Name your favorite baseball services

Doc, I think the info you provided is very valuable. Obviously, you don't think we should be purchasing info from Rudy. Who, in your opinion, should we be purchasing info from? Thanks for your insight.

I still laugh at all of this. Why is anyone blindly following another person's picks?? No one person ever produces long term (multi-season) winning records at WA numbers. No one.... Not Dr Bob, not RAS, not Jim Feist, and not even Fat Tony from Brooklyn. The formula is not hard guys... 1). Watch the games. Know some stuff about the teams and current form. 2). Know what sharp guys are doing. Figure out how to get insight to this without following one individual. 3). Take this insight and FORM YOUR OWN OPINION. If your opinion agrees with other sharp long term winners, pull the trigger. If not, realize that it is ok to sit on the sidelines. 4). Know the numbers. Which way is the number going, when/how can I get the best number for my side. Are moves sharp or square?? Beat the market on the number that you bet every time. 5). Bankroll your efforts sufficiently to eliminate the stress of a losing game, day, or week. Be prepared to have a losing month, even though you rarely will when diligently following this approach. Seriously, it is not hard. Whatever you do, stop bitching about other people losing. It is a you problem if you lose following someone.

[QUOTE=maximillion;41765]I still laugh at all of this. Why is anyone blindly following another person's picks?? No one person ever produces long term (multi-season) winning records at WA numbers. No one.... Not Dr Bob, not RAS, not Jim Feist, and not even Fat Tony from Brooklyn. The formula is not hard guys... 1). Watch the games. Know some stuff about the teams and current form. 2). Know what sharp guys are doing. Figure out how to get insight to this without following one individual. 3). Take this insight and FORM YOUR OWN OPINION. If your opinion agrees with other sharp long term winners, pull the trigger. If not, realize that it is ok to sit on the sidelines. 4). Know the numbers. Which way is the number going, when/how can I get the best number for my side. Are moves sharp or square?? Beat the market on the number that you bet every time. 5). Bankroll your efforts sufficiently to eliminate the stress of a losing game, day, or week. Be prepared to have a losing month, even though you rarely will when diligently following this approach. Seriously, it is not hard. Whatever you do, stop bitching about other people losing. It is a you problem if you lose following someone.[/QUOTE] Max - Great piece! IMO, #1 is especially true in baseball. Also, if I may add, as mwalkered mentioned in my 4/14 thread, most have no choice but to fight the clock daily. Picking up reliable information, whether free or paid, is paramount in those cases. As an aside, isn't that the fundamental reason most of us subscribe here? Best, Rudy

Rudy, appreciate your picks. Cool

I find this thread very informative and helpful. I'm lukewarm on monitoring services in general, I've always found my own personal experience to be the #1 factor and without that being known (for a new service) #2 is someone else's personal experience. It is good to know that, while Rudy has been very hot this year, results may not have been as good in the past. That is helpful in determining how much to stake on the plays. I've said I think his website clearly leaves something to be desired, and I don't typically trust sites without both records posted as well as prices for service listed. Shady IMO. I also kno that I've never heard of Rudy before this year & he's been crushing things since he's been here. Maybe he found a new method to handicap the baseball games? Maybe hes using a new technique or model??? You can't fault him for finding an approach that works right now. Or, maybe he's using the same old one and just on a real hot run? Maybe he can tell us? It sounds like he doesn't want to talk about anything other than posting the plays. Which isn't a good sign if you are a prospective buyer for his service w/ some ???s about him. Ah well, all I know is what I've seen here and elsewhere has been very good and I'm playing along. Rudy - what do you consider to be ur strongest months of the season? Early (now), middle or late? And keep up the good work!

IceT, Well thought out posting. However, I am running out as I am in between appts. so I will have to elaborate later. In the interim, should you have time to go back here, LVA Baseball, you'll see I did extremely well early last season and also from September straight thru the World Series. Have to run but I will be back with more. Rudy

Sportsinsights.com seems to have solid winning records in all sports using it's steam plays and smart money betting systems.

[QUOTE=Sinatra;41781]Sportsinsights.com seems to have solid winning records in all sports using it's steam plays and smart money betting systems.[/QUOTE] That's a tremendously difficult service to use for picks. I gave the premium pro membership a shot not for picks purposes, but to try learn more about steam moves, plays triggered by smart money, etc. You literally can get bombarded with emails with plays 24 hours a day (there is no scheduled or set release times). And, various permutations of the same play are sent out (i.e., at noon you get CHI -11.5, at 1pm you get CHI -11.5 (-105), at 2pm you get CHI -11 (-120), etc.). And, you need to have pretty much each book they get information from as an out (difficult post-UIGEA). And, you need to be able to fire away immediately after receiving the email to get the pick at the price identified (it's difficult to get down at 2am when you are sound asleep). So, if SI's NBA Steam Move NBA plays are 167-125 (57%), +25.7u, you probably can only realistically get down on 2/3 of those plays at the numbers/prices released. You just have to hope that the 2/3 you get down on hit the 57%. It would have made a great picks service pre-UIGEA, but now, it's my opinion that SI's picks service is of very limited utility. SI has more to offer than just picks though, and I think that it's otherwise a good sight.

Response to IceTea's post: I find this thread very informative and helpful. I'm lukewarm on monitoring services in general, I've always found my own personal experience to be the #1 factor and without that being known (for a new service) #2 is someone else's personal experience. [B]I am in the same boat regarding monitoring. The irony is that the person who specializes in NCAAF, NCAAB and WNBA who is now self-monitored, warned me about monitors. On 1/1/2010 I started with two monitoring services and had awful experiences. One lost individual plays, full days of plays, often would not have the full card of plays and other "programming" errors. Ironically, they were sold a week after I tossed them. The other was padding the records of a half dozen handicappers. I confronted them and was cutoff. Anthony, perhaps, will share the rest of the story and then the naysayers will understand why certain record info of mine is inaccurate. I choose not to share this frankly because, why should I? It's my concern and business. Bottom line as far as I am concerned, the field of monitoring services out there has put a black eye on the handicapping industry and the trend towards self-monitoring will continue.[/B] It is good to know that, while Rudy has been very hot this year, results may not have been as good in the past. That is helpful in determining how much to stake on the plays. [B]That is a fair statement and time will tell those who are curious but it is preposterous that a few out there choose to highlight a year in which "they lost money on my account" when I was merely posting on a forum as a non-pro. They neglect to tell how much money I made that group the two prior years as a non-pro. "Rudy, Rudy, Rudy, where is Rudy" was all you saw when my posting was running late.[/B] I've said I think his website clearly leaves something to be desired, and I don't typically trust sites without both records posted as well as prices for service listed. Shady IMO. [B]Fair statement, but my position is that I cannot update a site daily, write-up plays, and spend hours handicapping by digging and digging further. If one does not like a static website, I understand, they should move on. However, what you misses in a website one gets ten-fold in the personalized emails sent out to subscribers. That is my approach, my decision, maybe I am on to something, maybe I am not. [/B] I also know that I've never heard of Rudy before this year & he's been crushing things since he's been here. Maybe he found a new method to handicap the baseball games? Maybe hes using a new technique or model??? You can't fault him for finding an approach that works right now. Or, maybe he's using the same old one and just on a real hot run? Maybe he can tell us? [B]Same old approach, just refined and better. I watch and record a tremendous number of games; there lies the key to my success - I pick up on a team's intangibles, etc.[/B] It sounds like he doesn't want to talk about anything other than posting the plays. Which isn't a good sign if you are a prospective buyer for his service w/ some ???s about him. Ah well, all I know is what I've seen here and elsewhere has been very good and I'm playing along. [B]Not accurate - I will answer any question about me or my service provided questions and answers are within site guidelines...best to pm or email me[/B] Rudy - what do you consider to be ur strongest months of the season? Early (now), middle or late? And keep up the good work! [B]I think about this every season. One thing you need to know is that I spent two weeks each of the last two seasons in Florida visiting Grapefruit League camps. I picked up a wealth of info and know that has added to early season success. Someone here said baseball is a grind. Boy, is it! The middle months have been up and down for me in prior years but I am positioned to have more ups than downs in 2011. I do not have to deal with a website and do not have partners anymore. Partners demand respect; respect demands time - I would rather spend more time handicapping! For some reason that I cannot put my finger on, I do well after Labor Day - maybe the decrease in bikinis is a factor :) [/B] I hope the above helps. All I ask is that I am not a victim of attacks. None of this should be taken that serious, the only thing that counts is winning!!! GL tonight, Rudy btw - I will not be available to answer any other questions tonight as the Mrs. and I are going out for the evening...DVR's in overload!

A lot to get to, will try to do it all in one post. Rudy... It doesn't matter to me if you respond to my post(s) or not, my username at the other forum is Doc7, don't believe I have posted much if ever there. Maxmillion... No one ever wins long term but the formula to win is not hard? I got a good chuckle out of that post and Rudy calling it a "great piece", LOL. Fact is there are several public guys with long term records earning z-scores at least two standard deviations above break even at -110. Even more when you get into the "private" sector. Rudy... We understand monitors have issues, and they likely will never be 100% accurate, but it is hard to imagine that the -171 unit tally would be off by enough to make it anything but an awful season. Why is it so hard to acknowledge that? Could you tell us what your accurate record was for last season? Or even this season? This "records are wrong, but I won't explain unless you e-mail me" position doesn't hold water. My guess is you just make up something in private e-mails where people in "the know" can't discredit you. Why not post it right here in the forum for all to see? As for self-monitoring, I think it is fine as long as there is transparency. Preferably some display of the plays after game start, but at the minimum a daily recap and tally of all plays. I haven't seen either from you. Anthony... I understand you do not want to lose Rudy as a poster, his posts are entertaining, he gets a lot of views, and he has been winning. I will stop posting the reality of the situation if you want me to, but sooner or later it will come to and end on its own.