Syracuse opens up as 7.5 favs

[690West]

My point to was to townie comparing sports betting to slot machines. Slot machines are the worst form of gambling there is. I agree with you otherwise.

Ah got it. Yeah, traditional slots are between 8-15% house edge. Keno can be even higher. Video poker, on the other hand, can be one of the best games in the casino with a full pay table. Jacks or better with perfect strategy can get down to .5% edge. But again a guaranteed loser over time unless you’re getting huge comps

 

[RandygoCuse]

Perfect basic strategy in BJ can get house edge down to .66%. Still guaranteed loss over time. Sports betting vig is 4.54% house edge. Yuck. That’s almost as bad as playing the field in craps.

If this thread turns into one about the book Bringing Down the House, I'm totally cool with that

 

[kirbivore]

Perfect basic strategy in BJ can get house edge down to .66%. Still guaranteed loss over time. Sports betting vig is 4.54% house edge. Yuck. That’s almost as bad as playing the field in craps.

At least in craps if you put the extra odds bet behind your pass line after the point is established you get paid the true odds of the shooter making the point.

 

[Townie72]

The problem is with bettor psychology.

A smart guy I know once observed that the people at the slots just want to keep playing. So they play until they lose. And, if they play long enough they will lose.

Over the long term I'm ahead. Because when I get ahead, I quit and walk out or just hang out.

 

[Eric15]

My point to was to townie comparing sports betting to slot machines. Slot machines are the worst form of gambling there is. I agree with you otherwise.

There is just something fundamentally depressing to me about a person playing a slot machine. With blackjack, poker, roulette, etc. you have human interaction and it's social, but with slots the people just look hypnotized.

 

[Townie72]

So basically you are an expert.

You missed my point.

In order to make any money at sports betting you have to understand what they are doing. You have to rid yourself of the mistaken idea that the Line is what Vegas things the result of the game is going to be. That's not what that is. Instead it Vegas trying to 1.) attract bets and 2) balance bets on both sides. They are worried about what bettor's think and how they will react.

Very occasionally, their trying to do two things will result in a situation that the very knowledgeable fan can take advantage of. In those days I was watching a lot of Big East basketball and knew the relative strengths of the teams. It may also have been that there was someone new at this setting the odds or that they had a bad might.

But whatever it was, the situation was quickly corrected.

Some people ---maybe the majority --- just like to bet. It's fun for them and without it most games wouldn't be interesting.

I actually don't really like it very much. Taking Statistics courses at SU ruined it for me. I do it when I'm around it like at a casino. But even then, I do it to try and make some money and not as entertainment. If I can get the casino to pay for that night's dinner, I am very happy.

 

[upperdeck]

there are very few things like gambling where you can play to have fun and also make tax free money out of it.. does it matter if i give a movie $20 or the slots? one always pays out in good/bad 2 hrs shots the other might be 15 min or 6 hrs but also might add 100K to my account.

 

[NYCSUGrad]

I like playing the cheap slots with fun games. That said I play slots maybe every few years so my bank account isn't exactly in jeopardy!

 

[RandygoCuse]

I guess if you have to bet, sports is the way to go.

And I have actually seen your point in action.

A number of year's ago when we were in the Big East and I watched a lot of Big East games, I was in Las Vegas for a business meeting.

I strolled through the Sports Bet area and saw the lines for the three Big East games that were to be played that night. I was semi-stunned. I thought, "Those lines are not only wrong, they are way wrong."

I can remember thinking, "They have Providence as a 5 pt. dog against ??? and it's at Providence. There's no way they lose let alone not cover."

So I bet a three game parlay and won.

But the next several days, the line was flawlessly correct. I didn't find a game I'd touch.

In one of the first times I ever went to a horse race, I was in line waiting to place a bet on a horse I had selected based on it's name or where it was from. Behind me in line were two guys talking who seemed to have an encyclopedic knowledge of horse racing and evaluated each of the horses in the race in amazing depth.

They agreed that they were going to bet on the #5 horse or whatever. I thought, "I'd better bet on that horse too."

But then I looked down at the worn shoes of the two experts. These were not the shoes of guys who were making money at the track or anywhere else for that matter.

For the great majority, the more you gamble the more certain it is you are going to lose.

Did your horse win?

 

[AZOrange]

I guess if you have to bet, sports is the way to go.

And I have actually seen your point in action.

A number of year's ago when we were in the Big East and I watched a lot of Big East games, I was in Las Vegas for a business meeting.

I strolled through the Sports Bet area and saw the lines for the three Big East games that were to be played that night. I was semi-stunned. I thought, "Those lines are not only wrong, they are way wrong."

I can remember thinking, "They have Providence as a 5 pt. dog against ??? and it's at Providence. There's no way they lose let alone not cover."

So I bet a three game parlay and won.

But the next several days, the line was flawlessly correct. I didn't find a game I'd touch.

In one of the first times I ever went to a horse race, I was in line waiting to place a bet on a horse I had selected based on it's name or where it was from. Behind me in line were two guys talking who seemed to have an encyclopedic knowledge of horse racing and evaluated each of the horses in the race in amazing depth.

They agreed that they were going to bet on the #5 horse or whatever. I thought, "I'd better bet on that horse too."

But then I looked down at the worn shoes of the two experts. These were not the shoes of guys who were making money at the track or anywhere else for that matter.

For the great majority, the more you gamble the more certain it is you are going to lose.

Ina whole history of posting gems this one will go as vastly underrated. A gem of finest quality. Thank you for your service.

 

[AZOrange]

So basically you are an expert.

Don’t ruin my imagery. I’m picturing full tux, with tails, top hat, monacle, cigarette in a holder, maybe a small dog. I say sir, this spreads! They are inaccurate!

 

[OrlandoCuse]

Poker is a game that is winnable in the long run in Vegas, because the game is played against other participants and not the probabilities/house advantage established in the other games.

Only real problem with poker in a casino is the rake. Has the same effect as the vig with sports betting.

 

[Townie72]

Did your horse win?

Actually, I had a very good night. It was at the Trotters in a racing park somewhere in NE Philly. I bet all the horses raise or trained by Stanley Dancer. But the odds were so bad, I think I was winning 20 cents on each race. It was one of the first times I ever went to a horse race and I had absolutely no clue.

My friends in the run-down shoes bet much longer odds chasing the dream.