1. Hi Murray! Please tell us more about yourself. How is it in Canada
these days?
Canada is a great place to live…except between November and April..unless you love winter sports! As a kid we spent all our time playing sports outside (no computers, no internet, no facebook, no twitter, no playstation etc.), but now I prefer to stay safe indoors when it’s really bad. Canada is a lot like the States….but without the guns.
2. Last few months since NFL you are one of the hottest experts,
destroying bookies on NFL and now on NBA. $4,552 from $100 on a 9 game winning streak? What’s your secret?
I finished up the NFL regular season 52-32 (62%) on plays after I started posting in the second half of the season. There is no secret..it’s just hard work, attention to detail, being on top of all NFL news, moves, injuries, weather,watching NFL Network 24/7, and unscientifically what just feels right. I know the math guys scoff at gut feelings, but after having seen a zillion NFL games since the mid 1960’s, I know to trust that bad feeling you get about a game sometimes, or reading body language and voice intonations of players and coaches during the week before games. NFL is hard to beat since the lines are so sharp, there are very few games, and the lines get to mature over an entire week before kickoff. I think there is more room for profit in NBA or college hoops, where Vegas has to produce new lines every day based on less information, so there are more holes.
3. A lot of sports investors are very superstitious. I know Trey is
sleeping with his iPad for luck to place bets while he is asleep. Do
you have any sports related superstitions?
My hero growing up was Mr.Spock on the original Star Trek.I have learned much from him, so here is my dispassionate answer.
Superstition is illogical. There is no reason to believe that anything I do could possibly have any impact on anything that actually transpires on the field of play.
Luck exists, but in reality it is only the ebb and flow of multiple random chaotic variables of which we have no control. Thinking this way helps me to remove any emotional influences from the decision making process.
4, What Zcode tools do you use on the daily basis? Do you read other
people’s commentary to filter your selections?
I really like the line reversal tool in real time. Before having access to that, I used to run around to sites like Covers and Don Best and all the different online books I have, or used to have accounts with. There is still a lot for me to discover at ZCode. I actually read through all the ZCode game evaluations and recommendations, and all the member’s comments. Everyone’s opinion is important, and we must remind ourselves to always have an open mind, be willing to learn new things, and to admit when we are wrong..only then can we improve. That goes for life in general, not just sports wagering.
5. You are 38 years in sports investing. You started doing it
professionally before I was even born. I am sure the readers will be
very interested to learn how the world of sports betting changed over
the decade? During that time most online bookies did not even exist.
Do you feel the niche became more regulated lately?
First of all, I do not consider myself a professional…that is, sports wagering is not my primary source of income.
That being said, I do treat it like a business venture, with a bankroll completely separate from normal life…although my wife loves it when it pays for the odd vacation or a new wardrobe!
Sports investing is much better now that it ever was…safer and more reliable as well!
In the old days everything was done face to face in cash….I have had to deal with hoodlums and criminals and other persons of ill repute, just to get, or take action. Sometimes you could not collect your winnings, and people would disappear..it was very frustrating. It was difficult to get reliable information on the games…I subscribed to every sports magazine available back in the 1970’s,(when I was a teen) and received every newsletter from anyone who purported to have insider knowledge. My parents thought I was deranged. Me and a friend of mine decided to become bookmakers around 35 years ago. We used to rent a hotel room in a fancy downtown location, and set up shop there on Sunday afternoons during the NFL season so we could conduct business in freedom and privacy and watch the games. I think the hotel staff thought we were gay lovers…lol…that was not the case. To keep it real, we agreed to eat burgers if we won, and lobster if we lost….great times, but we stopped doing that after 3 seasons for lack of enough reliable customers…it was just too aggravating to have to collect money and be on top of things while going to college.
6. What do you think about Vegas lines change over the years? Do you
think Vegas became sharper with the new sophisticated software they
are using to set lines in real time?
Vegas is much better at setting lines than they were in the past…the problem was that in the past we didn’t always have access to the information necessary to take advantage of their mistakes! Now the playing field is more even, and if you really do your homework, you can get a small edge over the casual bettor…but Vegas is still king!
7. What is your favourite sport to watch and to bet?
NFL football. When the season ends, I feel withdrawal symptoms. My dad was huge sports fan (still is in his 80’s!) so I grew up watching NFL and CFL football, NHL hockey, baseball, and later on basketball, which didn’t really get serious television coverage until the 70’s. I learned gambling from my Grandmother who was a vicious card player. She used to teach me gin, canasta, poker and other card games, and then proceed to beat me mercilessly. There was always something at stake, even if it was just pennies or points. I cried when I lost…but I learned to be calculating and to look for weakness. To this day I can spend endless hours in the card rooms playing cash game hold’em…..
8. What do you think of the new idea with the Streak Contest Format we
started this month? Do you think this format is more effective for
contestants and followers comparing to old POD contests?
I am still relatively new to Zcode..as it has not been around a long time, and this NBA streak contest is the first one I have participated in. The more contests of all different types, the better. Contests are a good thing, as they force members (or at least I hope they do!) to really concentrate before committing themselves to one play, and one play only. This is good training at being disciplined. One of the main faults of over-enthusiastic newcomers is wagering too many games.If you examine every one of your selections closely, it is actually easy to find reasons not to make the play.. it is more difficult to find enough reasons to make it. Less is more.
9. Your words of wisdom to the newbies who just start sports investing.
Patience and discipline are the keys. This cannot be overemphasized. This is not a get rich quick scheme. It is about grinding out slow, steady and reliable profits while minimizing risk through sound money management….and having fun at the same time! It doesn’t matter what your starting bankroll is, do not risk more than 1-2% of it on any single wager. As your bankroll slowly grows (and I mean slowly!), the $$ value of than 1-2% will incrementally grow as well. Don’t try and make every play in every sport. Stick to what you are comfortable and knowledgeable about.
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