Submitted by rsteel on
Is there even such a beast as a legitimate handicapper? Touts Scam Artists Con Men Marketers Low Lifes etc. etc they are everywhere. With the continued legalization across North America this problem has become even more profound. Especially this time of year with football starting up again. Talking heads non betting experts on every sports broadcast. More and more newbies young people entering the market attempted to be led down a bad path by being promised easy money. These con men are NOT sports bettors NOT handicappers just frauds trying to separate you from your money. I will NEVER NEVER recommend anyone EVER pay money for sports selections.
You can pay for information, pay for knowledge betting content in a generic sense from “reputable” sources but NOT for picks.
Here is the problem paying for picks. Even if you find the rare rare unicorn who is a winning bettor selling picks it is very very hard to win at a high enough win % to overcome the cost of the picks. Secondly these people are giving out these picks to a lot of people. Therefore, it is very difficult to bet the picks at the lines they are giving out assuming they are sending out picks with widely available lines which is a BIG assumption. Most do not.
Touts use marketing techniques such as inside information, locks of the year, game of the month, system play that has never lost, 10,000-star selection, trends that go back 20 years or another good one this team is 5-1 on Thursday nights. Usually, these picks are centered on a high-profile game that most are interested on. Think about it if this tout was making so much money himself on sports betting why does he need bettors lousy $100. Really? There is a sucker born every minute.
Perhaps you do not have the time or the experience or knowledge to handicap the games yourself. That is when someone you TRUST who is NOT selling their picks can be advantageous. Someone who has stood the test of time a proven track record and most importantly their records are accurately documented the good and the bad. I know this is not common but this is the only way to begin. A person selling picks is always under pressure to post picks regardless if that pick has value or not. After all that is how they make money. So even if you have a handicapper with sincere intentions the minute, they charge for picks they have crossed the line with a conflict of interest in my opinion.
A legitimate handicapper can help put you on more winners and keep you off more losers which is just as important. No different than a stock broker financial planner with a proven track record.
Sports handicapping is a predictive science. A good honest handicapper uses his knowledge and experience to interpret data and find wagering value in the betting marketplace. Long hours dedication an obsessiveness and hard work. Attempting to find value daily that allows you to grind out profits over the long term. It is not glamorous or sexy but it is reality over fantasy. Once people get over the fallacies of a get rich quick scheme easy money promoted by the touts; they are than able to seriously approach sports betting with the proper mindset and realistic goals.