Parlay for my life.

[Ganchrow]

Do you have a specific round robin that you prefer more than others (e.g. 5x2, 7x3, etc.)?

It's not about personally favoring one over the other (although I have always been partial to the 12x3 -- it's demure and subtle without being shy yet bold without being crass or haughty), it's about determining the optimal growth maximizing make-up.

As LT says, check out my Kelly Calculator.

[Ganchrow]

This isn't Ganchrow, but I believe he means every possible TWO-TEAM parlay, regardless of the amount of simultaneous plays. For confirmation, play with his tool.

No. I meant every possible parlay of every given size. Although as I've mentioned, most (but not all) of the time, larger parlays will be of negligible size.

[moses millsap]

It's not about personally favoring one over the other (although I have always been partial to the 12x3 -- it's demure and subtle without being shy yet bold without being crass or haughty), it's about determining the optimal growth maximizing make-up.

As LT says, check out my Kelly Calculator.

I've always mostly stuck to 2 team parlays and the more teams in a RR, the better for me. 5x2's with one bad beat can be demoralizing as 2-3 kills you in a RR while it just hurts you a little if straight betting.

[crackerjack]

Good luck on NJ tonight. I personally would hedge, but then why include it in the parlay in the first place if you are going to hedge it up? Perhaps waiting for the second half line and trying to for a middle is a good option. I hope you hit it!

[Tchocky]

I'm too lazy to check all the scores. Did you win your parlay?

[cwsulzba]

3 out of 4, I got the Nets +5 tonight also. Im sure Ill end up losing that one. But I will take one game for 2500 for a 250 225 risk. Hopefully Vince and Kidd show up.

[BuddyBear]

Good luck cwsulzba....hope this comes through for you. Would make for a very nice night I am sure for you.....

[hitbitritz]

you lose either way. unfortunately, to put yourself in a position like this, where this 4 team long shot would "significantly change your life" you're in the grip of a progressive illness. assuming you don't hedge, tonight you'll either feel great "pleasure" or great "pain"...either way you'll be back to "normal" in a week or so. i don't think you will hedge, because you are compulsive gambler and you live for the rush.

i suggest you go to GA tonight instead of watching the nets game - no disrespect, i'm being honest.

[cwsulzba]

Well if you read my post, I clearly dont have the money to hedge my bet. So I am going for it. Thank you for the insight hitbitritz. I really did not realize I had a problem until you posted that message, thank you.

[BuddyBear]

hang in there CWS.....everyone on here has been in a similar or even worse situation. Everyone is just looking out for you and trying to help you get through this. I'll be hoping the NETS come through for you big time bro....

[Crayzee]

good luck
i hope you hit it

[hitbitritz]

cwsulzba - i'm sorry i didn't mean to offend you. i hope you win to alleviate the bind you are in. but i'm sure almost everyone on this board will agree with me when i say that this won't be the end of your problems if you don't get a grip on your illness. it's easy to look short term and want a big win, but it's important to look in the mirror and realize the insane world of a compulsive gambler. i blew some money a while ago and was able to recover and now i gamble normally for the most part. i haven't gotten myself into trouble ever since. in my case, it doesnt appear to be as serious as yours..but sometimes we also tend to over-exaggerate in times of crisis. win or lose, i'm sure you will be just fine. good luck.

[BuddyBear]

Give this questionnaire a shot CWS (after the game)....focus now on the game...that should be your main concern right now.

http://www.gamblersanonymous.org/20questions.html

[LargeMouthBass]

You guys are the best... I wish I had some comforting words when I was down and out several years back.

No matter what happens tonight, CWS has to realize for himself whether he has a problem or not. Until then, your words are useless.

[BuddyBear]

Well you gave it your best bro....at least putting NJ over NYY didn't come back to haunt you. Let's see if we can't get you out of the whole with a few more big plays.....

[cwsulzba]

Im done, I wish I would have lost earlier cuz I actually had hope for a while.

[BuddyBear]

I have no scientific evidence...but it always seems like parlays, especially the really big ones, are always lost on the last leg. hang in there CWS.....there will be some big plays soon.

[hitbitritz]

"done" - best move you can make. unless you'll be chasing the rest of your life. don't listen to the people that say to keep going, they are only trying to help, but it will most likely compound your problems. we've all been where you are. all of us. trust me. i'm going to give you some tips to get $..take them or leave them, they've all worked for me or my buddies at one point in time, mainly the one point in time when i was in a bind similar to you.

1) right now you are under enormous emotional stress. you can't be thinking like a normal person. do not make major decisions until at least 24 hrs until you calm down emotionally and begin to think normal again.

2) don't bet again for at least a few weeks. what you want to do after that is up to you. word of the wise - there is much proof to suggest that one who loses control in gambling can never gamble normal again. it's a general rule. think about it.

3) realize that the loss may seem HUGE now, but in reality its only a few G's and you can overcome it easily, regardless of how much $ you make.

4) get $. here are some ways that have worked for me. some may seem obvious to some people, maybe you haven't thought of them.

a) credit cards? do you have any? most banks give you a cash access line up to your credit line. if you have it, you can go to any bank and physically hand them the card to do a cash advance. if you're doing more than 500, call your bank in advance so it doesn't decline your transaction.

b) credit card max'd out? call your bank and ask for an increase. many do them on the spot, if not, within a day or 2 you'll know.

c) get a new credit card. for how long it will take to come in the mail, thats probably how long it would have taken for you to get your $ from a book if you would have won it anyways. don't bother with small to mid banks, they won't give you a good enough limit to start. look at chase, citibank, and bank of america. those are all great banks that would at least give you a grand or 2 in credit to start, most likely at least 3-4k.

your card will arrive in 1-1.5 weeks. cash advance that bitch when you get it.

d) have an existing card? no credit? change your bank account information to invalid and set up a payment. most banks will automatically give you credit once the payment posts (way before the $ actually leaves your account or they get notice of the NSF or invalid bank account #). be sure not to set the payment up for too big of an amount, it may trigger something in the system that doesnt allow you to tap into that credit. when i paid 3k once (legitmately HAHA) they made me wait 2 weeks before they released the hold.

i recommend paying no more than 1000, 1500 at most at a time on the CC, although more may work. 2 cards and you'd be OK. you could set up the payment, wait til it posts next day, and take the CC to the bank and cash advance it. this has worked wonders for not only me, but other people. keep in mind that it's going to 1) give you a NSF fee of $35 once the payment returns and, 2) put you over your credit limit which will also put you at the default rate of probably 35%.

e) delay some bills. i dont know how much you know about bills, but nothing is reported to the collection agency until it's 30 days past due. therefore, all your bills can go 29 over due before you pay them and you'll be fine.

f) ask a friend. be honest. i dont know if id get into the specifics, but say that you just got in a little over your head. if this is your first time, you have a good trusting relationshp with them, and you havent ****ed them, and they have the $, they'll probably help you, or at least give you part of it. be sure not to do this with anyone related to your job. you dont want the word getting out. be careful here.

g) same as (f) but ask family. i say this is the 2nd option to friends because family tends to get a little more emotional and upset.. plus depending on your age, they may be up your ass, or worse yet, they may question putting you in their will because of your gambling problem. if you decide you have a gambling problem, and want help, if you want them actively involved, then maybe going to them with your problem & solution on how you are going to fix it will cause them to help you. also, GA (gamblers anonymous) is strongly against "bail outs", meaning, having someone pay you off.

other options are applying for a personal loan. wells fargo and beneficial are 2 banks that work with people with less than perfect credit.

i've seen it all with friends, and i've done some of it myself.

good luck.

[cobra_king]

With all due respect, nobody should be advocating to CWS to "hang in there" until the next big play. BB i like alot of the advice you give to players and it would be ok advice to a player who isn't clearly in trouble, but this is just suicide to a guy like CWS. If i recall, CWS loves his parlays and about a month ago we had a thread regarding his huge parlay where he took a ton of huge priced favorites all parlayed together, and tho he won the warning signs were there when it was obvious this was his preferred method of playing. The fact that CWS did win that parlay and less than a month later is up against it like this shows that he definately needs to stop and preferably get some help. CWS, your profile says you are 22 years old and in school......don't let it all go down the drain by chasing like you do. As for taking out credit cards and maxing them out with cash advances, i urge you to not go down that path. 15-20% rates will swallow you up faster than the parlays you play, you will never get out from underneath them and will forever be in debt. Plus....if you don't get your gambling under control AND go down the path of new credit card debt, in 2 months you will have lost all that money as well. I wish you the best of luck, and i hope i haven't overstepped my bounds with you with this advice, just trying to help out.

[crackerjack]

I had nothing invested in that game, but I sure was pulling for the Nets. Good luck to you...there is some good advice on this thread.

[cwsulzba]

Thanks hitbitritz for the advice. I actually am not doing to bad because I expected to lose, it kind of stung when the Nets were up most of the way and that was the last fourth of my parlay. I think I am going to be done for a while, I have been losin a lot of close ones lately and I just need to stay away. I do appreciate the advice though.

[lytefooted]

Yeah, try borrowing from family or friends, or perhaps a credit union personal loan. Use credit card cash advances as a very last resort, as those rates are pretty high. Also, avoid payday/title loans at all costs if they happen to cross your mind. Their rates are astronomical and have put those who've had many out at a time into bankruptcy.