[natrass]

Me? I have to watch ... If Ive got a bet on, I feel I have to keep an eye on it ... if its not on telly Ill listen to the radio ... if its not on the radio Ill watch ceefax ... if its not on ceefax Ill sit watching livescores for up to two hours on my pc.

I think the last two there could come under the 'intangible' cost of gambling .. ie wasting my life

But my own research shows that my bets do perform better when I 'keep an eye on things'.

Someone posted about having 'tv's on .. does anyone watch more than one telly ... I think thats funny (in a good way).

[Mudcat]

I don't like to watch/listen to games I have bets on. If I'm home when a bet is in progress, I'll check the scores periodically on cbs.sportsline and that's about it.

[raiders72001]

I watch all the Sunday NFL games. I have action going almost every day but many times don't watch the games or look at the scores until the end of the night.

[LVHerbie]

Once you made a bet there is no reason to watch the game... I perfer to watch games I don't have bets on since I feel I can be more objective looking toward next week... especially with all the replays of games throughout the week (ESPN U is now my favorite station) I hardly ever watch a game, that I have a bet on... I feel my time is better spent watching/researching other things instead of sweating a game when I catch replay of game later iif I'm interested in a team the following week...

[LVHerbie]

speaking of which my new pet peez is all this poker room's haveing a boatload of damn tvs... how the hell am I suppose to focus on my game when you have three or four tvs blaring a team, say Iowa State, giving away a game with a huge spead against a bottom tier team, like Army, from all directions? where are all the tvs at the scamtable games? oh wait the casino is making money off the players being into the game instead of just stealing money out of pots from fools like me who blindly play hours while steaming from football... this is exactly how I DON'T like to watch my action...

[jjgold]

I do both, I watch some games and follow scores. It would be no fun just to bet games and then look at finals late at night.

[natrass]

I don't understand those who flatly do not watch games you bet on. I mean, it is all part of the learning process .. like, if you think team X will do whatever or the game will be played whatever (ie what you based your judgement on) ... then how can you learn from your mistakes.

If you dont watch the teams how can you keep up to date - team form, tactics, player form, etc? Sometimes just looking at the final scores will nto tell you the story, etc.

If you dont watch your bets play then its got to be bad practice Id say. IMO.

[Mudcat]

I don't understand those who flatly do not watch games you bet on. I mean, it is all part of the learning process .. like, if you think team X will do whatever or the game will be played whatever (ie what you based your judgement on) ... then how can you learn from your mistakes.

If you dont watch the teams how can you keep up to date - team form, tactics, player form, etc? Sometimes just looking at the final scores will nto tell you the story, etc.

If you dont watch your bets play then its got to be bad practice Id say. IMO.

Speaking for myself Natrass, it's simply that I place bets based on different things than you. There is more than one way, as the expression goes, to skin a cat.

There was a time I placed bets based on watching games and conventional handicapping and analyzing all the factors you talked about - and I lost at it. (I don't think I am going too far out on a limb when I say that almost everyone who gambles that way loses in the long-term.)

The factors I now use to place my bets don't require me to see the games. If anything, watching the games can get me thinking too much and make me talk myself out of good bets.

I once tracked this on a spreadsheet. Every time one of my systems was pointing to a bet, but I layed off because my brain was telling me it didn't look right (based on the kind of visual observation you are talking about), I made a note of it. Long story short, I was giving away money. I was thinking too much.

Other than that, I just don't enjoy watching sports very much. In my younger years, I was interested in the actual games and I had favorite teams and all that but I guess I grew out of it. If I try to watch a sporting event now, it isn't long before I'm channel-flipping looking for something more interesting.

I enjoy watching curling, the Super Bowl and the Sunday of the golf majors and that's really about it. Everything else, just give me the Cliff notes.

[natrass]

No, thats true .... I am a believer in stats not lying and opinions don't win matches/score goals, etc. That makes sense.

[jjgold]

You have to watch games to have any legitmate opions on games

Stats are really not that significant in handicapping and do not tell story

[natrass]

You have to watch games to have any legitmate opions on games

Stats are really not that significant in handicapping and do not tell story

jj ... you are starting to make sense ... I don't feel comfortable.

[jjgold]

Natrass I am not head man in my syndicate because I am dumb.

[natrass]

Natrass I am not head man in my syndicate because I am dumb.

jj ... when people start referring to you as 'head man' ... its not always a compliment ...

[LVHerbie]

You have to watch games to have any legitmate opions on games

Stats are really not that significant in handicapping and do not tell story

Not sure if this directed at my comments above since you only seem to post broad generalities here so I'm going to respond anyhow...

I watch games (alot of games actually)... I just try not to watch games live that I have a bet on... again, I find that I can be more objectiive when I'm not sweating a bet and screaming at a tv, both of which take my attention away from my real purpose (to win money) and have no effect on the outcome...

[mad]

I don't see how it matters, presumably your wagers have been made before kick off. Unless you are betting the game "in progress", I prefer to see what is happening. This way if you do have a loss i find it useful to be able to review the game myself to try and see if my selection was flawed or some other reason caused the poor result. Otherwise you are left wodering. Just my personal opinion, everyone is different and cases could be made for both.

[jjgold]

If you do not watch games you will get destroyed gambling as you then have no clue about team personal,ect

Most guys lose because they look at stats and not game film

[Mudcat]

If you do not watch games you will get destroyed gambling as you then have no clue about team personal,ect

It's always weird how people who consistently lose can be so sure of themselves. Good for the industry though.

[LVHerbie]

everyone is different and cases could be made for both.

This is properly the best/truest point in this thread

[SBR_John]

I'm a sportsline guy myself but man its very frustrating when they run behind like yesterday. Must of been 10 min behind all day on most of the games.

[jjgold]

You need to see how teams lost games are stats are very deceiving

Look today at Rams game, Bulger played like whore shit but his stats looked unreal

Giants dominated the game