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Ten Things To Know About Sports Betting
n Monday the U. S.
Supreme Court voted 6-3 in favor of allowing sports betting throughout the 50 United States. This means, for those into this sort of thing, that you could soon be able to wager on games, play poker and try the slots all in the same place.
Of course, this probably spells bad news for under- ground establishments who’ve flourished for years off of illegal gambling. But, for everyone else, this change in the law translates to peo- ple being able to place bets and collect winnings in far safer and less stressful envi- ronments.
I imagine that this new unrestrictive betting atmos- phere will also encourage a lot more individuals to wade into the betting pool in hopes of coming up on an easy pay- day. Unfortunately, though, most of them will find out the hard way that it won’t be the cake walk they envision.
In an effort to help these new enthusiastic gamblers minimize their inevitable losses, I’ve come up with 10 things they should be aware of before filling out their first tickets.
10) The House Always Wins: Vegas was built by people who thought they could outsmart the books. Out of the $150 billion+ spent on sports betting last year, according to the Amer- ican Gaming Association, less than 1% went into the
pockets of the gamblers. I think that’s something worth keeping in mind.
9) The Best Team Doesn’t Always Win: Yet somewhere in the neighbor- hood of 85% of the betting public typically rides with the favorites. And bookies love that statistic. Always re- member that there are times when the underdog fights back.
8) Stick To The Script:
Whatever betting strategy you come up with, don’t waver. Being consistent with how and what you bet will give you a better chance of coming out on top more often.
7) Do Your Home- work: The best in the busi- ness treat sports betting like a job. They study numbers and trends all day every day before they drop a single dime. It’s good to know as much as you can about any team on whom you plan on making an investment. If you don’t, you might as well be placing your cash on a coin flip.
6) That Little Voice Will Never Lead You Wrong: If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say “something told me to take that team” I’d be able to open my own casino. Your intuition is the most power- ful tool at your disposal. Try not to ignore what it tells you.
5) Stay Away From Parlays: I know it’s tempt- ing to chase the higher pay-
out that comes with playing multiple games. But don’t be greedy. There’s a reason why you can win more. The more teams you pick the less likely you are to hit. Select one game, sweat it and be done for the day.
4) Don’t Spend Money You Don’t Have: The worst thing you can do is go into debt gambling. Once you go down that route it’s almost impossible to get back.
3) Go The Other Way:
The average person knows very little about sports and he or she usually goes for the hype. These are the people the bookies feed off. You want to know what team to take? Ask the average Joe who they like and take the one they didn’t say.
2) What Doesn’t Make Sense Is Often The Right Choice: My favorite saying is that Vegas doesn’t give away free money. That means if you see a line that doesn’t look right, 9 times out of 10, it’s because Vegas knows something the rest of us don’t. Sometimes going with what seems crazy makes all the “cents” in the world.
1) There’s only one deadbolt lock guarantee to win in gambling. And that’s not playing at all. Even though it’s very fun, it’s also highly addictive.
So my ultimate advice is, if you enjoy sports, just watch the games solely for the entertainment value. But if you must live on the edge take note of everything you read in this column and pro- ceed with extreme caution because being dead broke is no laughing matter. Good luck.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Com- pany. You can contact Mr. Barr at: cbar- ronice@gmail.com.
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C. Blythe Andrews 1901-1977 (1945)
C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. 1930-2010 (1977)
The Making Of An American Dictator
hen a then presidential candidate bragged that
he ‘could shoot somebody on the corner and still run successfully for political office’, and then ended up winning, that’s when we knew that our democracy was in trouble.
Some things you joke about, but not the spirit and ethics of a nation.
Shockingly, such was only the beginning.
Seated on a press-bus, this same person boasted his ability to grope women and get away with it.
As punishment, the reporter who leaked the story got the censure.
One time after another this candidate’s inappropriate conversations scorched the ears of an incredulous world . . . to the dumb response of an increasingly re- ceptive American public.
Meanwhile, the newly-elected 45th President of the United States let it be known he had a soft spot for the world’s current strongmen, capping his comments to the extent he wondered what it would be like to be “President-for-Life” as is China’s current supreme leader.
Now our president has chosen a woman known to subscribe to the torture of prisoners to head the CIA (Could this be foreshadowing of America’s own GESTAPO?).
The world need not wonder how dictators are made.
We have libraries that answer such questions. However, they do us no good if we refuse to read them and pay attention.
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