"DD will continue to post irrelevant, non-sensical, and primary unfunny comments ... and think he is being victimised when we point this out to him .."

YES ! My prediction came TRUE ...

DDFan i continue to read your rambling crap and never say anything.. But Y do u waste peoples time with useless topics.

Its gambling. Everyone does it, its a bit of fun, Get over it!

Nah that is actually an interesting topic DDFan has brought up. I know when I have bet on Sixers games I haven't enjoyed the games as much (Maybe if my bet wins I'm happy at the end obviously :P ). Gambling is really evil as most people don't have the knowledge to make the correct decisions and are blinded by what they could win and what they will do with the money they win from the big win.

I would say only 5% of gamblers actually profit (if that) and can actually make a living out of it however these people have years of analysis of the games they gamble on and minimize their risk as much as possible.

Having said that ways I think to increase the chances of you winning are:
* Teams have a much better advantage at home.
* Check the ladder position of the two teams.
* Check the form of the two teams.
* Check if the full teams roster is playing for both teams.
* Check the results the two teams had last few times they played
* Check which team is more desperate to win.
* Check if the team is coached by Smyth (lol sorry had to throw that one in)

The list could probably go forever and you need to have most of them in your favour to minimise the risk. However who knows what could happen in the end as sports is a funny game and at the end of the day the worst team in the league could beat the top team and gamblers have to live with that.

In conclusion if you want to have a small bet for fun sake then do it but don't make stupid big bets hoping to win lots of money.

Any idea if the guy that bet the 6K won? and what the odds were on the game he was betting on.

Here is a few other things to avoid if you don't want to face the evils of gambling;

- Invest in equities/metals/property/bonds/futures. Where are you putting your super? I hope you don't have it in international small-caps DD.
- Insure your car/house/life. Your betting against the insurer that you will have an accident/bush fire/heart attack.

Life is a gamble.

Sports betting is just a high risk form of gambling. Sure, people can become addicted. They need help. Just like drug/alcohol/sex/shopping/INTERNET BASKETBALL FORUM addicts. Lets not hate on something 90% of it's users do out of enjoyment.

Anyhow... I learned a lot this NBL season, some might find it helpful.

Bet on what you know. ONLY bet when you are confident. I only bet point spreads on NBL. Before the line opens on centrebet/tab, I think about what I think the line should be. When it opens, if I think its wrong, I bet it.

I very rarely back the favorite.

Early on in the season I lost a bunch of money betting the "Most 3 Pointers" prop. I learned the lesson - "Don't bet on props". I met a guy that ran a VERY big sportsbook last year. Over beer he assured me that while you can make money betting, you will never make it betting props.

Don't bet a game for action. Avoid betting on your favorite team (ie. backing the Sixers +5 vs the Tigers tonight) for the sake of backing them.

Most of all, never bet the rent.

I ran out of steam at the end. +5.5 vs SYDNEY tonight. Also, I'm going to the Bullets game tonight and while I think Snakes +8 is wrong, I wont bet it cos there is NOTHING worse than cheering a team that makes you lose a bet (ie. cheering Brisbane (my de-facto 2nd team)).

Sure, at the end of the day you can make money from sports betting, as long as it's you running the book.

I love a bet, and bet quite often but at the end of the day I always go back to what a guy at work told me, "never bet more than you can afford to loose" and as Mr Rogers said "know when to walk away"..

If I'm going to gamble I prefer to hit the tables, poker and blackjack. I put more faith in cards and my ability to work out someone else then some bloke or team trying to put a ball in a basket in which I have no control.

I do find as KingJames does that watching a game I've got cash riding on it I tend to stress out a little more (which increases visits to the bar), but on the other hand it adds more extra excitement to the game.

At the end, I think there is nothing wrong with a bet and there are much greater evils out there than sports betting.....





I now have Kenny Rogers in my head.....

"You got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when youre sittin at the table.
Therell be time enough for countin when the dealins done."

I start with a fixed amount at the beginning of the season and, expecting to lose it, see how long I can make it last. Like fantasy sports and tipping competitions, I think it can add a bit to the result.

RMM, yes, the guy won on the Hawks to beat the Breakers recently. I think the Hawks were paying about $3? I went 3-0 on that game including one exotic but I'm not normally that lucky.

I don't think betting is that big amongst basketball fans and think there are probably more gamblers going for basketball that are not big fans, just taking advantage of odds or a less-researched market.

I also don't think it's "souring fan-base attitude".

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Update: Went 3-0 last night. Bet on Adelaide to beat Sydney, Townsville to beat NZ and the Cats to win by 8+ against the Blaze. Wonder what Adelaide would've been paying for 11+?!