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Novice gambling... need some advice

HumbleP1e

HR All-American
Jan 11, 2003
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Always thought sports betting would be relatively "easy". Looking at lines, O/U, etc. Not enough choices really stand out. Only bet futures so far.

Any general advice you would have wanted when you first started?
 
Always thought sports betting would be relatively "easy". Looking at lines, O/U, etc. Not enough choices really stand out. Only bet futures so far.

Any general advice you would have wanted when you first started?


If you're speaking of betting in terms of Iowa, bet the under. Coach first game because he is almost always conservative. Iowa will probably run a lot of safe pass plays to give no easy points to opponent and will run a lot. The coach will believe our line will push their line around. Running also makes the clock keep moving which shortens the game. Less opportunities to score. Coach will also not want to show passing game to ISU

The problem with futures is you have to wait to win bet. ex- over/under on wins in season. Your money/bet is tied up for a term

Lastly, bet only what you can afford to lose
 
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Probably smart.

Any of these seem like terrible bets?

I'd probably...

Take the points on Houston, Boise St., and Oregon as road dogs.

Take the over on Georgia/Vanderbilt.

Take the under Iowa/Miami Ohio.

Take the points on Iowa in Iowa/ISU.

Seriously, almost no research. Am I making any egregious choices here?
 
If you're speaking of betting in terms of Iowa, bet the under. Coach first game because he is almost always conservative. Iowa will probably run a lot of safe pass plays to give no easy points to opponent and will run a lot. The coach will believe our line will push their line around. Running also makes the clock keep moving which shortens the game. Less opportunities to score. Coach will also not want to show passing game to ISU

The problem with futures is you have to wait to win bet. ex- over/under on wins in season. Your money/bet is tied up for a term

Lastly, bet only what you can afford to lose
Okay. Thank you. Good points.

I was not referring only to Iowa. I think Iowa is one of the most volatile bets imaginable. We have both lost to non-division foes and upset top 5-10 ranked division foes.

Just don't know where to look to start. Right now, complete random guess...or Is that gambling in a nutshell?
 
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Professional gamblers are considered good if they win 55% of their bets.

It's the 55/80/40 rule

55% good on a sport that is 80% mental and 40% physical
 
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Bet amounts that make the game more interesting but not so much that you throw up if you lose.

Coaches mean a lot in college football. For example, KF is 8-3 ATS as a DD dog. Or Mike Neu(Ball St) is 8-2 ATS in Aug/Sep games. Or Jeff Tedford(Fresno St) is 19-7 the last 3 years ATS. Or James Franklin is 15-3 ATS when the kickoff is 6:00PM or later. And so on and so forth. Find some edges that make sense for you and fire away.
 
Have fun with it until it isn't fun ~ then stop. FYI, I find three-team parlays fun, and the odds make it worth the time and money.
 
My advice would be to bet what you know. Sounds easy, but I used to do some online gambling and found that I kicked ass on Big 10 football and Iowa in particular. However I sucked on pretty much everything else.

I would also make sure you can control it because I couldn’t. I got obsessed with it so much so that I was rushing home on my lunch hour to place a bet and betting on small college bb teams I had never actually seen play.
 
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Don't feel like you have to be an expert to have fun. If you want to make bets on college but dont know much about it outside of the Hawkeyes and the big ten (like me), find some peoples' opinions you trust, read twitter and make some bets. I did that on a 2 game parlay on saturday (under mia/fl, over az/hi) and made 78 bucks on a 20 dollar bet. Had a blast watching two games I otherwise wouldn't have cared about.

On nfl, I bet with my gut and do pretty well. Two team parlays are my favorite.. anywhere from 5-20 bucks. Will also throw some small bets on teams that start out behind.

MLB, NBA... impossible
 
Very helpful and nice attitude. He asks for help, some offer it and you decide to leave no doubt, you're an asshat

LOL. Nice of you to take a break from counting your winnings to take a shot at me. Ok, I take it back. Anonymous message board chock-full of sports know-it-alls is a FABULOUS place to get advice on what to do with your $. LOL.
 
Most bookies are making anywhere from 20-40% return. Think about that before you bet.

If you absolutely insist on joining the degenerate side, Stay away from Parlay’s, Teasers, etc. Anything that seems too good, is. These are SUCKER BETS. No matter how “sure” your picks are, the more of these you play, the more you will lose. Yes the payouts are enticing, but they do not even come close to covering the actual risk. Not even close. It’s simple math.

If you want to keep your losses to 5-15% then stick to straight bets, manage bet sizes based on confidence levels. Don’t get greedy, and hope for some luck. You’ll lose...anyone who says they win over many years, is either lying or one of VERY FEW gamblers who do.

There is a reason Gambler’s Anonymous exists.


BUT, As a rule of thumb - a Low O/U will most likely stay under. A High O/U will likely go VERY high.

A spread that seems too good to be true...is. Handicappers/Insiders know more than you. Accept that.
 
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I guess I had thought I'd bank maybe $500 for the season and just play as far as it lasts with bets of maybe 5, 10 and/or 20$. I'm not planning to give up my job. Lol.

I only put $50 in 5 $10 futures bets so far. There is a reason Vegas builds, bulldozes, builds casinos, and homeowners don't, so I just want a little fun. But, like I said originally, I just don't see lines that are attractive. I can see why a "good" gambler may only be slightly over 50/50.

I think the bet what you "know" comment makes sense. I have no idea about Oregon/Auburn...not sure why I'd consider putting money on it. The problem with that is NOFRICKINBODY knows anything about the West this year!
 
Okay. Thank you. Good points.

I was not referring only to Iowa. I think Iowa is one of the most volatile bets imaginable. We have both lost to non-division foes and upset top 5-10 ranked division foes.

Just don't know where to look to start. Right now, complete random guess...or Is that gambling in a nutshell?
Iowa is a terrible team to be a fan of if you are a sports gambler.

Otherwise, it is great!!! :)
 
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I think I have a "basic" understanding of how things work. My only issue is knowing how much to bet if you want to see any kind of return, or essentially what the minimum bet can be.....
 
I think I have a "basic" understanding of how things work. My only issue is knowing how much to bet if you want to see any kind of return, or essentially what the minimum bet can be.....


The goal is to bet with "house" money. Bet moderately until you have a bank of money. Then only bet a certain percentage of the bank. That way, you would have to lose a string of bets to lose the bank. My personal decision is to bet no more that 25% of the bank on a one bet unless the bank get large. Then reduce the percentage. Greed is your biggest foe
 
Always thought sports betting would be relatively "easy". Looking at lines, O/U, etc. Not enough choices really stand out. Only bet futures so far.

Any general advice you would have wanted when you first started?

Just go with it. You are going to win some and lose some.
 
As others will mention, very few win over the long run, but it's entertainment.

My only advice is that if the lines dont look on a given day, just sit it out until you see a game that looks more appealing.

A lot of the draw/fun is looking through the lines, doing research, etc.


Always thought sports betting would be relatively "easy". Looking at lines, O/U, etc. Not enough choices really stand out. Only bet futures so far.

Any general advice you would have wanted when you first started?
 
For the most part, the only way to consistently make money is to hammer the lines as soon as they are released (typically the Sunday afternoon/evening the week before the game). Even by Monday, the line will have moved closer to where it is supposed to be and removed most of (if not all of) the value.
 
Stick with betting teams and conferences you know if you are unsure of things. I like to pound easy money lines into parlays to bring the odds back down for a nice return for games that are easy picks. Find a site that uses a lot of money lines as there are some that will not post them for games, especially in the first couple weeks that there are a lot of lopsided games.
 
LOL. Nice of you to take a break from counting your winnings to take a shot at me. Ok, I take it back. Anonymous message board chock-full of sports know-it-alls is a FABULOUS place to get advice on what to do with your $. LOL.

They are all retired millionaires and head coaches in waiting.
 
Sports gambling is like alcohol use. Like social drinking, you use a little to enhance the enjoyment of an event. Too much and you will have regrets.

You should never bet on your favorite team, as it is already enjoyable to watch. But if you want to sit down and watch a Saturday night game with two teams you don’t care about? Adding money to the equation will make you care about the result.
 
Sports gambling is like alcohol use. Like social drinking, you use a little to enhance the enjoyment of an event. Too much and you will have regrets.

You should never bet on your favorite team, as it is already enjoyable to watch. But if you want to sit down and watch a Saturday night game with two teams you don’t care about? Adding money to the equation will make you care about the result.


Good sense here.
I would say if you're serious, look at the match-up and actually think about if you were Vegas, what you would set the line at. Try to take in to account the details as much as possible (remove emotion), and then if you're way apart from what it is, that might be your first bet.
Granted, they're still right way more than the rest of us, but then you can at least say you were analytical about it. :D
 
Sports gambling is like alcohol use. Like social drinking, you use a little to enhance the enjoyment of an event. Too much and you will have regrets.

You should never bet on your favorite team, as it is already enjoyable to watch. But if you want to sit down and watch a Saturday night game with two teams you don’t care about? Adding money to the equation will make you care about the result.
That's the way I see it.
 
Sports gambling is like alcohol use. Like social drinking, you use a little to enhance the enjoyment of an event. Too much and you will have regrets.

You should never bet on your favorite team, as it is already enjoyable to watch. But if you want to sit down and watch a Saturday night game with two teams you don’t care about? Adding money to the equation will make you care about the result.
Hence the popularity of Fantasy Football
 
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