Yesterday provided another fine example of the power of shopping (if only my wife were to hear me say that; yikes!). On the Cincy game, here were the lines at the four shops I frequent: +170, +180, +183 and +195. Guess which one I grabbed? If I had only the +170, I'd be $25 poorer if I was a $100 bettor. I'm not. I'm a nickle player. So, that put me $125 to the positive. Do that just ten times and voila, $1,250 richer! Get it yet?!
I received a few e-mails yesterday about the Minnesota/Seattle total. The selection I sent out showed the total at 7.5 -120, which is what I booked just before sending out the selections. That is how I work it. I make my wagers, then send out the selections.
By the time I placed my wager, some shops had the number at 7 while others had the 7.5 with higher odds. Those who placed the wager at 7 pushed; those who paid the price for the 7.5 won.
Was I making my number up? Did I pull the number out of thin air? Not at all. So what's up?
Well my friends, one of the basic lessons of sports wagering is you must deal with more than one shop. Why?
A number of reasons come to mind:
- if you have only one out and that site is down (for whatever reason), you'll be shut out. Doesn't happen very often, but it certainly has, especially during NFL Sunday.
- just like real life stores, each shop has different pricing. Not all the time, but certainly most of the time. I have four places I deal with and check EACH AND EVERY ONE of them before placing a wager. What's the big deal. Well, let's use last night as an example: one out had the Min/Sea total at 7, the other three at 7.5 at -133, -130 and -120. All different. Obviously I grabbed the -120. Winner. Had I lost, the difference between -120 and -130 is $10 per hundred dollar bet. If I lose 500 wagers, at $100 per wager and $10 extra dollars, that's an extra $5,000 I've just given away. So, is it worth it to shop around? You bet.
- There's always a "scalp" opportunity. Now, you need a ton of dough to make these worthwhile, but they're guaranteed money in the bank. What is a scalp? An example: one book has the NYY -150; Balt +135 and another has them at -170/+155. You would take the Yanks at -150 at the one book and Baltimore at +155 at the other. You perform certain mathematical computations to ensure you will win a specific amount. But, you need a ton of cash to make it worthwhile.
- Similar to a scalp, is the "middle" opportunity. This happens in sports where the point spread is key. NFL football for me presents the most opportunities. Example: one book has DAL -3, while another, on the same game, has NYG +4. You place large equal amounts on each, paying the juice if the number falls outside and locking up a win if it falls within the range. The biggest payoff is when you can find middle opportunities that pay both.
So, how difficult is it to shop around? A heck of a lot easier on-line than if you were in Vegas where you'd have to either hire runners or run around to each shop. There are services you can purchase that show, on one screen, sports book lines and line movements. I don't subscribe because I think I can handle monitoring four books on my own.
What's the down-side? The only down-side is that you need enough cash in each book to support your wagers. But even that you can play with. For example, there is one book I use 75% of the time for my baseball wagers. Another I use almost 80% of the time for basketball. One I hardly use at all but always check its lines. So I know where to put my money and I'm never caught short.
Which books should you use? Well that's a topic for a different day, but you must do your homework and sign up with books that have solid reputations. Don't get suckered in because of huge bonus promises. It's not worth it when you want to cash out and there are issues with you receiving your funds. More on that topic at a later date.
GET IN ON THE ACTION!
ANNOUNCEMENT: NFL SEASON
I've received plenty of e-mails asking about my NFL pricing. I DO NOT CHARGE AND SEND OUT SELECTIONS FOR THE NFL PRE-SEASON! I'll lay a few wagers here and there, but not enough to charge for the selections. If I have anything of significance, I'll pass it on to those who have purchased subscriptions/daily pass for MLB or who have purchased the subscriptions for the NFL. The regular season begins on September 6th. I'll have my pricing up by next weekend. It will be very competitive, that I promise (and honest, that I promise too!)
TRUST
From here on in, I will post my selections after the games begin so I can be monitored by you. If you've purchased a subscription and have received my selections, you'll already know what I will post on this blog but you'll also be able to authenticate my selections. For those of you still testing the waters, you'll miss out on some great wagering opportunities, but you will be able to track how the selections are performing.
To view my site and to continue with winning selections, click: PayWhenWin.com and purchase one of the various subscriptions that are offered. Or to immediately view the various subscription offerings, click: Offerings
THE MLB DAY PASS
If you like risky ventures or simply want to try the service, you can purchase one day of MB selections for just $24.95. It's risky because I could go 3-2 (and you'll pay $8 a winner) or I could go 7-2 (in which case you make out like a bandit or I could go 1-5.You must purchase by 11:00 am EST to receive any game that begins at 1:00 and by 5:00 pm to receive evening games. It's a great way to test out the service but a one-day performance in baseball is a risky venture. To see pricing, click here: MLB DAY PASS
DAILY SELECTIONS
Yesterday provided a great example of why I love betting baseball. What other sport can you go 5-6 on games and still come out a $94 winner? What a great come-back as I got pasted on the early games. The Yanks tie it up only to lose in extras and the BoSox have the tying run on second with none out and can't cash. I can't remember the last time I won an afternoon game during the week. Oh oh, don't look now but there are a few this afternoon. Cashing the big dogs of Cincy and St. Louis helped the cause big time yesterday. What a great night going 5-2. On to today.
MLB is in the home stretch. Sign-up at PayWhenWin.com to continue the winning.
MLB
Yesterday: 5-6 +$94
Season so far: 562-401 (58.4%) +$19,382
Today:
Three afternoon games today beginning at 2:00. I'll post the selections sent to subscribers on this blog some time after the first pitch is thrown. To get these selections prior to that, sign-up for a subscription at PayWhenWin.com or try the new MLB Day Pass.
Here's what I played today:
$100 STL +100 W
$170 PHIL -170 W
$100 SF +140 W
$110 SF/ATL O8.5 -110 W
$101 HST/LAD O8 -101 PUSH
$100 TOR +114 L
$100 DET +137 W
$(that's it for today; finally hit an afternoon weekday winner!!!!!; see you tomorrow to start the weekend)
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2007 NHL PLAYOFFS - FINAL
30-21 +$856
2007 NBA PLAYOFFS - FINAL
53-40 (57%) +$1,523
Series Wagers: 2-1 +$69.
Good luck and be careful out there!
