I'd be wrong not to thank everyone who posted here. I appreciate your thoughts.
Okay, here's the deal. Just got back from purchasing two Sports Action tickets. Something I should explain about SA is that it's Mickey Mouse when compared to the Vegas and offshore betting books. F'rinstance...
By the time I arrived at the retailers, the L.A. @ L.A. contest was no longer available. Since SA is sponsored by the provincial government, you need to purchase your tickets from any authorized dealer. That means 7-11, some of the smaller Mom and Pop stores and some of the bigger grocery chains .
And yes, it is possible to do so online as well. However, I've yet to figure out how to make a Combo Ticket purchase except in person at a store. (A combo ticket is one that allows you to hedge your bets. In this case, I played two tickets of 3-games each.
A Straight Ticket means you must get all of the games you've chosen right, anywhere from 2 to 6 in total. One miss, though, and your ticket is dead. By going for a Combo Ticket rather than a Straight Ticket, you can miss one or more games and still get a return.
Using today as an example, I played the following combo tickets: Be aware that one ticket has nothing to do with the other. They sink or swim on their own.
Ticket 1:
NBA - Sacramento @ Minnesota - Tie
CFL - Calgary @ Edmonton - Tie
NBA - Memphis @ Golden State - Tie
Ticket 2:
NBA - Milwaukee @ Boston - Tie*
NBA - Utah @ New Orleans - Tie
CFL - Calgary @ Edmonton - Tie
Now, in direct contrast and what must appear as a contradiction to what I posted previously about betting too many ties, that's exactly what I went ahead and did. There may be a lot of swearing around here when it's over, but that's how it all came down in making my final decisions. Again, I'll state for the record that it's not a smart way to play regularly.
Also, those with sharp eyes will have noticed the asterisk following the Milwaukee @ Boston tie pick. That, I'm afraid, was a screw-up on my part. Twice, in fact. First, because I mis-marked the ticket and intended that tie to be applied to the Houston @ Atlanta game.
Had I noticed my error prior to leaving, I could have cancelled the ticket and done it again fully corrected. Well, it went right past me and I only discovered it when I got home. As an old guy, let me point this out as an object lesson in life: keep your eyes open and your mind on what you're doing at all times. So, I'm stuck with it and can only hope the Bucks step up large in Beantown. At this moment, the visitors have a 16-point lead midway through the 2nd quarter, so either I'm a potential genius or I'm being set up for an ugly fall.
In any event, since I'm playing 3 games on each combo ticket (in both cases, it's 3-to-get-2. Again, looking at each ticket separately, I need to get 2-out-of-3 correct to receive a return. Getting all 3 on a ticket will get a very nice one; getting 2 on a ticket gets back the bet plus a little more.
I also neglected to mention that I was looking seriously at tonight's Canadian Football League game between Alberta rivals Calgary and Edmonton. Every indication is that it'll be very close; for the tie to cash for me, the winner must do so within 3 points or less. It should be tight...
And so, my friends, that's the long and short of it for tonight. I'm not yet looking ahead to Saturday until after tonight's results are final. If I should wipe out completely, I may pull back entirely for a day or three, depending on the match-ups.
Oh, yes. One last thing. Sports Action reserves the right to pull a game from the active menu once a certain number of bets are accepted. That's precisely what happened in the L.A./L.A. game. By the time I turned in my ticket, that contest was off the board. Grrrrr. I hate it when that happens!
That's ll for now. Here's wishing you all the best of luck in whatever bets you made tonight.
Good luck to us all!