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
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.
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.
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.
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.
67 WINS – 53 LOSSES – 2 PUSHES —– (+ 68.55 units / 1 unit = $100)
STARTING BANKROLL: $10,000.
CURRENT BANKROLL: $16,855.
BEST BETS OF THE WEEK: 9-3-0
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.
I’m making three wagers on Thanksgiving Day games. Sunday’s plays will be released at the customary time.
Writer’s Note: Tonight I had the great fortune of enjoying yet another extraordinary dinner and deep discussion with friends and colleagues.
Steve Schorr, Race and Sportsbook Manager at Harveys Lake Tahoe (pictured standing at center in photo) made the mistake of including me in his good graces, an invite that’s always sure to result in an assault on the liquor cabinet, several off-color comments, and a sink full of dirty dishes.
Gracie, his longtime companion and our host extraordinaire for the evening (standing with Steve in the photo) served a dinner that would have made Henry VIII bust his pants. The only thing more pleasing than the fresh salmon and glazed lamb chops was the company.
On second thought, while the company was indeed wonderful, those smoked lamb chops served with a reduction sauce were pretty damned good. Sorry Steve, you’ve been upstaged by a slaughtered lamb.
Naturally, with good friends and wine comes interesting conversation. The following essay was prompted by our discussion.
Another dinner.
Another epiphany.
If we have a sixth sense beyond the known five, it’s probably instinct.
Think about that for a moment.
Instinct.
An inner voice.
A feeling.
Were I to define instinct, it would be perception which cannot be measured nor transposed. But it’s real. Just as touch is a tangible sensation — a neurophysiological process of transmission from body to brain — it’s not necessarily defined in the abstract. After all, we see objects, we hear sounds, we taste flavors, we smell odors. But touch isn’t quite the same. Accordingly, isn’t it quite possible – even probable — that all the evolutionary tools we’ve come to master over hundreds of thousands of years are now manifested in a greater awareness of our surroundings and a dominion as to how to optimally react to stimuli?
Alas, this is what I call instinct.
It’s taken me most of my life to erase what amounts to fifty years of ignorance or indifference to instinct. I’m hardly alone. We’re all inundated with second-guessing and self-doubt. Killers of human instinct. Assassins of truth. Which gradually leads to loss of confidence — and ultimately to sadness and depression.
Photo Caption: Dinner tonight at “19,” which is high atop the Harveys Resort and Casino at beautiful Lake Tahoe. I wolfed down a 20-ounce coffee-rubbed rib-eye, with garlic mashed potatoes, asparagus, a house salad, a full bottle of Pellegrino, two double expressos, and two bottles of Caymus (shared, of course). Epic dinners like these always bring about great conversation, especially when you are with great company like Steve Schorr (Race and Sportsbook Manager) and Glen Cademartori (Caesars Entertainment Marketing Director for Northern Nevada). Dinners like this are what living life is all about. Tonight’s dinner prompted the following thoughts and column:
I wish there were 36 hours in the day, instead of 24.
I wish there were eight days in the week, instead of seven.
I wish I had more time.
There’s not enough time to read all the books I want to read. There’s not enough time to listen to all the music I want to hear. There’s not enough time to travel to all the places I want to go. There’s not enough time to make all the friends I’d like to meet. There’s not enough time to covet those family relationships and friendships that I’m already blessed to have. There’s not enough time fulfill a vast cauldron of desires.
Indeed, each of us lives inside an hourglass. The sand beneath our feet is always shifting and slowly disappears, one grain at a time, one ticking second at a time. At some point — no one knows exactly when — the sand runs out. Our hourglass becomes empty. And then, we will be gone.
When you think about it, other than our good health, time is our most precious resource.
Why then do we waste so much of it?
Tonight at dinner, the conversation turned to living a good life.
A random question came up that made me to pause and think. And quite frankly, I got stumped. I usually have quick answers for just about everything. That’s what comes with being opinionated. But a question was asked that I still have trouble answering. Perhaps you’d like to pretend you’re dining with us over a few bottles of wine and you suddenly get asked the following:
If you could pick one person in the world to have a long one-on-one dinner conversation with, who would it be?
Let’s embellish this just a bit. You must make two choices. The first choice must be someone living. The second choice must be someone deceased.
62 WINS – 49 LOSSES – 2 PUSHES —– (+ 59.25 units / 1 unit = $100)
STARTING BANKROLL: $10,000.
CURRENT BANKROLL: $15,925.
BEST BETS OF THE WEEK: 8-3-0
It’s hard to top last week’s results, posting a public record of 11 wins and 3 losses– for a monster net win of +52.3 units. However, this is no time to celebrate or relax. Trying to stay in the zone with what will hopefully be another profitable week.
Many plays this week are not so much BET ON games as BET AGAINST games. Some teams are starting to implode and those are teams we want to fade this time of year, especially if not laying too many points. That’s the case on a few games this week noted below.
Why’s it so goddamned difficult to get a decent margarita? I mean, what the fuck!
Its madness!
The recipe is simple. Simple! The act of mixing the cocktail isn’t difficult. But for some reason, which I fail to contemplate, most bars and restaurants — even highly-rated Mexican restaurants — serve shitty-ass margaritas made with no love nor care. It’s time to start sending these abominations back. A major education campaign must be launched, and I’m here to do it.
I’ve had it. I’m livid!
Where’s the pride? How can an owner, a manager, or a server put out such lackluster product, when a margarita should be the centerpiece attraction? How does a restaurant keep its doors open using cheap tequila and rock-gut triple sec poured out of pathetic plastic bottles combined with disgusting powder-based mixers and have the audacity to call that a “margarita?” It’s like putting lipstick on a pig and calling that Anne Hathaway.
Case in point: Whoever created the margarita pictured in the photo below should never be able to set foot behind a bar again. Ever! The criminal should be digging a ditch or serving on a chain gag. Bitch slap his ass! I mean, look at this travesty! And study carefully. Drop what you are doing and pay attention!
