Are you trying to set up shop for the long haul? Being honest will catch some people by surprise.
Examples of honesty that I've appreciated that some people might overlook:
Jeff Scott Sports has in his profile "I live in Maine, but some day I hope to be closer to or in Las Vegas." How many handicappers lie about living in Las Vegas just to sound more impressive? I'm sure a ton. If you can pick winners, why do I care where you live? I don't. And you scored a few points with me for being honest about that.
Profiles that refer to "I" or "my" rather than "me" or "my team of handicappers." Of all the people that claim to have a "team of handicappers" how many do you think actually have a team? Maybe 5%. Admitting that you are on your own is a huge plus for me.
usinfantry says "I have been handicapping for over two years now." That's a refresher over the hundreds of profiles that claim to have been a professional sports handicapper for 15+ years.
Your second point is something that has bothered me ever since I became active with this site, and something that I have given a fair bit of thought to. What do people always claim to have a "team" or handicappers, and why is it more acceptable to be working with a team.
First and foremost this might be a bit bias, because I don't have team, or a partner, or even a friend that handicaps sports with any relative accuracy. I'm just a lonely guy, with a bunch of monitors.
So I think the first reason why people like to have a team, or claim to have a team, is the cross over with a conventional business model. How many business' do you know, even extremely small business' that have a single employee? I can't think of one. For some reason it sounds more legit when you're coming from a team of collective minds, where ever decision goes from one expert to another until you have a fool proof solution. I notice this particular with brokers and IA's. Young brokers when advertising, usually try to beef up their "team" by including the brokerage's financial planner, and the most basic of filing assistants, and put them on their investment team. There's marketing power in numbers, for whatever the reason - so that's the first reason in my opinion.
The second is deflect-ability. The hardest part of running a tipping service in my view, is sending out an e-mail after a loss. I've lost lots, and I still don't know what to say really. It's always to the tune of "Hey, I was wrong" in my head - but then you have to clean that up and make it sound more professional somehow. I still don't know how to best phrase the beginning of an e-mail after a loss, but without a doubt in my view accountability and owning up to a loss is the hardest part of the business (other than actually picking winners). By having a "team" you never really have to do that. The blame is easier deflected to "the basketball guy" or "the football guy", and even when it is not - the blame of a loss is more easily shared. By simply looking at the sentences:
"We got this one wrong"
and
"I got this one wrong"
I think it's extremely transparent which sentence is harsher on the individual who runs the business.
This whole handicapping team thing has been something that has bothered me for quite a while now. I don't understand why there is a need for group belonging. Personally, I'm quite the opposite. I don't want to belong to a team, because I can deal with the direct blame on losses - but I don't want the shared praise on wins. I know this sounds selfish, but if I get a wager right or wrong, I would rather deal with the full rash of either blame or praise, than share the praise. If you begin to think of it this way, there is actually an interesting psychology that goes on there. Maybe I'm more selfish than the person who wants to belong to a team? Who knows, I'm not a psychologist. But, hopefully I've pointed out a few things that can be further opened up for discussion.
Everybody loves honesty. It's funny you brought up Las Vegas. I'm only 8 hours away from las vegas and I'm hoping to move there. In fact, I thought I would be there by now. I have a few obstacles in my way and some obligations to fulfill but hopefully I will get there. It's really frustrating for me. I'd love to spend a lot of time in sports books and check out all the different personalities. Meeting sports handicappers from all over the country swearing their the best. They must have some really comical stories. I'd loved to write on the forum about handicappers in vegas thinking their going to get rich someday. Another thing I would like to do if I lived in vegas. I rather pay someone every month for their picks or fade their picks and just roam around looking for the best lines and shooting the breeze with handicappers. Now , some people probably think i'm not being honest, but the it's the truth. I would sure have a lot of interesting things to talk on the forum about.
Way 1 (honest).Hey guys, I am Roy, I have been handicapping for over twelve month now, my dream is to move to vegas in future! so I can start doing it full time (buyer reads : "working in mcdonalds part time student, no money to bet himself so he is looking for some fools to sell the picks so eventually he can have money for the vegas weekend")
Way 2 (good marketing).Hey guys, We at Takeo Sports with well over 15 years of handicapping experience... (Trust is build right away. Guys know what they are doing!)..
Takeo is marketing much better than others here. He is knowledgeable of sports but he always says "we are a team", "WE got your back", "if I get a cold streak my partners will step up, we are a TEAM working for you!" "we won't run away to Vegas with your money, we already LIVE THE DREAM" . ;)
@Alex: I can't talk for everyone, but here's the reason why I chose to build a team around me. As an handicapper, I believe it is impossible to be successful in every sports. I chose specialization in NBA and Boxing and all my handicapping efforts go toward these sports. As a business owner, I also have several other responsibilities (non-related directly to analyzing games), so this is the best solution if I want to stay successful in what I do and spent enough time on NBA and Boxing.
I feel it is impossible for a capper to truly analyze all the games from every sport. Honestly, when the NHL, NBA, NFL, NCAA games are all featured in the week, how can someone deeply analyze each game? The only way would be to get already analyzed games (thus, having a team doing the dirty work or analyzing analyzed plays from other cappers - which some do). Once I chose to specialize, I had only one solution in order to offer picks from all sports to the clients: teaming up with people I trust in term of their abilities, but also their integrity. However, each handicapper has its own specialty. I get the credit for a win, and I have to take responsibility for the losses.
Even more, how can we expect a single person to analyze every sport, market his services, manage the website, take care of customer service, etc? If he wants spend more time developing a website and marketing its services, the handicapper won't be able to give as many hours for his handicapping.
I believe that more people should team with other handicappers they trust (I know, easier said than done as few people can be trusted in this industry) How often do you see this scenario:
The handicapper excels in NFL. He gets many clients during the NFL season. However, he is an average capper for the NBA and NCAA-B. Still, does the capper want to wait 6 more months (start of the next NFL season) to get new members and new subscriptiosn? Absolutely not. So the cappers start to analyze other sports (sports they don't specialize in) and most of them fell miserably. Clients continue to follow them early in the season thinking "he was good in NFL so he will get back on track" and lose all the earnings they made with the capper specialization. I saw this story happening MANY times.
Quite a long answer for a simple question (I know, posts are more often read when short), but I hope it answers it!
Speaking of Takeo! Look how good he is! Just reading his posts makes me want to buy his picks, he speaks with so much confidence and knowledge! Good job. Good point about building a team around. I would never succeeded without a team and I doubt anyone can build a serious business alone.
@Takeo Sorry mate, I totally forgot about your service when I was writing my previous post and was in no means directing that at you. I know you have a functioning team, and understand the reasons why you chose to direct your business that way. I was speaking more towards partnerships that don't produce any sort of competitive advantage. No disrespect meant, honestly.
@Alex Don't worry, I do understand your point. I am aware that many other cappers use the word "we" even though they are alone making their picks and actually don't communicate with anyone else regarding capping games. Few people do have a real team. However, when it's well organized and structured, I believe in the long term success of this handicapping business model.
Quick question to the community relatively to this post. What if you visit two website of handicappers. Both seems to have the same record
(let's assume they aren't tracked on Line.com). One states that it his
his full time job, while the other admits that he does it as a sideline.
Will it influence your decision? Would you buy picks from someone who isn't a full time handicapper?
These people are quite easy to find. Often, they state "picks will only be released at 6 pm" which usually translates to "I am back from work around 4:30 pm, let me an hour or so to do my things"They won't have any customer service during the day, they won't offer write ups or will be very slow to answer inquiries from clients. There will be few site updates and "surprisingly", they will be more present during the week-end.
I am not saying it's a bad thing or a good one. I am only curious if it a factor influencing buyers out there? Do you give more trust into handicappers doing it full time?
On a personal note, I can't see how I could do this part time and have the same success, so I wouldn't be motivated to buy from a part time capper (unless he has a massive tracked history)
I would think the person who says they are doing it full time is lying and is saying that to market themselves. I would also wonder if someone is so good, why are they even selling picks instead of just betting games themselves.
I would trust the part time guy more and would understand why he is trying to sell picks more.
"I would also wonder if someone is so good, why are they even selling picks instead of just betting games themselves."
This is such a good point. I've been thinking about this for about six months now - but at what point can you actually walk away from tipping because you "are good enough." Or, is it that you have a group of clients you like and respect, and stay with them because they stayed with you? Do some fellows just never start tipping because they "are good enough." Are their good handicappers that are just underfunded? Is that possible? I have no idea what the appropriate answer is though it's something I have wrestled with in the past. I guess it's different for everyone.
Are their good handicappers that are just underfunded? Is that possible?
Yes its 100% possible some people are great with figuring sports out but have no bankroll. I knew a teenager in my youth that use to be able to pick the over/under of his favorite team a average of 60% of the time over 3 years, he had no money to bet. ( this is not best example but its one from my past)
I believe in the philosophy you bet your picks and you can sell them as well to increase your income. No reason to only keep them to yourself unless you have a major bankroll.
I love the classic one: I need to sell my picks, because books won't accept my bets anymore since I'm winning too often.
A lot of 97% win systems are promoting this. How often have you seen this reason? I believe that this reason is ridiculous! Honestly, is there anyone here who has been banned or given limits in every books of the world because they were "winning too much"?
Thinking of that, could be a great quote for Line.com
"You are banned from every sportsbooks for winning too much? You're so good that every book in the world has given you a $50 limit on your bets? No worries, we will welcome you with $10,000 at Line.com where you can win every day, all day, without restrictions!"
Are you trying to set up shop for the long haul? Being honest will catch some people by surprise.
Examples of honesty that I've appreciated that some people might overlook:
-
Jeff Scott Sports has in his profile "I live in Maine, but some day I hope to be closer to or in Las Vegas." How many handicappers lie about living in Las Vegas just to sound more impressive? I'm sure a ton. If you can pick winners, why do I care where you live? I don't. And you scored a few points with me for being honest about that.
-
Profiles that refer to "I" or "my" rather than "me" or "my team of handicappers." Of all the people that claim to have a "team of handicappers" how many do you think actually have a team? Maybe 5%. Admitting that you are on your own is a huge plus for me.
-
usinfantry says "I have been handicapping for over two years now." That's a refresher over the hundreds of profiles that claim to have been a professional sports handicapper for 15+ years.
I could go on, but I'll spare you.Your second point is something that has bothered me ever since I became active with this site, and something that I have given a fair bit of thought to. What do people always claim to have a "team" or handicappers, and why is it more acceptable to be working with a team.
First and foremost this might be a bit bias, because I don't have team, or a partner, or even a friend that handicaps sports with any relative accuracy. I'm just a lonely guy, with a bunch of monitors.
So I think the first reason why people like to have a team, or claim to have a team, is the cross over with a conventional business model. How many business' do you know, even extremely small business' that have a single employee? I can't think of one. For some reason it sounds more legit when you're coming from a team of collective minds, where ever decision goes from one expert to another until you have a fool proof solution. I notice this particular with brokers and IA's. Young brokers when advertising, usually try to beef up their "team" by including the brokerage's financial planner, and the most basic of filing assistants, and put them on their investment team. There's marketing power in numbers, for whatever the reason - so that's the first reason in my opinion.
The second is deflect-ability. The hardest part of running a tipping service in my view, is sending out an e-mail after a loss. I've lost lots, and I still don't know what to say really. It's always to the tune of "Hey, I was wrong" in my head - but then you have to clean that up and make it sound more professional somehow. I still don't know how to best phrase the beginning of an e-mail after a loss, but without a doubt in my view accountability and owning up to a loss is the hardest part of the business (other than actually picking winners). By having a "team" you never really have to do that. The blame is easier deflected to "the basketball guy" or "the football guy", and even when it is not - the blame of a loss is more easily shared. By simply looking at the sentences:
"We got this one wrong"
and
"I got this one wrong"
I think it's extremely transparent which sentence is harsher on the individual who runs the business.
This whole handicapping team thing has been something that has bothered me for quite a while now. I don't understand why there is a need for group belonging. Personally, I'm quite the opposite. I don't want to belong to a team, because I can deal with the direct blame on losses - but I don't want the shared praise on wins. I know this sounds selfish, but if I get a wager right or wrong, I would rather deal with the full rash of either blame or praise, than share the praise. If you begin to think of it this way, there is actually an interesting psychology that goes on there. Maybe I'm more selfish than the person who wants to belong to a team? Who knows, I'm not a psychologist. But, hopefully I've pointed out a few things that can be further opened up for discussion.
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Lets look from a buyer prospective:
Way 1 (honest). Hey guys, I am Roy, I have been handicapping for over twelve month now, my dream is to move to vegas in future! so I can start doing it full time (buyer reads : "working in mcdonalds part time student, no money to bet himself so he is looking for some fools to sell the picks so eventually he can have money for the vegas weekend")
Way 2 (good marketing). Hey guys, We at Takeo Sports with well over 15 years of handicapping experience... (Trust is build right away. Guys know what they are doing!)..
Takeo is marketing much better than others here. He is knowledgeable of sports but he always says "we are a team", "WE got your back", "if I get a cold streak my partners will step up, we are a TEAM working for you!" "we won't run away to Vegas with your money, we already LIVE THE DREAM" . ;)
But I think Takeo actually does have a team, so it's not lying. That's a different scenario.
And I'm not saying that you have trash yourself like Roy seems to be doing
@Alex: I can't talk for everyone, but here's the reason why I chose to build a team around me. As an handicapper, I believe it is impossible to be successful in every sports. I chose specialization in NBA and Boxing and all my handicapping efforts go toward these sports. As a business owner, I also have several other responsibilities (non-related directly to analyzing games), so this is the best solution if I want to stay successful in what I do and spent enough time on NBA and Boxing.
I feel it is impossible for a capper to truly analyze all the games from every sport. Honestly, when the NHL, NBA, NFL, NCAA games are all featured in the week, how can someone deeply analyze each game? The only way would be to get already analyzed games (thus, having a team doing the dirty work or analyzing analyzed plays from other cappers - which some do). Once I chose to specialize, I had only one solution in order to offer picks from all sports to the clients: teaming up with people I trust in term of their abilities, but also their integrity. However, each handicapper has its own specialty. I get the credit for a win, and I have to take responsibility for the losses.
Even more, how can we expect a single person to analyze every sport, market his services, manage the website, take care of customer service, etc? If he wants spend more time developing a website and marketing its services, the handicapper won't be able to give as many hours for his handicapping.
I believe that more people should team with other handicappers they trust (I know, easier said than done as few people can be trusted in this industry) How often do you see this scenario:
The handicapper excels in NFL. He gets many clients during the NFL season. However, he is an average capper for the NBA and NCAA-B. Still, does the capper want to wait 6 more months (start of the next NFL season) to get new members and new subscriptiosn? Absolutely not. So the cappers start to analyze other sports (sports they don't specialize in) and most of them fell miserably. Clients continue to follow them early in the season thinking "he was good in NFL so he will get back on track" and lose all the earnings they made with the capper specialization. I saw this story happening MANY times.
Quite a long answer for a simple question (I know, posts are more often read when short), but I hope it answers it!
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@Alex Don't worry, I do understand your point. I am aware that many other cappers use the word "we" even though they are alone making their picks and actually don't communicate with anyone else regarding capping games. Few people do have a real team. However, when it's well organized and structured, I believe in the long term success of this handicapping business model.
Quick question to the community relatively to this post. What if you visit two website of handicappers. Both seems to have the same record (let's assume they aren't tracked on Line.com). One states that it his his full time job, while the other admits that he does it as a sideline.
Will it influence your decision? Would you buy picks from someone who isn't a full time handicapper?
These people are quite easy to find. Often, they state "picks will only be released at 6 pm" which usually translates to "I am back from work around 4:30 pm, let me an hour or so to do my things"They won't have any customer service during the day, they won't offer write ups or will be very slow to answer inquiries from clients. There will be few site updates and "surprisingly", they will be more present during the week-end.
I am not saying it's a bad thing or a good one. I am only curious if it a factor influencing buyers out there? Do you give more trust into handicappers doing it full time?
On a personal note, I can't see how I could do this part time and have the same success, so I wouldn't be motivated to buy from a part time capper (unless he has a massive tracked history)
I would think the person who says they are doing it full time is lying and is saying that to market themselves. I would also wonder if someone is so good, why are they even selling picks instead of just betting games themselves.
I would trust the part time guy more and would understand why he is trying to sell picks more.
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Honesty is the best policy
This is such a good point. I've been thinking about this for about six months now - but at what point can you actually walk away from tipping because you "are good enough." Or, is it that you have a group of clients you like and respect, and stay with them because they stayed with you? Do some fellows just never start tipping because they "are good enough." Are their good handicappers that are just underfunded? Is that possible? I have no idea what the appropriate answer is though it's something I have wrestled with in the past. I guess it's different for everyone.
Are their good handicappers that are just underfunded? Is that possible?
Yes its 100% possible some people are great with figuring sports out but have no bankroll. I knew a teenager in my youth that use to be able to pick the over/under of his favorite team a average of 60% of the time over 3 years, he had no money to bet. ( this is not best example but its one from my past)
I believe in the philosophy you bet your picks and you can sell them as well to increase your income. No reason to only keep them to yourself unless you have a major bankroll.
Thanked by
I love the classic one: I need to sell my picks, because books won't accept my bets anymore since I'm winning too often.
A lot of 97% win systems are promoting this. How often have you seen this reason? I believe that this reason is ridiculous! Honestly, is there anyone here who has been banned or given limits in every books of the world because they were "winning too much"?
Thinking of that, could be a great quote for Line.com
"You are banned from every sportsbooks for winning too much? You're so good that every book in the world has given you a $50 limit on your bets? No worries, we will welcome you with $10,000 at Line.com where you can win every day, all day, without restrictions!"
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