Nick Douglas

Nick Douglas & Chioma

EMAIL NICK HERE

CURRENT RECORD

Thursday, March 25, 2004

This Week’s Record: 0-3, -320

Wagering System: Most plays are to risk 220 or 110, with a maximum risk of 500 most days. You can adjust that number according to your bankroll. My goal is to make 500 per week.

TODAY’S UPDATE:

Obviously my poor record this week and in the last five and a half weeks is hard to ignore. Every handicapper goes through hot and cold stretches, but admittedly a string of five consecutive losing weeks is more than most people experience. There is still plenty of time this week to reverse those numbers and post a winning record this week, so I’ll refrain from chalking up the last week of March as another in the red. Still, the results seem disastrous on the surface.

This cold run prompted me to look back at my plays to assess the damage. As many people know, the actual amount of my wagers is larger than the numbers posted here. This page is more of a guide for an average size bettor -- one who can afford a $500 daily exposure limit. My real world losses have been greater. It did cause me some concern to look back at the numbers, but ultimately, it is a number that can be recovered from. Right now I am down approximately 12 units (the equivalent of a $220 bet on this page is one unit) during this run. Obviously this is unforntunate, but I find the best way to overcome obstacles is with strong planning. Here, then, is my plan for erasing the losses accrued during this slide:

1) I will limit myself to handicapping one sport per day. With the NHL, NBA and MLB starting up sometimes the workload can be overwhelming. Sticking to possible wagers in only one sport should streamline the wagering choices and make it easier for me to find beatable lines.

2) I will look to make 2-3 units (440 to 660 on this page) per week. Once I hit that goal, I will stop for the week.

3) Two out of three weeks will be winning weeks. This means that if win and loss amounts in each week are approximately the same, every three weeks I will have a 2-3 unit profit even accounting for a reasonable number of losing weeks.

4) I will play no more than 3 plays per day, and all plays will be made at one time. No adding on of late “action” plays.

With these rules, within three months I hope to have erased the losses from the past five and a half weeks. Obviously this begs the question, “How can you justify taking twice as long to make back what you’ve lost?” The answer is that patience must be a part of any handicapper’s strategy. If you hope to make back your money as quickly as you’ve lost it, you are likely to dig yourself an even greater hole by betting recklessly.

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3/25 NHL Plays:

3/25 NBA Plays:

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THE ESSENTIALS

Here are some good pieces of advice I’ve learned over the years when it comes to handicapping.

1) TRACK ALL WAGERS. Track the following categories at a bare minimum: wager, spread, line, sport, sportsbook, risk amount, win amount, result, cumulative bankroll.

2) DON’T CHASE LOSSES. Do not make additional wagers just because you lost money recently.

3) DON’T BET FOR ACTION. Bet only when you find a legitimate reason why it is a strong wager.

4) OBEY YOUR RULES. Whether you set your rules as a daily exposure limit, a daily number of plays or a maximum wager amount, you must obey the rules you initially set for yourself when determining your goals.

5) SET GOALS. Using your wagering style and available funds, determine realistic goals for your wagering profit.

6) KEEP YOUR ACCOUNTS SMALL. Only deposit what you need for one bet or one day’s bets at a book. There is no need to keep more money offshore than is absolutely necessary. Having to pay more deposit or withdrawl fees is sometimes an unfortunate side effect of this but in the long run it is worth it if a book goes under or you start betting on tilt.

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WEEKLY RESULTS (Starting September, 2003)

Week 1: 6-4, +200

Week 2: 4-12, -827

Week 3: 0-0, +0

Week 4: 0-0, +0

Week 5: 0-0, +0

Week 6: 6-4, +435

Week 7: 2-3-1, -270

Week 8: 0-0, +0

Week 9: 0-2, -414

Week 10: 1-0, +200

Week 11: 4-0, +657

Week 12: 0-1, -192

Week 13: 4-3, +126

Week 14: 3-4-1, -483

Week 15: 0-0, +0

Week 16: 0-0, +0

Week 17: 0-0, +0

Week 18: 0-0, +0

***2004***

Week 19: 0-2-2, -300

Week 20: 5-4, +150

Week 21: 3-1, +247

Week 22: 4-4, -388

Week 23: 5-2, +571

Week 24: 5-4, +127

Week 25: 4-0-1, +800

Week 26: 3-3, -6

Week 27: 0-3, -660

Week 28: 1-4, -646

Week 29: 4-5-3, -420

Week 30: 0-1, -219

Week 31: Current

Total: 65-65-7, -1312

2004: 34-33-6, -744

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PAST PERFORMANCE: (In September, 2003, I started tracking weekly results rather than splitting up my results sport by sport. Anything starting in Week 6 [2nd week of October, 2003] is not included with these results.)

Final 2003 MLB Record: 49-80, -3327

Current Bundesliga Record: 1-1, -6

Current Premier League Record, 1-1, +29

Final 2003 NCAA Football Record: 1-1, -150

Final 2003 NFL Record: 1-4, -267

Final 2002-2003 Soccer Record: 2-9, -700

Final 2002-2003 NBA Record: 14-28, -1385

Final 2002-2003 NHL Record: 36-50, -1026

Final 2002 NFL Record: 24-36-1, -1290

Final 2002 MLB Record: 126-152, -4014

Final 2002 NFLX Record: 2-3, -480

Final 2002 World Cup Record: 1-8, -1370

Final 2001-2002 NHL Record: 89-106, +1857

Final 2001-2002 NBA Record: 67-81, +5469

Final 2001-2002 UEFA Champions League Record: 3-6, +175

Final 2001 NFL Record: 51-44, +773

Final 2001 NFLX Record: 5-6, -315

Final 2001 MLB Record: 145-165, +3946