The Internet changed everything — including sports betting. Let’s take a look back at “the bad old days” when sports handicapping was like the wild west.
Many sports gamblers might not remember how awful things were before the mid-1990s. Way back when, we had to rely on local newspapers and network pregame shows for the latest up-to-date news, which had obvious limitations and often contained bogus information.
Today, the Internet is the primary reason why games (especially pro football) are much tougher to beat now than before. Little if any geographical disparity exists between numbers anymore, and if something important develops that could impact the outcome of a game, the sportsbooks are quick to react. Injury reports, weather, team chemistry, trends, power ratings — everything is weighed and factored into the line, including the betting market, which is the ultimate arbitrator.
Sports bettors have also become much wiser to con artists and scams. Sure, the vermin touting their picks are still around. By the plenty. Now, many touts use inflated academic records for credibility, suggesting they’re former accountants or financial analysts. But the dirty tricks that were used decades ago to fleece the most gullible sports bettors no longer work, for the most part. Over the past 35 years, I’ve fallen for some of these scams and will write about the funnier aspects of getting conned in my future writings (I can think of at least four great stories — maybe more). By the way, it’s funny to look back on them now. It wasn’t funny back then when I was getting gutted for thousands of dollars.
In the meantime, here’s an absolutely hysterical ten-minute video clip that I found recently on YouTube which typifies the sewer that once was (and to some extent — still is) the darkest depths of “sports handicapping services.” It’s hard to believe these jokers were for real with their outlandish claims of “24 winners in a row,” “92 percent winners,” and “the lock of the century.” I can’t even fathom someone calling the numbers and buying a pick from these guys.
Oh, wait. Um, sometime around 1987, I actually did buy one day’s worth of picks from “The Duke.” He’s the curly-haired cretin who is shown screaming his lungs out in this video, “I love this game! I love this game! Call now!” That embarrassing story, and much more — to come.
This lost treasure was broadcast sometime around 1990. Cringe, enjoy and laugh your ass off.
