My dad was in an NFL pool where you picked the winner of every game but you had to list them in order of confidence. If there was a tie for most correct picks, the tiebreaker would go to whoever had their first loss further down the confidence list. Sometimes if he didn't have time to pick he'd let me do it. I think that was my first attempt at sports gambling anyway.
Had my first ever bet on Germany at 5/2 to win the 1992 Euros, friggin Denmark beat them in the final. The Danes were only allowed into the tourney 2 weeks before to replace Yugoslavia and were put in as 150/1 outsiders.
There was no hedging back then, just sat back and watched the horror unfold ;-(
You could say it started as a little kid when I told my father the Jets would beat the Colts in the Super Bowl, thank you Joe Namath for that televised "Guarantee." More likely from playing sports competitively all my life and following sports as a result. In the 8th grade I was known as the "sports encyclopedia," and not without merit. Batting averages, TD's, points per game, rebounding leaders, I knew it all. It was inevitable my life would always have sports in some aspect of it. Fast forward to Nellis AFB, Las Vegas, NV. I started with the parlays, King of the 3 out 4, week in and week out. Met this older fella' at the Stardust and when he saw what I was doing he enlighted me to the financial virtues of playing the individual game. Even then I still made poorly
Watching horse racing every Saturday on TV, with my Dad, was my introduction in to the world of sports betting. I would have bets with him on the races. When I was 7 or 8 years old the bets would be 5 pence at a time and then as I hit my teens in was 10p/20p. He would pay me out at SP. The first couple of big race winners I remember backing were "Flying Water" in the 1000 Guineas in Newmarket in 1976 and then, the next year, I managed to pick out the winner of the most fearsome horse race of the time, the Grand National. "Rag Trade" was the horse's name. Sadly, he passed away when I was 15 so i was left to the devices of the official bookies !! Doubles, Trebles, Patents, Yankees, Lucky 15's were all new to me and I soon discovered why these multiple bets were designed by bookies and not punters !!! Ante-post betting was an eye opener. My first winning ante post bet was on a horse called "Shergar" in 1981, who I backed at 25/1 for the Derby after I saw it win it's first prep race that season. Strictly speaking I shouldn't have been able to get that price but in the days when ante-post lists where written up on a whiteboard and not displayed electronically, and the two ladies working in the betting shop were fresh out of school and not really understanding what they were doing, I got away with it. As the electronic age engulfed the bookies, it opened up endless possibilities for us, the punter. Nowadays I have a bet on soccer, rugby, NFL, MLB, NHL (MLB & NHL are my "overnight" bets as the games usually start at around midnight, our time) as well as the horses, of course. My first love !
Thought out decisions and my money management had alot to be desired. Over time and through experience, I learned. My strength was the NFL and while today I play the other sports, selectively with good money management, 75 percent of my money goes to playing the NFL, and for those of you familiar with my posts, you know my success.
I my memory serves me correct my first online bet was 06' World Cup. Up until then I always thought soccer was boring. That's until you put money on a match and it's very intense game where every call,goal, and save can swing momentum of a game. In person bet was a parlay with NBA playoffs(06) with MLB. It was a 5 teamer with 3 NBA and 2 MLB picks and missed both MLB picks I don't think I've ever bet baseball ever since. NFL and CFB are which I bet most on now and NBA,NCAA and NHL to hold me over for some of the summer until FB starts up again.
I was nine years old in 1975. Already a diehard sports fan. My dad worked at The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. and brought home some parlay sheets during NFL season. I asked him what the numbers next to the teams meant, and he explained them to me. The payout odds at the top as well. I remember the top of the sheet saying 3/5, 4/10, etc. So my dad let me bet a sheet for $1 on a 3 teamer to try and win $5. I would consistently win 2 out of 3, and get frustrated. I hated that "ties lose" BS lol.... I remember saying to my dad that I wished there was a place where I could just bet on 1 game. That's when he explained to me there such a place. Anyway, I've been betting ever since.
.... I believe around Junior year High School...I can remember watching Grandmother, Grandpa play cards, dominos for money...I remember working all summer saving my money...I remember I convinced my Grandma to deposit 200 dollars on the Duke in Arizona Wildcats NCAAB championship..I played Duke -3...Duke won & covered...I was high on adrenaline ..I was now considered a (Degenerate) Grandma’s word for me... I started betting more..baseball, Football...small $50 turned into $100 bets. 100 turned into 500/1K..so on & on...the sharper my gambling skills set, the bigger the problem became...started losing now..the problem with gambling is even winners become losers because u just can’t shut it off. When I was flying high, I estimate I was ahead by 8-10K....then, I ran into a losing problem I just couldn’t seem to shake ...I had forgotten about Grandma rule(101)...never chase losses and walk away . Hot streaks are awesome but, cold streaks can ruin you forever.... Today I go slow with things now...any good gambler will tell you to do it right, you have to go through mountains of information and follow every game because even the slightest detail can give you the edge you need to make the right decision.
3rd grade. i was living in springfield il at the time. my parents were moving to jax, fl for 2 months and then back to splfd. my gym teacher and i made 4 bets on the new year's day bowl games which then had only 4 games. bet 25 cents on each game. big money for a 3rd grader. a couple of weeks after new years,my mama told me i had some mail. an envelope with 2 quarters in it from my gym teacher. i won 3 out of the 4 games. proceeded to peddle my bike to the corner store and buy me 10 packs of baseball cards. the question . who was sicker? Me? for betting at age 9? Or my 24 year old gym teacher making bets with his 9 year old student? fast forward to age 15. i was a pretty good bowler and started bowling in mens leagues instead of bowling with kids my own age. 3 weeks bowling with men i entered a celebrity bowling tournament. i knew i wasnt probably going to win i just wanted to bowl with a celebrity. i wasnt even aware what 1st place even was. I found out later that 1st place was a trip for 2 to las vegas for 3 days. i was living in stl at the time.i won the tournament but what the hell can a 15 year old kid going to do in las vegas. wound up selling it to a buddy of mine's father for $400. put the money in a bank? NO WAY. After leagues were over there would be about 9 or 10 of us bowling jackpots. usually, $3 dollars a man or sometimes $5 a man. winner take all. that $400 lasted me about 2 or 3 months. i dont have the time or energy ( i'm 68) to let you know my gambling history. The question arises. If i didnt win the 2 quarters when i was in 3rd grade and i lost all 4 games and i didnt win the las vegas excursion when i was 15, would gambling be in my make-up? My answer is "NO".
A buddy of mine got me into it back in 2009. I was working at Sears at the time and would go to his house on Friday/Saturday nights to pregame before hitting the bars and clubs. Some nights were great when he hit his bets but most night weren't bc he wasn't the greatest capper. I signed up for a Bovada account and would start betting the opposite of what he was doing for shits and giggles. Eleven years later and Im still betting (doing my own capping of course), its hard to watch anything without a little action.
My journey into the dark world of sports betting began innocently enough as a young lad in the early 70's. I was always a kid who gravitated towards anything physical and pro football was just in its infancy in terms of popularity, served as the perfect vehicle to wet my appetite.
The early years were filled with "just pick the winners" weekly football predictions against my brother. Watching Jimmy the Greek on the NFL Today each week talk about who he liked, was like putting gas on my already peaked interest into this seldom talked about world.
As a sophomore in high school, I was talking to a good friend of mine in a class about the local high school football team when the subject turned to a cross town rival who was killing teams. We bet $10 on a high school game were I took this team and I gave him 50 points against this other winless team. The team I backed won 56-3. The joy of winning a bet against your buddy when you give him 50 points was unbelievable.
Fast forward to the early 80's and I meet my wife to be at work and begin to date. Her father who was disabled at the time had a local who he got tickets/pools from, it was my job to pick up the tickets every Tuesday for her dad and then bring them back to the local Saturday before noon. This local was the real deal. He would be on the phone everytime I would stop by to drop off the tickets, giving out lines and taking action.
Marrying into an Italian family did little to suppress the urge to try my hand at risking my own cash on these games too.
Gone are the days are getting the Gold Sheet for her dad, gone are the days of calling the smoke phone to get a recorded messages about up to date scores and gone are the days of waiting 30 minutes until the game you were watching would finally give you updates on games you weren't watching.
I've experienced both the extreme highs as well as the in the gutter lows that this wonderful thing can give us. Its not for the faint of heart but when it's good, it can be as powerful a high as any drug out there.
I have been in the game for a long time and have taken every path you can imagine in regards to betting. I have changed theories and angles many times and have landed on the way to bet now that works for me.
My advice for anyone out there looking for a different angle...….
You are not a professional. So, change you perception of how you handle this going forward.
Just to pick up on what EastsideBangers gave as advice going forward. "Change your perception on how you handle this going forward." Not that he was suggesting anything about what I'm about to say.
But, I will predict that by this time next year, you will be able to start another thread entitled - "Why I Stopped Betting Sports." And most of the reasons given will be related to the Covid19 "pandemic" and the medical marshall laws that have effected sports and sports betting.
It's time people realize there will not be a return to normal. Sports, sports betting, casino gambling and the entertainment industry have all been designated as 'collateral damage' by the powers that shouldn't be, as "non-essential" to their new economy. So, remember the good-ole-days, but beware that the future is being completely manipulated. And so you might want to think twice especially before placing any futures bets.
I had a somewhat different motivation to learn Sportsbetting.
I was never really interested in sports that much , and I was
kept pretty busy trying to make my Construction Consulting business
going and profitable.
One Friday , on one of the projects I was managing , I ran into my
Pipefitter Foreman's trailer to talk about the project , and found him
up to this armpits in paper trying to pick a few CFB teams that he
could bet on. I realized that I made a big mistake when I said:
" How tough can it be to pick a few games against a Pointspread "
He replied , Just try it smartass. it was at first a very humbling experience
for me , but I refused to quit . In fact , I committed to learn what it took
to be successful enough at it so i'd have a fallback plan in case my
Consulting business didn't work out . That was in 1982 , and I had no
idea the work and effort I would have to put in to learn and to succeed.
Now , many years later , I've retired form managing large construction
projects in 2010 , and in 2019, I retired from Sportsbetting as well ,
after having successful careers in both fields .
I was only successful at sportsbetting because I was willing to make the
considerable effort required to not settle for anything less than success.
Bookmakers kept getting smarter , and I had to do the same . If I wanted
to succeed , I had to outwork em . That included keeping up with the evolution
of the Sport as well.Every offseason , I would go back and look for my mistakes
and try to correct them the following season. I never settled for past results ,
as there was always room for improvement.
Back in the '80's " I was flying into Las Vegas from Chicago every Friday night to
bet CFB , and NFL and flying home on Sunday was a lot of work , but in those days,
it was a lot easier for bettors vs a Bookmakers line .
I finally moved to Las Vegas in 1993 , and have lived here since.
Times have changed , It's not as easy today as it was back then and will continue
to get more challenging for bettors who are not willing to put in the time and effort.
I'm just very thankful to have been blessed with the opportunities to make a
career out of doing the two things I loved the most.
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