For the Gambling Types/Those Interested

[Max Power]

OU is a 15.5 point favorite tonight

 

[WTSooner]

Big basketball lines are hard to bet, IMO. I wouldn't touch a line like that, this early in the season. I did put a little down on OU +4.5 against Bama though.

 

[Max Power]

Big basketball lines are hard to bet, IMO. I wouldn't touch a line like that, this early in the season. I did put a little down on OU +4.5 against Bama though.

Oh i wouldn't take it right now, just sharing the info since i had it

 

[garyeb2]

I'm against gambling in any form.

 

[CoachTalk]

I'm against gambling in any form.

Come on Gary!!

 

[bocabull]

It's a rigged game unless you are the one collecting 110-120 on the win and paying 100 on the loss. The person on the gambler side will always lose eventually. Always. 100% guarantee. If you don't believe me check out the fountains/atrium/chandeliers at the Bellagio.

 

[WTSooner]

I think you can make money on sports gambling, if you have the time to invest, and the patience to only play a couple of games a week, maybe. I was pretty darn successful at it for 2-3 years, but I had a lot of extra time back then, and watched a TON of games (mostly football, but basketball too). I do it more for fun now (not nearly enough time to research games), and still manage to break even.

Cards. Slot machines. I agree, you won't ever win in the long run there.

 

[sperry]

It's a rigged game unless you are the one collecting 110-120 on the win and paying 100 on the loss. The person on the gambler side will always lose eventually. Always. 100% guarantee. If you don't believe me check out the fountains/atrium/chandeliers at the Bellagio.

You can win in sports gambling for exactly the reasons you're stating. Like Poker, you're playing against other gamblers and not the house. You just have to be enough better than other gamblers to cover the house rake to win, which amounts to being right like 53% of the time or something.


Now, in this day and age it's really hard to do since Vegas is so good at setting lines, but there are people, mostly using complex statistical models, who find flawed lines and exploit them.


Plus, there's stuff like Baylor football who just murder Vegas because Vegas can't set a line high enough to get people to bet against Baylor, and the Bears cover every single week.

 

[playmakr]

It's a rigged game unless you are the one collecting 110-120 on the win and paying 100 on the loss. The person on the gambler side will always lose eventually. Always. 100% guarantee. If you don't believe me check out the fountains/atrium/chandeliers at the Bellagio.

I always tell most people that seem to suck at sports gambling when they are in Vegas to learn the ins and outs of craps. It's the only thing in Vegas where you aren't getting shafted by odds.

I'll be in Vegas this coming weekend, and while I will make some bets on NBA, NFL, college bball and football, most of my time will be planted at a craps table, where you can get your odds under 1%. The problem is my wife tries to get me drunk and takes my winnings and loses them on the slots or shops or spa, lol.

 

[garyeb2]

Well actually, the operative number is 10%. Of those people that regularly bet sports, only about 10% handicap well enough to outrun the juice and turn a profit. About half of those are just marginally above breakeven. Leaving the majority of the profits to the upper 5%.

The same 10%/5% number also applies to horse and poker players. Poker is a little different in the respect that about half the people that regularly play poker are good enough to win in an unraked game. When the rake is considered, 90% of the players are losers, 5% are marginally profitable, and the majority of the profits go to the 5%.

When it comes to house banked casino games, the crap shooter is correct. The about 1% on pass/come bets is the best deal in town. However, even that, is death by a 1000 cuts. They get you on volume.

 

[playmakr]

Well actually, the operative number is 10%. Of those people that regularly bet sports, only about 10% handicap well enough to outrun the juice and turn a profit. About half of those are just marginally above breakeven. Leaving the majority of the profits to the upper 5%.

The same 10%/5% number also applies to horse and poker players. Poker is a little different in the respect that about half the people that regularly play poker are good enough to win in an unraked game. When the rake is considered, 90% of the players are losers, 5% are marginally profitable, and the majority of the profits go to the 5%.

When it comes to house banked casino games, the crap shooter is correct. The about 1% on pass/come bets is the best deal in town. However, even that, is death by a 1000 cuts. They get you on volume.

Haha maybe, but if you are patient and leave the table when you should, you can come out ahead. But yea, most degenerates eventually commit suicide. There's a reason prostitute looking girls are handing out free drinks by the thousands in the crap table area. They know when you get inebriated, you are less likely to leave the table when you should and can get you off your game (coupled with a savvy casino dealer) where you lose track and aren't getting the odds in your favor.

Boca is right, Vegas wasn't built on winners. Don't bet what you can't lose. A penny saved is a penny earned.

 

[thebigabd]

15.5 is a pretty large spread on two unknown teams. I'd take the points.