Tomorrow at 4:30 EST starts one of the great weekends in sports - NFL Wild-Card Playoffs.  There are several interesting matchups, and all of the road teams are favored.  Today we will look at the Saturday games and their potential impact on earnings and guarantees.  All data can be found at www.protradereport.com.

Atlanta at Arizona - 4:30 EST - NBC
First, the teams.  Atlanta has been a great buy since about the middle of the season.  Over the last several days, their price has climbed significantly.  For Arizona, their recent struggles have managed to pull their price backs towards earnings.  The winner of this game is a small buy, and will have to wait until Sunday afternoon to know where they will travel for next weekend.

Looking at the Falcons players, all six IPO'd players could be buys at the end of the game.  With a win, they would all be fantastic projected buys.  There is not short on this team, barring a horrendous performance from Ryan.

Looking at the Cardinals players, the guys at the top will be good buys win or lose, but great buys with a win.  James and Leinart are no different than what they have been all season - just waiting to be shorted.

Indianapolis at San Diego - 8:00 - NBC
Looking at the teams, the Colts are priced expecting a victory.  San Diego received a bump following last week's clinching victory, but they are currently positioned to be a decent buy with the upset.

With the exception of Rhodes, all the Colts players are priced expecting a deep playoff run.  With this offense, earnings can pile up in hurry. But if they fall flat and lose, there will be some pretty good shorts to be had.

The Chargers players are split down the middle.  There are already four pretty good buys and three good shorts.  A win would make the top four even better buys, while the expected loss would make those bottom three good guaranteed shorts.

In-Game Trading
The most money in these games will most likely be made trading during the games.  I've had several requests from traders in my inbox or at my site to post a FAQ on in-game trading, as I have said many times before that most of my lifetime $3 million has come from just that.  While I am working on a broad look the topic for future release, I wanted to add to this post my thoughts on NFL for those wishing to brave it this weekend.  First off, this is not for everyone.  If you do not have a high-speed internet connection, forget about trying - these stocks move in seconds, not minutes.  You must be able to watch the game, not just have it on the television.  Now, if you can meet the first two criteria, you are ready to try.  It takes a little of getting the hang of it, but can be very profitable. 

Looking at the team stocks I ordinarily don't hold a position at the start of the game.  See how the game is flowing with momentum.  After the first team scores, I still do not buy/short.  If that team gets the ball back still leading, I then buy the leader and short the trailer.  As long as the score remains a one possession game, I swap my positions to buy whoever has possession of the ball.  Once the margin is 9 or more points I usually leave my team stocks alone until the margin closes again.  You will make small amounts on the teams in this method until the end of the game when the swings will get a little more volatile.  As soon as the game ends, as in 0:00 on the clock, get out of the team stocks quickly or be prepared to hold them for a while.  Most day-traders will cash out and you will lose in the short-term.

For players stocks, it is pretty simple.  Buy scores, short injuries.  If Michael Turner scores his prices will shoot up very quickly.  By the time Elam kicks the extra point, that price will be back around where it started.  You must be fast on the buy, and fast to get the sell screen back up tapping the get quote button (thus the need for the high-speed internet).   I would start off with that method, but once you master that, start anticipating scores.  If the Falcons have the ball 1st and goal at the 2, I'm buying Turner then expecting him to get the carry.  That way I'm ahead of the game and can get my sell screen up and ready.  If Ryan throws a pass, be ready to buy the receiver and dump Turner.  For injuries you what to do, just be ready to cover when they come back from commercial and that player is shown ready to rejoin the game.

This is what works for ME.  I'm sure others have similar methods with different tweaks that have worked for them.  One thing to notice is that those of us who rack up during the games have one thing in common:  we don't post during games.  If you are writing a post, you are wasting time.  I am not going to read it, and you are going to miss something in the game while you are writing. 

I hope those of you interested will find that discussion useful, and I will be adding it along with other in-game trading FAQs (including my bread and butter of NCAAB) at my site - www.protradereport.com. 

I will preview the Miami-Baltimore and the Philadelphia-Minnesota matchups tomorrow night.

Please Trade Responsibly

Utkman