- May 7, 2005
- 469
- 95
- 28
Jack’s recent post of a portion of Billy Walters’s appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast prompted me to write a review about his newish book, “The Gambler: Secrets from a Life at Risk.”
Overall, the book was good.
The sports wagering advice was fairly straightforward and nothing earth-shattering. However, It makes sense, is easy to follow and can be somewhat useful if you utilize it properly. The only downside is that it would take a tremendous amount of time and effort for the specifics of his advice to be profitable enough to count on in any high stakes wagering.
Walters included a PDF file to accompany his chapters titled, “Master Class” and “Advanced Master Class” in sports wagering. In those two chapters, he gets into some of the details of his handicapping, money management and betting strategies. Those are contained in the earlier chapter. In the latter, he then goes into more detail as to what specific information, factors and each of their respective values go into his weekly NFL team power ratings. Some of the details he considers important can be surprising at times. Nevertheless, nothing groundbreaking. The PDF, at least, is good to use as a template for doing your own similar handicapping. He also recommends particular websites and sources he looks to aid him in developing his particular handicapping system.
Like many people, Walters’s handicaps each NFL game based upon his own continuously evolving power ratings. He talks about how he partnered long ago with data analytics software company called the Computer Group. The proprietary software they use is constantly updated and he claims uses some of the top minds in computer data analytics. Guys who have developed software for hedge funds and other similar major market participants. He admits that he has countless capable minds on his payroll to assist him with making the most informed wagering decision possible.
Some of us may recall the “60 Minutes” segment done on him nearly a decade ago. He talks about how the end of that segment may have unintentionally given the government extra motivation to take him down given how he openly said he held more respect for sports wagering when compared with Wall Street. Based upon his account of government involvement with his endeavors, it seems like he was a big target of the federal government. Almost mind-boggling unless he is intentionally leaving out important details of his ordeals and damning evidence against him. You want to take him at his word on these issues.
For those looking to get rich quick off of any of his handicapping and wagering advice contained within its pages, there are no easy answers or tips that could change a consistent loser in sports wagering into a winner overnight, or even within a particular season. No simple formula that could replicate his 30+ years straight of profitable sports betting success.
The book does, however, provide enough tools and examples in order to build a winning system over time. And, in my opinion, if you stick to his general rule of limiting bets to between 1% - 3% of your bankroll, you should not sustain any substantial losses while you develop and improve your handicapping system to consistent profitability. The key will be to continue to hone your system and stay ahead of the book in that regard. It is doable for sure. It just will require a significant investment into making it happen.
The computer aspect he talks about was interesting. It reminded me of Bob Voulgaris—the man whom was on the February 13, 2013, cover of ESPN Magazine. In that particular issue, the article describes how Voulgaris had developed his own computer software in tandem with an elite software engineer to make outstanding, consistent profits betting NBA games between around 2004-2012. During that time period, he used specific, personally observable coaching patterns/tendencies that sports books had yet to factor into their line-making. Based upon my recollection, Voulgaris used these coaching patterns/game specific tendencies data to obtain a substantial advantage betting NBA totals, especially 2nd half and live NBA totals. When reading Walters’s book, it occurred to me that it is very possible that Voulgaris borrowed ideas from Walters in creating his own profitable analytic software. It’s been a long time since I read that article so I don’t recall if Billy’s name was mentioned. There are certainly similar angles utilized by each man in order to stay ahead of the books.
Walters is a smart man who has been able to find valuable advantages in all kinds of life situations that many of the rest of us either don’t see or ignore. Even if some of his stories are embellished, there’s no denying the guy has led a very interesting, remarkable life. You can’t accuse him of being boring or average. Many of his amazing wins and brutal, devastating losses are described in detail. The guy seems to thrive during these daring, high stakes battles, and always seems to be able to pick himself up off the ground during times when many men would break. I particularly admire that.
The chapters on his stock trading, Carl Icahn and his relationship with Phil Michelson were especially interesting to me. If what Walter’s laid out regarding his relatively recent insider trading conviction and his subsequent time spent in prison is true, then Lefty is a bad guy. Not just a bad guy, but someone who lacks self-control, integrity, any kind of decency or meaning of loyalty. Based upon Walters’s account, Michelson is truly lucky to be still walking around on his own making millions to play golf.
Regardless, The Gambler is a good autobiography of a gambling man who has unquestionably lived an extraordinary life. The book is filled with plenty of highs, lows and fantastic war stories that keep the reader entertained and engaged. Moreover, there are absolutely valuable lessons that can be learned from reading it, even if they aren’t necessarily about sports betting.
Overall, the book was good.
The sports wagering advice was fairly straightforward and nothing earth-shattering. However, It makes sense, is easy to follow and can be somewhat useful if you utilize it properly. The only downside is that it would take a tremendous amount of time and effort for the specifics of his advice to be profitable enough to count on in any high stakes wagering.
Walters included a PDF file to accompany his chapters titled, “Master Class” and “Advanced Master Class” in sports wagering. In those two chapters, he gets into some of the details of his handicapping, money management and betting strategies. Those are contained in the earlier chapter. In the latter, he then goes into more detail as to what specific information, factors and each of their respective values go into his weekly NFL team power ratings. Some of the details he considers important can be surprising at times. Nevertheless, nothing groundbreaking. The PDF, at least, is good to use as a template for doing your own similar handicapping. He also recommends particular websites and sources he looks to aid him in developing his particular handicapping system.
Like many people, Walters’s handicaps each NFL game based upon his own continuously evolving power ratings. He talks about how he partnered long ago with data analytics software company called the Computer Group. The proprietary software they use is constantly updated and he claims uses some of the top minds in computer data analytics. Guys who have developed software for hedge funds and other similar major market participants. He admits that he has countless capable minds on his payroll to assist him with making the most informed wagering decision possible.
Some of us may recall the “60 Minutes” segment done on him nearly a decade ago. He talks about how the end of that segment may have unintentionally given the government extra motivation to take him down given how he openly said he held more respect for sports wagering when compared with Wall Street. Based upon his account of government involvement with his endeavors, it seems like he was a big target of the federal government. Almost mind-boggling unless he is intentionally leaving out important details of his ordeals and damning evidence against him. You want to take him at his word on these issues.
For those looking to get rich quick off of any of his handicapping and wagering advice contained within its pages, there are no easy answers or tips that could change a consistent loser in sports wagering into a winner overnight, or even within a particular season. No simple formula that could replicate his 30+ years straight of profitable sports betting success.
The book does, however, provide enough tools and examples in order to build a winning system over time. And, in my opinion, if you stick to his general rule of limiting bets to between 1% - 3% of your bankroll, you should not sustain any substantial losses while you develop and improve your handicapping system to consistent profitability. The key will be to continue to hone your system and stay ahead of the book in that regard. It is doable for sure. It just will require a significant investment into making it happen.
The computer aspect he talks about was interesting. It reminded me of Bob Voulgaris—the man whom was on the February 13, 2013, cover of ESPN Magazine. In that particular issue, the article describes how Voulgaris had developed his own computer software in tandem with an elite software engineer to make outstanding, consistent profits betting NBA games between around 2004-2012. During that time period, he used specific, personally observable coaching patterns/tendencies that sports books had yet to factor into their line-making. Based upon my recollection, Voulgaris used these coaching patterns/game specific tendencies data to obtain a substantial advantage betting NBA totals, especially 2nd half and live NBA totals. When reading Walters’s book, it occurred to me that it is very possible that Voulgaris borrowed ideas from Walters in creating his own profitable analytic software. It’s been a long time since I read that article so I don’t recall if Billy’s name was mentioned. There are certainly similar angles utilized by each man in order to stay ahead of the books.
Walters is a smart man who has been able to find valuable advantages in all kinds of life situations that many of the rest of us either don’t see or ignore. Even if some of his stories are embellished, there’s no denying the guy has led a very interesting, remarkable life. You can’t accuse him of being boring or average. Many of his amazing wins and brutal, devastating losses are described in detail. The guy seems to thrive during these daring, high stakes battles, and always seems to be able to pick himself up off the ground during times when many men would break. I particularly admire that.
The chapters on his stock trading, Carl Icahn and his relationship with Phil Michelson were especially interesting to me. If what Walter’s laid out regarding his relatively recent insider trading conviction and his subsequent time spent in prison is true, then Lefty is a bad guy. Not just a bad guy, but someone who lacks self-control, integrity, any kind of decency or meaning of loyalty. Based upon Walters’s account, Michelson is truly lucky to be still walking around on his own making millions to play golf.
Regardless, The Gambler is a good autobiography of a gambling man who has unquestionably lived an extraordinary life. The book is filled with plenty of highs, lows and fantastic war stories that keep the reader entertained and engaged. Moreover, there are absolutely valuable lessons that can be learned from reading it, even if they aren’t necessarily about sports betting.
