How long have you been betting, and are you up or down?

[ncsucharlie]

I've mostly been a lurker here for the past year (whenever the site switched over from the other site). I'm curious as to how long you guys have been betting sports and over the entire lifetime of your sports betting experience are you up or down cash wise?

I've grown to not visit this site as much as I used to (except during College Football) but (and maybe because of) when I click in threads in the NBA, MLB, etc threads for the most part I see units in the negative for the total season, and that is only if that user is keeping track of their record which many users don't, I don't even read what you have to say if you don't keep a record (being brutally honest). Which brings me to another observation, the bulk of the users on here are dedicatedly accurate and honest in their record keeping. Excellent work.

Due to the assumed honesty in the majority of the users showing that they are usually down I'm just curious as to the question specified in the title of this thread.

Thanks guys for your time!

[Underdog88]

I've been betting for nearly 9 years, but I really wasn't serious until about 4 years ago. The first 3 years or so I was definitely down, as I was young & dumb, chasing my losses & not putting too much research into it. I soon realized if I was going to continue wagering, I needed to get serious. The past 3 years have been much better....IMO it has everything to do with research, money management & learning from mistakes. I keep a log of all my plays & look at the losing ones in an effort to try & avoid the same mistakes twice. Another thing that has helped me is to set realistic goals. When I first started, I wanted to win $2000+ a week on NFL, thought I really only had about 400 to play with! I thought I could win 75%+ of the games I played. Now with money management & more realistic goals (I try to hit 54% overall), the results have been great. I've shown profit in NBA, NFL, NCAAB & CFBL for the last 3 seasons, with MLB last season being the only time I finished a season in the red.


I am down on fulltilt for sure though

[Daws1089]

I have been betting for almost 4 years. I lost tons my first year or so. Probably reloaded 5+times in that time period. However, I have recovered those losses and made back much more. I took a gamble and really raised my unit size a couple years ago because I had confidence I could win in football and it paid off. I don't post every single play I make and I may post plays that I don't actually bet. That may seem off, but its true and I would like to think others here do this from time to time as well. So although someone may show a profit of 10 units or whatever they could be down overall because of a bet they didn't post. Sometimes its not convenient to post or you aren't confident in the play or whatever it is, that is why I don't post everything that I play. Anyway, since I won the free betus account from the ncaa champ bowl game I've been able to roll that over 10x. Like Underdog said, you learn from your mistakes and money management is the best way to increase your chances of beating the juice. NFL, NCAAF, and nba playoffs are by far my favorites to bet on and where most of my success has come. Everyone has their sport, but I feel like since I've been this fortunate at such a young age, the best is yet to come once I have a full time job and a larger roll to play with.

[homedawg]

28 years. UUUUUPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!

[Daws1089]

wow, quite a seasoned vet you are homedawg.

[homedawg]

Originally Posted by Daws1089

wow, quite a seasoned vet you are homedawg.

8th grade, I remember it like yesterday, bettin' nfl & ncaaf, on home made spread tickets. At that time I always bet 5 different tickets, and I always had to hit a minimum of 3 games. Not a profitable situation! I was betting with a local by the time I turned 18, at first I was thinkin' the money will be made by bettin' the parlays(I only had to pick 2), but It didn't take me long to figure it out!

50/50 every game, +money x 2, each bet separately, you have a much better chance of coming out ahead.

[Silver & Black]

31 Years - Started with a trip down to Tiajuana on Thanksgiving morning in 76 that turned into a ritual for 15 years. I actually quit back in November... I was bored, I'm reminded of a Simpson's episode when Marge had Ichy and Scratchy banned from TV. The Springfield kids found themselves outside in the fresh air, playing, actually getting exercise... That was me.. During baseball and football season. It was amazing how many hours I would "waste" sitting in front of the tube. I still love sports, but it's not the obsession that it once was and I no longer waste the time that would be required to be successful.

IMO, the ONLY way to make money wagering on Sports is through homework and money management, and even then it's a slow and steady process.. I always did well in MLB and the NFL... slow and steady win's the race

Now my only form of gambling is kicking Kevin and Jerbeek's butts in Fantasy Baseball, and allowing them to do the same to me if Football

Best of Luck to you all

[Q-Unit]

Originally Posted by homedawg

at first I was thinkin' the money will be made by bettin' the parlays(I only had to pick 2), but It didn't take me long to figure it out!

50/50 every game, +money x 2, each bet separately, you have a much better chance of coming out ahead.

lol it took me longer to figure it out but I went down that same road too!

its been 8 years for me started since freshmen year in college and havent looked back, but am looking up in terms of being in the black, have a ways to go before I get back even overall, but every year I learn something. One day I'll know enough to NOT bet on say, the Brewers with Turnbow closing the game out lol

[NittanyLions94]

6 years, I'd guess right around even or up just a little. It's hard to keep the winngs/losses from horses, poker, and sports all separate. Haven't bet sports consistently in a few months now. Just here and there on some hockey. Wasn't as fun as it once was and saw some people fall in to trouble.

[xHeroOfTheDayx]

I'v been betting for about 4 years now.

At 17 years old, I had about $10,000 in my savings account from working all my life for my dads business. When I discovered sports betting, I was very young and stupid. I must of blown 7-8K in my first month of betting Baseball/Football/Basketball.

Since then, I only bet on Soccer, and i'v been doing extremely well. I would say i'm up around 30-35K the past 2 years. I still get a bit wild , and unload a little too much in some circumstances, but i'v finally learned to quit chasing my losses.

I give anyone who is a long time winner in MLB/NBA/or NFL all the credit in the world, as I really tried to dedicate myself, and put in the necessary effort to become successful, but to no prevail. But yeah, only soccer for me now, which I know I am, and will be a winner in.

[FreshKicks]

Originally Posted by Underdog88

I keep a log of all my plays & look at the losing ones in an effort to try & avoid the same mistakes twice.g:

I've been at it for 4 years, but I'm starting to get serious now. I never kept track of my bankroll or my bets, so I'm sure where I'm at. Most likely down.

I'm looking for a method to keep track of all my bets. I want to get more analytical and see where I make my mistakes. Right now I have an excel sheet with a chart that shows my ups and downs by month and my win/loss percentage. I was looking to see what others use and if there are any free spreadsheets that will help me calculate my plays.

-Fresh

[Queen]

Originally Posted by homedawg

8th grade, I remember it like yesterday, bettin' nfl & ncaaf, on home made spread tickets. At that time I always bet 5 different tickets, and I always had to hit a minimum of 3 games. Not a profitable situation! I was betting with a local by the time I turned 18, at first I was thinkin' the money will be made by bettin' the parlays(I only had to pick 2), but It didn't take me long to figure it out!

50/50 every game, +money x 2, each bet separately, you have a much better chance of coming out ahead.

LMAO I remember in the 8th grade running a 100 square write your name in for a quarter and then after all the squares where filled up picking numbers 0-9 putting them up top and then down the left side so if you got 0-1 the the final score had to end in 0 for one team and 1 for the other. Winner got 20 bucks I got 5 for running the board and the whole fricken school was in on a board including the teachers and the principle. Hell the school secetary ran off the board on the school Zerox machine. I did this for WVU games, Super Bowl, Baseball, school games anything we could think of to have some type of board going everyday. Heck fire in 9th grade the school principle announced over the loud speaker he had finally won one. I just bet you, I'd get expelled from school if this was tried this day and age. LOL But that was back in 1977, the good old days when I think the only dress code we had was No halter tops and no bare feet.

So I guess 31 years of not being a hard core gambler only playing with money I could afford to lose. If I won I won and if I lost I lost. Not never effecting how I played one way or the other. But I can say one thing. There is nothing like winning a bet with 1 second left and nothing like losing a bet with 1 sec left in the game.

[shorts]

Well been gambling for about 20 years... Started out playing just parlays at the plant I was working on their computers... Played a $5 5 team parlay every week... Usually would win one a year so I was up a little... Then I met the bookie and started running for him...20% of the sheets were mine and I'd play that on flats...did pretty good... Started booking it myself and did very well...only problem was the little woman didn't like that fact that I was at home almost every day taking in phone calls and all day on the weekends...she asked me to quit booking so I did... Now I just play enough that it won't hurt me and I have fun with it...over all I'd say I'm up even though that damn B-Ball always takes some of my winnings...

[V3r1f13d]

1) A long time.
2) In my life, I have no idea. This year, barely up.

[CuseFan10]

10 years. Started sophomore year in college and remember it like it was yesterday. Never bet a damn thing in my life but the basketball players across the hall were betting and came into my room to use the phone. I placed a $50 bet on the Providence vs St Johns game (-3... I think) and it was a cakewalk. Funny thing is, I didn't even watch it because the guys had a home game that day so I was at the athletic center watching their game. Went home, saw I won, and have played ever since. Back then, I'd bet everything but now I stick (for the most part) to NCAAB/F and NFL. I quit NBA after less than a season and only play baseball and hockey for fun here and there. I betting soccer too, but I never watch it unless it's the big events so I only play those.

For my approximate decade of wagering, I would guess I'm neither up nor down anything significant but have no clue because I never saved records of years past (especially in college). I always kept weekly totals, but have lost then in moving and such. I've learned to do this now for fun, instead of making it a wanna-be lifestyle and attempting to make a big splash. There's always something new to learn, and sometimes life doesn't afford you the time to do so and/or do the amount of research one would like.