new here, and i've just got to say that the "free service picks" are laughable.

Illusion · 08-23-06, 07:06 PM

I am rarely on the same side as them, but they do offer some useful guidelines especially for newer players.

SBR_John · 08-23-06, 07:11 PM

A lot of guys like the free picks and its an area we will get better in. The current free picks section is just 2 weeks old.

Welcome to the forum and good luck with your plays!

Hoja Verdes · 08-23-06, 07:42 PM

Thanks again for everything you do here guys. You guys run one of the only altruistic "good guy" sites out there, and I feel like a site like this is what sports gambling is meant to be all about for the average joe. No shadiness, no scams. Job well done.

Hey Illusion, you watching this Mets game? My boy Hancock coming through nicely as planned! :cheers

crackerjack · 08-23-06, 08:46 PM

I enjoy reading the free picks and following the so-called "pros".

McBa1n · 08-23-06, 09:19 PM

mm...the daily fade section

onlooker · 08-24-06, 01:53 AM

Originally posted by McBa1n

mm...the daily fade section

Which ever why you look at it. As long as it helps cappers with their analysis of the games. If you find it basic or in depth information, it can get you started on capping a game.

Who said they werent square? Most touts are.

isetcap · 08-24-06, 07:28 AM

Originally posted by Hoja Verdes

I'm sorry, but those little paragraph explanations on their hot free service picks make me laugh every day. They all sound like complete squares (sorry, that's the only way to put it) as they simply point out the most obvious aspects of each game and make huge logic jumps to justify their side.

Does anyone else find these sadly hilarious? Sad, as in, some pitiful bastards actually pay for these picks.

I was just thinking the exact same thing when I logged in today and saw that just about every pick was wrong for last night. Typically it's crap like, "Two strong pitchers in LA tonight so go with the UNDER." As if the linesmakers don't know that there's two strong pitchers on the mound!

If you want good information to help you make decisions about your baseball plays, just stick with the Ganchalysis.

Hulu · 08-24-06, 12:28 PM

I think on the whole having the touts' picks posted in the forums is a good thing. If nothing else, it gets discussion started and that discussion helps bring out points and info that you may have missed yourself when capping the game.

I have to agree though that many times trying to figure out the 'logic' used is more like playing 'six degrees of seperation'.

MrX · 08-24-06, 12:47 PM

I'll say it again:

I'm in agreement that anyone posting free picks as great... BUT:

The fact that these guys get to post a link to their commercial sites feels wrong. It's an endorsement by SBR, in my mind, of their services. That seems a lot like SBR steering players toward, what I think most of us would agree, is a big rip-off. Maybe I'm interpreting this wrong, but normal posters aren't allowed to post these kind of links, right? So these guys must be endorsed by SBR in some way, right?

Willie Bee · 08-24-06, 01:30 PM

Understand what you’re saying, MrX. I also happen to agree with many of you here that we should place the articles in their own section here on the message board, or at least organize them into one big honkin’ thread per day/week in the individual sports sections.

I don’t agree that SBR is endorsing the individuals or their websites any more than I believe we’re endorsing every sportsbook we have listed with links in our Ratings Guide. The vast majority of these ‘free picks’ appear at those websites and the link back is a bit like an AP or NY Times byline for a story that is picked up and reprinted in the Your Neck o’ The Woods Daily Bugle. Speaking for myself and Ganchrow, the little pieces we have done so far are nothing different than what we would post in a regular thread here on the board, just a different way to present it. I never have, and never will, sell a pick. I just love researching and writing.

By the way, I’m 4-2 on my Wednesday over-unders, just thought I’d throw that in for some comedy relief since I’m sure I will now go 2-4 the next few weeks

One solution to this might be for around 15-20 SBR posters to step up and provide content for the front page on a regular basis. Say three, 500-word articles per week from 20 different writers, that should be a good start. I hate those little 2-3 sentence ‘analysis’ pieces myself. Make sure you know the difference between there, their and they’re, and little things like Dave Williams, today’s starter for the Mets, being a left-hander instead of a righty.

Anyone interested?

Bulldog · 08-24-06, 02:48 PM

Originally posted by Willie Bee

One solution to this might be for around 15-20 SBR posters to step up and provide content for the front page on a regular basis. Say three, 500-word articles per week from 20 different writers, that should be a good start. I hate those little 2-3 sentence ‘analysis’ pieces myself. Make sure you know the difference between there, their and they’re, and little things like Dave Williams, today’s starter for the Mets, being a left-hander instead of a righty.

Anyone interested?

Willie Bee, Im not quite sure what you mean by this. It might not be your intention but it seems like you're dissing those of us who just for fun do little writeups about our opinion on certain games. I personally dont have a problem with the so called experts picks, but the whole "if you dont like it do it yourself" attitude seems unnecessary. I think all the guys here are just pointing out what they think about the new format, much like Razz and others did on a previous thread.
Its obvious that most of us dont have the time (or perhaps the knowledge) to write 500 word articles, so we may check in and write 2 or 3 sentences... thats what makes the forum worthy imo.

Willie Bee · 08-24-06, 03:12 PM

Bulldog, my apologies if I came off as dissing anyone. It was not meant as some flippant "if you don't like it, do it yourself" remark. I completely understand where many of the longtime posters are coming from regarding this issue, and have spoken with Razz and others via PM about this. I also understand where the man in charge here is coming from and wants to head in the long run.

My comment about the 2-3 sentences was in regards to the fact that some of the pieces we're receiving are only that long, not about 2-3 sentence posts in the forum. I'm serious about offering anyone here who is interested a chance to post analysis to the new page. Most people hate to write; others might like a chance. And it would be great, in my opinion, if pieces by 'regular posters' here were just as correct if not more spot-on than those of the professional cappers.

There's no doubt in my mind that we have posters every bit as knowledgeable and well-versed as the folks writing the present articles. And the last thing I meant was to mock anyone.

MrX · 08-24-06, 03:54 PM

Originally posted by Willie Bee

I don’t agree that SBR is endorsing the individuals or their websites any more than I believe we’re endorsing every sportsbook we have listed with links in our Ratings Guide.

I'm sorry, but I don't buy that one at all. There is no way in hell that some D+ book would be allowed to post an ad for themselves in one of the non-promo forums.

I think the more that SBR tries to paint this as something it's not, the more I dislike the whole thing.

The only thing that those writeups are good for is directing the occasional customer to one of the touts. That's the reason they're there. I'd like it a lot better if someone from SBR would just say "hey, we're a business and we want this extra income to support the forum." Then at least they could get honest feedback with everyone on the same page.

pags11 · 08-25-06, 03:44 AM

you're better off following the cappers in the sports forums...

LGBoots · 08-25-06, 05:55 AM

I enjoy reading the free service writeups.

But the normal poster cappers on the sports forum are a lot better with their picks

Patrick McIrish · 08-26-06, 09:38 AM

I hate that area, now I have to avoid the entire front page and come straight to the forums, otherwise I am clicking over and over it seems. I guess we can't agree with it all but to take money from some of these touts and then promote them just seems dirty to me for some reason. Very unlike what you hope SBR would be doing.....

SBR_John · 08-26-06, 12:18 PM

Originally posted by Patrick McIrish

I hate that area, now I have to avoid the entire front page and come straight to the forums, otherwise I am clicking over and over it seems. I guess we can't agree with it all but to take money from some of these touts and then promote them just seems dirty to me for some reason. Very unlike what you hope SBR would be doing.....

Pat, we have no business with any touts. We dont pay them and they dont pay us indirectly, directly or otherwise. We are just looking for free picks for content that many players actually search for. Obviously some of you old pros do not want free picks but a whole lot of players do and we want to appeal to as many as we can. Hopefully we will deliver free picks that players will enjoy.

sergfro · 08-26-06, 02:19 PM

can you guys atleast make a folder that says "free picks" in each sport section? It gets pretty annoying when you go to bases or football and have to scroll down trying to find "best bets" or "capping discussion" with all these free sports picks in between everything it is just very cluttered

scottyy11 · 08-26-06, 02:34 PM

the free picks are ok, dont bother me its just a cover page........sometimes i even read then if there on a sports i know nothing about like nascar

JDK192 · 08-26-06, 03:55 PM

"

pags11 · 08-26-06, 04:10 PM

I kind of like the cover page, although I never pay attention to any of the free picks...

SBR_John · 08-26-06, 11:22 PM

"

daystrom · 08-27-06, 11:02 AM

What I don't like is when you click the sbr forum tab on the home page, the free picks page pops up. Unfortunately it gives the reader the imppression that you (SBR) are getting paid by touts for allowing them to post free picks since that is the first thing you see. If you were taken directly to the SBR forum page, then I would have no problem with it. Optics is everything in this case. And in fact, my tab reads "Free Football Picks, sports handicapping...." It's grossly misleading to have touts so prominently displayed.

JoshW · 08-27-06, 12:52 PM

Is good to see Ben Burns and Fezzik stuff. If the site is going to do touts, at least it has a few guys with a clue mixed in.