In my handicapping infancy in the late 80s, the Dutchman (recall that bloke scorephone junkies?) was doling out copies of some advice column along the lines of Golden Rules of Handicapping. I can\u2019t even recollect most of the provisions, but do recall they ranged from the obvious like, \u201cBet with your head, not your heart,\u201d to the total bullshit, \u201cOnly wager on an underdog to cover if you think they will win outright.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All the other theorems were fairly unmemorable. I can\u2019t \u201ccredit\u201d the author, because I\u2019m not sure who it was. Yes, stuff did go viral back then. However, previous to high tech overtaking the world, going viral meant a 15th<\/sup>generation photocopied note changing hands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lost in the prudent, yet blatantly evident \u201cnot betting with your heart\u201d is a more significant reality: don\u2019t gamble with your broken heart. I\u2019m distressed at how often I hear something along the lines of, \u201cI refuse to bet on any game involving the Detroit Lions. Each time I bet on them whether for or against, I get it wrong.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Even though I haven\u2019t done an academic inquisition, the ensuing soliloquy generally reveals a very small sample size. Further conversations uncovers a customary paradigm is that the weeper bets on foregoing team to repeat the performance of the last time they wagered for or against them. That is, if the team they bet on got annihilated, they will bet against that team, anticipating to again put up a fiasco effort. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey lost outright as a 10-point favorite. Next time, I bet against them as an underdog and they won by 20 points,\u201d is a familiar sounding shrieking of annoyance. The fact that sharps bet on capricious teams to be unpredictable notwithstanding, it\u2019s a knee-jerk reflex to eliminate possibilities of betting for or against a certain squad based on short-term heartache. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s as preposterous as swearing off unders because a few tormenting setbacks. Most of us have been there, but only squares abandon the ship. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Perchance there is a discernable cause and effect why someone has a bad read on a team, objectively assess and determine why. Make alterations accordingly. But if you are invoking your next bet based on how a certain team executed the last time you place a bet on them\u2014the only bad read you have is on how prosperous handicapping functions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The author Joe Duffy is CEO of OffshoreInsiders.com<\/a>. He\u2019s been dominating handicapping publicly since the 1980s scorephone days. With all the time off during coronavirus, he both added to his systems arsenal and started the dad jokes<\/a> YouTube channel Hey Abby D with his daughter. The first video is below. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In my handicapping infancy in the late 80s, the Dutchman (recall that bloke scorephone junkies?) was doling out copies of some advice column along the lines of Golden Rules of Handicapping. I can\u2019t even recollect most of the provisions, but do recall they ranged from the obvious like, \u201cBet with your head, not your heart,\u201d … Continue reading Sports Handicapping Strategy: Never Bet With Your Broken Heart<\/span>