One or two hot months does not make a great sports handicapper. Look back on the past 5 years (or more) to get a better idea. If a handicapper's records are not available, then you can bet that they aren't that good.

Many sports services document themselves. In theory, there is nothing wrong with doing this. Many handicappers record would greatly improve if they could get credit for the lines when they release their plays, instead of the closing line like they get credited for at the monitors. However, the problem with this is that many services that track themselves often manipulate numbers, always taking the best possible line for their records. In reality, their customers don't always get the best possible line every time.

I can't say that every sports service that is self-documented is dishonest, but I would be willing to bet that at least 99% of them are! Therefore, I would suggest choosing a handicapper that has all of his selections monitored by an independent 3rd party.

Unfortunately there are almost as many dishonest monitoring services as there are sports services out there. Some of them are actually owned by sports services themselves, so before jumping into any conclusions, is better that you have your stories straight.

Before you choose a specific handicapper, remember that some may be strong in the NFL, others in College Football. Still others may excel in their Top Plays, while some find success in the "overall" picture. Regardless, you should always be provided with information about them, free samples of their work, and documented results of their performance, this way you can be the judge.