who has the best set of rules they follow for sports betting? POST AND VOTE NOW.

**Joe Dogs** · 12-05-09, 06:53 AM

Rule 1, one must have the Patience of a saint and the guts of a burglar to win at this game.

**LLXC** · 12-05-09, 07:08 AM

Rule 3 Don't go on tilt...all about money management...

**dante1** · 12-05-09, 06:33 PM

1. Book other players action
2-9 See no 1

**marcoforte** · 12-05-09, 07:08 PM

discipline is everything.

#6 is my favorite. 4:15 and 7:30 are enough for me. Anything before is useless.

**PAULYPOKER** · 12-06-09, 11:34 PM

Rules i broke on Saturday

#9 ALWAYS MAKE DECISIONS BASED ON YOUR BEST CHANCE TO WIN NOT FAVORITISM: FOR EXAMPLE JUST BECAUSE A TEAM DESTROYED THIS WEEK DOES NOT MEAN THEY WILL NEXT WEEK OR EVERYBODY SAYS THE COWBOYS ARE GOING TO DESTROY THE GIANTS SO I GOT TO TAKE THEM. (ALWAYS ASK YOURSELF HOW CAN I GET THE ODDS IN MY FAVOR.)

#3 NEVER GO ON TILT: MEANING GETTING ANGRY WHEN YOU LOSE A BET OR MAKING FOOLISH DECISIONS LIKE DOUBLING DOWN, OR AN I'LL SHOW THEM BOOKIES ATTITUDE! "AN ANGRY MIND IS A LOSING MIND"

My book for Saturday = -429units

Rules i broke on Sunday

0

My book for Sunday +800 units

**roasthawg** · 12-06-09, 11:49 PM

Most important rules from the op... #3 and #9.

Other good ones... #5 and #6.

**donjuan** · 12-07-09, 01:05 AM

Rule 11. Post this in Players Talk.

**smitch124** · 12-07-09, 01:11 AM

I have to go with Heaven's Gate:

SBR Forum - Sports Betting Talk - Sportsbook Review Forum

http://forum.sbrforum.com/players-talk/87938-15-rules.html

Sports betting and handicapping forum: discuss picks, odds, and predictions for upcoming games and results on latest bets.

**PAULYPOKER** · 12-07-09, 01:39 AM

Originally posted by smitch124

I have to go with Heaven's Gate: http://forum.sbrforum.com/players-ta...-15-rules.html

I like Saint Andrews following rules

3. Don't play totals. They're not profitable, you win on them by being lucky. Luck is not a handicapping tool.
My reason: totals are nothing but a cointoss or roulette red or black or playing Russian roulette with four bullets in a six shooter!

10. Don't go "all-in" unless you are making a lifestyle change. You may think you are ready to do it, but if it loses and you suddenly can't get action down, you will wish you could get in the time machine. There is only one permissible time to go "all -in": it's when you are on the brink of a lifestyle change that does not involve gambling and you don't care if you win or lose.
No need for reason self explanitory

11. Don't let "touts", message board traffic, etc influence your plays. "Gambling Services" are simply people doing what you should be doing (research) except that they are usually doing it less effectively than you could do it yourself. I am always shocked by the illiterate moron write-ups that I see on service sites.
My reason: Don't fall for hype!

14. Never assume that a team is better or worse than their record.
No need for reason self explanitory

**G's pks** · 12-07-09, 02:15 AM

If only old St Andrew/Machine Choice could have stuck to his rules might still be around...sad he went all in 4 times this year and lost... I am sure there is someone who misses him?

**goblue12** · 12-07-09, 03:32 AM

1. Let the book(s) make the play for you.

2. Figure out what #1 means before ever placing a wager.

**PAULYPOKER** · 12-07-09, 03:47 AM

Originally posted by goblue12

1. Let the book(s) make the play for you.

2. Figure out what #1 means before ever placing a wager.

TSI

**trixtrix** · 12-07-09, 10:51 AM

rule #1.) always make +eg bets

rule #2.) refer to rule #1

**mihaita666** · 12-07-09, 11:19 AM

i like rule no 3.....its the most important, i think.

**BEANTOWNJIM** · 12-07-09, 12:27 PM

ALWAYS BET ON THE WHITE QUARTERBACK OVER THE BLACK ONE I CALL THIS THE BEANTOWNIM RULE.BLACK GUYS PANIC UNDER PRESSURE AND THROW BAD PASSES THIS IS A KNOWN FACT IN THE S.E.C CONFERENCE

IN THE NBA NEVER BET ON A TEAM WITH 5 BLACK STARTERS EVERY TEAM NEEDS A SLOW WHITE GUY TO THINK THINGS OUT OUTHERWISE YOU HAVE A CHINESE FIRE DRILL OUT OF CONTROL TEAM AND NOBODY WANTS TO PASS THE BALL.

BOYS YOU FOLLOW THESE TWO RULES AND YOU WILL MAKE MONEY

**G's pks** · 12-07-09, 12:38 PM

Originally posted by BEANTOWNJIM

ALWAYS BET ON THE WHITE QUARTERBACK OVER THE BLACK ONE I CALL THIS THE BEANTOWNIM RULE.BLACK GUYS PANIC UNDER PRESSURE AND THROW BAD PASSES THIS IS A KNOWN FACT IN THE S.E.C CONFERENCE

IN THE NBA NEVER BET ON A TEAM WITH 5 BLACK STARTERS EVERY TEAM NEEDS A SLOW WHITE GUY TO THINK THINGS OUT OUTHERWISE YOU HAVE A CHINESE FIRE DRILL OUT OF CONTROL TEAM AND NOBODY WANTS TO PASS THE BALL.

BOYS YOU FOLLOW THESE TWO RULES AND YOU WILL MAKE MONEY

Is your caps lock button stuck?

**PAULYPOKER** · 12-07-09, 09:17 PM

Originally posted by BEANTOWNJIM

ALWAYS BET ON THE WHITE QUARTERBACK OVER THE BLACK ONE I CALL THIS THE BEANTOWNIM RULE.BLACK GUYS PANIC UNDER PRESSURE AND THROW BAD PASSES THIS IS A KNOWN FACT IN THE S.E.C CONFERENCE IN THE NBA NEVER BET ON A TEAM WITH 5 BLACK STARTERS EVERY TEAM NEEDS A SLOW WHITE GUY TO THINK THINGS OUT OUTHERWISE YOU HAVE A CHINESE FIRE DRILL OUT OF CONTROL TEAM AND NOBODY WANTS TO PASS THE BALL. BOYS YOU FOLLOW THESE TWO RULES AND YOU WILL MAKE MONEY

ALWAYS A BAD APPLE ON THE TREE Please keep your racist comments to yourself

PAULYPOKER

**Limey** · 12-07-09, 10:03 PM

Originally posted by PAULYPOKER

#6 DON'T WATCH THE GAMES OR SCORES: UNLESS YOU ARE WINNING OR HAVE A GOOD FEELING ABOUT YOUR CHANCES IT IS NOT WORTH THE HELL YOU'LL PUT YOURSELF THROUGH "LIKE A WILD STALLION RUNNING TOWARDS A BURNING STABLE!" REMEMBER THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT AN OUTCOME OF A GAME BY PAYING ATTENTION TO IT.

I disagree very strongly with this one. Yes, there's nothing you can do about the outcome by watching a game - but you can learn a lot. Does the game play how you forecasted it to? Can you learn something about the teams that you didn't realise before? Win or lose, you should have a better idea whether your bet was a good one if you watch the game.

I like a lot of your other rules, though.

**Snowball** · 12-07-09, 10:31 PM

here's some of my rules off the top of my head:

1) Don't chase. If you lose, there's more games tomorrow, or next weekend, for that matter.
Pay up and start your research for the next ticket.
2) Watch your games. Know the sport and how it's played. Seriously.
Numbers are one thing, winning is another.
3) Roster changes, weather, injuries, what's "in their heads" (arguments, controversies, etc.)
all factor the result
4) If you're not sure, kick back and WATCH the First half.
Winning bets can be made on the Second Half based on First half analysis. "Show Me."
5) Always think about tomorrow, not tonight. Who cares where you are after tonight.
Where you gonna be tomorrow ? Because you KNOW you're going to bet AGAIN.
Tomorrow's card as important as todays. Be there for it.
6) If you hit it BIG, take at least half OFF and go BUY SOMETHING CONCRETE.

peace

**PAULYPOKER** · 12-07-09, 10:34 PM

Originally posted by Limey

I disagree very strongly with this one. Yes, there's nothing you can do about the outcome by watching a game - but you can learn a lot. Does the game play how you forecasted it to? Can you learn something about the teams that you didn't realise before? Win or lose, you should have a better idea whether your bet was a good one if you watch the game. I like a lot of your other rules, though.

Thank you for your opinion
PAULYPOKER

**INVEGA MAN** · 12-07-09, 10:39 PM

1. Money Management
2. NO TEASERS (SUCKER BET)
3. NO PARLAYS
4. DONT BET BECAUSE GAME IS ON TV

**PAULYPOKER** · 12-07-09, 10:56 PM

I like snowball's following rules:
1) Don't chase. If you lose, there's more games tomorrow, or next weekend, for that matter.
Pay up and start your research for the next ticket.
My reason:WHEN YOU LOSE DON'T GET DOWN ON YOURSELF AND SAY THAT'S IT I'M TAKING THE BRIDGE! JUST CALM YOURSELF AND SAY TO YOURSELF OH WELL I CANT WIN THEM ALL OR ANALISE ALL YOUR DECISIONS AND SEE IF YOU MADE A MISTAKE OR I,LL DO BETTER TOMORROW. Definition of insanity:"someone who does the same thing over and over again expecting a different result"

2) Watch your games. Know the sport and how it's played. Seriously.
Numbers are one thing, winning is another.
no reason self explanitory

3) Roster changes, weather, injuries, what's "in their heads" (arguments, controversies, etc.)
all factor the result
no reason self explanitory

5) Always think about tomorrow, not tonight. Who cares where you are after tonight.
Where you gonna be tomorrow ? Because you KNOW you're going to bet AGAIN.
Tomorrow's card as important as todays. Be there for it.
no reason self explanitory

Thank you snowball for your input
PAULYPOKER

**PAULYPOKER** · 12-07-09, 11:00 PM

Thank you invega man for your input
paulypoker

**Snowball** · 12-08-09, 12:01 AM

you're welcome pauly. nice to see my post appreciated.

one more: Just because it's a "big" game doesn't mean you have to bet on it.
If you got no feel on it, leave it alone. No matter how big it is. Just enjoy the game.
Because it doesn't matter if it's the Superbowl, World Series, etc
or a lowly NCAA basketball game in October.
The money is the same. You bleed red and breathe green all the same.

**PAULYPOKER** · 12-08-09, 12:05 AM

Originally posted by snowball

you're welcome pauly. Nice to see my post appreciated. One more: Just because it's a "big" game doesn't mean you have to bet on it. If you got no feel on it, leave it alone. No matter how big it is. Just enjoy the game. Because it doesn't matter if it's the superbowl, world series, etc or a lowly ncaa basketball game in october. The money is the same. You bleed red and breathe green all the same.

good point
paulypoker

**shoebox** · 12-08-09, 12:07 AM

Never bet more than you can afford to lose
Have a life, not just stuck looking at lines all day and starring at a laptop

**The Seer** · 12-08-09, 12:30 AM

A TEAM IS NEVER AS GOOD AS ITS BEST GAME OR AS BAD AS ITS WORST, ex. Saints whipping Pats & barely beating redskins.
ALWAYS LEARN WHY YOU LOST A BET (so you can keep from repeating the same mistake)

**PAULYPOKER** · 12-08-09, 12:51 AM

I like seer's following rule:
ALWAYS LEARN WHY YOU LOST A BET (so you can keep from repeating the same mistake)
My reason: Definition of insanity:"someone who does the same thing over and over again expecting a different result"

Thank you for your input The Seer
PAULYPOKER

**Limey** · 12-08-09, 12:58 AM

I'll try to come up with ten 'rules' of my own. These are not in any particular order, except that the ones I thought of first presumably seem more important to my brain.

1. Pretty much listen to NOBODY. It's far too easy to get swayed against a pick by the weight of media crap and other folks' opinions. Nothing is worse than your own eyes telling you that a team can win a game, but this being considered so far-out by 'everyone' that you end up not playing it.

2. Don't get hung up on the spread. Not 'hooks', tiny moves, 'reverse line movement', "what are the 'sharps' doing?", "is this a 'trap'" game?", or any of that. If you like a team at +3.5 but not at +3 then your pick just isn't confident enough, in my opinion. You want to be finding bets that you believe have a much bigger margin of error than that. Most games don't finish very close to the spread in the end, anyway.

3. Try to be looking for something that most people aren't thinking about when they bet a game. If you're just looking at all the obvious stuff then you are looking at only the very things that set the line in the first place - a line designed to get action on both sides. Even if it's just looking a little closer at stats with an enquiring mind, I reckon that's more than many people do when they say "So and so are number one in rushing". Number one in rushing in what sense..?

4. Ignore ATS handicapping and systems. Some basic ATS stats make some sense - west coast teams on the east coast, that kind of thing - but then they are really just putting numbers on something that should be an obvious factor in looking at a game. When I read things like "Teams who lost a home game as a 4-7 point underdog in November, against a playoff team from the previous year who were at least .500 before that game, and are now playing a non-conference opponent in a non-nationally-televised game, and are starting a quarterback with at least ten career starts......." two things happen. First, I fall asleep. Then I wake up and think "That's just irrelevant!"

5. Vary your bet size.
I'm just not a believer that you should bet the same on every game. Not every opportunity is the same. If you think team X are likely to win by ten points, why would you bet the same amount on the game if they were either a one point favourite or a ten point dog? The latter case is offering you a huge margin for error, so you should make the most of it! If you like a team, are hesitant but know you will kick yourself if you don't bet them, why not place a smaller-than-usual bet?

6. Be very wary of two touchdown favourites.
This is quite topical since there were three of these this weekend, and all three failed (San Diego, Pittsburgh, Cincinnatti). There are just too many ways for a bet like this to fail, not least the fact that the two-TD favourite has no need to win the game by a huge margin. Why should they be busting a gut, leading by 16 with three minutes to play?

7. Be aware of the bounceback.
It's too, too easy to oppose a team after they get blown out or lose a game they were widely expected to win. We see NFL teams produce strong performances after very bad ones, over and over again, yet most people don't seem to notice this. "They're done". "I will NEVER bet them again!". Think of Green Bay, beaten at Tampa this season and then given no chance by lots of pundits at home to Dallas the following week...

8. Don't get fixated on individual player match-ups.
Peronally, I do not consider individual match-ups for even a second when I'm looking at a game. You know the kind of thing, you read it everywhere; "so-and-so will be able to take advantage of what's-his-name and this will turn the game". Well, you can bet that if some sports reporter has looked at this match-up then so have the coaches of the team that is supposedly going to lose because of it, and they will be doing their best to work around it.

9. Don't be afraid to bet your own team.
Whether betting on them or against them. If you watch every snap of every game they play then you are ahead of 90% of the betting public when it comes to handicapping the team, simple as that.

10. Er, that's it
I can't think of a tenth one.

**JoeC** · 12-08-09, 01:04 AM

So who does everybody like for tommorrow? I like the Nets +7.

**PAULYPOKER** · 12-08-09, 01:16 AM

Thank you Limey for your list of rules when I first started this thread this was the kind of response I was looking for you are the first one to be as brave as myself to contribute your own complete list without caring what other members thought so I awarded you with 5 points

Again I thank you
PAULY POKER

**GELATINOUS CUBE** · 12-08-09, 01:18 AM

1. Just bring the sports page to the book.
2. Handicap for at least 5 minutes.
3. Have a set amount to lose, maybe $50 if you are an out of work railroad flagman
4. Write down the numbers of some solid teams on top of the card.
5. Walk to the window.

6. Place 5 $10 6-team parlays with a bunch of solid teams with big players
7. Buy a beer
8. Start yelling and cussing when you're parlays all start to fukk.
9 kick you're chair over.
10. Go home broke.

**20Four7** · 12-08-09, 01:28 AM

Originally posted by donjuan

Rule 11. Post this in Players Talk.

Calm down donny, it's been moved......

**dogcity** · 12-08-09, 02:06 AM

Originally posted by PAULYPOKER

ALWAYS A BAD APPLE ON THE TREE Please keep your racist comments to yourself
PAULYPOKER

+++ to you PAULY for the having the balls to stand up...

I understand your reasoning behind your rule#6...but I like to watch a lot of games, especially to find out how teams/players perform against tougher defence or stronger competition.

Rule #(whatever)...only bet sports you know very,very well.