Sports Betting

[Only Here for Attachments]

Won $1200 on the Belfort/Rockhold card by parlaying all the Brazilian favorites, then lost all of it on the next PPV because of Gray Maynard, Brian Bowles, and Rick Story.

 

[CerebralKnievel]

The odds shift according to how money comes in. The house essentially makes money by taking a small commission, similar to the rake in a poker game.

They also keep your money when you lose. The odds are there not merely to reflect what's likely to happen, but to hedge their safety against the likelihood of the better fighter winning. This is why you earn basically nothing by betting on the favorite. The house loses nothing.

 

[Revolver]

Used to bet a ton on college football. Get a local bookie and don't waste money on buying picks. If you don't know what you're gambling on you're better off not betting on it.

 

[Guestx]

They also keep your money when you lose. The odds are there not merely to reflect what's likely to happen, but to hedge their safety against the likelihood of the better fighter winning. This is why you earn basically nothing by betting on the favorite. The house loses nothing.

They pay the winners with the losers' money, skimming a bit off the top, essentially.

But let's get to the heart of the question here: Can you consistently make money gambling? You seem to think that you cannot. But there are plenty of successful sportsbettors out there, both small-time players like myself as well as the guys at the top like Billy Walters.

Even table games have shown to be profitable with the right tactics, though. There have been plenty of organized blackjack teams in gambling's history that have used techniques like card counting, hole carding, shuffle tracking and card steering that have made plenty of money.

It's not easy to do. But it can be done and plenty have done it.

 

[CerebralKnievel]

They pay the winners with the losers' money, skimming a bit off the top, essentially.

But let's get to the heart of the question here: Can you consistently make money gambling? You seem to think that you cannot. But there are plenty of successful sportsbettors out there, both small-time players like myself as well as the guys at the top like Billy Walters.

Even table games have shown to be profitable with the right tactics, though. There have been plenty of organized blackjack teams in gambling's history that have used techniques like card counting, hole carding, shuffle tracking and card steering that have made plenty of money.

It's not easy to do. But it can be done and plenty have done it.

To answer your question simply: yes, of course. However, are the majority of people profiting off of gambling? No. If they were, the gambling industry as it stands would not exist. It profits most heavily off of people ultimately losing. Fuck, just watch that line in Casino. DeNiro sums it up in once sentence: keep them coming back. In the end, they all lose.

 

[Guestx]

To answer your question simply: yes, of course. However, are the majority of people profiting off of gambling? No. If they were, the gambling industry as it stands would not exist. It profits most heavily off of people ultimately losing. Fuck, just watch that line in Casino. DeNiro sums it up in once sentence: keep them coming back. In the end, they all lose.

Indeed. Well I agree with that.

Most bettors are just casual players who haven't invested any time in learning anything about advantage play. Most sportsbettors are just guys betting on their favorite teams/players/fighters or "going with their gut" without putting the time into doing proper research. And most people playing table games are just guys who know the rules of the game and who hope that tonight is their lucky night.

As you say, in the end those guys are going to lose. A small percentage of gamblers though will figure out how to win.

 

[CerebralKnievel]

Indeed. Well I agree with that.

Most bettors are just casual players who haven't invested any time in learning anything about advantage play. Most sportsbettors are just guys betting on their favorite teams/players/fighters or "going with their gut" without putting the time into doing proper research. And most people playing table games are just guys who know the rules of the game and who hope that tonight is their lucky night.

As you say, in the end those guys are going to lose. A small percentage of gamblers though will figure out how to win.

Well, I'm gonna throw a few hundred into a 5dimes account, and I expect you to tell me who to bet on.

 

[Guestx]

Well, I'm gonna throw a few hundred into a 5dimes account, and I expect you to tell me who to bet on.

Ha! I just won some cash on JT Money this past weekend. You should've been tailing me then.

Though admittedly I did end up giving a bit of it back with my Browne/Werdum parlay.

 

[CerebralKnievel]

Ha! I just won some cash on JT Money this past weekend. You should've been tailing me then.

Though admittedly I did end up giving a bit of it back with my Browne/Werdum parlay.

I would have put money down on JT since the season began. No one at TUF skill level can withstand his top game.

I did expect MJ to outstrike Gaetjche, though, and put him away

 

[Guestx]

In would have put money down on JT since the season began. No one at TUF skill level can withstand his top game.

Yeah, I think there was a chance Lima might catch him with a shot coming in and put him away (almost happened) and possibly catch a sub, since Taylor sub-defense is notoriously terrible, but like you say, I thought the smart money was on him getting the takedown and controlling the fight.

His RNC's look like they probably hurt like shit. Dude has a vice grip for arms.

I did expect MJ to outstrike Gaetjche, though, and put him away

Yeah, I wasn't comfortable enough to actually bet money on it, but I did take MJ on Tapology. That dude's kind of flaky, though. You never really know what you're going to get from him.

To be fair, he looked like he was on the verge of winning a few different times, but Gaethje's chin and heart is just something else.

 

[CerebralKnievel]

Yeah, I think there was a chance Lima might catch him with a shot coming in and put him away (almost happened) and possibly catch a sub, since Taylor sub-defense is notoriously terrible, but like you say, I thought the smart money was on him getting the takedown and controlling the fight.

His RNC's look like they probably hurt like shit. Dude has a vice grip for arms.



Yeah, I wasn't comfortable enough to actually bet money on it, but I did take MJ on Tapology. That dude's kind of flaky, though. You never really know what you're going to get from him.

To be fair, he looked like he was on the verge of winning a few different times, but Gaethje's chin and heart is just something else.

MJ rocked him and could have made me look like a wise man, but Justin apparently injected concrete onto his head. That was the best fight I can recall since Cub vs Doo Ho Choi.

 

[boingyman]

Not into sports betting. I was exposed to sports betting since I was a child though. When going to Vegas I just usually play black jack, pai gow and maybe a few machines for the heck of it. I always expect to lose. I use to play texas holdem a lot, but that's a distant past. I'll be going to Vegas in a few months and will probably stick to tables. If there is a UFC bout that weekend I may take a few picks for fun.

Overall I rather make high risk stock picks then any traditional form of gambling. Stocks in a non-retirement account are actually a small % of my portfolio.