Pages Menu
TwitterFacebooklogin
Categories Menu

Posted by on Nov 29, 2012 in Blog, Sports Betting | 0 comments

NFL Plays — Week 13 (Thursday Night Game)

 

NOLAN DALLA:  2012 POSTED NFL SEASON RECORD

73 WINS – 60 LOSSES – 3 PUSHES —– (+ 59.85 units / 1 unit = $100)

STARTING BANKROLL:  $10,000.

CURRENT BANKROLL:  $15,985.

BEST BETS OF THE WEEK:  9-3-0

 

I love tonight’s game.  This looks like the “Best Bet of the Week.”   See full write-up below.

 

ATLANTA -3.5 vs. NEW ORLEANS (-110) — for 7 units <BEST BET OF THE WEEK>

This is a puzzling spread for two teams that have put up vastly different results this season.  Atlanta is arguably the best team in the NFL at the moment, with a 10-1 SU record playing against a 5-6 SU team (worse ATS) that has been a huge disappointment.  Normally, a 10-1 team playing a team with a losing record would be lined at more than a touchdown.  Add three points for home field advantage, and this line should clearly be at or around the -7 mark.  Number is probably shaded downward due to New Orleans playing well historically versus Atlanta.  But this game has all the makings of a complete reversal of recent history.  Atlanta probably should have won the matchup at New Orleans three weeks ago.  The Falcons played one of their worst games of the season and nearly pulled out a victory in the closing seconds (first and goal at the Saints 3-yard line with a minute to go, and couldn’t score).  That sets up a nice revenge spot here, for the home team.  Moreover, this looks like a tougher travel spot than normal for the Saints, who have performed poorly on the road.  Three days off between games clearly favors a good home team off a road victory, versus a struggling team that might have given its best shot the previous week and could be spent.  That San Francisco game was a must-win for New Orleans, and I fail to see how the team can regroup on the road so quickly versus one of the NFL’s top teams.  Coaching, this is a complete mismatch — as Mike Smith is proven to be on a mission with his team, as opposed to Saints staff which has failed in every conceivable way this season.  I have no idea why this line is not at least -6 and perhaps -7.  Again, bettors are looking at New Orleans’ history versus Atlanta, but these two teams bear no resemblance to the contests that have been played in the past when Sean Payton was on the sidelines.  I’ll take a solid team playing great football at the moment in a revenge spot on a very short week of preparation which is laying no more than a standard toss up home-field number.  

 

LAST SUNDAY’S RESULTS:   4 wins and 6 losses and 1 push for a net loss of 16.0 units

CLEVELAND +1 vs. PITTSBURGH (-110) — for 4 units…..WINNER

NEW ORLEANS +1 vs. SAN FRANCISCO (-110) — for 4 units…..LOSER

BALTIMORE -1 vs. SAN DIEGO (-105) — for 2 units…..WINNER

NEW ORLEANS / SAN FRANCISCO OVER 48.5 (-110) — for 3 units…..WINNER

GREEN BAY / NY GIANTS OVER 51 (-110) — for 3 units…..LOSER

1Q:  CAROLINA / PHILADELPHIA OVER 7 (-130) — for 5 units…..WINNER

1Q:  MIAMI / SEATTLE OVER 7 (-125) — for 5 units…..LOSER

1Q:  ST. LOUIS / ARIZONA OVER 7 (EVEN) — for 5 units….PUSH

1Q:  ST. LOUIS + .5 vs. ARIZONA (-150) — for 4 units…..LOSER

1Q:  GREEN BAY + .5 vs. NY GIANTS (-135) — for 3 units…..LOSER

1Q:  OAKLAND + 3 vs. CINCINNATI (-120) — for 5 units…..LOSER

 

LAST THURSDAY’S RESULTS:  2 wins and 1 loss and a net gain of 7.7 units

WASHINGTON +3.5 vs. DALLAS (-110) — for 5 units — WINNER

NEW ENGLAND/NY JETS UNDER 48 (-110) — for 3 units — LOSER

6-POINT TEASER:  WASHINGTON +9.5 / NEW ENGLAND -1 (-110) — for 6 units — WINNER

 

Read More

Posted by on Nov 28, 2012 in Blog, Las Vegas, Personal | 2 comments

A Day in the Life

Nolan Dalla Photo

 

I received an e-mail from a loyal reader recently which contained some good advice.  He made two suggestions for my blog. 

First, he wanted to hear more poker and gambling stories.  That’s a reasonable request.  So, look for more stories in the near future. 

Second, he suggested making my blog more personal by sharing things I do on a day-to-day basis. 

I must admit the thought to reducing this site to some kind of sick twitter update — such as informing the world of what I ordered for lunch strikes me as ridiculously narcissistic and utterly immaterial.  That said, I very much believe “who we are” is defined by “what we do.”  So, I will acquiesce to this occasionally and bore the world with the trivialities of my personal life.

 

Read More

Posted by on Nov 27, 2012 in Blog, Movie Reviews | 1 comment

Movie Review: “Life of Pi”

Life of Pi Movie

 

Life of Pi is a difficult movie to review.

Certain to be one of the year’s most widely-discussed films, in part because it’s open to multiple interpretations, this is a bold cinematic achievement by a master craftsman — namely Oscar-winning director Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Brokeback Mountain).

Yet, it’s also fundamentally flawed, its most puzzling script gaps camouflaged by extraordinary special effects and first-rate performances by three actors who portray the lead character at different stages of his life.  Indeed, the varied imagery and wide range of emotional demands upon the actors are so compelling that one might actually overlook the glaring contradiction within the film’s most intriguing question — which deals with the storyteller’s relationship with God.  The film is such a powerful visual spectacle that the audience deserves an equally consistent storyline — and ultimately just as satisfying a payoff — which compliments the arduous endurance test of sitting through feels like an overly-long 2 hour and 20 minute epic journey across the world’s biggest ocean.

Read More

Posted by on Nov 26, 2012 in Blog, Las Vegas, Personal | 2 comments

Remembering Poker Writer Barry Tanenbaum (Video)

I loved Barry Tanenbaum.

I miss Barry Tanenbaum.

He passed away a year ago, this week.

For those who don’t remember Barry, he was probably best known for his widely-read column in Card Player magazine which ran for nearly ten years.  Barry also authored two excellent poker books — both on Limit Hold’em, which was his specialty.

Barry was a real poker pro.  He spent most evenings playing at the Bellagio, where the $30-60 Limit Hold’em game served as his office.  Barry’s contemporaries included highly-respected player-writers — including Roy Cooke, Mason Malmuth, Jim Brier, Dr. Alan Schoonmaker and others who wrote about the game as they played it for a living.

But Barry was so much more than just a poker writer and colleague.

He was one of the most decent men I ever met.  He was a genuinely good person.  He was both an intellectual and emotional mentor to those who were fortunate enough to know him.

Please take a few minutes to watch this short 11-minute video I made last year as a tribute to Barry.  The video was shown at his funeral.

A few notes about this video:  Special thanks to Betty Tanenbaum and Lupe Soto for providing many of the photos which appear.  Also, thanks to Ashley Adams, the excellent writer and radio personality who provided the two-minute audio clip of Barry which is heard during the middle of this video.

The first part of the retrospective shows Barry’s personal life.  The second interlude highlights his career in poker.

 

 

 

Read More

Posted by on Nov 24, 2012 in Blog, Sports Betting | 0 comments

NFL Plays — Week 12

Bad Weather Football

 

NOLAN DALLA:  2012 POSTED NFL SEASON RECORD

69 WINS – 54 LOSSES – 2 PUSHES —– (+ 75.85 units / 1 unit = $100)

STARTING BANKROLL:  $10,000.

CURRENT BANKROLL:  $17,585.

BEST BETS OF THE WEEK:  9-3-0

 

On Thursday, I posted two wins and one loss, for a net gain of +7.7 units.  Once again, it’s a positive sign we’re winning the large-unit games.  

Last week’s record was 5 wins and 4 losses.  Most important, the net gain was +9.3 units.  

If there’s one thing I’ve improved this season over the last many years I’ve been posting plays at various public forums (which started in 1997), it’s been with weighing picks and better money management.  

It took me many many years to realize that flat betting gives way too much away when there are stronger than average plays on the board.  Moreover, a pick may be worth playing, but for a smaller amount based on the line or total.  Hence, I strongly recommend varying your bet sizes.  I have more work to do and much more to learn in this area.  But I do want to say that if you only get half your picks right, but weigh the games accurately, you might still be able to produce a nice profit.

Here are Sunday’s plays (11 wagers).

Read More
css.php