Bull's Sports Betting Journal

I was playing a turbo SNG this past Saturday and I managed to steal a small pot on the first hand.  Then, later in that first orbit I flopped top two and my all-in got called by a fellow with a 5-high flush draw.   - well, I had to cash that good luck in Sklansky bucks, because he spiked a flush on the river and I was down to an M of 1.5.

I went all-in on 44 the next hand and got 3 callers.  I turned a set and got some breathing room.  I got 99 on the very next hand.  I came OTT of a limper and he pushed with QTo.  It wasn't much of a race when I flopped a 9, and I was now not even short stack!  I finished that SNG in second place.  I had a 4-1 deficit when it got to HU and despite doubling up once, I could not complete the ultimate comeback - but it was still pretty gratifying.

That, however, was nothing compared to my sports betting comeback.  Wager Web offers a very common type of bonus - you can get a reload bonus every time you reload, as long as you have a net negative figure (that means you've lost more than you've won).  What's uncommon about Wager Web is that they have a progressive reload bonus up to 30%.  Your reload bonus starts at 10% but increases in 5% increments on subsequent reloads until you get to 30%.  Suffice it to say, I like that 30% reload action (even if it is a freeplay type bonus).

The objective, then, for us dirty bonus chasing vermin, is to continuously lose at Wager Web so that we remain eligible for and the reload bonuses.  If you continuously win at Wager Web, then you will hit a point where it is not realistic to ever get a negative figure there, and you are better off moving on.  On the BullsBetting Forum we call that "burning a book".  You've burned your reload bonus eligibility.

My latest and greatest reload and Wager Web was looking like a book burner.  I won something like 10 of 13 bets at Wager Web (betting on underdogs) and before I knew it, all but $300 of my Matchbook balance was in Wager Web.  I was about to throw in the towel and consider Wager Web burned.  My balance there was $3300, and I decided at $4500 I would call it officially dead.

I was going to move some money into Matchbook, but this required a trip to the bank and then to a MoneyGram agent.  It woulld have to wait until Monday.  In the mean time, I laid my last $300 at Matchbook against WW on a Friday afternoon game - and at last, I won one.  I made two more scalps on early evening games and they both went my way.  I made a bet on a late evening game and went 4 for 4 on Friday

By Sunday evening I had BUSTED my balance at WW, and remain eligible for another reload.  What a great run!  I think I'll let WW sit for a bit, though, before I reload.  I don't want to look too obvious!

Happy Chasing!

Posted by Bullajami at 03:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My interest in Ms Hawbaker is only that it seems so many other people are interested in her.  I don't get it.  I want to punch Nside every time he posts a Brandi dramabomb link on ITH because I can't seem to learn my lesson that its a waste of time to click that link.  I always think, "Nside's a smart guy...he wouldn't waste his time (or ours) on prurient refuse".  So I click, and I see that the thread has hundreds of replies and thousands of views - there must be something to it, right?  I need to learn that even though the thread is 70+ pages long, its all complete foolishness - but I will read on and on...with the thought going continuously through my head that it HAS to make sense at some point. There HAS to be a reason so many people are interested.  That reason has never shown itself to me.  I find the rabid public interest in Ms Hawbaker to be a scathing indictment on our society...but I keep reading them.  Brandi Hawbaker threads are my abusive boyfriend, I keep looking for a reason to love them.

I really hate O/8.  NL is better than FL, but I still hate it.  However, it clears the bonus so damn fast at Cake that I can hardly pass it up.  And the play is so horrible I can be a nut-waiting rock and still win money off the table as well.  Its really a gold mine.  The PLO tables are good, too, but there's not always a game running.

Wager Web is king of the fine print for a sportsbook.  I still like and use them, but you have to read everything in their rules and T&Cs.  They have a 30% progressive bonus (as long as you are depositing in their preferred manner).  You get one free cashout a month (that means the normal cashout fee is deducted from your account and turned into a freeplay).  ETC.  Like I said, I'll keep using them - mainly because of the arb opportunities vs Matchbook on NBA line - but I just can't cotton to a site that tries to trick me out of a few bucks here and there.

Loving Matchbook, incidentally.  A long as the cashout I requested Monday goes smoothly I will write a glowing review of my experiences there so far.

Happy Chasing!

Posted by Bullajami at 03:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Seems like a good time to give my annual overview on the topic of sportsbook bonus chasing.  I get enough e-mails and PMs from people who are interested in the topic that it seems warranted to me.  I also get people approaching me at ITH gatherings who want to shake my hand for helping them to make money by chasing sportsbook bonuses.  I value that more than a good arb bet for myself, so it spurns me to action!

Some general information:

• The way I chase sportsbook bonuses puts no risk to my bankroll.  I can only profit.
• Sportsbooks would prefer that I did not chase bonuses as I do.  Some would ban me if they knew. (This has never happened, but could.)
• You can start a poker career on very little cash, but this is not true for sportsbooks.  You should have at least $5K to start.  More is better.  Too much is not possible.  I will state that again for emphasis:  It is not possible to have too much money in your sportsbook bonus chasing bankroll. I maintain about $12K.  when I had Neteller I was maintaining about $25-$30K. 
• You need accounts at multiple sportsbooks or sports betting exchanges.
• Chasing sportsbook bonuses is substantially more profitable than chasing poker bonuses.
• I do not know everything about it (but I am pretty good).

Here is a very general overview on how it is done:

Deposit at two different sportsbooks, receiving a deposit bonus at both.  Find a game where the line at each of your two sportsbooks allows a bet to placed on both sides of the game with a very small loss (or small gain).  For example, let's say you deposited $1,000 at Sportsbook A for a 10% bonus - so you have $1,100 dollars to bet.  You deposit $1000 at Sportsbook B for a 20% bonus, so you have $1,200 to bet.  Then you look at the lines at each book for the Fatties vs the Donks.

Book A:

• Fatties (+3.5) +109 / Donks (-3.5) -106

Book B:

• Fatties (+3.5) +101 / Donks (-3.5) -109

Don't worry if you don't understand all the numbers yet.  Just recognize that with these lines you can bet on the Fatties at Book A and the Donks at Book B in such a way that the bets will exactly cancel each other no matter which team wins.  Bet this way, you cannot lose.  Any money lost at Book A if the Donks win will end up in Book B, and vice versa if the Fatties win.  You have no risk to your bankroll, but you can keep the bonus.

Its really that easy.  There are, however many intricacies and details to maximizing your profitability.  There are also some hidden pitfalls that can prove bothersome if they are not avoided.  If you want more of the details and pitfalls, then you should come to BullsBetting to learn sports betting.

Posted by Bullajami at 01:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)