.

Ishii himself is also a marketing dream. Hes especially big by Japanese standards with 240 pounds packed on his bulky 511 frame. Not surprisingly, hes tough as nails and a terror on the mat but away from the gym he comes off like an awkwardly cheerful overgrown boy. He definitely seems younger than his 22 years, but gives off the vibe of a nice neighbor boy who youd gladly pay to mow your lawn. Unlike his telegenic American gold medalist counterpart Phelps, who acts as if he spent as much time working on media relations as his backstroke heading up to the Olympic games, Ishii’s demeanor is of an athlete who literally spent the bulk of his life in a gym only to emerge and find himself a national hero.

With the ability to offer him the most money and exposure, it seemed almost a fait accompli that Ishii would sign with DREAM and K-1 parent group FEG. Obviously its a good idea to keep your options open in negotiations, so he also reportedly talked to Sengoku parent World Victory Road and Antonio Inoki’s Inoki Genome Federation pro wrestling group. As expected, however, FEG reportedly presented Ishii with the most lucrative offer: 500 million yen (roughly $5.5 million US) to fight on DREAM and K-1 cards, with incentive bonuses based on his drawing power and performance. He would very likely become the highest paid mixed martial artist in the world before he’d even stepped into the ring for the first time. The tentative plan was for Ishii to appear on the year end K-1/DREAM Fields Dynamite! joint show, if not fighting at least in a heavily hyped opportunity for FEG to unveil their investment.

Ishii then shocked the Japanese fight sport world by categorically rejecting FEGs offer, saying that it was his lifelong dream to fight in the UFC. While this rationale might sound plausible to a US based fan, its akin to a top college baseball player from a SEC school turning down a big offer from the Atlanta Braves saying that its his lifelong dream to play for the Yomiuri Giants in Japan Central League. It frequently comes a shock to US MMA fans when immersed in Japans culture for the first time just how low the UFC ranks in the countrys fight sport pantheon. In MMA, their profile is lower than DREAM and Sengoku, but even smaller groups like Shooto and DEEP. Overall, the interest in and prestige of the UFC is well below not only boxing but even Japanese pro wrestling (puroresu).

Ishii then travelled to Las Vegas for UFC 92, with the Japanese media in tow covering his every move. There were countless photo opportunities with Dana White, who spoke of Ishii in glowing terms, along with top UFC stars. Upon his return to Japan, he was repeatedly photographed wearing UFC t-shirts while speaking enthusiastically about Dana White, Lorenzo Fertitta and everyone else involved with the promotion.

At age 22, Ishiis got plenty of time to develop as a fighter. His biggest downside risk from signing with Zuffa is financial since hed be lucky to get a fraction of what FEG is willing to pay him. The competitive logic of learning his craft slowly notwithstanding, theres a huge risk in automatically assuming that he can fight for the UFC for a few years and then cash a big check when he returns to Japan as the potential of injury and changing market conditions could seriously impact his market value.

Theres another very realistic scenario that it was all a negotiating ploy by Ishii. The UFC was likely willing to play along, figuring that their investment of a few plane tickets and hotel suites would be worth the resulting PR surge in Japan.

With the recent revelation that Ishii has broken off UFC negotiations to entertain offers from other parties thats starting to look like the plausible explanation for the once hot and heavy courtship between Ishii and Zuffa.

As a postscript to the Ishiis relationship with the UFC, it apparently opened the doors for his move to the US where hell be training with the American Top Team in Florida. That alone is a positive for his future development as a fighter, as hell be training with a whos who of professional fighting.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

PostHeaderIcon Browns Best Bills In NFL ‘Futility Bowl’

In a matchup between two of the worst offenses in the NFL, someone had to win. Despite producing only 9 first downs and’3 yards of total offense, the Cleveland Browns got a late game field goal from Billy Cundiff to defeat the Buffalo Bills 6-3 and win their first game of the season. The Bills had the more productive afternoon statistically, with- first downs and 288 yards of offense but were undone by three costly turnovers. Both teams are now 1-4 on the 2009 NFL season.

To successfully bet on the NFL, one needs to find opportunities to play underdogs”this is particularly true in games where neither team is expected to put many points on the board. Such was the case here, as Cleveland easily covered the pointspread as +6 road underdogs. Both teams are now 2-3 against the number on the season. The Browns have now won and covered the last three head to head matchups between the teams. The 9 points scored came nowhere near the total of 41 for an easy UNDER. The Browns have now gone UNDER in 3 of their 5 games this season, while Buffalo has OVER on three of their five posted NFL totals.

It was a game without many highlights. The Browns got on the board first with a 24 yard Cundiff field goal in the second quarter, and took that 3-0 lead into the locker room at halftime. Buffalo would tie the score in third on a Rian Lindell 36 yard field goal. That would set the stage for Cundiff to nail the game winner from’ yards out with: 23 left to play. Despite todays victory, Cleveland is averaging a woeful 11 points per game this season. Buffalo’s PPG numbers are slightly better thanks to decent scoring output in their first two games of the season–theyre averaging just over 15 points per contest. In the Bills last three games, however, theyre averaging a meager 6.6 points per game.

The real loser in Sundays contest may have been Buffalo head coach Dick Jauron. Many were surprised that he was retained after the Bills third straight 7-9 season last year and things have gone from bad to worse so far in the 2009 NFL season. Buffalo has lost to winless teams in back to back weeks, part of a three game losing streak. Overall, the Bills have wound up losers in 12 of their last 15 games. Not that Cleveland has done much better–the win today ended a 10 game losing streak, one short of the all time franchise record.

Cleveland will have a tough road assignment next Sunday, heading to Pittsburgh to face the World Champion Steelers. Theyll return home for a game against the Green Bay Packers on October 25th before playing the Chicago Bears in The Windy City the following week. Buffalo will play the next two on the road, heading to the Meadowlands next Sunday for a game against the New York Jets followed by a trip to Charlotte, NC to take on the Carolina Panthers. Theyll return home on November 1st to face the Houston Texans.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer and highly respected authority on baseball betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

PostHeaderIcon The History Of Horse Racing At Del Mar

Southern California’s Del Mar Racetrack has been somewhat forgotten by the general public in recent years, overshadowed by East Coast venues like Churchill Downs and Belmont Park. The reality is that the 72 year old track has a history to rival their better known counterparts. Operated by the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and located 20 miles North of San Diego, its perhaps most famous for its iconic slogan “Where The Surf Meets the Turf” but that only scratches the surface of its star studded history.

The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club was founded in the mid’30s, and they immediately turned their attention to building a world class horse racing venue. The names that were instrumental in the creation of Del Mar include a whos who of American entertainment–most notably Bing Crosby, Oliver Hardy (of Laurel and Hardy) and Jimmy Durante. At the time the facility opened thoroughbred horse racing was the second most popular sport in America behind major league baseball, and Del Mar’s show biz roots further helped secure its place as an important stop on the racing circuit.

Additionally, the star power involved with the project also provided a trendy cachet that the tonier race courses back East lacked. Bing Crosby himself greeted patrons at the gate on opening day, and during the late’30s and early’40s it became a place to be seen for Hollywood A-listers and those who aspired for celebrity. In addition to known gambling enthusiasts like W.C. Fields, Edgar Bergen and Red Skelton, the Del Mar patrons during that time also included some of the top female stars of the era including Ava Gardner, Paulette Goddard and Dorothy Lamour.

In’38, Del Mar hosted an internationally anticipated match race between Seabiscuit and Ligaroti. This event drew a record crowd and gained worldwide notoriety for the track. Seabiscuit won the $25,000 winner-take-all duel by a nose, and would forever be enshrined in the annals of American popular culture. Horse racing at Del Mar continued to be a smash until the facility went dark in’41 due to World War II. It would remain closed until’45, and for a time was used as a training facility by the military.

After the war Del Mar didn’t miss a beat, and reopened the day after Japan surrendered to Allied Forces in Tokyo Bay. That day drew over 21,000 fans to the park and set a new wagering record of over $950,000. The track flourished during the post war economic boom years, and improved transportation between the major urban centers in Southern California–along with a new crop of stars including Mickey Rooney, Jimmy Durante and Desi Arnez, Jr.–kept the track in the limelight.

Del Mar remains a viable part of the thoroughbred community to this day. Theyve updated their facility, with a state of the art grand stand and most recently a synthetic polytrack surface that was installed in 2007. The racing season at Del Mar begins in mid July, and hosts crowds of 20,000+ on a daily basis throughout.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance writer and respected authority on baseball betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

PostHeaderIcon Minnesota Loses First Game Of Season

Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings are undefeated no more. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ used a couple of big plays from their defense in the fourth quarter to break open a close game and defeat the Vikings by a final score of 27-17. Favre put up decent yardage in the loss, throwing for 334 yards but had no touchdowns and an interception. The defending Superbowl Champion Steelers improved to 5-2, while the Vikings are now 6-1.

NFL pointspread players who backed the Steelers as -6 home favorites were rewarded with the cover. Pittsburgh had only covered one of their first six games heading into the contest, and the win improved their record against the number to 2-5. Minnesota dropped to 4-3 against the spread with the setback.

The Steelers largely shut down Minnesota’s rushing game, holding Adrian Peterson to 69 yards. Pittsburgh safety Ryan Clark underscored his team’s dominance against the run:

“That’s the biggest point of the game. You have the best running back in the world and you don’t give it to him. They’re saying they can’t beat us running, and that’s a major statement when you have the guy they have back there.”

Favre gave a feeble justification for the loss in his postgame interview:

“There were a lot of what ifs, a lot of reasons we didn’t win. The red zone was one of them. They’re physical, and they were as good as we thought they’d be. … When I came here and looked at our schedule and saw the Steelers game, I went, ‘Oh-h-h.’ ”

Favre has only thrown three interceptions in a Vikings’ uniform, but #3 was a costly one as it was returned by Steelers’ Keyaron Fox for a touchdown to put the game out of reach as Minnesota was driving for a potential game tying field goal. Afterwards, Fox recalled the play:

“Brett tried to force it in there and the running back bobbled it and slipped out of his hands and it fell into my lap. I had just run across the field after Peterson and I was winded, so it felt like it was 100-plus yards.”

The Vikings now face another big game next week as they head to Favre’s old stomping grounds in Green Bay for a battle with the Packers. It’ll be Favre’s first appearance at his old home in an enemy uniform. The Vikings are a +3 road underdog with the total set at 48. The Vikings will then have a bye weekend before hosting the lowly Detroit Lions on November 15. Pittsburgh will enjoy a bye week this week before returning to action on Monday, November 9th facing the Denver Broncos on the road.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and respected authority on baseball betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

PostHeaderIcon Chiefs Beat Struggling Redskins

The offensively struggling Kansas City Chiefs have finally found a way to win-play a team with a more stagnant offense than their own. The Chiefs gave Todd Haley his first win as a NFL head coach on Sunday with a—6 win over the Washington Redskins. Kansas City is now 1-5 on the NFL season, while the Redskins slumped to 2-4.

To successfully bet on NFL football you occasionally have to put aside W/L records and look at the underlying statistics. Those who did that found reason to take Kansas City as +6′ road underdogs and were rewarded with the outright victory. Kansas City is now 2-4 against the NFL pointspread and has covered two straight while Washington is a dismal 1-5 versus the money. The 20 combined points went well UNDER the posted total of 36′.

After the contest, Haley sounded more relieved than excited about finally putting a “W” on the board:

“We made it pretty difficult, right down to the end. We’ve pushed through a very difficult period. We needed to get some positive reinforcement with a win.”

Kansas City QB Matt Cassel also won for the first time since coming over from New England in the off season. His postgame comments were more upbeat:

“There’s been a lot of change, but this has definitely been special. We rose to the occasion. We made some big plays. We put ourselves in a position to score points.”

Embattled Redskins’ coach Jim Zorn was stripped of his offensive play calling duties by team management after the contest. In one of his last decisions in that role, he pulled starter Jason Campbell at halftime and went with Todd Collins. He explained his move as follows:

“I felt the need to create a spark on our football team offensively and went with Todd. I think the guys responded well. We kept our spark, at times, and then we refizzled.”

The Redskins have managed to win only two of their first six games despite being the only team in NFL history to play their first six games of the season against winless opponents. They’ll get another chance to silence their doubters next Monday night as they host the Philadelphia Eagles. The Skins are +6′ home underdogs with the total set at 38′. They’ll have a bye the next week and return to action on November 8th against the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome. Kansas City will try to string together back to back wins as they host the San Diego Chargers on Sunday. There’s currently no line on the game pending San Diego’s Monday Night Football contest against the Denver Broncos.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on baseball betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

PostHeaderIcon Cowboys Beat Falcons Behind Romo’s Big Day

Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback Tony Romo has been plagued by inconsistency over the past two seasons, but on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons he was in top form. Romo threw for 311 yards and 3 touchdowns with no interceptions as Dallas ripped the visiting Falcons by a final score of 37-21. Backup receiver Miles Austin had another solid game in place of injured starter Roy Williams, with 171 yards receiving and two touchdown grabs. Both teams are now 4-2 on the NFL season.

NFL betting enthusiasts who backed Dallas as -5′ home favorite were rewarded with a pointspread victory. The Cowboys evened their mark against the NFL pointspread at 3-3, while Atlanta slipped to 4-2 against the number.

In his postgame comments to the media, Romo gave props to the undrafted Austin for making the best of his opportunity:

“He’s definitely a big part of this offense. I’m glad to see all his hard work and effort is paying off.”

Dallas owner Jerry Jones commended Romo on his performance:

“I think that you’ve got a wiser and you’ve got a more experienced Tony Romo than of old, and I think you see he’s still got some of that instinctive thing that he can make plays and make winning plays.”

The Cowboys’ defense pestered the Falcons’ Matt Ryan into two interceptions, and 34 year old Keith Brooking was a big part of that. Based on his comments after the game, there may be some ’sour grapes’ after he was cut loose by the Falcons after 11 seasons in an Atlanta uniform:

“The last thing I was told by one of the coaches is this is a young man’s game. I guess an old man can still play in this league.”

Patrick Crayton returned a punt for a touchdown and caught a Romo pass for another. Cowboys’ coach Wade Phillips had this praise for him:

“Crayton is the kind of guy you want on your football team. He’s going to make plays when he has opportunities.”

Losing quarterback Matt Ryan had little to say about the defeat:

“It’s frustrating because we feel we can play better.”

Atlanta has a difficult road challenge ahead as they travel south to face the red hot New Orleans Saints next Monday night. The Falcons have been installed as +10 road underdogs with the total set at 54. Dallas will host the Seattle Seahawks this weekend, with the Cowboys a -9′ home favorite and the total set at 45. They’ll play on the road the following two Sundays against the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and World Cup betting sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.