And I don't mean betting on the school yard with Timmy in the 5th grade! I mean you first real "action" with "the man".
Can you remember? Did it win or lose?
I was 21 and in a local watering hole. I had started going to this place in the summer of '85 after work with a couple of friends. Well, we got to be regulars in there, and it was never too crowded, so we got to know everyone pretty well.
I remember one Thursday we went in at about 5:00 and the usual bunch was there. They were looking over sheets of paper and reading the sports page. One by one, more people started coming into the place....faces we had not seen all summer. They all got a drink, and a couple sheets of paper from the bartender. Some had magazines, the USAToday, notebooks, etc. My friend and I were wondering what the hell was going on!
We finally asked the bartender, and he brought us some slips of paper. By now, I'm sure that you know they were parlay cards for the opening week of football season.
Now, being young males, we knew our sports. "Holy shit! All you need to do is pick 3 winners and they will pay you 5 times your money!"
Needless to say, it was not as easy as it looked. I remember making 4 $5 wagers on 3teamers, and all of them going south! Welcome to the real world, putz!
I continued to play parlays, and won one time that season. It didn't take much longer to realize that this was a bad investment.
---------------
The next year I met a guy who managed a night club in town. He was big into betting sports. My friend and I went golfing one Saturday morning in the summer of '86 and after we were done, the guy was right in the sports page with a pen crossing out and circling shit. We asked what he was doing.
"Making my plays for today's baseball games."
I didn't know you could do this, too! Plus, he tells us you only need to pick the winner....there is no point spread!
"Holy shit! All you need to do is pick winners and they will pay you!"
We asked if we could give it a whirl, and he said sure. He said we had to bet in $25 increments. That was a lot more than the $5 parlays we were used to!
We agreed on the Giants over Atlanta and pulled out $25 each to give the guy. He explained that there was no money up front. The week ran from Monday through Sunday, and you paid or got paid the next Thursday.
"Shit! You don't even have to have the money to bet?" We instantly upped our bets to $50 each! Since we had the favorite of about -165, we knew we would owe more than $50 if we lost. But, we had the favorite so we couldn't lose, right?
As fate would have it, the game was on TBS that evening. (That was when TBS and WGN were the only games on the tube!)
We watched with glee as the Giants walked away with this baby!
SWEET!
The next Thursday, we went to the bar and each got $50 put in our paws! This was like stealing!
I remember going out and getting a new pair of Nikes for about $25 (High-end back then!), and having a nice meal with the rest.
I wish I would have stopped there!
Can you remember? Did it win or lose?
I was 21 and in a local watering hole. I had started going to this place in the summer of '85 after work with a couple of friends. Well, we got to be regulars in there, and it was never too crowded, so we got to know everyone pretty well.
I remember one Thursday we went in at about 5:00 and the usual bunch was there. They were looking over sheets of paper and reading the sports page. One by one, more people started coming into the place....faces we had not seen all summer. They all got a drink, and a couple sheets of paper from the bartender. Some had magazines, the USAToday, notebooks, etc. My friend and I were wondering what the hell was going on!
We finally asked the bartender, and he brought us some slips of paper. By now, I'm sure that you know they were parlay cards for the opening week of football season.
Now, being young males, we knew our sports. "Holy shit! All you need to do is pick 3 winners and they will pay you 5 times your money!"
Needless to say, it was not as easy as it looked. I remember making 4 $5 wagers on 3teamers, and all of them going south! Welcome to the real world, putz!
I continued to play parlays, and won one time that season. It didn't take much longer to realize that this was a bad investment.
---------------
The next year I met a guy who managed a night club in town. He was big into betting sports. My friend and I went golfing one Saturday morning in the summer of '86 and after we were done, the guy was right in the sports page with a pen crossing out and circling shit. We asked what he was doing.
"Making my plays for today's baseball games."
I didn't know you could do this, too! Plus, he tells us you only need to pick the winner....there is no point spread!
"Holy shit! All you need to do is pick winners and they will pay you!"
We asked if we could give it a whirl, and he said sure. He said we had to bet in $25 increments. That was a lot more than the $5 parlays we were used to!
We agreed on the Giants over Atlanta and pulled out $25 each to give the guy. He explained that there was no money up front. The week ran from Monday through Sunday, and you paid or got paid the next Thursday.
"Shit! You don't even have to have the money to bet?" We instantly upped our bets to $50 each! Since we had the favorite of about -165, we knew we would owe more than $50 if we lost. But, we had the favorite so we couldn't lose, right?
As fate would have it, the game was on TBS that evening. (That was when TBS and WGN were the only games on the tube!)
We watched with glee as the Giants walked away with this baby!
SWEET!
The next Thursday, we went to the bar and each got $50 put in our paws! This was like stealing!
I remember going out and getting a new pair of Nikes for about $25 (High-end back then!), and having a nice meal with the rest.
I wish I would have stopped there!
