question about gambling - Two for the Money (2005) Discussion

[–] Icarus2001 18 years ago

In American football, one team is given a head start say 3 points to make the teams more equal. This is so that anyone who wishes to bet on the game gets aqual odds on either team they wish to bet on. for example if there is a game Miami Vs New England and the bookie decides that New England start with 3 points. If the game finishes 30 - 28, then anyone who placed a bet on New England will be paid out. Also in the film they describe another type of bet where you can bet on how many points will be scored during the game. The bookie will decide the number of points eg 42 and you can bet on whether you think there will be more or less than this number scored in the game

"Hell is hot, that's never been disputed by anybody"

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[–] rjcarr 18 years ago

I don't think the the guy that replied was very clear, so let me give it a shot.

In every game, there are two standard things you can bet on, the outcome and the over/under. The latter is pretty simple, if the over/under is 40 and you bet under, then the combined score must be less than 40 for you to win. Vice-versa for betting on the over.

If you bet on the outcome, there is always a spread (unless the spread is 0, then it is called a pick-em). The better, or favored, team has to not only win but win by some number of points that is pre-determined, and that pre-determined value is called the spread (or handicap).

Hope this helps ...

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[–] abaltazar072580 18 years ago

Cool, so how do I bet, is their some number I can call to place bets with a bookie? Do they charge an arm and a leg for their services?

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[–] smith-4417 18 years ago

Generally, you have to go to a place like Vegas where it is legal. Bookmaking is a crime in 49 states. Also if you go sports betting, Legal bookies charge around 10% juice or commission. Ex. You wager $110 to win $100. Illegal underground bookies charge more.

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[–] dcobbimdb 18 years ago

You learn so many interesting things in forums...

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[–] joelralph21 18 years ago

Or just move to England where gambling is legal everywhere and there are at least 2 bookmakers in every town, and they don't charge you to bet, and they don't fiddle the favourites so they have to win by a certain amount for you to actually win.

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[–] yeh_yeh_im_california 18 years ago

lol we have more than two in every town there is already 4 just near where i live lol
ø¤º°`°º¤ø,Cody: Im gonna name mine Tim!!¤º°`°º¤ø,

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[–] Statutory_Ape69 12 years ago

You are absolutely right! Just the other day I learned that i'm a "douchebag". :(

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[–] razlakh 16 years ago

I don't understand. If you bet $110 the most you can win is $100? Why bet if you just lose $10?

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[–] twisterwolf 16 years ago

i think he meant u win only 100 intsed of 110 lets say u win u have 200$ intstead of the 220$

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[–] iggymcfly 18 years ago

You can bet on the internet pretty easily, and while it's technically illegal, it's never enforced or anything. Pinnaclesports.com and Bodog.com are both reputable sportsbooks that I've use in the past.

The typical commission is 10% from the bookie, in that you would have to bet $110 to win $100. Pinnacle actually has 5% juice for football though, so you'd only have to bet $105 to win $100.

The pro for Bodog is that their deposit system seems to run more smoothly. If you have a checking account, you can send them money instantly and bet with it. Pinnacle supposedly has that option, but it didn't work for me, so I'm not sure you can get money there without a Neteller account.

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[–] touringtyler 18 years ago

Regarding the above post, Pinnacle sports is regarded as the #1 online sportsbook in the world. Ive used their site as well as many others and i agree %100. Pinnacle offers the best lines at the best price(Commission). They dont give outragous bonuses like others, but the low commission makes up for it quickly. Also their minimum bet is only $1. Please Dont ever use Bodog. Their sportsbook recently received a D+ Rating, and once again i agree %100. Their lines are usually a half point to a point higher, plus withdraw is a nightmare. hope this helps, If your a rookie, check out covers.com and just browse around and read the forums. You'll catch on fast. Good Luck!

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] rutgerssucks 15 years ago

Unfortunately back in 2007, Pinnacle stopped taking bets from American bettors. Obviously, the above post was written before 2007, but I'm just updating the status.

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[–] KezzieKa 18 years ago

You could call the number from the movie, 1800 Bet On It. Its the phone number for sportsbook.com. You have to place all wagers online but thats the same for all books. Sportsbook.com is one of the best out there IMO

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[–] kingp_35 18 years ago

I would hate to live in America where gambling is illegal in most places. I live in Ireland and gambling is legal and is so easy to do. For example I am a huge Darts fan and when darts is being shown live on Sky Sports you can actually bet on the games by using your remote control!! You dont need the net or a bookies to do it.

Why the hell is gambling illegal in America anyway?

Join my Movie Forum http://movieforum.7.forumer.com

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[–] jmcclincy 18 years ago

Has anyone ever used a site like Brandon Lang's where you pay them for advice on picks. I am curious to lay out the kind of money they want for picks but if they do work I might do it.

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[–] fullmetaljacket606 18 years ago

I bet on sports (mostly NFL) every week and I can say from experience that the research that those "Experts" do for the games you can do for yourself whether you use cbs sports line, yahoo sports, nfl.com, etc. Even checking on the weather is part of it. But I personally think it makes the betting experience better to research the game yourself and then win it. Plus you don't have to pay anyone else.

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[–] srtaylor21 18 years ago

There was some underlying message in this film so blatant but no-one has seemed to have picked it up. I can't believe what I am reading here. This is a perfect example of movies and what is inspired from them.

Monkey see, monkey do!!

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[–] hagnor 18 years ago

err hmm
was it : "don't be a jerk to your prodigy or you might loose him?" :p

gambling is bad yep because it can be an addiction and spiral out of control. So can drinking, but that's still legal. We're all adults (pretty much) and as an adult you should be able to make your own choices, not have them forced upon you by the government. It's a little thing called freedom ;)

I won't comment on your last sentence.

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[–] grungemusic3001 15 years ago

sorry but, the overall message of the movie was: Despite all the deep analysis of the game of sports, it all comes down to chance. Despite John Anthony's deep understanding of the game of football he picks a string of winners and then a string of losers despite his best efforts.

At the end of the movie he makes picks based on coin flips - 100% chance. Pacino, who has a long history of compulsive gambling, gambled on his new protégé and only comes out with his kneecaps intact because of chance.

René Descartes believed if you could assign enough variables to a system you could predict the future. Unfortunately that number of variables is infinite. It also does not account for chaotic systems, in which small variations in initial conditions can potentially change the entire outcome of the system. This applies to sports, life, the weather, etc.

see also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos_theory

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[–] nvt95 18 years ago

jmcclincy: Ye, for example: http://tennistipsters.com/

You can check their yield (how they're doing over the long term), and if u follow all of their bets u make the same win. Takes time, discipline. but earns money (minus the fee for the tipsters).

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[–] hotfriend1 18 years ago

"Why the hell is gambling illegal in America anyway?"

For the same reason that prostitution is illegal. America is a highly moral nation, in case you haven't noticed!! And we must be protected from our "baser instincts." Hallelujah, brother.

:-)

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[–] abaltazar072580 18 years ago

"I would hate to live in America where gambling is illegal in most places. I live in Ireland and gambling is legal and is so easy to do. For example I am a huge Darts fan and when darts is being shown live on Sky Sports you can actually bet on the games by using your remote control!! You dont need the net or a bookies to do it.
Why the hell is gambling illegal in America anyway?"

Because our wonderful government doesn't get a piece of the pie. If our government can't stick their greedy little fingers in it, then it is automatically illegal. Hell, they even get like 20% of the money from your will when you die, money intended for your relatives.

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[–] Dangerous-Dave 18 years ago

Because our wonderful government doesn't get a piece of the pie

I live in Australia where gambling is legal and common, and I can assure you the government makes a great deal of money from gambling. Ever heard of taxation?

---
Opinions are like ar$eholes - everybody has one.

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[–] El_Sueco 16 years ago

Here in Sweden, the government has a monopoly on gambling. It's slowly being eroded by on-line gambling, but evidently it's still a pretty big cash-cow. They have also monopolized the sale of alcohol (in retail that is). Even bigger cash-cow.

Pojkar vill - killar kan.

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[–] 16 years ago

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[–] JVP31 17 years ago

you can also bet on the money-line. it's also betting on which team will win but with the money-line you're not betting on any kind of point spread. you're just straight up picking who's going to win. now, if you're betting on the favorite in a highly uneven game you're going to have to wager more like $165 to win $100 as opposed to the standard $110, but it can take some of the complication out of things since sports books have pretty good handicappers making their lines for them.

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[–] oversplayer 16 years ago

A few notes about prior posts on this subject:

(1) You cannot bet with Pinnacle anymore if you live in the US. Since Congress passsed that idiotic law, Pinnacle refuses to go through the hassle of dealing with American banks, and you really can't blame them.

(2) Sportsbook.com sucks. Big time. Their odds and point spreads are far worse than Pinnacle's. The only good thing about them is that they offer 5% "juice" on Fridays.

(3) It is enormously difficult to win if you bet frequently. First of all, the 10% "juice" means that, if you bet the same amount on every game, you have to win 53% of your wagers to BREAK EVEN. And secondly, too many obvious bets wind up losing. I am not sure exactly why this happens except that most bettors use simple logic, but illogical things routinely happen in sports.

(4) Gambling and prostitution (and personal use of marijuana) are illegal in (most of) the US because this country is run by the so-called "Religious Right" and other assorted fringe lunatics; and

(5) Yes, it would be wonderful if we legalized gambling here and taxed the profits. That way we would have that much more money we could use to wage gratutitous wars, refund tax payments to the very rich, and give more tax breaks to the big corporations.

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[–] corndoggiz 16 years ago

Oversplayer: In regards to your point #2 how can Sportsbook.com have terrible spreads? If you think a spread is terrible, it can be terrible for only one side. That means the other side of the spread must be great. For instance if they are giving a spread of -7 and you think that is way too much, then that means the +7 is a great deal. And if enough people feel the same way, they will bet the same way and move the line.

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[–] echidna69 15 years ago

I believe he was referring to the "spread" in terms of the vig. Sportsbooks vig is much higher than Pinnacle's.

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[–] bocasman 15 years ago

Corndoggiz,
Sportsbook.com is a D rated sportsbook. Many complaints from people trying to withdraw their money.

Here is good website people use to review sportsbooks.

I recommend 5dimes.com. They are a quality book and have been good to me.

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[–] drummsteven23 9 years ago

To be precise, when you are making pointspread and/or game total bets at the standard 10 percent juice (-110), you must win 52.38 percent of your bets to break even. If you win 53 percent and bet the same on all of your wagers, you will earn a small profit. However, it is harder to win more than 52.38 percent of your bets than it sounds. At least 95 percent of sports bettors lose money in the long run. I have won 57.2 percent of the more than 1100 NFL bets that I have made since 2006, so I have made a nice profit.

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[–] 9 years ago

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