Severed Arms, Closed Accounts

I've mentioned the legend that is Billy Walters a few times in this blog. If you're serious about sports betting, you will have heard his name and back in August I mentioned his autobiography Gambler. 

The book doesn't disappoint, and with a back cover quote from this blog's old friend Roxy Roxborough how could it? 

"Is he the greatest handicapper of all time? Maybe.

Is he the greatest bettor of all time? Unquestionably."

I bought the book mostly for his Master Class and Advanced Master Class chapters, but his life story before we get to that point certainly isn't dull. 

The book is of added interest because he used to live in the same area as my in-laws, and I would often walk past his rather luxurious house which overlooked the Pacific Ocean just north of San Diego in Carlsbad. 

Out of curiosity, I looked on a real estate website (Zillow) the other day to see its value and saw it's for sale at just: 

Billy Walters sold it on my birthday in 2021 for $20 million, but sadly it wasn't a surprise birthday present from my wife. Maybe next year. 

This morning I get an email from Zillow with the subject "Take the next step. Request a tour today." Wouldn't that be nice! Coincidentally, that exact sale amount gets a mention in the book, with Walters writing:

The truth is, until I decided to write this book, I would not have taken $20 million to share the details of my system. Friends ask me why I'd want to give away my secrets now. The simple answer is I'm not getting any younger and I want to give something back to sports fans.

Obviously there's a bias in the book towards the American sports, and there's nothing wrong with that, and the market leaders he identifies for tracking how lines are moving are given as Circa, MGM, Caesars, Sports411 and our old friend Pinnacle.

Billy doesn't mince his words when discussing William Hill and Paddy Power with regard to knowing how to book, and it's an issue most of you reading this will be familiar with:

As an example, in England when we were doing business with William Hill, if an account won as much as two weeks in a row, his limit might be reduced from $10,000 to $50 a game regardless of how he won. Instead of removing a finger, the books cut off the entire arm. That was their mentality. That's how drastically winners were punished.

Paddy Power of Dublin, Ireland, was even worse. They only offered a $500 limit. If an account won three bets in a row, they would close the account. Over the years, I had two hundred accounts at Paddy Power that lasted an average of four days. Sadly, that's the way many legalized bookmakers operate today.

I'm not going to repeat much of his advice, you'll have to buy the book for that, but it's pleasing to see validation for some of the things I've written about here over the years - Home Field Advantage, Divisional Games, Time Zones, previous performances and not betting more than 1% to 3% of your bankroll on a single bet to name a few. Thursday games in the NFL also get a mention, and as I'd hoped, there are also a few new ideas to take on board.