I wanted to write something original so here it is.
Since moving here I have a very serious but very healthy relationship with betting on sports. Aside from watching movies, it’s how I spend most of my spare time. Just feeling games out makes me so happy. I have no social media really. Just sports and movies. This relationship was very inevitable, you have the willpower of a god if you love sports and don’t bet. I need skin in the game. I keep up with everything relevant, Im playing no matter what. It keeps me up to date constantly with who’s who in almost every league.
My introduction to gambling as a whole was wagering on Fifa matches against Dean in high school. The most intense games. Friendships put on hold for 15 minutes or so. Win or lose you knew the double or nothing was coming. Etransfers back and forth of the same 20, 40, 80 or 100 dollars. My whole bank account at the time (80$) could’ve been on the line with my ultimate team, on any given Wednesday night.
Growing up I always wanted to make Pro Line bets like my dad, but being 17 that was not an option. Then around that time in high school I downloaded Betway. I forget who told me about it but I remember just downloading the app, making an account, and depositing money. I’m still not sure if I put my legit DOB or lied about it, but somehow my account got verified at the time when I was 17. That was really the start of it. I was in high school properly betting on my phone on whatever I wanted. Something that was impossible for generations of kids before. I guess I took advantage of what was, at the time, a very unreliable age verification system/app. I don’t know if that’s incriminating or not but fuck it.
I’ve always loved watching sports so much, but always having a team to seriously root for (due to winning money) just brings me joy. Sports over casinos all day as well. I could die on that hill. A sports hit is so much more satisfying than a casino hit and a sports loss is so much easier to take on the chin compared to a flip of a card. I haven’t gambled casino wise much over the past few years, and am much happier off without it.
My current routine of sports betting is quite healthy. Yes, I have bets going every night. I can always find something I love. Most of the time I just follow on my phone while watching a movie. I don’t let the wins and loses get the best of me. It is what it is. I go to bed; Was I correct today? Yes, great, that’s why you do it. No? Fine. I was wrong and that is OKAY because that was what my gut said, but tomorrow’s a new day.
Yeah whatever though. Me and every other twenty two year old male in North America right? The real reason to write this was to express some original moments of my nightly betting experiences. Hopefully some may be relatable:
*Note: Some of these may be contradictory and some may require sports gambling experience to comprehend
Benefiting off a line changing
Easy one. For example betting an NBA game at noon while half of each team is questionable. Happens all the time. Lines open, move, go up and down but all that matters is where YOU got it. Taking an NFL spread early in the week, while a quarterback of one side is seriously 50/50 with an injury, is just the same as two bets in itself. Then, being on the right side of a line changing, gives you that extra lift of confidence before a game starts that you’re hitting.
Hedging, and switching teams for an OT/New Half
Crazy fun. I’ve found myself in this situation a few times and it’s made me laugh every time. For example the team you had ML is up huge at half, so throw something light on the spread of the other team just to be safe. Somehow it gets all out of whack and you bounce back and forth rooting for whoever. Or often done through HT/FT bets, which always have great odds.
Watching the rise/fall of a buddies bet
How do you beat this one? When someone you’re with (who doesn’t bet very consistently) has an absurd amount of money on a game. Win or Lose for them it’s the best energy to be around. You can’t help but pull so hard for them.
Calling something“rigged” cause u lost
Boxing, Online Casinos or the Oscars. Easy Out.
Having a bet lose and hoping you fucked up while placing it
Of course this has never happened to me. If you bet on an over and it misses, it always crosses my mind; what if I wasn’t paying attention and accidentally put under. Fuck I hope I did that, let me check….nope.
Hedging with real life incentives
Honestly just betting against who I want to win always seems to put me in a pretty okay mood. Just need to find the value at what a win costs right?
Riding out Futures
Before even winning a future, seeing something you have that at one time, was +1000 or more, in the +100 range is so fucking satisfying.
Shutting a game off after an over hits
So satisfying when you could give a fuck less who wins and you cash (but when it happens late). We do not care. Thanks both of you for contributing and getting me where I needed to get you may carry on without me
Hitting a bet…. early In a game you were excited to watch all of… sucks
Contradictory to the prior one but hear me out. Listen, this one sucks. Because it forces you to bet more. Yeah you already won, but you wanted to watch this game right? Are you gonna watch it freely now? Happens all the time with Anytime TD scorers. They get one on the first drive and you’re happy but deep down you wanted to ride it out for a little bit longer right? I can’t be the only one on this one. I mean he HAS to get in but like… not on the first drive?
Having a Puck Line or a 7+ Football spread and a stress free OT
Also so satisfying. This one you probably stick out and watch the rest of just cause your guys got you where you needed to be.
Going to bed with a live bet, writing it off as a loss, and you wake up with a winner
The reason why I wrote this; Absolutely nothing better than this. This is the ideal life.
There’s a few different ways that this can happen:
A. Going to bed confident your guys will close it out, then waking up in the morning and all good
B. Going to bed rattled with the last leg you needed down 23 in the third quarter, waking up, don’t even check the final score, then going on the app and seeing the balance with the winnings and you’re stunned. Awesome.
C. Going to bed rattled with your guys down three in the second period, then waking up in the middle of the night at 1AM to piss, you check the score and they scored 4 straight to win and OT. You then try to fall asleep as the most fired up guy on the planet going back to bed. Awesome.
🙂
All this aside I can’t let it be overshadowed how much I just love sports. I’m so truly lucky to live in an era where this is so much entertainment worldwide year round. There’s something just so awesome about it, and it’s one aspect of my life I know will always be there for me.