I titled my post day whatever, because I don't keep track anymore. Everyone is always posting "day 1" then 8 days later posting "day 1" again. It's a never ending cycle and I used to do it to. Telling myself I was done for good, only to "fail miserably" and relapse 2 to 4 weeks later. Well after going thru all these 4 week "cleanses" if you will, and then relapsing, I've realized why not try a new approach. So I allow myself to bet. Here and there. I started gambling at age 14 and am currently 30 so this took a while. But up until a year or 2 ago I was still wagering 5k+ a day on sports I never heard of. Now I may risk 200 or 300 total a month. The urges aren't as frequent. Sure I still bet. Maybe I always will. I'm not perfect. Ut there sure is a huge difference between it being "all I do" vs it being literally repulsive to me and disgusted at myself every time I do it.
I made a post a lot longer than this and it wouldn't post my phone froze but basically the general point was that take your baby steps. Go a few weeks without betting. Sure maybe you'll relapse. But each time u relapse it will be less and less. I'm at the point now where even when I do gamble I just want the game to be over. I find almost next to no joy from it. Get panic attacks thru out the whole game. And then delete my account with that site whether it's DK or FD or whatever, as soon as the game is over.
Another pointer is I signed up for the self exclusion list in pa. So if I want to gamble I have to drive 45 min to nj. Sit in a parking lot like a crackhead until my geo locator realizes I'm in nj. Placet bet, drive 45 my in back to pa. This makes it so when I do lose, I never chase, because I'm never going to drive back over to nj at 1030 pm just to bet a game I don't like. I've been trying to fix this disease since I've been in my early twenties. The cold turkey route never worked for me. Instead I allow myself to risk maybe 2 or 3 hundred a month. If I lose I lose. That being said, if I wasn't excluded from betting in PA. I definitely would always chase. That's the beauty about legal gambling. Bovada will never delete your account. Whereas legally Draftkings FanDuel mgm foxbet etc they have to delete your account if you ask. This has been a major contributor to my successes in quitting gambling, which has also lead to greater success with my career, my finances, and my mental health. Best of luck to everyone in your journeys.

Hello I’ve never posted on Reddit or anywhere in that matter before but i’ve been going into casinos since i was about 15 and playing it started off as a little rebel kind of thing $100 here and there when i earned it (maybe $500 losing the full year) which at that age is alot... I wouldn’t say im rich by any means but im 25 now and over the last 3 months I will find my self finding time after work to stop in and “play for an hour” and also betting sports on Bovada and playing even online slots/blackjack moral of the story is over 10 years it started low limits now I don’t think twice of walking in and losing $200-$300 and i will stay till that happens no matter what i win i look at money outside the casino like it has true value in there they are just fun coupons but I have tried to tell myself that “ill only do it on events or vegas” but that don’t work cause it leaves the door opened to it today i am shutting myself down from even “i bet you $5 i can skip this rock 10 times” cause the $5 wont matter but the principle of gambling does i will be replying and will stop gambling i would say my estimated losses over the years can range from $50,000 -$80,000 dont see it being no more then that

Disclaimer: This is likely going to be the most boring section but year 3 is where it starts to get good (which I can make it more humorous) and I will type it up while I play tomorrow. But as long as interest in these threads is here I will invest the time in making them. A couple comments in the first one said it was nostalgic, which I agree, its kind of why I am even writing these. These were the actual good days of poker before government decided to fuck it up for everyone, poker is a shell of what it used to be and it will never return to its glory days without government fucking off. There is no entry point for new players these days, there are no advertisements on ESPN, no play money hustles or low stakes games online full of fish (now full of bots or bot like regs) or mega field mtts for people to get excited about. Also processing power has grown so much that problem solvers are becoming prevalent in decent stakes games. Jump online and play some NLH, it is insanely unfriendly to anyone playing less than perfect (plo is the only way to play online now, lets make it bigger than NLH!). Your every leak will be exploited. Its just not going to come back. (No one tell me bovada is soft either, fuck the anonymous stuff, 4$ rake no rewards system, they deserve no business, globalpoker is the only one worse) Also worth noting every single event I cover is real. The only thing that can be false is dialogue (for humor usually) and potentially altered hand histories due to lapsed memory.
Oh and since I bashed two online sites I will plug one. Coinpoker.com - learn how to use crypto and join up. The software is solid, traffic a bit slow for USA time zones but its growing a bit. I have no affiliation aside from playing there and would enjoy more traffic in USA peak hours.
Year 2
I am now a 20 year old gun slinger in the wild West of online poker. I am grinding sit n gos and mtts and cash games. I am a jack of all trades, and a master of all games. I am playing plo stud8 nlh it didnt matter, I just wanted to learn every game. I was a genuine student of poker, it consumed my brain at all times. I wake up at noon to slide into my chair and start grinding, still living at home with my dad in my ear telling me to get a job because “there is no future to gambling” to which I retort “you got it wrong pops, its actually no gamble no future, and I am gonna gamble for mine”.
I am in the backwoods of Oklahoma. I have no clue when high speed internet was invented but I sure as hell didnt have it in 2006. I was still using dialup as it was the only option available. I grind a lot of mtts and sitngos, and when Poker Stars releases a small patch or update I always paid the piper. I would leave the website open 24/7 so disconnects often would leave me screaming at my computer banging my head as updates downloaded for 5-20 minutes usually. Often I would be ITM in an mtt or holding AA/KK somewhere praying to the poker gods that everyone else disconnected and was feeling my struggles as well.
Nevertheless I am becoming a winning player. I have erratic account balances ranging from 300-1000$ while I play $1-10$ mtts (and occasionally jumping into a 20$+) and cash games at 10nl/plo mostly. I dont exactly recall the tourney that allowed me to cash out $3,000 off of Poker Stars, but it happened at some point that year. I remember the day it came in the mail pretty well. I got in my piece of shit 1998 Ford F150 (that I drove from age 17 to 23ish until I gave it to a friend who had his car stolen, it finally collapsed at 310k miles, I abused that truck, it literally had so many original parts on it, including the spark plugs amazingly) and drove into town head held high with my prize sitting on my lap. I couldnt wait to get to the bank so they could ask me where I got all this money from (which is ironic because a year later you had to lie if you wanted to retain your bank account). In my mind, as a 20 year old who has never even held 1000$ of my own money before it felt like I was going to be cashing the biggest check they would see all week.
I arrive at a Bank of Oklahoma, walk in and head to an open teller. She was an elderly lady probably in her 60s. I hand her the check and give her my account info and she starts punching away on her computer. She asks me how I want it, and with a smug grin on my face I say “in cash”. She gives me a blank stare then reaches into her drawer and pulls out a stack of $100 bills. This was the moment I had lived for, this was the moment my year plus of sitting in a basement ostracized from society grinding it out on my leather ass was for. She leans in to start counting out $3,000 and time is moving so slow for me. My bottom lip is literally shaking watching her count this massive sum of fiat, it was at the time the greatest moment of my life (over losing virginity, over the first time feeling the euphoria of MDMA, over anything). It felt so fulfilling. Pixelated cash turned to physical cash and I was on my way. Making the hour drive to the city to buy some cocaine and hang out with friends.
Short version of the weeks that followed that event, cocaine and home games for pennies. The money ran dry and my nose wore raw. The cocaine was rarely good obviously but thats to be expected in 2006 and in the Midwest.
Towards the end of the year I am going to a friends house to play after a weekend of partying and poker. We played at the casino the night before and have had little to no sleep in two days. Hes not a well seasoned super pro who has cashed a $3,000 check like me but he dabbles a bit. Its Sunday and were gonna grind a few tourneys, one in particular was a freeroll for anyone who earned X amount of FPPs over a set period of time. Everyone who makes final table gets a $12,000 package to main event. So we saddle up and jump into this (if my memory serves me correctly) 26,000~ player field. Luckily it had a good structure with plenty of play, 5 minute levels was going to allow my sharpened skills to shine. Laptops out, chargers plugged into a power supply we were underway. We felt like Louis and Clark setting out to traverse the western USA. We were gonna chart our maps on our way through this large field and claim our prize. We rarely say a word to each other through the first hour, were dog ass tired from the partying and high stakes 1-2nl at the casino the night before.
I bust my entry in the second hour, humiliated by the poker gods I look over at my friend in disgrace to let him know he is on his own, only to see him fast asleep sitting out at his table. I grab his laptop and feel my heart thud and my jugular swell as I have been revitalized having a second chance at this tourney, so long as he doesnt wake up.
I quietly accrue chips, soul reading my digital opponents and swiping their blinds. An hour passes I am still alive. Another hour and I am full thrive. Another hour and it seems I wont be deprived. We get down to 1000 then 500 then 100 people left standing. I awake my friend to show him what I have done, much to his surprise. He was excited but knew that I was the captain of his ship now. He fell asleep at the helm, so his ship now belonged to me.
Now to the hands I remember pretty well.
Two tables left. Not a ton of play but I am one of the bigger stacks. 15ish left and I am in the blinds with 66 when some asshat rips from the cutoff. It will cost me 3/4 of my stack (tbh I cant remember how many bb, it had to be 6-10 I would think, a 5 minute level turbo with 26k people back in 06? Had to be shallow) but I nut up and call.
My 66 is ahead of his QT but he finds a way to win. Now I am on deaths throes seeing this 12k package slip out of my grasp.
Aside from a pivotal pot that I won with K9o (ripping shallow) I remember no other hands but I assure you no one was all in or had someone all in more than I did at those final two tables. It tailed off with me comfortably sliding in from 11~ left to 9. I remember agonizing so many all ins, laughing when I won and yelling FUCK!! when I lost. More highs and lows over that 20-30 minutes than I had ever thought possible, and wouldnt feel again for a year or two. This 12k score was by far my biggest to date. We fist bumped and despite having no sleep we went out drinking and playing 1-2 like a couple of punk 21 year olds that we were. Kind of a side note but I have had many threats to me at a poker table, I am a bit mouthy (in the name of humor, but the humorless get angry).
Since it was my friends account we chopped the 12k. He proceeded to become a 200nl pro for the next few weeks. Sitting with the likes of Sam Simon (of The Simpsons, he was a frequent Poker Stars player) and melting off a good portion before tapping out.
I proceeded to continue to chip up from there. Then I had some issues on Poker Stars. While playing some 180 man sitgos I was talking to someone in chat. Who then found me on my cash tables to ask me what I had in a hand. Needless to say I broke collusion rules (worse than that, he lingered and was telling me his hands and I would tell him mine like a nimrod). Wasnt exactly intentional but I received a life time ban on Poker Stars and they sent me a check for my account balance. Not my proudest moment, it was dumb but honestly resulted in a net positive.
The end of the year I turn 21 and am grinding FTP and I am thinking about moving out of my folks house. I never get a fat roll together but I am winning here and there and blowing money like an idiot kid who has no concept of tomorrow. I was downloading new poker sites (the resulting net positive from losing stars)
One last story from this year. This is genuinely my favorite one I ever tell (and I tell it occasionally to this day in certain situations with people I dont think will get offended and they set themselves up for it)
I walk into a card room and get a 1-2 seat. I grab chips and head that way, and I end up drawing a seat directly to this old mans left. The old man was my grandfather. I had spent minimal time with this man in my life. Less than most people do with grandparents who live fairly close. He was a gambler though, stocks or cards. Rumor has it (never heard this from him only my mom and other family) in the late 70s or early 80s he sells a plot of land with a few oil drills on it and heads to Vegas where he spends 6-9 months playing poker and comes back busto. I never asked him about this story, if true I am sure he was felting himself to Brunson or Slim or some of the other old timers. The land yielded him a few hundred thousand dollars. The funny part is that piece of land is still pumping oil in 2019 (he fucked up). He recovered in life though, he never lived poorly. Owned a house on a lake in Oklahoma and dated meth addicted women 30 years younger than him my whole life. Just a standard version of a sugar daddy I suppose.
Anyhow, we greet each other and exchange a few words before just getting immersed in the game. Hes not exactly an old man coffee player, I do know his favorite hand is 910 though from poker discussions we had previously. About an hour into the session I have barely played a hand. I look over at him and say “man I just keep getting 92o 83o 72o over and over”. He then turns his head towards me and looks me in the eyes and says words I never will forget. He says (using fake name here) “Johnny, there aint one guy at this table that gives a fuck what youre folding” and looks away. I wasnt shocked at the cold response. He was a brash and dry person. Never told a joke that I remember. I never forgot it though and when people try to complain about their cards I tell them “I will tell you what my grandpappy told me, aint nobody at this table gives a fuck what youre folding”. Even though it was kind of cold, truer words rarely are uttered at a poker table. The last thing I care about is someones bad beats or card dead hour or wtf ever else. We are all so self involved that we think people care to hear a bad beat story or whatever, but they dont.
Part 3 in the next day or two.

Basically, i’m 19 and currently going to school in Missouri where I saw the gambling age is 21, but I am from California where I saw the age is 18. I have heard Bovada is a popular app to use but i’m worried about the laws and all that. Am I safe you think? Anyone else in the same boat as me

The title says it all. If anyone who has streamed gambling, watched it, read any guidelines (I couldn't find any Twitch official ones, yes I may be dumb), or any staff who see this could answer then please do!
I'm interested in starting a sports gambling section of my stream, potentially esports as well. I would explain my thought process on making live bets or parlays. Additionally, I would be using a known online book (Bovada, not an ad btw, just what my friends use so I'm familiar) and I think they have an affiliate program. What would I need to disclose to make sure I follow all the guidelines. Additionally, I'm considering doing this in a podcast style format and uploading VODs to YouTube, if anyone has information on their gambling/betting guidelines (beyond the new age/content guidelines), that would be great, if not I can post there as well!
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Thanks

With 454 Million total audience viewers in 2019, and expected to hit 645 million viewers by 2022(2019 Global Esports Market Report); Esports is one of the fastest growing entertainment phenomena ever seen in the history of sports or competition. With contenders reigning from merely every corner of the world, and the majority of the age demographic under 25, it’s safe to say esports has yet to see it’s peak- and is far from it. Now carrying the recognition as an official sport, league owners must be mindful of major factors often shared in traditional sports; such as fair contracts, scheduling, and gambling. Although introduced as one large entity, Esports is a broad term to describe a variety of different video games and game modes. For example, if you were to compete in League of Legends, your team would have a total of 5 players versus other teams of 5. If you were to compete in Super Smash Brothers, you’d be competing as an individual versus other individuals. Each of these games requires its own unique skill set. In contrast to traditional sports, many E-Sports competitor’s openly broadcast their schematics, personality, and some, full practices. These live broadcasts on websites such as Amazon’s Twitch, or mixer, gives the average viewer much simpler alternative to help comprehend the game. And gives young e sports players a genuine insight to help grow their skills. But how does this accessibility affect the game? If NFL’s winning-est team in history, the New England Patriots, were to broadcast every practice, and Tom Brady was to stream his training methods daily; many in the sports world would argue they would’ve accomplished a fraction of their current successes. With discretion and scheme being such a big factor in major league sports, it’s understandable why teams go as far as possible to gain any knowledge on opposing teams. Whether it be hidden camera men to scout teams sidelines to see hand signs or dugout members banging their bats in a specific fashion to alert the batter of the change-up. All of these actions, legal or illegal, are summed up as an attempt to attain any sliver of insight that can help win the game. So with all of this information openly given to opposing teams through streaming platforms,YouTube, and broadcasts, who wins? Gamblers. Virtual gamblers specifically. With the legalization of sports gambling in its infancy, along with the expansion of popularity in virtual live-betting with websites such as bovada; virtual betting and esports allows gamblers the experience to place bets and watch an event at live speed, in under 10 clicks of a mouse. And although many esports supporters are too young to place bets themselves; in the future, this could lead to a form of gambling never quite seen before. A form of gambling where the bettor no longer needs to walk to the sportsbook to place their bets. A form of gambling where the bettor no longer needs to watch their event at a bar. A form of gambling where the bettor can leisurely watch their favorite stream a couple times a week and carry the same insight as the bookkeepers they’re betting against. For older sports bettors and those relatively unfamiliar with esports, it may be quite unappealing to place your hard earned money on the back of 20 year old virtual athletes. But with their ability to train from such a young age, for a median 8 hours a day, over the course of a couple years. The time esports athletes spend honing their craft is equivalent, or greater than many other professional athletes at the same age. Many younger bettors with an understanding of esports and the sports book see the golden opportunity at hand. And with an estimated $8 billion placed in 2019 for esports bets alone, the interest in the collision of these two worlds can predictably be at an all-time high by the end of the decade.

Is sports betting online legal?
There is NO prohibition against gambling online, and that includes betting on sports. It's not explicitly legal, but it's not explicitly illegal either. The UIGEA makes it illegal to process financial transactions relating to online gambling. There are no federal laws that specifically make it illegal to bet online.
How do sports bets work?
Sports betting is what it sounds like. You place a bet on a sporting event and win a set amount of money if the team or player you bet on wins. Placing bets on sports is a way for some people to make money and a way for many to enjoy watching a contest more than if they didn't have money riding on the outcome.
What are the best online sports gambling sites?
Best Online Sports Betting Sites
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What states can you legally bet on sports?
New Jersey.
What states is DraftKings legal in?
DraftKings restricted states – Visit DraftKings Now The states where DraftKings blocks players are: Arizona, Alabama, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada and Washington State.
Is it legal to bet on bovada?
Yes, Bovada can legally operate in the US. The US federal law doesn't state anywhere that playing poker or casino games is illegal. It is, however, illegal to run a business that accepts bets or is involved in processing online gambling payments. Hence, the Bovada casino is located offshore.
Can I bet on the Super Bowl online?
Assuming you are of legal age (21), you can bet on Super Bowl 2019 if you are physically inside any legal sportsbook while placing your wager. For the time being, you can make legal sports bets online only in three states on Super Bowl Sunday 2019: Nevada, New Jersey, and West Virginia.
Is bet365 allowed in USA?
Unfortunately, we do not have a set date for their launch meaning that our questions of how to use bet365 in USA and is bet365 legal in USA are answered with silence.
What does a +200 money line mean?
When a money line is a positive number then the odds are the amount you would win if you were to bet $100 and were correct. For example, a -200 money line means you would win $100 if you bet $200 and won. It is also equivalent to fractional odds of 1/2 and decimal odds of 1.5.
What does +400 mean in a bet?
The +400 for the Rams means that a bet on the Rams would pay 4 to 1. The -600 on the Vikings means that if you bet them, then you have to lay 6 to 1. Examples: A $100 on the Rams would win $400. A $600 bet on the Vikings would win $100.

This is my first reddit post, so please excuse the length, as well as the quality. I’m currently struggling with a gambling addiction that I’ve had for around four years and find that nothing I do has succeeded in helping me overcome this addiction. I figured that other people have experienced a gambling addiction and have successfully overcome one, so I would love to hear anyone’s thoughts, advice, or comments on my situation, as well as gambling addictions in general.
As a kid, I’ve always had an addictive personality. I remember when I was younger, I would play video games for hours on end non-stop. One of my biggest regrets to date is not reading more as a kid. The cognitive ability of reading is one of the most underrated skills in life and my peers and friends who read for fun growing up are not only fast readers, but generally do well in school and life. At the time, I didn’t think much of my video game addiction as it was not harming myself or others. Little did I know, this small addiction would serve as a gateway to a larger addiction that would bring a lot of stress and problems in my life.
Fast forward to the summer after graduating senior year of high school. Growing up, I’ve always been really into soccer, playing competitively on a traveling club team since I was eleven years old. By my senior year of high school, I was committed to a prestigious university to play collegiate soccer. During my high school soccer season my senior year in the spring, I broke my foot in the league championship game against our rivals (which we won). This was the first time in my life that I’ve ever suffered a serious injury and let me tell you, I was not ready for the setbacks that I would face from it, both physically and mentally. For those of you who have never broken a bone, it is one of the most debilitating physical things that can occur to someone, especially if it impairs daily, routine activity. I had to use crutches or a knee scooter to get around everywhere and could not exercise, which caused a great deal of anxiety and jitteriness for me given that I’ve grown up living an active lifestyle. Around the same time, I had some friends who were talking about a casino that was only 15 minutes away from where we lived and it was also an 18+ casino. Given that I couldn’t really do much with a broken foot, I decided to make a trip to this casino to find out what people were talking about. Little did I know that this innocent, first trip to the small casino near my house four years ago would take me down a dark path of gambling.
I remember on my first trip to the casino, I was so excited that I grabbed a handful of cash (I think around $100) and drove as quickly as possible to the casino. When I tried to enter the building, a security guard stopped me and asked for my ID. Amidst my excitement, I realized I forgot my wallet with my driver’s license at home, which led me to speed home to grab it. On my way home, I was stopped by a police officer for going 15 miles per hour over the residential speed limit. The officer was nice enough not to penalize me for not having my ID, but I still received a $140 ticket. After that happened, I was in a pretty bad mood, but still determined to find out what it was like to wager money on a bunch of cards. I remember the first trip to the casino, I actually lost my $100 in about 15 minutes playing blackjack, which should’ve discouraged me from setting foot in a casino ever again. However, me being someone who thinks that they’re smarting than the average gambler, I went home that night and practiced memorizing basic strategy (a strategy that minimizes the house edge in blackjack), as well as studied card counting, specifically the Hi-Lo method (wagering more money when the remaining cards are favorable for the player).
Armed with this new knowledge, I was determined to beat the game and make money from my local casino, after all, it did cost me $240 the first time I went. The few trips after my first, I was making money pretty consistently. I remember there was one time I turned $60 into around $600 and other times where I would walk away making a couple hundred dollars. I didn’t think that gambling was a problem during this time as I was going with my friends, making money, and getting a crazy amount of adrenaline from the casino runs. Being at the blackjack table allowed me to forget about my anxiety and depression that gradually compiled due to my broken foot and the inability to exercise. It provided an escape from the limitations that my broken foot had instilled on me.
At the same time, I was working at Domino’s as a delivery driver, and remember taking the cash from the tips I earned each day that I worked (ranging from $60 to $200) and drive over to the casino to test my luck for that day. For those of you who don’t know, gambling is dangerous because winning money is really not that difficult; however, walking away with the money is a completely different story. A majority of times I went to the casino, I was up from my original buy-in at some point; however, that meant nothing considering I didn't walk away winning most of the time. I started spending more and more time at the casino, and eventually started losing money, including all the money I had previously won from the casino. The problem started getting particularly bad when I started lying to my friends about going to the casino. I even remembered multiple times where I would go with friends (who had more self-control than I did), and would stay longer than them (losing my ride) and resort to calling other friends to pick me up or taking a cab home.
To make matters worse, one of the things I’m most ashamed of to this day was gambling on the birthday of my girlfriend at the time which caused me to be late to her birthday dinner with her family. To make matters worse, I remember taking my girlfriend to dinner near the casino, stopping by the casino to redeem one of the bonus coupons they give you to entice you to visit more frequently, and having her wait in the car for an hour while I played blackjack. Despite having nights where I won over two grand in a matter of a few hours, I still ended up losing at least $3,000 that summer. Luckily, I was going off to college in St. Louis, far away from my hometown casino in Kirkland, Washington, which should have prevented me from gambling during my four years at college.
My Freshman year of college was rough, my foot hadn’t fully recovered so I was not able to play soccer to my full potential. On top of this, I had a difficult time making friends, and was in an unfamiliar, uncomfortable environment. I was surrounded by extremely wealthy, privileged kids from the Northeast, who grew up going to private school. Most of these kids have never worked a job in their lives. This made it a much more difficult time getting accustomed to my new school having grown up on the West Coast, going to public high school, and working throughout high school. Additionally, the way the social scene at my school works is through Greek life, as the population of social, normal people is pretty small. To make matters worse, as a guy, one of the only ways to have a good social life is joining a fraternity; however, since the fraternity houses are pretty small relative to state schools, many kids who rush don’t receive bids. I was unfortunate to be a part of that group when I rushed Freshman year. On top of this blow to my self-esteem, I underwent foot surgery since my foot was not making any progress healing. This caused me to have to rely on crutches and a knee scooter again for the next couple months. I was legitimately depressed and at the lowest low point of my life. I was not doing well in school, didn’t have a girlfriend, and felt like I didn’t have any close friends in general.
This was around the time that I discovered the realm of online gambling, a path that would unfortunately be worse than live casinos. Online casinos make it extremely easy to deposit real money into them, and coincidentally, pretty damn difficult to withdraw money. I remember visiting a casino called Bovada and making my first $100 deposit with my debit card. This deposit quickly lead to more $100 deposits, until I had lost around $1,000 playing online blackjack and poker in a matter of hours. At this point, I didn’t have a job so I was essentially gambling away money my parents had given me to spend on food and necessities. I was too ashamed to tell my parents about this problem, as they were extremely disappointed after I told them at the end of the summer after senior year of high school. Luckily, at this point in my life, I didn’t have too much disposable income to gamble away so the damages were minimal.
The next few years in college got better, I quit soccer and got into lifting, got into a fraternity, and made a lot of new friends, who I’m still close with to this day. Aside from getting into sports gambling for around a month and losing $1,000, I would lose between $1,000 - $2,000 whenever I would go home for winter break at the original casino I went to. Although this was a decent amount of money, I was still able to allocate some of the money that I earned from my college job towards personal spending and was just happy that I had the self-control to ration out a percentage of it that I was comfortable losing when I did gamble. The good thing was that I did not gamble too consistently my sophomore and junior year of college and more importantly, I was not obsessively thinking about it every day.
Now senior year of college was where everything took a turn for the worse and led me to all-time lows in my life. I remember playing poker for $25 buy-ins with my friends at my apartment every night for the first half of the school year. This wasn’t a problem financially since losing $25, was not a big deal to my financial health. Additionally, it was more of a social activity where most people weren’t too concerned about the money and were playing for a good time. This did negatively impact me; however, as I was constantly thinking about poker and gambling in general, all the time.
Around the same time, I got my signing bonus from the company where I will be working at in a couple months and started heading to the nearby casinos with my roommate to play blackjack. I remember the first night we went, I won $2,000 and he won $500 and that immediately hooked me back into the whirlpool of blackjack. I started going at every opportunity I got, which also led to the revival of my online gambling addiction. I remember specifically, one time when I was playing online blackjack, I turned $200 into $4,000, submitted the withdrawal request, but since online casinos take a long time to process the requests (intentionally as they want you to gamble the money away), I ended up losing the $4,000, along with another $1,000 or $2,000 on top of that as I was chasing my losses. I was actually making money at live casinos, but losing double the amount that I made online. This gambling ended up coming to a brief stop when I had lost my signing bonus and all the money in my bank account and I took a break for around a month or so.
The addiction started back up when I received my next paycheck from my college job. The instance, the check was deposited into my bank account and cash was available, I would race over to an ATM and withdraw money to gamble with. I quickly lost $1,000 of it back home when I took my friend who visited to a nearby casino. It was around this time he told me about an app where you can invest in stocks called Robinhood, so I put around $5,000 of that paycheck into stocks on the app. When I put the money in my stock account, I remember making a pact to myself that I would never touch a table game again. I mean “New Year, New Me” right? As you can guess, my pact didn’t last very long as I started playing live poker in the casino. I was so drawn to the appeal of winning money by making the right decision. I was actually profiting from playing live stakes poker, as I studied the game and had sound strategy. The dangerous part about playing live poker for me (I personally don’t consider poker as a complete gamble as there is skill involved), was that whenever I went to the casino to play poker, there were temptations awaiting me (table games). After a month or so of playing strictly poker, I started getting back into blackjack again, along with baccarat, and went to the casino 4-5 times a week. After draining all the money from the stock account, I started borrowing money from my friends as I knew I would get a big paycheck from my job at the time at the end of the school year. Additionally, I started dating my current girlfriend in January of that same year (whom I am currently dating) and love very much. I can regretfully say that gambling has not positively impacted my relationship with her in any way.
When my girlfriend and I went to California during spring break, I remember staying up all night on an online casino playing poker, blackjack, and baccarat after she fell asleep. I exhausted all my money in my bank account including maxing out my credit card, during that trip, and had to borrow money from my girlfriend, one of the most shameful things I’ve done to this date. Additionally, I remember one night where I promised her that I would meet her at a party my fraternity was hosting after I went to the casino to play poker with some friends. I drove two of my friends over, and one of my friends left for the party with my car, while me and my other friend stayed. We ended up playing poker the whole night, and despite being up a couple thousand dollars from blackjack, I missed the party and really disappointed my girlfriend. Some of the biggest fights that I have gotten into with my girlfriend were fueled by gambling. The monetary gains that result from the casino are always temporary because at any point in time, you can lose all the money in your bank account if you spend enough time playing games that are specifically designed to make you lose.
Additionally, my addiction has caused me to disappoint my parents and family. No matter how successful I become, I know they will always be worried about me since they know that this dangerous addiction can ruin my life at any moment, without giving any warning signs. I’ve read so many different stories about how this addiction leads to one of the highest suicide rates when people gamble their life away and feel like there is no way of recovering. I would really like to put an end to this problem, at an early age, before I allow it to affect my relationships with my friends and family.
I started skipping out on social events, and hanging out with my friends in general due to my addiction to gambling. All I thought about 24/7 was all the money that I would make playing poker and blackjack. At one point, I was betting 3 black chips like they were worth a few cents as opposed to one hundred dollars each on table games. I had to lie to my friends about going to the casino because I was embarrassed about that side of my life.
The summer after my graduation, I just continued to dig myself into a deeper hole. I would win money in real life, while losing money playing online poker and blackjack. After the big paycheck from my college job came in, I stored away a decent amount of money in my Robinhood stock account to invest, but in a matter of a few short months, I had gambled away most of that money. I’ve borrowed money from multiple friends, even my girlfriend, and have also exhausted my credit card on several occasions. The loss of money started affecting my play in live poker. I ended up losing $5,000 playing live poker, along with $15,000 online, and at least $20,000 in casinos. Even though I graduated from a prestigious university, and I have a solid job lined up in the fall, I battle constantly with this addiction and the urge to gamble with the hopes of earning all of my money back and being done with gambling once and for all. What started as a spark of curiosity turned into an escape from emotional pain and eventually into a lifelong attempt to break-even.
I've tried many things to overcome this addiction, but nothing has worked successfully. I'm posting on here today because I want to end this addiction once and for all. I figure if I post on reddit, I will at least have written down this commitment in a publicly available space.
TL;DR: What started as a curiosity about what gambling was turned into a four year struggle with this addiction that has led to financial distress, relationship problems, and unproductive behavior. Wrote this reddit post to seek advice on overcoming a gambling addiction, and would love to hear any thoughts, comments, or concerns.

There was a post here today about a guy who won a 10k score in a poker tournament in ‘08 and proceeded to black out drunk and wake up without the money, only to receive a letter 10 years later about collecting 13k from a 10k treasury bond he had bought with the money. Thought it was a fun story and reminded me of one of my own degen stories so I figured I’d share. Not poker related and kinda a long read, but hopefully yall enjoy it:
Last Summer, I had a little bender where I would take Ambien, drink a few beers and play online blackjack on Bovada (not even the type with a live dealer, just straight up an online program... stupid I know).
For those who don’t know about Ambien, it is a sleeping pill (which I am legally prescribed) where, if you don’t go to sleep right away and stay up, you experience euphoria, lowered inhibitions and an insane amnestic effect where you don’t remember anything the next morning.
Anyways, I really enjoy the side effects of Ambien so I would pop them an hour or two before going to bed and just chill out. I decided I wanted to gamble so I deposited $500 on Bovada and started playing blackjack. When I woke up the next morning, I didn’t remember I had done this until I opened up my laptop and saw a wizardofodds.com perfect strategy chart open (basically a chart for blackjack that I refer to in spots I’m unsure of). Let me be clear, I had done this before (playing bovada blackjack on ambien), so when I saw the chart open, I was like “oh god, lets see how I did” and logged into Bovada.
I had to do a double-take when I saw my balance:
~$3500
I thanked my lucky stars, sent snapchats bragging to all my friends and... popped some more ambien that night.
The next morning I didn’t remember playing, but obviously I knew to check my laptop. Surely I had pissed most of it away...
Balance: ~$8000
I couldn’t believe it. As a 23 year old at the time, I had a couple sick runs before but nothing like this. Seeing that $8000 in my account balance seemed surreal, it really didn’t register to me how much that was, despite me clearly knowing it was 8 thousand fucking dollars. I think part of it was because it wasn’t like a mind-blowing amount for me (like 20k or something) coming from a relatively privileged upbringing and having a decent job coming out of college, but it was definitely more than double my savings at the time, so it was significant. Knowing this, and knowing that all blackjack heaters must end and they usually end badly, I KNEW I should’ve withdrawn then and there... but alas, I ain’t no bitch so I said fuck it and kept it on.
Over the course of the next week, I managed to run it up to ~15k. Some nights I lost a couple thousand, and I had multiple 3-5k swings throughout my sessions, but I kept at it. When I awoke one day and saw ~15k in my account balance, I finally was able to slap some sense into myself and withdraw.
The reason I enjoyed playing this Bovada blackjack game was because it allowed you to play up to 3 hands at a time, and the program was instantaneous so you can see a lot of hands in a short span of time - basically a ton of action and swings. Bovada allows you to see all credits/debits to your account and see what time and amount wagered, so I was able to check how I did the night prior, every morning. I got some sort of sick, degenerate excitement from checking how I did each morning. It was funny to see how I would start each session wagering like $5-10 a hand and progressively start betting more as I got more inebriated/ambien kicked in. At my peak, I was wagering $200/hand, 3 hands at a time, banging out like 9 hands a minute. In hindsight, I can’t believe the amount of pure and blatant disrespect and disregard for money I had done. Like, even when I’ve played BJ at a casino, I am way more risk averse when I have physical chips I have to put in, but when it’s just a click of a button, the money just doesn’t seem as real. Even now, $200/hand seems so insane to me, considering how much thats worth at my given age and financial circumstance...
Anyways, so that’s how I turned $500 into $15k over the span of a week and I didn’t even remember doing it - a degen story with a happy ending! I hope yall enjoyed the story, as much as I enjoyed telling it! And remember: no gambol, no future.

I would not recommend sports gambling unless you happen to have a load of disposal income. Hell, even then, I wouldn't recommend sports gambling. Unless you have some advanced analytical system or a Marty McFly sportsbook, it's a sucker's game and a surefire way to lose money over the long run.
THAT SAID, it's still fun to talk about. And once and a while, try to take a chance on some good value picks. I'm going to suggest a few of those here, although be warned that a) gambling is dumb, b) I am dumb. But hey here are my two cents anyway.

BEST LONGSHOT PROP BETS

Matthew Stafford: most passing yards, +1500 (15:1)
I'm taking these odds from the two most popular online sportsbook. On sportsbook.ag, Stafford was +1500 (15:1). On bovada, he's +1200 (12:1).
In either case, there's value there. The Detroit Lions are going to try to run the ball more often, but time will tell if that will actually work. And if it doesn't, Matt Stafford should be zipping passes all season long. New coach Matt Patricia comes from a New England franchise that had a lot of success with the volume passing game, so I don't think he'll have any qualms about letting Stafford rip as many times as necessary.
Last season, Stafford had 4446 passing yards, 3rd most in the NFL (and only 121 behind leader Tom Brady.) And for Stafford, that was no fluke. Since 2011, he's averaged 4562 passing yards per season. If he can simply hit that average, he'll be right in the mix for the most passing yards. There's no reason to think Stafford will struggle this year in particular; the Lions' receiving corps is one of the more underrated units in the league.
If you want to be even BOLDER, you can look at Stafford at for MVP (40:1 on both sites.) I don't project Detroit into the playoffs myself, but if you do, Stafford may parlay that into MVP buzz.
Saquon Barkley: most rushing yards, +1400 (14:1)
Note: this is only +1000 on bovada, at which point I may pass. But the 14:1 on sportsbook feels like solid value.
To me, Saquon Barkley is the best RB prospect of the 2000s. Now, does that mean he's going to be a surefire stud in the NFL? No, not at all. Does that mean he's going to be good as a rookie? Not necessarily. There are several factors working against him on that front. He's been struggling with a hamstring injury in the preseason. His offensive line is a "work in progress" (to be kind.) His coach Pat Shurmur is more of a passing game guru than running guru (his Vikings tended to struggle there.)
But when you're talking about odds like this, all you want is a credible chance. And I believe Barkley gives you that. He's going to be a workhorse with every opportunity to succeed. If Eli Manning and the Giants defense continue to struggle, perhaps Shurmur leans more heavily on the running game to help control the clock. Best of all, the "bar" isn't enormously high here. Last season, Kareem Hunt led the league with 1327 rushing yards. Barkley can theoretically match or exceed that mark.
To me, the biggest threat to win this crown would be Ezekiel Elliott, whom may be dinged slightly by the loss of his center Travis Frederick. There's an opening here for someone like Barkley to burst through the gates.
Amari Cooper: most receiving yards, +4000 (40:1)
Okay you want to get crazy? Let's get nuts. Cooper is 40:1 on both sites, well down the list of top contenders.
And it's easy to understand why he's being overlooked. Cooper was AWFUL last season. He registered a pathetic 48 receptions and 680 yards, good for # 51 in the league.
So how can # 51 rise to # 1? Opportunity. To win the "most receiving yards" crown, you need targets. Lots of targets. In Oakland, Cooper should be getting that. Jon Gruden is going to make Cooper the focal point of the passing game in a major way. Cooper averaged 131 targets in 2015-16, and may improve on those marks with Michael Crabtree out of the picture. I can easily see him being peppered with 150-160, even if it means forcefeeding him the ball. If he hits that 160 mark, he'd gain about 1300 yards based on his career yards/target average.
Unlike the running back position, the "bar" is going to be high at receiver. If they're healthy, Antonio Brown, Julio Jones, and Odell Beckham will be flirting with the 1500 mark. But hey, at 40:1, you're not looking for a surefire bet. You're buying a lottery ticket.
Christian Kirk (WR-ARI), offensive rookie of the year: +10,000 (100:1)
This is only +5500 (55:1) on bovada, but I'd still look at this either way. Kirk is the 20th highest player on the board, and good value at that spot.
Obviously, Saquon Barkley is the heavy favorite for this award. Hell, he may be the leading rusher in the NFL (as discussed.) But if Barkley does not live up to the/my hype, then there may be an opening here. Fellow top backs (Rashaad Penny, Ronald Jones, Sony Michel, Nick Chubb) have not secured a major role for their teams yet. Royce Freeman (DEN) is a major threat, but it's not like Denver is a powerhouse of an offense themselves.
In terms of quarterbacks, I don't see any of this particular class excelling out of the gates. With the exception of Baker Mayfield (who's a backup), they're all young and in need of some refinement. They'll get the headlines, but probably not this trophy.
Enter Kirk as a potential sleeper. One of my favorite pet theories regards the predictive quality of Immediate Impact. In college, it's very rare for a player to step right onto campus and make an impact as a true freshman (without a redshirt season first.) When they do, they often make a similar immediate impact in the NFL. Joey Bosa is a great example of this; the kid ripped it up for 7.5 sacks as a true freshman at Ohio State, and sure enough, looked ready from Day 1 in the NFL as well.
Receiver Christian Kirk had that same type of "immediate impact" at Texas A&M, leading the team with 1009 yards as a true freshman. Physically, he's not an overwhelming talent, but he's exceptionally polished and skilled for his age. Apparently he's been displaying that in Arizona already, which could translate into a major role. I wouldn't be shocked if he gets 800-900+ yards out of the gate.
Is he a likely rookie of the year? No. But hey, this is 100:1 we're talking about. All you want is a chance. And I believe he has that.
Derwin James: defensive rookie of the year, +1400 (14:1)
James is 14:1 on bovada, but only 10:1 on sportsbook. At 14:1, I'm looking hard at this bet.
Copy and paste what I wrote about "immediate impact" and apply it tenfold to Derwin James. As a true freshman at Florida State, he looked like a superstar, registering 91 total tackles, 4.5 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles from the safety position. An injury derailed his sophomore year, but he's now 2 years recovered from that and should be back to elite form. There aren’t many safeties like him. Ever. He's a 6'3" rocket launcher.
With the Chargers, Derwin James has every opportunity to shine. The Chargers may be a top 3 defense this year and a potential playoff force, keeping James in the spotlight. He can also be used in a variety of roles -- including as a pass rusher -- which should help bolster his stats.
Any "defensive rookie of the year" race is wide open because there are so many horses in the field, but James would be a top 3 candidate to me, at a very reasonable and discounted price here.
Von Miller: most sacks, +1800 (18:1)
Again, with a "long shot" bet, all you really want is a viable chance of success. Von Miller as the leading sack artist in the league? There's definitely a chance of that. He's recorded 10+ sacks in six of his seven years in the league, with the only exception in 2013 when he missed 7 games.
I wouldn't necessarily peg Miller as the favorite for this distinction (that would probably be Joey Bosa), but he offers the best value given these odds. Your hope here is that rookie DE Bradley Chubb takes some of the pressure off Miller, and allows him to rack up 14-15 sacks again. If the Denver Broncos offense plays a little better as a team, that should also help Miller's cause as well. Opponents didn't need to throw much on them last year -- registering just 491 passing attempts. If that numbers climbs back up to 520-530, then Miller will have more bites at the apple.

Hello all, I would like to get into sports betting, specifically on NBA games when the season starts. However, there are a few legal issues:
​

1. I live in a non-sportsbetting-legal state (TX)
2. Legal age of other types: 18 for bingo/lottery, 21 for racing and Kickapoo casino according to [this]( https://www.onlineunitedstatescasinos.com/states/texas-gambling/)
3. I am 18, but not 21 yet

All this considered, what are the potential risks of continuing this way? If I sign up for Bovada, the little checkmark tells me to certify that I am the legal age for gambling in my jurisdiction, which I feel uncomfortable doing. Would it be very risky for me to continue that way? Would using a VPN mitigate this? Or perhaps, could I lie about my birthday on there?

So I have only been playing poker for about a month now, but I have nonetheless already fallen in love with the game. I love it so much that I want to try and become a poker pro. My only issue is that aside from learning as much as I can, I can't really improve unless I am playing for real money. This leaves me in a bind because I have to be 21 to play on Bovada in Texas. I am going to college next year so I can certainly go to a state where the betting age is 18 and play on Bovada there: I think this may be my best option. Otherwise, I could try and take a gap year to Canada to work/go to school part time and dedicate the rest of my time towards learning/pokerstars/tournaments I can find.
I would appreciate any help in the best direction to take given my goal. If you think my goal is unreasonable, I understand, but please don't tell me that! ;)

If you're an average fan like myself with no secret statistical formula, gambling is a bad idea. Betting season oveunders is a really bad idea, because it ties up your money for months and months with only a 1:1 return.
That said, they're fun to talk about. Here would be my favorite ones, but I'd be curious about yours. These odds are based on bovada, but may vary according to different sites.
Tennessee Titans OVER 8.5 wins (-175)
Based on the extra vig, this is already a popular bet. In fact, the Jets under 4.5 wins is already so popular that it's marked -250, meaning you're betting $250 to win $100. I like the idea of betting against Christian Hackenberg and that passing game, but that's a little too much interest for my blood.
I can handle the -175 on Tennessee, because I'm a big fan of this team and the direction they've taken under GM Jon Robinson. Their running game may be the best in the NFL, and they've added pieces around Marcus Mariota like Corey Davis. The division doesn't scare you, either; in fact, their overall strength of schedule is .439, tied for the third easiest.
I'd pencil Tennessee in for around 10 wins, which gives me a little wiggle room to hit that "over." The only real concern I'd have is a Marcus Mariota injury, but the power running game and strong tackles should be able to keep him upright.
Seattle Seahawks OVER 10.5 wins (-140)
Offensive line...? Not Seattle's strong suit. The injury to George Fant is a concern, especially because it highlights the already-questionable depth there. I'm also not sold on Eddie Lacy or Thomas Rawls being able to sustain contact and get through the season at 100%.
That said, I still expect this Seahawks machine to keep rolling. Their defense is still one of the best in the league -- strong at all three levels. And Russell Wilson is the type of QB who can still overcome a weak line. In fact, I wouldn't be shocked if he puts up crazy fantasy numbers as a reason -- 4000 passing yards and 500 rushing yards is in play here.
The NFC West should be better and a little stronger than the Hawks' .455 strength of schedule suggests, but again, it's not a real scary schedule to combat. I'd expect 11-5 or even 12-4 for this team.
Jacksonville Jaguars UNDER 6.5 wins (+105)
Based on their young studs, there's an argument that the Jaguars could be a sleeper playoff team with average QB play. Not sure they're going to get that.
The Jags can try to manage Blake Bortles, or try to replace him with a vet like Chad Henne, but that's not a sustainable recipe for success to me. I wouldn't be surprised if they toggle QBs and even give some time to young Brandon Allen. All in all, it's hard to imagine a team with a major question mark like that can still get to 7-9.
Baltimore Ravens UNDER 8 wins (-115)
You can find Baltimore under "8.5" at most sites, so I'd obviously recommend that instead, but I figured I needed to stay consistent and not cherry pick.
Obviously, John Harbaugh is a great captain and kept the team afloat at 8-8 last year. But there are some cracks in this ship, including a QB in Joe Flacco who's been mediocre ever since the Super Bowl run. His playmakers don't excite me either. I imagine a lot of sluggish drives and a lot of checkdowns to Danny Woodhead; in fact, I wouldn't be shocked if Woodhead leads the team in receptions if he stays healthy.
For the Ravens, the most important questions may be deeper ones. Can newly signed Jeremy Zuttah help plug a hole in the middle of that offensive line? Can young edge rushers Tyus Bowser and Tim Williams provide the pass-rushing help that the aging Terrell Suggs needs? Those two questions may determine whether the Ravens can contend for the playoffs again, or whether they're going to slip down into 6-10 or 7-9 territory.

I've seen a lot of questions about online gambling on this sub, so I apologize for asking what might have been asked/answered before.
I am 20 years old and from what I've read online it is illegal to gamble in Wisconsin before the age of 21. What I've had trouble finding is if it is legal to gamble online at the age of 20 in Wisconsin. If it is illegal amd I have money in an account like Bovada, can I withdraw my money and quit. Or should I just take the loss and leave the money in the account and don't touch it.
Thank you for any help!

This is an automatic summary, original reduced by 94%.

After nearly a century of zero-tolerance policies that treated gambling as a mortal threat, U.S. sports leagues are rapidly cutting deals with companies involved in sports betting.
To varying degrees, the leagues are partnering - openly and in secret - with oddsmakers, betting prognosticators and data providers that make sports wagering possible in the digital age, according to interviews with a range of sports gambling officials and experts.
For years, U.S. sports leagues have steadfastly opposed attempts to legalize Vegas-style sports betting, fearing it would corrupt their sports.
As recently as November, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell reiterated his opposition to sports betting, telling ESPN's Mike & Mike Show: "We think that is a mistake for sports."
Bovada is one of the largest online providers of illegal sports betting in the U.S. Sportradar provides odds for Bovada, which offers live betting on a variety of global sports, including NFL games.
Jeff Ifrah, a Washington attorney who has represented numerous clients in the gambling industry, said the partnerships show how the NFL no longer views sports betting as a threat to the sport's integrity - regardless of Goodell's pronouncements.

Summary Source | FAQ | Theory | Feedback | Top five keywords: Sport^#1 bet^#2 League^#3 gambling^#4 NFL^#5
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Questions	Answers
I saw a comment in /nfl yesterday which suggested that your MVP odds are based not only on the actual odds of the player winning, but on the amount of money that is being bet (which was their explanation for why a guy like Manziel even has odds in the first place.)	Part of the fun in posting odds like these across any sport is having to follow the opinion of crotchety sportswriters talk about why they may vote for a player because he "plays the game the right away". Goodness.
I'm an avid gambler and I always wanted to work in sports gambling- how did you get in your position?	I kind of fell into it. I had been wagering on sports from a very young age with medium levels of success. While I always thought that I just "got sports", having a mathematical background helped me quantify what I was seeing, and then eventually, what and how I was betting.
One stupid question (maybe) what are the restrictions on betting for you since you are an oddsmaker?	Because there isn't often a 'Help Wanted' sign when it comes to these positions, I'd recommend familiarizing yourself with the ins and outs of excel, programming and intense mathematics. Then go out and start crushing books. The best way to get noticed by sportsbooks is to go and take their money.
How do you determine odds for WWE events when it's a scripted event?	Admittedly I'm not the biggest WWE fan, but there's a lot of information in messageboards and podcasts about what storylines make the most sense and what fans reasonably expect to happen.
	Having said that...
	The Undertaker was a 1/20 favorite at Wrestlemania versus Brock Lesnar. Long story short, his reign of Wrestlemania supremacy came to an end and we suffered our worst single-event loss in the month of April of this year.
	Lesnar has the rare distinction of costing us a lot of money in both real and scripted fighting.
What (in your opinion) is the most interesting prop bet you've ever done on the site?	Wracking my brain and we've really run gamut here. Our Super Bowl props this past February had 500 different options surrounding national anthem length, gatorade color dumped on winning coach, Bruno Mars' first song...etc.
	Lately we've been experimenting more with in-game props. If a player is close to a significant in-game achievement, we've begun to offer odds on perfect games, no-hitters, hitting for the cycle. Anything that differentiates us from our competitors. The reception to these have been really positive.
Do you have any stories or examples of a time you've set a line and found yourself WAY off where other books (Vegas, online, anywhere) have put the number?	The Super Bowl is a great example here as while most games closed it as a PK (or SEA/DEN) small fave, we held with the Broncos as 3-pt favorites. I know this seemingly contradicts what I've said before about recreational money affecting the line, but the Super Bowl as a one-off event takes more than anything else we'll offer in a calendar year.
Did you stick to your number or move more in line with the consensus?	Because of the overwhelming action on a event like this, we were happy to have money on the Broncos at this price while conceding that those betting on Seattle likely had very valuable bets.
What was the largest bet you have ever taken?	In relation to the average bet size for the market, we took mid-five figures over-limit bet on Mitt Romney to win the last Presidential Election from one of our larger players. Political wagering was something that in previous years had seen average bet sizes of $10-$20 but with more science behind the process (ie. poll aggregation etc), we had much higher limits in 2010 than we had had in previous years.
	We were big Obama fans by election night.
What's the hardest sport to get right?	Of the main sports right now, I'd say NCAA-B was brutal last year, if only for totals. The new rules surrounding called fouls pushed scoring up ~20 pts per game early last season as games devolved into free-throw competitions. Fortunately the calls softened as the season progressed but there were a lot of NCAA-B events last year that both we and our competitors were unable to even post totals for.
Curious approximately how much money (in how short a time span) has to get put down for a line to move by a point (or even half a point)?	There's no one answer here as there's a lot of competing factors here. Earlier in the week when the limits are lower, a smaller bet from a respected player can move the line simply by having his financial opinion out there whereas a longterm loser dropping a significant bet on a point spread will rarely make us bat an eyelash. More often than not it's the opinion of the few (or changing information) that moves lines for us, not pure volume.
How come you guys are always the last ones to put up moneyline bets or even spreads in general? Why are your spreads constantly worse than other sites such as 5dimes?	We get this one a lot and its dictated largely by our player base. Because our players are more of the recreational variety (smaller bets with bets coming closer to game time), we don't traditionally see a lot of handle, especially in relation to our game day handle when we post early. In terms of raw numbers, ~80% of our wagering for an NFL event comes in about an hour before it kicks off.
Recreational, small bettors are the majority everywhere. You are in fact driving away the larger bettors at the same time by limiting yourself to that audience. 2 days prior to the game is not posting early. Most large, growing sites list at least a week in advance.	That's a fair point and we may look in the future to posting earlier with even lower limits. As it stands, we're comfortable with the current offering times as a business practice.
Why is it that bovada only offers a limited amount of moneylines?	It's a liability issue -- When spreads get up to a certain point, the ML payout on the underdog becomes high enough that, when available for parlays with other significant underdogs, creates concerning liabilities. Each book eventually kills the moneyline offering when the underdog odds get up to a certain point. Ours is just a touch more conservative.
How come you dont offer any kind of betting trend statistics?	Eh, a lot of the time these trends are close to useless. There are so many mitigating/contextual factors missing from "[team-x] has covered the spread [y-times] when [z-factor] is in play" that there's not always a lot to be taken from it.
	They serve as entertainment but I would rarely be betting off of these so-called trends.
Have you looked in to adding Esports such as Starcraft 2, or League of Legends?	As for Esports, I loved playing StarCraft when I was younger but I just don't see the market for it with our players and to be honest, wouldn't know where to start when it comes to capping it.
What stats do you use when making odds for week 1? Preseason or last season? A combo of both? Does it vary for the team?	Last season with adjustments for depth. Preseason is largely a tirefire (the Colts under Peyton Manning would traditionally go 0-4 and 1-3) but there are small snippets of info worth gathering, especially with teams that are looking to improve and actually need those extra reps, versus teams that are already established.
How does live betting work? Do you hire people to watch the games and close betting when certain events happen (penalties, goals, etc)? Are the people hired sitting in the actual stands watching the games? Because it seems they always see things happen before the delay.	We try to optimize the variety of the feeds we have available to us to ensure we have the quickest feed possible. Unfortunately (for our live traders), they have not yet been given the opportunity to attend the matches they're trading, but we try and keep them as comfortable as possible with their own private offices, big screen TVs and 6 different television feeds for each event.
What are your best leans for a 7 team parlay this opening weekend?	I would advise finding individual bets that you like more than looking to make it rich on a massive payout like that. Typically sportsbooks hold much higher on parlays then they do on a straight bets so you should...
	Wait.
	Seahawks Browns Bengals Bears Cowboys Giants Titans/Chiefs u43.5.
	Lock it up :)
Who do you like for final two this year and why? (NFL)	The Broncos out of the AFC because the rest of the conference is hot garbage otherwise. While the Seahawks are still the class of the NFC, I personally like the Saints to represent them in the Super Bowl this year. (I think that Rob Ryan defense will be deadly )
I find pop culture bets really fascinating; outside of awards shows, what leads to a pop culture event getting posted odds? Any chance that you'll increase your number of pop culture bets going forward?	Player interest drives these and awards shows are becoming more and more popular. We used to only offer the Academy Awards for film related wagering, but have since complemented that with the Golden Globes and Screen Actor's Guild awards.
	We're probably not going to add the Razzies anytime soon, though.
Is it hard to cap teams such as Baylor, Oregon, etc in NCAAFB? They seem like they can score so much that setting a line seams difficult. Going back the past two seasons, they are 11-0 ATS at home.	If it's a prospective blowout, then very much so. We have our ratings based on how strong we believe teams to be, but at what point do they take their foot off the gas? Trying to account for that is much harder than a shorter spread that is more likely correlated to what a team is trying to achieve over 60 minutes.
Are any games memorable as huge money makers (or losers) for Bovada?	Most recently, the Super Bowl was the best individual day in terms of spread, props, futures, even live betting -- We continued to offer an updated spread throughout the game and the Seahawks covered each one, the highest being around -37 in-play.

Last updated: 2014-09-08 21:02 UTC
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