Holysmoke said:
As someone "in the business" as a sports handicapper, I must concur. My profession has about as much respect as used car salemen or trial lawyers and with good reason. Depending on the mood you catch me in on a given day, I'd suggest that anywhere from 50% to 90% of so called sports handicappers, touts and services are crooked, incompetent or some combination thereof.
I've always tried to be one of the "good guys" in the industry. I don't hype my plays with ridiculous hyperbole like "100,000 star ratings", "games of the year", "bailout specials" or the dreaded "L word". I work 12 hours a day plus trying to handicap and find value. When I win (which fortunately is a good percentage of the time) I say so. When I lose, I fess up to my losses. Virtually all of my plays are value based positions that are typically found on lower profile games or totals. I don't claim that I have "inside information" on big TV games just to hoodwink casual fans. Hell, I even give away every Monday Night Football side and total *free* as well as the Superbowl side and total free just to make the point that they're just another game and not an excuse to "unload". I charge my clients a fair price, with no hidden charges or extra fees for "big games". I use forums like this to commune with other sports bettors and not to shill my services. In short, I try to approach sports handicapping with seriousness, dedication, discipline and professionalism.
Unfortunately, that leaves me in the very small minority of "for hire" sports handicappers. The good ones are few and far between and the overwhelming majority are, as the previous poster noted, completely worthless....you're better off following the advice of the many sharp posters here than blindly following service plays.
