This is the time of year when I have very mixed emotions. It is my favorite time of year because I love the NFL playoffs and of course the Super Bowl is the ultimate game. However it also signals that the end of the football betting season will soon be over.

Last week a received an e-mail from a reader wanting to know what percentage of games you need to win in order to make money when betting football and what percentage would constitute a good handicapper.

When you bet football in casino sports books you have to pay a percentage on losing bets. This is called the vig. The odds are 11-10 which means if you want to place a bet on a game to win $100. It would cost you $110. If you win you would collect $210. (Your $110 original wager and your $100 winnings.) Now to be a successful handicapper you have to make up for the vig on the losing bets so to breaks even you need to have a win percentage of 52.4 percent. If you can achieve a long time winning percentage of 55 percent it is considered very good. Anything over 60 percent is excellent however most bettors don't sustain this percentage over the long run.

The dogs were barking this weekend as they knocked out the top seeded teams in both the NFC and AFC. The most shocking for some was the Arizona Cardinals, who were 10 point underdogs destroying the Carolina Panthers by a score of 33-13. In the early game Saturday Baltimore beat Tennessee although I feel that Tennessee lost the game more than Baltimore won it. Sunday the Eagles walked all over the defending Super Bowl Champion Giants. The only favorite to win this weekend was Pittsburg beating San Diego. Next weekend the Eagles visit the Arizona Cardinals who continue to get no respect and will be underdogs again. Baltimore will visit the Pittsburg Steelers. Next week we will have one home favorite and one home dog.The opening lines are:

Pittsburg - 5 over Baltimore
Eagles - 3 over Arizona

Each year as players get ready to file their tax returns they notice the W-2Gs they have collected from the casinos over the past year after winning a jackpot amount of $1,200 or more. Although they may not have won more than they lost during the year, they are required to report these on their income tax. You can however deduct your losses if you have proof of your gambling activities. This can be done in the form of a gambling logbook. Unfortunately many players do not think about keeping a log until they get ready to file their tax returns for the previous year and by then it is too late. Since this is the start of a brand new year, now is a perfect time to start your 2009 gambling logbook. Here is what you need to know about keeping a logbook.

Last June Delaware law makers passed a resolution authorizing the budget finance director and controller general to conduct a study and submit a report to the legislature concerning a proposal to allow on sports wagering at the State's three casinos. The report was delivered in December and the General Assembly is expected to take up the matter when it convenes on January 13th. Gov.-elect Jack A. Markell has said that he will sign legislation to authorize wagering at tracks in Wilmington, Dover and Harrington, if the legislature passes it.

Delaware is one of the four States exempt from the 1992 Federal Sports Betting Ban.