Our guest this week is a professional sports bettor, Spanky. We discuss how Vegas books have changed, his interaction with Billy Walters, and how important getting a good line is.
We welcome your questions – send them to us at [email protected], or you can find me at @RWM21 on Twitter.
podcast
click to listen – alt click to download
Show Notes
[00:00] Intro of Spanky, a sports bettor
[00:30] How did Spanky start gambling?
[01:33] When did Spanky realize that he could make money gambling?
[07:28] How did people in Spanky’s life react to his transition into a professional gambler?
[09:34] Why did Spanky go to Costa Rica?
[12:36] Did Spanky initially also play in online casinos?
[20:24] Did UIGEA impact online sports betting?
[23:26] Is Spanky still able to find arbitrage opportunities?
[26:02] Why is Spanky more successful than other sports bettors?
[28:33] How well does Spanky know Billy Walters?
[32:55] Did Spanky ever develop betting bots?
[34:38] South Point Casino – January Promotions and Free Video Poker Classes
[40:38] Does Spanky make in-game bets?
[42:18] What advice does Spanky have for aspiring sports bettors?
[46:46] What sports betting books does Spanky recommend?
[48:20] What sports does Spanky bet? What sports does he avoid?
[50:43] Do games with less media coverage have higher edges?
[55:14] Spanky’s secrets to a happy life.
Books:
Robbing the One Armed Bandits – https://amzn.to/2BUNj2u
Sharp Sports Betting – https://amzn.to/2Q53Zyd
Conquering Risk – https://amzn.to/2COODFN
Sponsors
SouthPointCasino.com
VideoPoker.com/gwae
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The book is “Robbing the One-Armed Bandits” by Charles Lund. Most machines mentioned no longer commonly exist, but the same techniques can be applied to modern “advantage slots”.
That book was pretty much obsolete by the time it came out.
I thought of a few questions for when Spanky returns to the show if you could add them to the list it would be appreciated.
– How much are you involved in the day to day analysis of games for the betting your organization does?
– Do you have guys betting games you personally don’t understand/know? (random made up example; Eastern Canadian AAA curling)?
– How much autonomy do your guys have?
– How often do your guys strike out on their own or go to the competition?
Spanky is on Twitter as @spanky. He’s a really good follow because he shows you that sports books treat winning sports bettors the same way they treat any winning advantage player. They do whatever they can to reject your action.
That was a great interview. My journey started in Altantic City back in the ’80’s. It’s great to know guys are still out there, who have taken it to the next level and are now successful. I’ve been sportsbetting for close to 40 years now and I still enjoy it. But, like Spanky commented, I couldn’t name 5 NBA starters if my life depended on it. I enjoy the numbers. I look forward to hearing him on your program again.