[Bullajami]

I've been reading the posts here for months, been doing some sports betting - mostly scalps for bonus money, figured I'd make a nickel or two as I learn - but I still feel like I don't know shit. What are some other resources I should be reading to learn the art of sports betting? Thanks.

[BuddyBear]

There are several criteria for who is not a sharp and only one criterium for being a sharp:

A sharp is an individual who gets the best number on a play plain and simple....

A sharp is not an individual who

bets a lot of money on games....

bets a lot of games

who wins regularly

chases to recoup losses

gets emotional over games

plays whatever number they get


There are some other characteristics that are correlated with being a sharp...but not necessarily exclusive to being a sharp.

[Bullajami]

It seems unlikely that I'll be able to bumble and luck my way into getting the best numbers on my plays in a consistent manner. It seems unlikely that most sharps rely on luck. How does one learn their skill at knowing when the numbers are best?

[Mudcat]

It's a very big question. How do you become sharp?

The only answer I know is patiently, little-by-little. You start with what you know - what else can you do? - and then you grind away at it day after day, always with a continuous improvement frame of mind. I can't be complacent. I have to push myself to get a little bit better every day.

Attitude matters IMO. I try to be positive and focus on the good things I have accomplished/learned without focusing too much on all the crap I don't know or don't have time to get around to. For example, you probably aren't going to have a complete answer to the question, "How does one become sharp?" by the end of today. Don't be discouraged. Break it down and keep plugging at it.

You make lots of notes (mental and written). You ask lots of questions. Forums like this have been extremely important to me. I need to figure out who is employing the same kind of money-making strategies as me. I have to get a feel for who is credible - and successful. Beware of shills, touts and yahoos!!!

Also, I need to avoid too much pride. If there's something I want to know and I feel like maybe it's a stupid question, I have to ask it anyway.

So that's all the airy-fairy stuff. On the practical side, I'm not sure I can help you that much. The only resources I really use are my education (quite a bit of math - although nothing too advanced is required for what I do), and this forum. I keep an eye on the sportsbooks. Who's got deals? Who's scamming? The other resource I have experimented with is arb services. We can talk about that if you're interested.

An awful lot of stuff is just learned by doing. You asked how to know when to get the best lines. The only answer I know is that when you stare at and work with lines for a thousand hours, you just get a better feel. There are some rules. If you're scalping, the best times are generally right when a book posts lines or else the last half hour before game time. (The closer to game time, the more volatility - which is good but also dangerous. You just have to work with it.)

But fortunately there is a lot that can be learned from other people's experience through the forum. Like which books are the best for which sports and all that sort of thing.

I know there are some books out there too. I remember some being mentioned by Ganchrow and others. I'll see if I can find a thread to link.

Anyway, that's my little sermon for today.

[pags11]

you become a sharp through experience...

[Mudcat]

some stuff in here

[BuddyBear]

the only way to become remotely good at this is to gather experience as Pags has stated...

There is a lot of emphasis on a lot of the theoretical aspects of sports betting and that is important but applicability of that theory is just as important. Like I tell my students when I start a semester of teaching, you aren't going to get up in the morning, roll out of bed and understand this stuff instantly, it takes quite a bit of time, hard work, and frustration till you can feel comfortable with the material.

I know this seems counter intuitive but trust me the best rule of thumb is if there is a point in time in your progression as a sports gambler you feel frustrated and that everything you expected turned out wrong then you are doing well...if there is ever a point in time where you feel you have everything down to an exact science and you think you are the shit at this....you need to seriously rethink what you are doing....

it's only after hundreds if not thousands of varied experiences that you can finally begin to feel comfortable with sports betting....that's when you know you can manage betting on sports.

[tacomax]

Damn you, Mudcat, I was just about to post the link to Wong's book:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/093...Fencoding=UTF8

It's a very good starter. You're a lot better off to learn the game through education rather than trying to follow people on forums who are quite often as sharp as a very blunt object.

[jumper]

regarding getting the best #, SBR Odds will work .or you can minimize the pages of the books you have money at and check them against each other.imo,a sharp player is able to feel comfortable playing underdogs,or going against the pinnacle lean.ultimately,if you make money doing this and can stick around long enough you,ll be there.what almost put me out of business was a scam book ripping me off for $20000 a couple years ago.thats why sbr is of such important value to me

[imgv94]

If someone consisently gets good lines their can be considered a Sharp.

Someone who can read into line movement and doesn't fall into many traps.

Money Management and Knowledge of the Sport you are betting is a huge
plus as well!!!

[pags11]

buddybear,

excellent post...I agree completely...you have to learn what not to do in order to become a good handicapper...then you learn discipline, money management and picking your spots...

[imgv94]

discipline, money management and picking your spots...

3 must haves I agree!!! pags is someone I have
much respect for!!!!

[d2bets]

There are several criteria for who is not a sharp and only one criterium for being a sharp:

A sharp is an individual who gets the best number on a play plain and simple....

A sharp is not an individual who

bets a lot of money on games....

bets a lot of games

who wins regularly

chases to recoup losses

gets emotional over games

plays whatever number they get


There are some other characteristics that are correlated with being a sharp...but not necessarily exclusive to being a sharp.

So then someone can lose consistently longterm and still be a sharp?

[BuddyBear]

So then someone can lose consistently longterm and still be a sharp?

yes technically someone can consistently lose longterm and still be a sharp if the criteria is that a sharp is an individual who gets the best number...

However, realistically if you get the best possible number on a given play and you can continually do it you aren't going to be losing long term...it's just a given dude

Remember...being a sharp is not measured in winning or losing but how often can you get the best possible number on a play...doing so will increase your chances of being successful.

[Dark Horse]

Some characteristics that I try to keep in mind:

Someone who continues to raise his game year after year.
Someone who understands the mental and emotional challenges that come with the territory.
Someone with great focus, self-discipline, and long term perspective.
Someone who picks his spots (and takes regular breaks).
Someone who is willing to pay the price (do the research).

[tacomax]

then you learn discipline, money management and picking your spots...

Someone who picks his spots

I pick my spots - and I scratch my arse as well - but it has never made a difference to my picks.

[Dark Horse]

If you don't pick your spots, the pick spots you.

[juuso]

Imo a sharp capper bets with odds having a positive long term expectancy regularly. For example, betting teams priced -105 having clearly over 50% probability of covering the spread will yield profit in the long run. It can be done with good knowledge of the sport and good eye in spotting value or more mathematical analyzing. Squares can pick a lot of winners but if they pay a lot of juice and bet bad numbers they are unlikely to be in profit after several thousand bets. Money management and discipline is obviously also the foundation of sharp betting.

[BuddyBear]

taco you play at sportsbook.com you are definitely not a sharp...you are a square.

[tacomax]

sportbook.com offer me lines which are soft, nice bonuses and free multiple monthly withdrawals - none of which Pinnacle can offer me at the moment. If looking for those attributes in a book make me square then I guess I'm a square.

And, in all honesty, I really couldn't give a fig what box you or any other numpty wants to categorise me in. I'm very happy with the way I conduct this side of my life and I really don't need any lessons.

[BuddyBear]

So lemme get this straight.

BB, your own definition of a sharp is someone who gets the best line.

Are you now trying to attach the addendum "...unless said line is at Sportsbook.com" to your definition?

Winston wherever you get the line you get the line but Taco is full of shit because there are no soft lines at sportsbook.com....there lines are very vanilla and just a cursory glance of their lines with pinnacle's would reveal that. not to mention there are not a reduced juice book so playing there is a complete waste of time.

[BuddyBear]

By the way, I didn't come up with the definition of what a sharp is....that's the definition that books use not me. Frankly, the term sharp i think is a misnomer.

[tacomax]

Winston wherever you get the line you get the line but Taco is full of shit because there are no soft lines at sportsbook.com....

Well I guess that they must deal dual lines then since I find that their lines hang waaaay after the market has moved. Maybe I'm just imagining all these prices I'm seeing. Either that, or you've not played there sufficiently to be able to tell or even have the ability to tell at all.

My lean is towards the latter.

[tacomax]

Horrible for big ML favorites if you're into that.

And consequently good lines for ML dogs.

But BuddyBear will think you're full of shit as well. You're imagining these nice ML dogs just like I am. They just don't happen.

[imgv94]

but Taco is full of shit because there are no soft lines at sportsbook.com..

You are wrong again. Buddybear ever since you have
came back you have been weird and saying shit
that just isn't true. sportsbook.com are sometimes
late in adjusting their lines so they do have soft lines
just for that purpose.

Trust me it doesn't happen all the time but there has
been many cases where sportsbook.com was the last
book out there to change their lines. So in result they
had the best line.

So taco is right.

I wonder if taco has hijacked buddybears login and
vice versa. I seem to be agreeing to taco all the time
and finding it hard 2 stomach what buddybear writes
on here.

[tacomax]

I wonder if taco has hijacked buddybears login and
vice versa. I seem to be agreeing to taco all the time
and finding it hard 2 stomach what buddybear writes
on here.

You're agreeing with me all the time?

Damn, maybe I'm wrong after all.

[imgv94]

You're agreeing with me all the time?

Damn, maybe I'm wrong after all.

[pags11]

I would also agree that most sharps use reduced juice shops understanding the importance of low vig in the long run...

[d2bets]

I would say that sharpness is not just a yes or no questionbut measured on a continuum which is directly correlated to your expected return per dollar wagered. In this sense, getting the best number is definitely one of the factors in determining this, probably the biggest one, but not the only one. There are any number of additional factors as well.

[freebie]

sportbook.com offer me lines which are soft, nice bonuses and free multiple monthly withdrawals - none of which Pinnacle can offer me at the moment. If looking for those attributes in a book make me square then I guess I'm a square.

And, in all honesty, I really couldn't give a fig what box you or any other numpty wants to categorise me in. I'm very happy with the way I conduct this side of my life and I really don't need any lessons.

As long as you're constantly winning. You don't need a freaking lesson or how to spot a good line.

You get the best line everyday, but pick the wrong teams all the time. What good does picking the best number?

[tacomax]

As long as you're constantly winning. You don't need a freaking lesson or how to spot a good line.

You get the best line everyday, but pick the wrong teams all the time. What good does picking the best number?

I never said it took a degree to find the best line. I said how I use sportsbook.com because, amongst other things, it often has very good dog prices.

Looks like I'm not the only one to notice that, either.