Ask me anything about sports betting.

[canabiz]

I didn't want to put this thread up, seeing some of the other topics dismissed as *useless info* but i decide to start this one here in the Sports section, having received a couple of PMs regarding sports in general and sports betting in particular.

A lil bit about me: I have always loved watching sports ever since I was a young kid growing up in Vietnam. I followed soccer religiously there and i still remember the year 1994 when i moved to Canada, i walked about 2 kms to the nearest Quickie to play my first ProLine ticket when the World Cup was on!...I have since embraced the North American sports and have become a huge hockey, NFL and baseball fan in the process. As stated, I have played ProLine for about 11, 12 years now and have started betting on the Internet for the past 5 years. You can say gambling is in all Asians' blood LOL and to combine my love for sports and my love for $$$, I wouldn't have it any other way!!

Lots of highs and equally lots of lows in between but it's almost like a hobby for me, so to speak. We all learn new things everyday so I'll be more than happy to answer your questions, time permitting. So fire away and I'll end this with a simple expression: *Good luck with your bets*

Here's a short Q & A that will hopefully get your feet wet...

Q. Can you make $$$ betting on sports.

A Short answer is yes you can. I wouldn't be betting still if i continue to lose days in and days out.

Q. What is required to be a succesful sports bettor (or sports betting investor)

A: Real estate investors go with *Location, location, location*...I personally have to say *Discipline, discipline, discipline* and will go into a few *golden* rules that i religiously follow

Q Is sports betting legal in Canada ?

A A very tricky question to answer. If it's government-regulated then yes like ProLine that we have here in Ontario and other Sports Select programs in other provinces. If it is with a bookie then obviously no, if it is a with an Internet book then it's a grey area at best.

I will end this with my Golden Rule #1 in Sports Betting

Only bet what you can afford to lose

[babysham]

What is rule # 2?

[canabiz]

What is rule # 2?

Rule #2 (at least in my book) is

Bet with your head and not with your heart

I am not huge fan of any team in the Big 4 Professional Sports League here in North America. You can say I'm a St. Louis Rams fan from my avatar but it's just because i like their offensive style of play and nothing more than that.

I live in Ottawa so yes I do follow the Ottawa Senators and the Renegades more than other franchises but I have gone against those teams on a few more occasions, it's all about the greens baby.

You can say I'm a sports fan and a dollar bills fan and the buck stops right there. Try not to let your allegiance to a particular team cloud your judgment!

[UrbanPoet]

Oh Man... do you do this for a living?
along with going to poker tourneys?


I know soe people actually live like this and do it successfully :| scary how some people are so good at gambling.

[canabiz]

Oh Man... do you do this for a living?
along with going to poker tourneys?


I know soe people actually live like this and do it successfully :| scary how some people are so good at gambling.

No I don't do this for a living Poet, although I have seen plenty of people who have gone down that path and the success rate fluctuates. Again there are many factors that we need to consider: bankroll, experience, discipline etc...it all sounds easier than it actually is, same with poker i guess, all we see is the glamour and glory on TV but I betcha those guys paid their dues

I still have a full-time job now and i only do this at home in the evenings, no harm, no foul...the way i look at it is other people smoke and drink and things like that and I don't do none of that then why can't i bet on a game :) it's been a very fulfilling experience so far...i'm not addicted to it again it all boils down to discipline which i will go more into that later if other related questions arise.

[theinfamous]

What's the most you've ever won & lost at one time?

[canabiz]

What's the most you've ever won & lost at one time?

On ProLine (Ontario's Sports lottery) I have cashed tickets up to $4,000...the most that i have lost in one day playing ProLine was $500 (5 $100 tickets since the limit is $100)

For Online, the most i have won was $3,000 on an NFL game and the most that i have lost was $2,000 also in an NFL game

[B40]

What's the biggest season you had in units?

What's the biggest parlay you hit?

[babysham]

Do you use any websites to analyze data, etc.

[canabiz]

What's the biggest season you had in units?

What's the biggest parlay you hit?

That would probably be last year's NFL season. I was up about 85 units and some change at the end of the day (1 unit = $100) so it was just a very cool 5 months

Biggest parlay ever got was 6 baseball games about 2 seasons ago (the online books that i am using only allow parlay up to 8 games), i put down $10 and netted about $800 in return if i remember correctly

As for biggest ProLine parlay, I hit an 8-gamer for Props when it was still in Pointspread format, $10 pay $1,500 i think

[canabiz]

Do you use any websites to analyze data, etc.

A variety of websites, I don't know if posting those sites here violate any RFD's code of conduct (they are not adult sites by any means but they are gambling sites in nature).

Let me know if you are looking for info on a specific sports and I'll see if i can put up a few links or so. As you can see from my posts, my *speciality* is the NFL and baseball and hockey on the sides. I do occasionally dabble in the NBA and the CFL and soccer when there's big tourney like the upcoming World Cup.

[B40]

That would probably be last year's NFL season. I was up about 85 units and some change at the end of the day (1 unit = $100) so it was just a very cool 5 months

Biggest parlay ever got was 6 baseball games about 2 seasons ago (the online books that i am using only allow parlay up to 8 games), i put down $10 and netted about $800 in return if i remember correctly

As for biggest ProLine parlay, I hit an 8-gamer for Props when it was still in Pointspread format, $10 pay $1,500 i think

Nice job...

I had a 400 unit baseball season a few years ago :D

And hit a every game in a 3/6 or 4/6 round robin parlay a few years ago as well :D

I don't bet as much now, I just got 'bored' of it :|

[canabiz]

Btw, the above 2 posts are inter-related with my Rule #3 and Rule #4

Rule #3: I play a K.I.S.S. system (Keep it Simple, :) Essentially what happens is to stay away from parlays, pleasers, teasers, props etc (if you don't know these terms, you can Google and if you require more explanations, you can post here) and focus on straight bets.

It's hard enough to get 1 winner so obviously you don't want to mathematically reduce that chance (by adding on another game etc)

Rule #4: Knowledge is Power

It's like you don't invest in a stock without doing research about that company first. Or like buying a car/house, you have to do some legwork first before signing on the dotted line...same with sports betting, the more info you could gather, the more informed and better bettor or handicapper you become. You just can't go with your guts and/or bet on the fly. Different sports require different research methods so it will come with experience on what angles/factors to focus on and take it from there.

[B40]

Next question: How do you pick games? Do you make picks yourself or grab them off websites/handicappers?

If you make the picks yourself, do you use more fundamental analysis or statistical analysis?

[canabiz]

Next question: How do you pick games? Do you make picks yourself or grab them off websites/handicappers?

If you make the picks yourself, do you use more fundamental analysis or statistical analysis?

Again it all depends on the sports B40 like i stated in the post above yours.

One thing i can say for sure is I never buy any picks. If those touts are so sure about their picks, they can just get rich on their own without spending $$ and time to *market* their services do you know what i mean

I don't wanna go too much into details because i'm a bit short on time right now and this thread is designed to cover the fundamentals of sports betting but to briefly answer your Q

NFL: I look at the matchups, the injuries, how Vegas set the lines, any playoff implications (NFL has a short season) and many others

MLB: It's all about the stats baby! Baseball is truly a heaven for stats and math geeks. Anything from ERA to WHIP and everything in between

NHL: Again team matchups, stats like power play and penalty kill, injuries is also a big one, goalie performance etc

NBA and college sports These are not my strong suits simply because they don't get as much coverage here in Canada as the other 3 but i do follow some cappers and build my own database and it has been pretty good. If you are into NBA betting, make sure you look at the scheduling! It's a must!

I combine both statistical and fundamental stuff, more stats for baseball for example and more fundamental for the NFL but again it all depends.

[trashmouth12]

Quick question...always on The Score I see the hockey matchups and then lines with 3 digit numbers...care to explain?

[B40]

Quick question...always on The Score I see the hockey matchups and then lines with 3 digit numbers...care to explain?

- are favourites.

Usually you'll see something like

Tor -150 which means Toronto is the favourite

Bet $150 to win $100 on Toronto
Bet $100 to win $150 on the other team

Usually there is "juice" though, which is how the bookies make their money.

[canabiz]

Yes just to add that the OLGC (Ontario Lottery Gaming Corporation) the folks who run ProLine Sports lottery also happens to be one of the Score's sponsors.

During the NFL season, you can tune in and get picks and analysis from cappers here and down south as well. I didn't keep track of their records but again it's all about the knowledge is power part, maybe there's an angle that you don't know about, it's good to be informed. I tune in sports radio shows on an almost daily basis. I sign up for Rogers Sports Package for the NFL season, i got websites to check out and occasionally magazines to read...

It's a lot of work no doubt but it's part of being a true sports fan as well. On a side note, i used to do tech support for a computer company whose clients are mainly from the U.S. and i had great fun chatting with them about their local sports teams, who'd have thunk a kid from Canada with some English accent could have named players and teams on the fly...that gave me great satisfaction man, prolly the only highlights for that job for me LOL.