[theredd]

This is a great site, there is obviously a lot of information flying around . . . Im just having a lot of trouble figuring out where to start. Trying to wade through acronyms, abbreviations and statistical terms can be pretty . . . frustrating. So, lets see if I can at least ask some questions that make sense:

1) I can do a quick search on Amazon.com and find all sorts of books about handicapping . . . are there any books anyone would recommend for a beginner to the business? Maybe something like this exists somewhere on the SBR website and I just havent located it yet? What Id love to find would be something like "Sports Handicapping For Dummies"; then again Id also love to have a billion dollars

2) I've picked up the idea that anyone who intends to make money in this business has a "system". I also have figured out that these systems are usually available at a price. How do I go about figuring out what systems are legit, without losing a lot of $$$ in the learning process? Or maybe Im totally wrong about systems?

3) This one may be asking a lot . . . I feel really hindered by my lack of much math education. Maybe somebody could point me towards books/websites/other media that can help me acquire some math skilz ?

TIA

[ncat12]

hey there 'theredd' if there is anybooks out there that are worth anything(substance wise) they are pretty well hidden, imo your gonna have your up's your downs and of course those days when you are praying just to break even IF you do not have your own discipline 'system' all of those bldgs out there in the desert of Las vegas are not there b/c people's system's work...take your time , do your studying and from what I have heard from gamblers anonymous 'bet with your head not over it'
you will do find read up on the threads that are worthwhile in this site if you look at the cappers section do yourself a favor and keep notes ,( damn I should have done that crap)

[daneblazer]

Read some stuff in the think tank, stay out of players talk, get a bankroll and ADHERE TO IT and you'll be fine.

[rhino1153]

This is a great site, there is obviously a lot of information flying around . . . Im just having a lot of trouble figuring out where to start. Trying to wade through acronyms, abbreviations and statistical terms can be pretty . . . frustrating. So, lets see if I can at least ask some questions that make sense:

1) I can do a quick search on Amazon.com and find all sorts of books about handicapping . . . are there any books anyone would recommend for a beginner to the business? Maybe something like this exists somewhere on the SBR website and I just havent located it yet? What Id love to find would be something like "Sports Handicapping For Dummies"; then again Id also love to have a billion dollars

2) I've picked up the idea that anyone who intends to make money in this business has a "system". I also have figured out that these systems are usually available at a price. How do I go about figuring out what systems are legit, without losing a lot of $$$ in the learning process? Or maybe Im totally wrong about systems?

3) This one may be asking a lot . . . I feel really hindered by my lack of much math education. Maybe somebody could point me towards books/websites/other media that can help me acquire some math skilz ?

TIA

Where to start... There are lots of books out there. If you are really interested in reading I can get you some specific titles. But I don't know of any one book that is that generic. There are books about how to handicap, books about strategy, math books about formulas, books about betting strategies. I recommend you find a couple of the guys on here that have experience and just ask them. Most of us try to be helpful.

You definitely have the right mindset going in to this that you have to treat this as a business. When you say what systems are legit, are you talking about how to bet? There are basically 2 different approaches, flat betting and % betting. Check out this thread which might help: http://www.sportsbookreview.com/forum/handicappe...long-haul.html. I have my own system that works. I strictly bet a set percentage based on my bankroll. I learned this from a friend and an old school handicapper. He also has it posted on his site. It is referred to as Money management. There again you can find lots of books or Google that term.

As for your last question... good luck. Math skills are important but without years of data, you might not have the best results. Again there, you can google for handicapping math and get historic data too. Until you get to that level, I would establish a system, find and track several touts on the site and get more comfortable with it.
________________________
2010 NCAA Football: 22-13 (62.9%)
sbrforum.com/college-football-handicapping/arlonsports-2010-ncaa-picks

[Squirrel]

1) i can do a quick search on amazon.com and find all sorts of books about handicapping . . . Are there any books anyone would recommend for a beginner to the business? Maybe something like this exists somewhere on the sbr website and i just havent located it yet? What id love to find would be something like "sports handicapping for dummies"; then again id also love to have a billion dollars

2) i've picked up the idea that anyone who intends to make money in this business has a "system". I also have figured out that these systems are usually available at a price. How do i go about figuring out what systems are legit, without losing a lot of $$$ in the learning process? Or maybe im totally wrong about systems?

3) this one may be asking a lot . . . I feel really hindered by my lack of much math education. Maybe somebody could point me towards books/websites/other media that can help me acquire some math skilz ? Tia

My general opinions:

1) Any information you need to get started is usually available on the internetz for free, its just a case of rooting it out. I've personally never read a book about gambling in my life but over time I must have bookmarked about a million sites which I just read, learn, read again and make sure i've taken it in. The important thing is to remember google and the forums are your friend, if you have something gambling related you are unsure of I almost guarantee that hitting up google will sort you out.

2) Systems are a different business to actually handicapping games/sports IMO, they can work because they take remove the "personal factor" from a pick, however the best thing you can do is just watch games and handicap the sports you watch the most. Don't try and follow too many sports just to get action going. My personal opinion to is NEVER buy from a tout, by paying $$ for picks you basically increase the SR% you need to make profit to cover sub costs.

3) No real need for maths skills as such, just watch how the lines work and how the markets are set up - you soon pick stuff up just by watching sbrodds on a college football gameday or whatever. Stats are there to aid a pick but my motto is "Stats cant tell you anything that the eyes cant tell you, but the eyes can tell you EVERYTHING that stats dont".

Watch games and keep the money management smart, and just enjoy the ride

[theredd]

Read some stuff in the think tank, stay out of players talk, get a bankroll and ADHERE TO IT and you'll be fine.

Half the problem is, I cant understand a lot of the posts on the Think Tank, its like reading a foreign language a lot of the time. I was thinking I could find some resources to figure out what people are talking about, so Im not being a pain by constantly asking "whats that mean?".

[theredd]

Where to start... There are lots of books out there. If you are really interested in reading I can get you some specific titles. But I don't know of any one book that is that generic. There are books about how to handicap, books about strategy, math books about formulas, books about betting strategies. I recommend you find a couple of the guys on here that have experience and just ask them. Most of us try to be helpful.

You definitely have the right mindset going in to this that you have to treat this as a business. When you say what systems are legit, are you talking about how to bet? There are basically 2 different approaches, flat betting and % betting. Check out this thread which might help: http://www.sportsbookreview.com/forum/handicappe...long-haul.html. I have my own system that works. I strictly bet a set percentage based on my bankroll. I learned this from a friend and an old school handicapper. He also has it posted on his site. It is referred to as Money management. There again you can find lots of books or Google that term.

As for your last question... good luck. Math skills are important but without years of data, you might not have the best results. Again there, you can google for handicapping math and get historic data too. Until you get to that level, I would establish a system, find and track several touts on the site and get more comfortable with it.

Well let me try and be more specific-by a "system", I guess I really mean "my edge". I realise a lot of a capper's edge comes from experience, but Im also sure that there are some standard things that "everyone looks for", or at least everyone has heard of. One example I can name would be "Revenge Systems" in baseball.

[ncat12]

as OUR first grade teachers have taught us , the only dumb question is the one not asked, like the previous poster said 'most' of us try to be helpfull , it is just like anywhere in the world you will have , I like to think , mostly helpfull people, ....BTW esp. being in this forum hold on to your points , I am pretty sure those of us that are trying to help you are not looking for points, just trying to give you something you can build on..and let me preface this , I am NOT trying to be a smartass, just a quick acronym ...BOL ( best of luck)