Nothing To Spare In Striking it Rich Going Bowling

[Dr. Jack]

Nothing To Spare In Striking it Rich Going Bowling


The bowls are soon to be here. A lot of money is to be made, but let us make sure it is not the Bookmakers! One of the first mistakes that so many gamblers make is that they feel they “have” to bet larger amounts on bowl games or bet every side and total.

Do not get me wrong; there are true harmless “recreational” gamblers. By that we mean people who are couch potatoes and bet only “entertainment” money to insure that they have someone to root for on that chesterfield with a Budweiser in his right hand and a Vegas Offshore schedule in his left.

While this practice defies money management, if one can objectively assert that they are not realistically expecting to make a profit, but just adding to the excitement of the game with the chance of making money along the way, there is really no harm.

The Bookmaker will thank you, but there are some Joeybagofdonut guys who will bet lunch money on the bowls then regardless of how poorly or well he does not bet again until March Madness. To them, money management is mere gingerbread. But the serious player must bet postseason games using the same money management techniques mentioned in previous articles here.

The factors to look for and not to look for when handicapping are numerous. A classic gambler’s trap is believing that one should focus on teams that finish the season on winning or losing streaks and to bet those streaks to continue.

The truth is nothing can break a team’s momentum more than several weeks off. Conversely, not anything is more valuable to a struggling team than to have time to regroup such as which the weeks between the bowls offer.

In addition one must look at why a team performed the way they did down the stretch. Was a team really improved or just “in a groove”? Did injuries play a big part in a teams skid to end a year and did the time off help heal them? Or was it a case of several players improving as the year went on?

Last year, Ole Miss is a good example of a team that struggled at the end of the year, but will benefit from the time off. Their record shattering and heart-breaking loss in seven overtimes to Arkansas took so much out of them that is was no surprise that they were prime for the picking versus Georgia and Miss State. We will never know, but an educated eye wonders if they had lost (or won for that matter) the game in regulation what would have happened in the next two games?

In the midst of a tough corporeal SEC schedule that loss was so tough to swallow mentally and physically. The Rebels will benefit from the time off.

Also in 2001, Ohio State is an example of a team though that truly did improve as the year went on and that must be considered in handicapping. Jonathan Wells their breakout running back was arguably the most improved player in the nation. Chris Vance’s improvement at wide receiver was legitimate.

Everything must be considered when looking how a team did in September as opposed to how they performed in November. If there was a huge dichotomy one must instead of making the assumption that they progressed as the year went on—which may be the case but may not—do significant analysis and look further.

Keep an eye on injury reports, but not just of guys who return from injuries but also guys who played banged up late in the year. Did the time off allow them to return to 100%?

In ensuing articles we will discuss motivational factors and so many other intangibles that apply to the postseason and how they affect the ATS outcome.

Mike Godsey

www.godspicks.com