Poll - How often do you bet on the Orioles?

[sportsfan8703]

Hidden results. On a weekly basis how often do you bet on the Orioles?

Edited Tuesday at 11:18 by sportsfan8703

[maybenxtyr]

I don't gamble on anything.

[crowmst3k!]

Not a gambler, outside of very occasionally buying a lotto ticket. 

[Otter]

4 minutes ago, crowmst3k! said:

Not a gambler, outside of very occasionally buying a lotto ticket. 

Same.  Gambling isn't a wise use of money, especially in these inflationary times....

[Too Tall]

The only thing I gamble on is getting up tomorrow. 

[Philip]

Gambling isn’t my thing, but I think it’s going to become a big problem when relievers get anonymous calls before the big game.

[DirtyBird]

27 minutes ago, Philip said:

Gambling isn’t my thing, but I think it’s going to become a big problem when relievers get anonymous calls before the big game.

Sports betting isn't new. There was more likelihood of that happening 50 years ago when it was run by illegal operations.

[Allan Bryant]

Gambling isn’t my thing . I’ve heard many sad stories .  The extent I play is occasionally a Mega or a Powerball here or there .

[SteveA]

I bet on baseball.   Typically about $10 a game.   Or to win $10 with a favorite.

This year my record is 178-181, for +$85.80.   The reason I am ahead for the year even though I have lost more bets than I have won is because I tend to bet underdogs a lot more than favorites.   I understand baseball and know that even the best teams don't win much more than 60% of the time.   So you have a favorite that is -200 (means you have to bet $200 to win $100, or in my case $20 to win $10) -- you'll just never see me make a bet like that.   Your team has to win 67%  of the time just to break even on bets like that, and over 70% of the time to make any noticable profit.

I like, and think I am good at, finding underdogs that have close to a 50/50 chance to win.   If I can get a medium strength underdog, say +140 (in my case bet $10 to win $14), and can win that half the time, or even a little less than half the time, I can come out ahead.   And my results this year show I can do that.  I also made a couple hundred bucks last year, but lost a couple hundred in 2022.   I don't exclusively bet underdogs but I'd guess they are at least 60 to 65% of the bets I make.   And when I bet favorites they tend to be the smaller favorites (-150 or less) that you don't need to win over 60% of the time just to break even on.

Anyway, long story short... you can see I have made an average of about 4 bets a day over the course of the season so far.   Some days I won't find any games I like, I think the most I have done in one day this year is 10.   How many of those are on the Orioles?   Well, this year, not too many.   Because we are typically a pretty big favorite and as described I am not a big favorite bettor.   But I'm sure I have bet on the Orioles somewhere between 10-15 times over the course of the season.    I'm at work now where I can't check my spreadsheet.   

So I'm going to answer #1 on the poll, that seems about right.

I never bet against the Orioles.   Even in situations where I think it might be a good play based on the odds.   I have friends who I discuss handicapping with, some are not Oriole fans, so I will recommend to them an anti-Oriole play when I think it is warranted but I won't do it myself.

In 1998, Virginia Tech was in the top 25 and playing lowly Temple and we were 37 point favorites.   But our starting QB was out, and I knw the backup was pretty bad, and I knew Frank Beamer would probably not likely run up the score.   So I bet on Temple +37.

Hokies led 17-0 at the end of the first quarter but totally fell apart, made all kinds of mistakes let Temple stay in the game, and finally Temple pulled off the upset and won outright.   I won my bet easily, but I was at the game and it was one of the worst upsets in college football history (I think at the time 37 points was the 2nd biggest underdog ever to win outright, no idea how many times it has been topped since).

So after that experience I have never bet against any of my favorite teams.

[Philip]

15 minutes ago, DirtyBird said:

Sports betting isn't new. There was more likelihood of that happening 50 years ago when it was run by illegal operations.

Sports betting isn’t new, but MLB involvement, heavy advertising on every Baseball site, and potential fraud made easier by the internet certainly are.

There has already been at least one article about players being threatened after a loss cost someone a lot of money.

[Orioles West]

Last baseball bet for me was 1983, I bet five bucks with a good friend who was a Phils fan. Dude still owes me five dollars.

Other than that, I am just not a gambler, the times I did felt like setting cash on fire would have been more fun. That aside, I lean into not judging my friends and family who enjoy betting and/or gambling. I tend to believe folks can choose whatever they want to do, provided it isn’t harmful to them or others. 

[eddie83]

I took the Orioles over 90.5 for season for a decent amount and also made a WS bet. I think I played them to win on OD. 
 

I’m tempted but don’t play regular season games often. Just OD so far this year. 

[InsideCoroner]

I learned my lesson in my late teens; a high school friend of mine was a big gambler, and I placed a few bets through his bookie on some MLB games (this was the late ‘80s when you needed bookies). I was down $50 from the first game and my team in the second game was up a run in the 9th. I was nervous as hell the whole time. Mattingly hit a walk-off homer, and I lost another $50. I said, “This isn’t for me”, and never bet on baseball again. I just want to enjoy the game. 

[Otter]

2 hours ago, DirtyBird said:

Sports betting isn't new. There was more likelihood of that happening 50 years ago when it was run by illegal operations.

Just because something has become legal doesn't mean there still aren't criminals involved in that activity...

[Bleed Orange]

Not all sports betting has to lead to losing long-term. Google "EV betting" and follow with discipline and there is good money to be made.