Posted:
#1
Let me tell you a story about a rookie handicapper. If one person benefits from this and avoids his mistakes, than this story was worthwhile.
I have always had terrible luck. For that reason, I avoided gambling like the plague, whether it was poker, sports betting, or bingo. I had nothing but respect for the people who could do it and profit, but I did not consider myself one of those people. I became friends with a guy who makes almost all of his money betting on sports. He does not work a "real" job, he has lots of time on his hands, and he lives life to the fullest. He has a 55" plasma screen TV, a nice car, a brand new computer, and lots of other nice things. He is popular and never short on cash. I would always hear him cheering as he watched sports games, and I would ask him what happened. "I just won $500!" he would say. But, I promised myself I would not get involved, because if I started betting, my bad luck would inevitably get the best (or rather, worst) of me.
I continued to work my dead-end job, customer service, $9.00/hour, 40 hour weeks, hating my job, hating going to work, and hating trying to make ends meet on only $550 paychecks. I began to take a small interest in MLB. Although up until that point, I had never cared in the slightest about baseball, I found that it was easy to bet on because it is such a stat-driven sport. Even someone like me who didn't even know the difference between a cutter and a slider (and I still don't, actually) could look at matchups, look at the stats, look at the trends, and make halfway decent picks.
Then I lost my job. With no source of income and the bills piling up, I decided to give sports betting a go. The first week I did alright, netting about $200. The week after that, same thing. $200. I thought that the only thing keeping my winnings down was the size of my wagers. So I started to bet more. I had another winning week. I did all of my betting through my friend, who went through his bookie, on credit. I doubled the size of my unit, and continued betting like a madman. Slowly, but surely, I grew more proficient, I began to understand the value of dogs, the importance of a good bullpen, how to protect your bets with other bets, and so on.
Then I had a bad week. I lost just about $600. I pawned some of my most prized possessions - my 2 guitars, my TV, my Xbox 360 and a lot of games - and raised the money to pay the bookie, promising myself that I would earn it back this week. The first day I dropped into the hole $422.00. The next day I won it back, and was up $7.00 for the week. I lost $59.00 the next day. And then I got nailed with a $529.00 losing day. Saturday, I went against my better judgement and chased, knowing that I would have trouble getting the money if I lost. Sure enough, I lost again on Saturday, losing $1,557 to put me down over $2,000 for the week. I chased again sunday, hoping I could get the deficit down. I lost again, even more this time, to put me down over $4,000 for the week. Today was the final day. I thought I had a chance when the day started: Oakland started off with a 3-run inning, the Braves took an early lead, the Brewers tied it up... I thought maybe it was finally my day. I went big, placing no less than 18 bets today... and lost another $765.00.
So now, it has come to this. I am almost $5,000 in the hole, due Thursday, with no way to pay my bookie. I have no job, nothing of value, and no friends or family who will lend me the money. I am completely and utterly screwed. Not screwed by the teams. Not screwed by luck. Not screwed by the lines... screwed by myself.
I am hereby announcing my retirement from sports betting, as every nickle, dime, and dollar I make for the next 6 months will be going to pay back the bookie. I will be going into active duty military service starting in late October. The money I make will hopefully be enough to appease my bookie and my friend who I have been completely unfair to. I am moving out of my apartment and back in with my parents in the meantime to save money and cut down on expenses so that I can tackle my $5000 loss. Once my stint on active duty starts, I am moving away from everything and everyone I know and love for 5 months. For 5 months of full-time military work, I will take home about $1000 after the debt and after my monthly expenses.
So, rookies, veterans, and anyone else who has had the patience to read this whole thing... let this be a lesson to you. People DO lost everything in this world. Chasing is the worst possible thing you can do. NEVER bet more than you can afford. If you don't have the discipline to do so, bet online so you at least cannot bet more than everything you owned combined and end up selling your soul to the bookie. Do not let your emotions influence your picks. Do not bet more on any given play simply as a result of the way other plays turned out. Practice proper money management. And most importantly... be honest with your friends, your family, your bookie, and yourself.
I sincerely apologize to anyone who tailed me this week, and I congratulate anyone who faded me. This will quite possibly be my last post on this forum, or perhaps I'll simply gamble with "monopoly money" to keep myself interested in sports, in which case I will continue to contribute to this site.
I wish you all the best of luck. Gentleman, it's been a pleasure. 
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