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Betting against your team

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  1. bats867 bats867 is offline

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    Jan 10th, 2009 (1/10/2009 1:32pm)

    I was reading Bill Simmons' column on espn.com a few days ago and it had a link to what he called his "Playoff Manifesto" for betting on the NFL playoffs. Basically a bunch of quippy rules or whatever. And he mentioned that you should never bet against your own team. He was quite vehement about it, but didn't really provide an explanation, instead implying that it was so obvious it didn't need one.

    Is this just about the karma associated with doing this? Because I'm a Steelers fan, but I love the Chargers +6. Does that make me a bad person? Isn't betting in this spot a form of a hedge?

    If I end up taking the Chargers, do I go with the ML so that the payoff is bigger if the Steelers lose? Or do I take the points and have a chance to scoop the pot (win both the bet and the game)?
  2. CleeShay CleeShay is offline

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    Jan 10th, 2009 (1/10/2009 1:40pm) in reply to bats867

    if youre betting, you dont have a team
  3. marc1313 marc1313 is offline

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    Jan 10th, 2009 (1/10/2009 1:41pm) in reply to bats867

    no real fan ever even thinks about betting against their own team.
  4. oBOBCATu oBOBCATu is offline

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    Jan 10th, 2009 (1/10/2009 1:41pm) in reply to bats867

    Because it makes you have to root against your favorite team in order to hit the bet.
  5. MyJobisYou MyJobisYou is offline Banned Scammer

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    Jan 10th, 2009 (1/10/2009 1:50pm) in reply to oBOBCATu

    When I bet against "My" teams, I think of it as a win/win situation.
    I either win the money, or my team wins? or maybe in some cases I can win both.
  6. bats867 bats867 is offline

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    Jan 10th, 2009 (1/10/2009 1:52pm) in reply to bats867

    I am most definitely a real fan, and I am thinking about betting against my team, so obviously that is false. I'm assuming this is what Simmons was talking about though, and I understand your point, but...

    to Bobcat: I'm obviously not rooting against the Steelers. I am viewing the bet as a form of a hedge.

    Say I take the Chargers with the points. Well then there's 3 possible outcomes:

    1) The Steelers win by more than 6 points. I lose the bet, but I don't care, because the Steelers won.

    2) The Steelers win by 1-6 points. I win the bet, AND the Steelers win the game. Awesome.

    3) The Chargers win. This sucks, but it would've sucked whether or not I bet on the game. By doing so, I now receive monetary compensation for the emotional stress endured by the Steelers losing at home to Philip Rivers.

    edit: what MyJobIsYou said.
    Thread Starter
  7. E4ERICK E4ERICK is offline

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    Jan 10th, 2009 (1/10/2009 1:56pm) in reply to bats867

    how about this for karma.... the 4x i bet against the raiders this yr....they won.

    rfelf;rlwg;wer'glw';glr;g'glr;wlg'wrlg;rwlg'w;lrgl rw';lg'w;rlg'lrw';gl'wr'gl'wrlg;wrlg

    i stayed away the last game of the season...even though i would have picked the bucs and i would have lost.

    weird....
  8. R_U_Nuts R_U_Nuts is offline

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    Jan 10th, 2009 (1/10/2009 2:27pm) in reply to marc1313

     
    Originally Posted by marc1313 View Post

    no real fan ever even thinks about betting against their own team.

    I could not agree more. Even if you think your team is going to win and your just betting that they wont win by more than 6 it's bad bad bad!
  9. RoyalCrusher RoyalCrusher is offline

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    Jan 10th, 2009 (1/10/2009 2:30pm) in reply to R_U_Nuts

    i bet against my team in big games for a 'win win', but it never affects my rooting interest
     1
  10. marc1313 marc1313 is offline

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    Jan 10th, 2009 (1/10/2009 2:36pm) in reply to bats867

    i dont understand you people. you profess to be "real" fans, yet you feel the need to bet against them. why can't you just enjoy the game. there are still 15 other games in the regular season, and 3 this weekend that you can bet on. are you that big a degen that you have to bet on every game? please explain this to me, because it makes no sense to me.
  11. thereraise thereraise is offline

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    Jan 10th, 2009 (1/10/2009 2:37pm) in reply to bats867

    You never bet against your team, but you really shouldn't have more than 1 team if your a sports bettor and then just stay away from that game...

    You should however take the Chargers sunday cuz we are gonna beat up the Steelers, and getting 6 pts is the best bet of the weekend......
  12. WeWaysAwIn WeWaysAwIn is offline

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    Jan 10th, 2009 (1/10/2009 2:46pm) in reply to bats867

    Nothing wrong with betting against your team imo. I just bet the amount I would pay to see them win. Either I "buy the win" or I get paid as consolation for having to watch them lose.
  13. bats867 bats867 is offline

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    Jan 10th, 2009 (1/10/2009 2:47pm) in reply to marc1313

     
    Originally Posted by marc1313 View Post

    i dont understand you people. you profess to be "real" fans, yet you feel the need to bet against them. why can't you just enjoy the game. there are still 15 other games in the regular season, and 3 this weekend that you can bet on. are you that big a degen that you have to bet on every game? please explain this to me, because it makes no sense to me.

    Actually it's quite the opposite. I VERY rarely bet on sports. This would be maybe the third or fourth time since the beginning of last year. I have about $50 on a sports betting site, so I'm not talking about a large wager.

    As others who see where I'm coming from have said, it's about creating a win-win / hedge. I explained my rationale in my earlier response.
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  14. TMLMS13 TMLMS13 is online now

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    Jan 10th, 2009 (1/10/2009 2:51pm) in reply to CleeShay

     
    Originally Posted by CleeShay View Post

    if youre betting, you dont have a team

  15. bettntibetn bettntibetn is offline

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    Jan 10th, 2009 (1/10/2009 2:52pm) in reply to bats867

    for me i'll never bet straigt up against my own team. but if my team is a big favorite sometimes i'll bet the other team's ML small just to reduce my depression after a loss.
  16. baughman baughman is offline

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    Jan 10th, 2009 (1/10/2009 3:24pm) in reply to bettntibetn

    The reason I would never beat agianst my own team, and maybe what he ment is. When you look at the game for betting reasons, your mind tends to be clouded a bit with homerism. SO your judgement is off. Thats why i never bet it. NEver know if I am doing it for right reason or not.
  17. JRoth15 JRoth15 is offline

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    Jan 10th, 2009 (1/10/2009 5:27pm) in reply to bats867

    I love Bill Simmons, but I think he's very wrong in this situation.

    If you are an objective fan, there is no better place to lay bets than on/against your team. Who else knows their team better than some diehard fans?

    I see nothing wrong with it...
  18. bats867 bats867 is offline

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    Jan 11th, 2009 (1/11/2009 2:20pm) in reply to JRoth15

    just pulled the trigger... put the balance of my online sportsbook account ($45) on Chargers +7. Hopefully I won't see that money again. About to head to the Steelers bar here to watch the game with a hottie (female) fellow Pittsburgher :)

    Here We Go Steelers, HERE WE GO!!
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  19. DaNatural22 DaNatural22 is offline

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    Jan 11th, 2009 (1/11/2009 2:27pm) in reply to bats867

     
    Originally Posted by bats867 View Post

    About to head to the Steelers bar here to watch the game with a hottie (female) fellow Pittsburgher :)

    Hmm was wondering what a hottie was, thanks for clarifying. lol jk
  20. FenwayKing FenwayKing is offline The Well: FenwayKing

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    Jan 11th, 2009 (1/11/2009 2:30pm) in reply to bats867

     
    Originally Posted by bats867 View Post

    just pulled the trigger... put the balance of my online sportsbook account ($45) on Chargers +7. Hopefully I won't see that money again. About to head to the Steelers bar here to watch the game with a hottie (female) fellow Pittsburgher :)

    Here We Go Steelers, HERE WE GO!!

    there are hottie Pittsburghers????
    247 1
  21. bats867 bats867 is offline

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    Jan 11th, 2009 (1/11/2009 2:39pm) in reply to FenwayKing

     
    Originally Posted by FenwayKing View Post

     
    Originally Posted by bats867 View Post

    just pulled the trigger... put the balance of my online sportsbook account ($45) on Chargers +7. Hopefully I won't see that money again. About to head to the Steelers bar here to watch the game with a hottie (female) fellow Pittsburgher :)

    Here We Go Steelers, HERE WE GO!!

    there are hottie Pittsburghers????

    I assure you there are. And why do I find myself rooting for the Eagles in this game? Very curious. Could you imagine if they win the WS and SB in the same year? ugh...

    anyway, I'm out. Go Steelers!
    Thread Starter
  22. bombers88 bombers88 is offline

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    Jan 11th, 2009 (1/11/2009 4:51pm) in reply to bettntibetn

    my rule is - bet with your team or not at all. Nothing worse than betting against them and they end up winning.
  23. JRoth15 JRoth15 is offline

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    Jan 11th, 2009 (1/11/2009 5:45pm) in reply to bombers88

     
    Originally Posted by bombers88 View Post

    my rule is - bet with your team or not at all. Nothing worse than betting against them and they end up winning.

    ummm yes there is--betting on them and they end up losing is much worse than betting against them and they end up winning.
  24. MyJobisYou MyJobisYou is offline Banned Scammer

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    Jan 11th, 2009 (1/11/2009 5:54pm) in reply to bats867

    Well sir this is why you don't bet against your own team :D.
  25. RoyalCrusher RoyalCrusher is offline

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    Jan 11th, 2009 (1/11/2009 6:18pm) in reply to bombers88

     
    Originally Posted by bombers88 View Post

    my rule is - bet with your team or not at all. Nothing worse than betting against them and they end up winning.

    nothing worse than your favorite team winning?
     1
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