ALLRIGHT...we have come to the end of 2008, and what a year it has been for the world of sports...Where we saw the Giants defeat the Undefeated Patriots to start it off...followed by an incredible comeback in the final minute by Kansas over Memphis to win the National Championship...then off to Boston, where the New Celtics went ahead and brought home a Championship and restored thier winning tradition...While the Redwings brought home even more "hardware" for thier storied franchise...And finally, we got to see the Fightin Phillies bring a World Series Title to a city that was in need of a Championship Team...
And along the way to reaching those finales...we as sports bettors had an entire season of match-ups...to Both, enjoy...and Profit from...
2008 was a devastating year for our economic markets...and one that we will feel the effects of, for a very long time...Many hard working, and honest people saw thier net-worth plumate as the housing markets collapsed and the stock market continued moving in one direction...following the dollar downwards...
But I'm not here to talk about the US Economy...instead, I want to take this opportunity to Both...go over the Results and Experiences of my 1st Full Year here at Pregame as a Pro-Capper...and to also discuss many of the ways that I believe we can improve on them...
For starters, it was a very difficult transition going from a Professional Sports Bettor...to a Professional Handicapper...And my goal was to simply be able to bring to Pregame, exactly what I was doing here in Las Vegas for over a decade...and for a very long time prior to that, in Philly...and that was, earning a Profit in what many refer to as the Sports Exchange...or as a Pro-Bettor...
Many of the difficulties were trying to change the timing of my wagering, because prior to sharing my work...I had the luxery of waiting until as long as I felt like it to make my wager, while now that isn't possible...Then I had to try and understand how to best help people profit with my information...I learned immediately that I can't expect bettors to have accumulated the type of bankroll yet, that would allow them to bet the way I had done for so long...And the approach the "wise-guys" have used for so long to beat the books with...But eventually with the help of all of you, I was able to slowly but surely implement my style into a way that anyone with discipline and desire can use to profit...
We created the "Heavy Hitters" and I have since been able to really make them extremely SELECTIVE wagers...which means that to compensate for any lack of volume, we will look to win as a higher rate...I also believe that having to endure some of the losing streaks that are inevitable if you plan on making money in this racket, really helped me to refine my approach and make it so much more effective...
I am fortunate to be surrounded by extremely sharp and competant people, and with thier help...I was able to go back through all of our work and look for ways to improve results because I knew from experience that we will definately be able to win more games than we lost...And through those tough stretches I was able to restructure my "Unit Distribution" so that we can get the most out of our work...
Now there is so much that I want to discuss with you all...and so many experiences over this past year that I would like to share with you...But doing so would take forever...so rather than make this an extremely long Blog...I think that I will break this down into a few Parts...where I can cover more topics in greater detail...
The Number One thing that I learned this year is that I can not control the bankrolls of anyone who chooses to follow me...I can continue to offer guidance and to educate on how to build a bank and wager correctly, like I was taught because believe me...it's not something that don't take a lot of work and self-control to achieve...And the other thing that I learned, is that I can't control when someone chooses to follow along...And that's true for anyone who is in the business of sharing investment information...
Here are the Results for 2008 : Based on a Starting Bankroll of $10k
HEAVY HITTERS = +$3,559 Profit....ALL-ACCESS = +$1,508 Profit
Before we break it down a bit...I want to add that although we did turn a profit, which is huge in any market...especially during these economic times...but more importantly...After going through all of our work, we realized that by not employing the "UInit Distribution" that we now are...we cost ourselves close to "70" UINITS of PROFIT...
That's Correct...If I had simply used the EXACT system we are using now...that Profit on "Heavy Hitters" would be closer to "100 UNITS" and the "All-Access" closer to "80 UNITS" of Profit...
Now that is a huge difference, and as much as it pisses me off for missing out on that Profit...I am so grateful to all those who helped me come to the conclusion that we needed to really put more emphasis on Units...and to realize that I was not passing along the information in a manner which would offer the most Profit...
But the Bottom Line is that we not only Turned a Profit for 2008...But also learned how to Profit more in the future from the same results...
Now I know why so many very successful and wealthy sports bettors have refused to share thier work...and believe me, since coming to Pregame...RJ will tell you, that I have tried to recruit some real Big Time Winners from here in Vegas...but so far, they all have said I am crazy for doing it...
The truth is, I am doing this because I know that I can beat them and I want to help others do the same thing...But I also am one who tells it like it is and this is by far, one of the toughest rackets you can choose to make money in...It takes a lot of time, discipline, and hard work...and even then there are no guarantees...Because like any market, information becomes the most important factor...
And how you use it becomes the 2nd most important factor...which is why I continue to be in the forums and accessable to my guys so that I can try to show them how to profit and what to expect...Because I will tell you from experience and I have worked with and for, the most winningest sports betting outfits ever...and even they have to endure losing stretches that would leave most bettors broke if they don't know how to play the game...Look, there are no short-cuts, sure things, or ez money...
The way you make money in this business is like any other...You have to know how to save, spend, and progress...and you have to treat this like a business so that it pays like one...
I started my career in this industry as a bookmaker, and eventually was convinced by groups that I saw win year after year that I could make more money betting for them and with them...than I could booking...That brought me to Vegas and that is exactly what I did for a very long time until the time came to form my own group more or less and begin calling the shots on which games I want to bet...
I was lucky to have made the kind of contacts that very few people could imagine having...and I have continued growing my information network to include sharps, books, ticket writers, ect...because info is info and the more of it you have, the better chance you have of beating the market...Then RJ approached me with an idea and his passion for what he was trying to do and bring to Pregame...
I have never brought this up because it really isn't anyone's business...but to better explain just how much I believe in this concept...Of getting a group of cappers together who have valuable info, and sharing it with recreational and serious bettors...The truth is, I have not ever taken home "1 cent" of any income made by sharing my info...I sign over my check every single month to Pregame, for stock in the company because like I said...I believe in the vision of creating something that has never been available before...
And I believe that with time...Pregame will continue to show why it truely is like no other site on the web...But now I have gone all over the place because you know me...when I get going, it's tough to stop because I love this business, I love what I do...and I can talk about sports betting forever and not get bored...
But the purpose of this Blog was to post my results for 2008...and although it wasn't the best year ever...The Bottom Line is that it was a Winning Year...I won the first 4 months during the Pro-Bettor Challenge...and then I won the 12 months following it...Now some may say, that isn't the biggest profit I've seen...But it's based on only $10k, which was more or less never at risk because even during losing streaks, we were simply giving back profit most of the time...
And what I am proud of is that this was my 1st Year of a huge transition...and I still found a way to turn a profit and beat the books...And now, with more experience and a bigger network...we will only get stronger and better results, because this is what I do and this is what I have used to provide for myself and my loved ones my entire life...RJ says, this is a guy who lives off his winnings...and I am proud to say it's the truth...But I also want to caution others who want to do the same...
Sure you can do it, because I am no smarter than anyone else...But be warned, it is going to take a lot of time to get your bankroll to where each game and each night is insignificant...It's going to take a lot to learn how to endure and overcome the ridiculous losing streaks that will come with the business of investing in this market...But look, if I could do it...which is proven by the results...then anyone who truely want to can...
Some may say that those results are no big deal...and that is one of the problems I've seen with sports bettors...The inability to treat this like any other investment...and if you bought stock for $10k and 12 months later it was worth almost $14k...you would be pretty happy...And others may say, that with the fees...there wouldn't be much profit left...possibly even loss if you didn't take advantage of the yearly price...But again, I can not control what someone is able to bet and taking it to this type of level isn't for everyone...But the bottom line is, that the info showed a profit and with the Unit Distribution we are using now...it would have, and certainly will in the future...show even more...
Finally, although we will touch on more with later Blogs...the one thing that I wanted to really point out is the fact that we turned a profit...We went through good and bad...easy and tough...and in the end, we came out holding the dough...And there are not that many Pro Sports Bettors that can say that, because trust me...if they could, they would...But there is a reason you won't see account balances, and a reason why records shown are very selective...
I prefered to respect you guys...and tell it like it is, rather than how I would like it to be, or how it sounds best...Because I realized that today's bettors are so much sharper than we were...So I trusted that fact, and the fact that you guys are sophisticated enough in this racket to know just how few handicappers can actually say that thier info turned a profit for the year...
Thanks again for all your support...and Best of luck...Like I said, we will continue this discussion as I get more feedback and I plan on covering a series of topics about the past year over the next few days/weeks...Vegas-Runner