[Willie Bee]

I’d like to welcome a new moderator to the team. Since ganchrow’s puzzles have all been way over our head, we adopted the if you can’t beat ‘em, hire ‘em philosophy.

Seriously, ganchrow provides a wealth of gaming knowledge and analysis to forum readers, and I hope everyone gleans as much from his posts and benefits from his experience as I have in the last few months.

Cheers

[Mudcat]

Welcome aboard, my fellow Vonnegut fan.

Shoot me a PM and I'll let you know who the mods are secretly planning to gang up on.

[EBone]

Very good move. I read interestingly when Ganchrow posts.



E

[natrass]

Ganchrow is the epitome of moderation (and hard sums).

Good stuff.

[bigboydan]

welcome to the team ganchrow

[onlooker]

Welcome aboard Ganchrow.

[MrX]

Couldn't happen to a better poster. Congrats.

[isetcap]

This just proves that SBR is being proactive about continuing to improve its Forum product. Even if it's a thread that would not have caught my attention, I always read it if Ganchrow has responded.

[tacomax]

Well done, Ganchrow. Hope you can do something about these "problem posters".

[mad]

Congrats Ganchrow.

[Ganchrow]

Thanks everyone, It's good to be here.

If you hadn't noticed I've been posting fundamental game analyses on a daily basis in the Baseball forum (straight from the keyboard of my own Handicapper General). While not picks per se, these write ups should provide some useful tools to assist in your own handicapping.

I'm also going to be peridocially posting quantitative primers on a variety of gambling topics. Just let me know if there's anything in particular on which you'd like me to focus, and of course feel free to ask away of you have any mathematical or programming-related sports-betting questions.

And of course, as long as people seem to remain interested, I'll continue to post these daily puzzle threads. (Let me know if you think they're too hard or too easy.) I'm hoping to streamline the grading process with in-thread javascript. Who knows? Maybe one day soon a kindly sportsbook will start offering a cash prize?

Again, it's great to be a part of the team, and always feel free to PM if there's every anything you'd like to discuss.


Scott.

[bigboydan]

Well done, Ganchrow. Hope you can do something about these "problem posters".

your right taco. maybe ganchrow can figure out a way to get rid of you

[pags11]

congrats ganchrow...I think you'll do a great job...

[tacomax]

your right taco. maybe ganchrow can figure out a way to get rid of you

I'm one of the "problem posters"?

[bigboydan]

yep, because i have a problem with that damn avitar of yours. gives me the heebee jeebee's

[Doug]

Seems like a good pick to me, he's one dude that's better with the math stuff than I am, and I know enough to get by.

[tacomax]

Seems like a good pick to me, he's one dude that's better with the math stuff than I am, and I know enough to get by.

Are we talking about Ganch or my avatar?

[Doug]

Are we talking about Ganch or my avatar?

I don't know what your avatar is, but it creeps me out ! Nearest I can come is Doogie Howser morphed with Shirley Temple.

[Illusion]

I knew from the day you signed up that you would eventually become a mod here. Congrats ganch.

[Dark Horse]

Good to have you as a mod, Ganchrow.

I'm also going to be peridocially posting quantitative primers on a variety of gambling topics. Just let me know if there's anything in particular on which you'd like me to focus, and of course feel free to ask away of you have any mathematical or programming-related sports-betting questions.

Line movements.

I'd read a book about that, but nobody has written it. Since you're a man who appreciates a challenge, here is a quote to set the bar high. First part is intro. The challenge is in the last three sentences:

"...when a game opened at 6.5 and moved to 7, then slowly over the week, 7.5, that was the public. But when a game opened at 6.5 on Monday, and on Tuesday it was 8, that wasn't the public. Some sharp outfit had come in and someone knew something. There are a lot of intricacies in how the line moves. It's something I studied for years. I was able to solve the riddle.
I don't even have to know who's playing. I don't have to know anything. I can look at the numbers and I can tell you the winners." - Legendary gambler Stan Tomchin

[bigboydan]

I don't know what your avatar is, but it creeps me out ! Nearest I can come is Doogie Howser morphed with Shirley Temple.

Doug, rumor has it that avitar is really taco's self portrait.

[Ganchrow]

I don't even have to know who's playing. I don't have to know anything. I can look at the numbers and I can tell you the winners." - Legendary gambler Stan Tomchin

Having spent a good deal of time debunking the claims of financial "chartists", I'd personally be highly skeptical of so hyperbolic a claim.

Stil,l the topic of line movements is certainly fascinating and I do intend to spend some time discussing it a little further on down the trail.

[Dark Horse]

Stan Tomchin was part of the Computer Group.

[natrass]

yep, because i have a problem with that damn avitar of yours. gives me the heebee jeebee's

Yes, I agree. I dont think taco understands how this stuff is upsetting for us heterosexuals.

[Ganchrow]

Stan Tomchin was part of the Computer Group.

I actually only knew of Tomchin from backgammon and he certainly was a phenomenal player. Still, like many professional gamblers, it appears he's tried to supplement his income by writing books. From experience I've found that when authors make claims such as hyperbolic and self-serving as Tomchin's, it's quite often a gambit to sell more books (or indeed to sell more of themselves).

Don't get me wrong, due to the inefficiency of the sports betting market I do believe there is value in picking apart line movement patterns, however, I don't believe it anywhere nearly as sexy as the the Tomchin quote might otherwise lead one to believe. Add a few percent worth of value to a bet here or there, OK fine. That I can buy. But pick winners across the board based solely on line movements? Of that I continue to remain exceedingly skeptical.

Just my 2 cents anyway. I'll think on this some more.

[BuddyBear]

Congratulations Ganchrow....i know you will be an imporvement then some of the more recents additions to moderator and will have more important things then simply posting naked pics of women and asking for evaluations.

[Dark Horse]

I actually only knew of Tomchin from backgammon and he certainly was a phenomenal player. Still, like many professional gamblers, it appears he's tried to supplement his income by writing books. From experience I've found that when authors make claims such as hyperbolic and self-serving as Tomchin's, it's quite often a gambit to sell more books (or indeed to sell more of themselves).

Don't get me wrong, due to the inefficiency of the sports betting market I do believe there is value in picking apart line movement patterns, however, I don't believe it anywhere nearly as sexy as the the Tomchin quote might otherwise lead one to believe. Add a few percent worth of value to a bet here or there, OK fine. That I can buy. But pick winners across the board based solely on line movements? Of that I continue to remain exceedingly skeptical.

Just my 2 cents anyway. I'll think on this some more.

Tomchin was talking about an earlier, more innocent (?), time. The lines were softer in those days. Maybe a comparable league today is the WNBA. For instance, yesterday the three big line movements (totals) pointed at the winning plays.

(before backgammon Tomchin was a chess master at age 13; very analytical; not the bragging type).

[imgv94]

Ganchrow is one of the best posters in the forum world.