Question for Goats from munson15 RE: following others
Goats
Head Moderator
I'm re-posting this as a new thread since it was originally posted in the middle of another thread. Question below:
First of all, if by "great effect" you essentially mean "great success", I can't exactly say I've accomplished that, although, as with most things, success is relative. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with all that I have achieved, but my goals have always been modest.
Now that I'm about to start my response, I realize I'm not entirely sure what to elaborate about. I joined Stanford Wong's forum (SharpSportsBetting.com) after reading his book of the same name back in 2000 or so and that's basically where I learned almost everything I know about sports betting. That also gave me my introduction to legitimate touts (which as we know are few and far between). I began following some of the Hosts (that's what the paid cappers were called there) like StevieY as well as some free posters and built my bankroll along with betting NFL and NBA player props on my own. Over the years, I continued following some hosts/posters there and found other cappers to follow whom I believed were +EV. Some ran services like RAS, others posted on free forums, at one point I was a member of a private forum that had a couple quality posters as members, and I did have one private deal with a capper for a couple years.
It's gotten much harder in recent years with the offshore climate in the US going to shit coupled with it being harder to find originators worth following IMO. That said, I've managed to continue making a living (for now at least). Remember though that my goals are modest compared to most pro gamblers. Also, 2013 was the first calendar year I didn't even meet those modest goals.
Hope that addresses some of what you wanted to know. Feel free to respond with more specific follow-up questions if you have them.
Goats, I'd love for you to elaborate if possible on how you follow originators to great effect. TIA.
First of all, if by "great effect" you essentially mean "great success", I can't exactly say I've accomplished that, although, as with most things, success is relative. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with all that I have achieved, but my goals have always been modest.
Now that I'm about to start my response, I realize I'm not entirely sure what to elaborate about. I joined Stanford Wong's forum (SharpSportsBetting.com) after reading his book of the same name back in 2000 or so and that's basically where I learned almost everything I know about sports betting. That also gave me my introduction to legitimate touts (which as we know are few and far between). I began following some of the Hosts (that's what the paid cappers were called there) like StevieY as well as some free posters and built my bankroll along with betting NFL and NBA player props on my own. Over the years, I continued following some hosts/posters there and found other cappers to follow whom I believed were +EV. Some ran services like RAS, others posted on free forums, at one point I was a member of a private forum that had a couple quality posters as members, and I did have one private deal with a capper for a couple years.
It's gotten much harder in recent years with the offshore climate in the US going to shit coupled with it being harder to find originators worth following IMO. That said, I've managed to continue making a living (for now at least). Remember though that my goals are modest compared to most pro gamblers. Also, 2013 was the first calendar year I didn't even meet those modest goals.
Hope that addresses some of what you wanted to know. Feel free to respond with more specific follow-up questions if you have them.
Comments
When I say 'great effect', it would certainly include someone making a living at this, which you have for several years now. I applaud your tenacity and ability to weather the storms of variance, stiffs, and the changing offshore climate. I guess a good question would be which forums would you recommend besides Wong's? I wasn't even aware there was a SSB.com. My bad there, but that's the reason I originally posted my interest in your career. Thanks very much, I appreciate you taking the time.
This may come off as biased, but honestly BT is pretty much the only forum I visit nowadays. I check the SBR offshore forum on occasion just to read about the industry, but even that one has declined greatly. I've never been one to read sports betting forums for entertainment value.
You're welcome and thanks for the kind words.
SSB essentially shut down in 2010 and Ed actually purchased the site. He just never did anything with it and left it up. That's how StevieY and I wound up here (although I was actually helping Ed with BT before SSB officially ceased to exist).
His book was never specifically geared towards offshore betting. There's one chapter on "Internet Betting" that's definitely outdated (there's a brief quote from yours truly about NETeller in the 2nd edition, lol). As for the rest of the book, it contained some good info at the time, but you'd likely find most of it extremely basic and/or outdated at this point.
If you go way back to the beginning of SSB.com, you'll find plenty of my posts from when I didn't have a clue (thrilling reading, I'm sure).