Marc began handicapping professionally in 1975. He developed a love for the profession as a student in high school, where he met his beautiful wife and has been happily married with one child (Marc Jr.) since.
Achievements in handicapping: Through countless hours of hard work, determination, and his trusted database, Marc has been fortunate enough to win more documented Top 10 Handicapping Achievement Awards than anyone in the nation (over 500). More recent accomplishments include 8 winning seasons in last 9 years combined on the NFL and College Football gridiron (suffered first losing season in nine years in 2016). As a result he also had a string of 10 consecutive winning seasons in the NFL snapped last year as well. In addition he established an NFL season-long record going 28-9 during the 2014 regular season campaign as documented by the Sports Monitor in Oklahoma. Other top achievements include winning the 2008 Playbook Football Wise Guys Contest and the No.1 ranking in NFL Win Percentage in 2008 (by SPORTS WATCH in Las Vegas), Playbook Football Wise Guys Contest Best Bet Champion in 2007, No.1 ranking NFL Win Percentage (by SPORTS MONITOR in Oklahoma City) in 2006, and No. 1 ranking in College Football in 2005 (by SPORTS MONITOR in Oklahoma). Marc was also fortunate enough to win the prestigious STARDUST INVITATIONAL FOOTBALL CONTEST in 2005. In addition, and was named HANDICAPPER OF THE YEAR in 2005 by FOOTBALL NEWS. He reached the semifinals of the 2006 LEROYS MONEY TALKS CONTEST and the quarterfinals of the 2007 LEROYS MONEY TALKS CONTEST. in addition he also managed to establish a personal best 16-game win streak in MLB prior to the 2011 All-Star break.
Marc hosted both a weekly television and radio show called Marc Lawrence Against The Spread for 10 years in the late 1990’s. He currently writes a weekly NFL column for the USA TODAY Sports Weekly and has authored thousands of articles, while illuminating on the fact that three primary forms of sports handicapping exist. Those are Fundamental, Statistical and Technical. He believes that in order to be a successful handicapper one must be a well-rounded handicapper, meaning it’s critically important to blend all three forms into the handicapping equation. Marc relies heavily on a powerful database that allows me to query scores, stat and results of games played since 1980 in College and Pro Football, along with College and Pro Basketball. By being able to identify and recreate identical situations, and checking them against the database, he has come to rely on similar results created by this technical ‘cause and effect’. It’s like Winston Churchill once said, “The farther back you can look the farther forward you can see.” Applying these findings to statistical and fundamental matchups makes for a solid handicap. By applying ‘value’ to the handicap we learn to win in the long run. And winning, in the long run, is what it’s all about.
Marc also believes that fatal mistakes are made by players who fall in love with a certain team(s). The bottom line is they are all ‘machines’ and our job as handicappers is to identify those that are well oiled and hitting on all cylinders, and conversely those who are not. His primary focus is isolating on winning teams in underdog situations that have a good chance of winning the game in straight-up fashion. If they do, you win. If they don’t, but play well, you still win. If they do neither, you lose. I like those kinds of odds. Hence, Marc lives by the ‘Woody Hayes’ theory of handicapping. Hayes’ contention was that when you pass the ball, three things can happen and two of them are bad. When it comes to handicapping sporting events, three things can happen when you bet on a favorite, and two of them are bad. Conversely, three things can happen when you bet on a dog, and two of them are good. Think about that the next time you’re convinced a favorite can’t lose.
He lives his life by the GOLDEN RULE and applies it to his business practices as well. Nothing, absolutely nothing, overcomes dedication, experience, hard work and information. Together they help one make informed decisions. When it comes to Sports Handicapping Marc is truly one of the hardest working professionals in the industry. Because of his desire to be the very best handicapper he can possibly be, and his work ethic, he continues to burn the midnight oil working 12-14 hours a day, 7 days a week. The last time he took a vacation was on his 25th wedding anniversary over 25 years ago. Marc has learned over the years that the harder he works, the luckier he gets… and he's a real lucky guy.
2019 NFC NORTH PREVIEW By Marc Lawrence Welcome to the 2019 NFL North division preview, with excerpts from the 2019 PLAYBOOK Football Preview Guide magazine. In addition to the previews outlined below, these interesting scheduling statistical notes merit consideration, compliments of the 2019 MTI Regular Season NFL Win Report: Chicago – Bears … had 8…
2019 NFC EAST PREVIEW By Marc Lawrence Welcome to the 2019 NFC East division preview, with excerpts from the 2019 PLAYBOOK Football Preview Guide magazine. In addition to the previews outlined below, these interesting scheduling statistical notes merit consideration, compliments of the 2019 MTI Regular Season NFL Win Report: Dallas – Cowboys will face zero…
2019 AFC West Preview By Marc Lawrence Welcome to the 2019 AFC West division preview, with excerpts from the 2019 PLAYBOOK Football Preview Guide magazine. In addition to the previews outlined below, these interesting scheduling statistical notes merit consideration, compliments of the 2019 MTI Regular Season NFL Win Report: Denver – Broncos played ‘under’ their…
2019 AFC EAST PREVIEW By Marc Lawrence Welcome to my 2019 AFC East division preview, with excerpts from the 2019 PLAYBOOK Football Preview Guide magazine. In addition to the previews outlined below, these interesting scheduling statistical notes merit consideration, compliments of the 2019 MTI Regular Season NFL Win Report: Buffalo – Bills will face 3…
2019 AFC NORTH PREVIEW By Marc Lawrence Welcome to the 2019 AFC North division preview, with excerpts from the 2019 PLAYBOOK Football Preview Guide magazine. In addition to the previews outlined below, these interesting scheduling statistical notes merit consideration, compliments of the 2019 MTI Regular Season NFL Win Report: Baltimore – Ravens have not played…
Prior to the 2018-2019 NBA Season tipping off, Marc Lawrence provided capsules of each team in the league. It has come down now to the Toronto Raptors and the Golden State Warriors in The Finals with The Raptors having home court advantage. Take a look at what Marc had to say last Fall and join…
Welcome to the 2018-19 NBA season. Listed below is our preview of each team in the Western Conference. Note that all teams are listed alphabetically with the opening Westgate SuperBook season win totals on 8/5/18 contained in parenthesis. Be sure to join me this season for my top insights and selections on the NBA card…
Welcome to the 2018-19 NBA season. Listed below is our preview of each team in the Eastern Conference. Note that all teams are listed alphabetically with the opening Westgate SuperBook season win totals on 8/5/18 contained in parenthesis. Be sure to join me this season for my top selections on the NBA card at Against…
Welcome to the AGAINST THE NUMBER team preview report for the 2018 season. You will find an overview of what to expect from teams inside each division, along with key stats and an isolated ‘Best Bet’ on each team. We start first with teams from the AFC. I hope you enjoy the previews and I’ll look forward to working with you throughout the 2018…
Welcome to the AGAINST THE NUMBER team preview report for the 2018 season. You will find an overview of what to expect from teams inside each division, along with key stats and an isolated ‘Best Bet’ on each team. In this preview we feature teams from the NFC. I hope you enjoy the previews and I’ll look forward to working with you…
NBA Playoff Opening Round Betting Strategies By Marc Lawrence With help from our trusted, well-oiled database, let’s examine four key, time-tested, and proven theories that have lined our pockets during the opening round of playoffs since 1991. Here’s what the machine has to say as we head into the 2018 postseason. No. 8 Seeds Are…
You’ll never guess which team in the NBA is 10-0 ATS when coming off consecutive wins this season. With that and with the NBA taking a timeout for the All-Star break, there is no better time than the present to examine the condition of each team in the league at this stage of the season. From…
2017-18 NBA Betting Tips: Western Conference Preview By Marc Lawrence WESTERN CONFERENCE CAPSULES Teams are listed alphabetically with the Westgate SuperBook season win opening totals on 8/29/17 in parenthesis. Dallas Mavericks (35.5) – The big news in the offseason was that rather than bringing new impact talent to the team, owner Mark Cuban decided instead to…
2017-18 NBA Betting Tips: Eastern Conference Preview By Marc Lawrence EASTERN CONFERENCE CAPSULES Teams are listed alphabetically with the Westgate SuperBook season win opening totals on 8/29/17 in parenthesis. Atlanta Hawks (25.5) – Offseason losses of Dwight Howard, Paul Millsap, and Tim Hardaway Jr. ensures the Hawks’ 10-year playoff streak is history. The more relevant question…