How to begin:)   I have had an online presence sharing my knowledge and plays for 20+ years now. And while many that do this are in hiding trying to avoid their previous subscribers, I am very proud to say I have had subscribers since day 1 over 20 years ago.

That is a testament to their perseverance, their love of sports, and their recognition that sports wagering requires many skills. The have learned that you cannot avoid variance but you have to welcome and respect it. If you do not, you will fall into the 99% who go dusted many times, over and over.

My path has been like most in this endeavor. You start out as a public bettor. You pour over statistics only to find time and again, no matter what you do, the end result is the same. Losses year after year.

For me, a light went off years ago, that there is a better way to handicap sports. With that in mind, let me give you some of my guidelines that I use:

1. There is an inverse relationship between how good a wager looks and how good it actually is. (looking at the wager from a public bettors perspective)
2. If you do not respect and understand variance , you will lose. It is that simple
3. Do not wager on anything unless you believe you have a positive EV.  Wagering for fun is only fun for the bookies and the person who your betting with. It is never fun to consistently lose money.
4. Sports handicapping can be a positive EV, but only if you have the knowledge, discipline and temperament for it.
5. Set aside a bankroll that is of a size that if you lost it all it would cause you no concern. Except perhaps from an intellectual view. The wager 1 to 2 % of that on each wager. Everyone will have a different risk tolerance, so make your decision wisely.
6. If you have not gotten your “tilt” tendencies under control, just take a pass on wagering on anything.  You cannot win if you tilt. Everyone that is drawn to this past time has this tendency built into their psyche. It is only those that recognize it and successfully control it that have a chance to succeed.

There are of course others, but off the top of my head, these came to mind.

Now lets move on to some recent results:

The 2022/23 NFL season has been perhaps the best season I have had ever in handicapping the NFL. It for some reason has been my easist sport to handicap. Most likely because my methods that incorporate contrarian public wagering fits the NFL more than many other sports.

This season in the NFL:

The plays I sent out to subscriber in the NFL this season were 25-7-1. That is a 78.125% win rate with an ROI of 54.06%

If I saw a sports handicapping service advertising these results my immediate reaction would be to stay away from them:)  As no one hits over 78% in the NFL for the season. But these plays we all posted and sent to subscribers. So I can attest they are accurate numbers.

I was also in a contest where you pick 5 games against the spread each week. Final result was 55-32-3  63.21%  This was in the MyBookie contest where thousand of contestants entered. I cashed in that contest.

The other contest I was in was one where you pick every game against the spread:

I ended up 152-119   56.08% and just missed cashing in that contest. 1/2 pt out of cashing.

And then post season in the NFL I went 1-0 on sides and 0-1 on totals.

I will tell you I surprised my self this season:)

Onto College hoops:

Season to date on Sides we are at 65/57-2, Totals 6-0

Combined season to date  71-57-2   55.46%   6.48% ROI

While not near the record in the NFL, A solid season in College hoops.

With that in mind, March Madness is upon us. Not would be a reasonable time to jump on board at least through the end of the tournament.  All subscriptions can be made at Rickjshandicappingpicks.com under the PayPal dropdown menu. Or if you like you can send a one time payment of $37.75 which is a prorata rate for the final 3 weeks of College hoops. That will take you up to the Championship game on April 3rd.

You can use this special link:  https://py.pl/Da8yL

Finally we have MLB starting 3/30th.

Here are the results from last season:

Overnight sides:  132-141   +16.44  with an ROI of 7.23%  The top to bottom swing on sides was from -4.5 to +24.0 units

Overnight Totals  30-42-1   -14.20    top to bottom swing  -15 to even. We were never in the plus side on these

Regular plays:

Sides 1-4  -2.42

Totals 0-2  -2.30

This season is going to be restricted to primarily overnight sides. These are plays that are put out the evening before the next days games. It is the one wager that has been consistently producing profits year after year since I started handicapping them.

On thing I keep a close track of is the line I wagered compared to the line at game time.  We beat the closing line 181-64-14 . That is 73.8% better than the closing line on every overnight side I wagered on.  We beat the line by an average of 5.17. This is the smallest number since I have been putting these out. Typically it is between 10 and 15. But even with only beating the closing line by 5.17 we ended up with a profit of 16.44 units when the smoke cleared.

This is the niche I am going with for the upcoming MLB season. So it will require you to have outs that put out the overnight line. Ideally it will be a 10c line. But with overnights they are not that easy find. 20c is fine as long as you are close to the number I put out. These are numbers that I have wagered on shortly before sending out the plays. So they are out there.

Some important goals in finding outs is that you want to have books that put them out early. The earlier the better. Next you want to strive to have at least two outs, 3 or 4 is better.

In money line sports, the price you obtain may well determine your end result. It is not like spread betting where you have some leeway if the lines are not around key numbers. But in money line sports it is all about value.

A final reminder that Predictit.org is no longer a viable option for wagering.  They have been in litigation, and last I heard the outcome is undecided. This revolves around DFTC attempting to shut the site down. They still put up lines, but I would suggest to everyone that the risks of sending them money in order to wager are much too high at the moment.

I hope you have enjoyed this long due update.  As always if anyone has any questions or comments I can be reached via email riccja3@gmail.com. That is usually the best way to reach me. Unless you are a subscriber. Then I am on slack every day.

Good luck in all your handicapping endeavors.  Lets have a great March Madness 3 weeks.  And remember you can sign up for the march madness via a pro rata charge of 37.75 at this link:  https://py.pl/Da8yL

RickJ

RickJ’s Handicapping Picks

rickjshandicappingpicks.com

2022 Season
Plays
Wk 1      3-0
Wk 2      2-0
Wk 3      2-1
Wk 4      1-1-1
Wk 5      3-0
Wk 6      2-1
Wk 7      1-0
Wk 8       1-1
Wk 9       1-0
Wk 10    2-1
Wk 11    1-0
Wk 12    2-0
Wk 13   1-0
Wk 14    1-0
Wk 15    1-1
Wk 16    0-1

Combined Side Plays       24-7-1  77.41%

PIck 5 contest:

Wk 1       4-1
Wk 2       4-1
Wk 3       3-2
Wk 4       1-2-2
Wk 5       4-1
Wk 6       3-2
Wk 7       4-1
Wk 8       3-2
Wk 9       2-2-1
Wk 10     4-1
Wk 11     2-3
Wk  12     2-3
Wk 13      2-3
Wk 14     4-1
Wk 15      3-2
Wk 16      4-1

Combined Side Plays     49-28-3   63.63%

All spread picks contest:

Wk 1          10-6
Wk 2           10-6
Wk 3            8-8
Wk 4            6-10
Wk 5           10-6
Wk 6            8 -6
Wk 7           9-5
Wk 8           9-6
Wk 9            6-7
Wk 10         9-5
Wk 11         9-5
Wk 12         9-7
Wk 13         7-8
Wk 14        8-5
Wk 15       10-6
Wk 16       8-7

Combined  All spread picks 136-103   56.90%

Rolling along in the top 5 contest with a 4-1 week. Of course the one I lost was a play:(  

But 63.63% is a great number. 

Would I have gotten that number in the Westgate Contest?  No.  My ability to change my picks on Sunday morning is worth  about 3 to 5 wins I would not have had in the Westgate.  But I still might have  cashed this year.

The contest I am in has thousands of entrants. I sit at tied for 48th  with  two weeks left. They pay the top 10,  My score there is 50.5. 10th is 53, while 1st is 57. With  two weeks left I have a shot at the top 10 if I can keep up the 4-1 pace. In the All spread contest I sit all by myself in 4th place. at 136-103.  First is 141, Second 140 and 3rd 137.

There   are 127 entrants in this contest. Considering you pick every game against the spread 1st is  obtainable with a  solid run the last two weeks.

Now, These results are substantially better then the past years. 

I attribute that  to a change I have made in my handicapping methods on all sports.  My  models have become better then they have ever been by a long way.

In addition, I have added several more variables to my bag of tricks. They come into play quite often in the NFL.  Other sports not so much. Not only do these flag games to pick, but they also exclude games to stay away from. 

That is why     you are seeing so few picks in the other sports. 

But I assure you I am handicapping every game in every  sport, even the NHL.

There is not supposed to be a lot of picks.  But my purpose is at the end of the year to have a plus year. And each year I improve on the year before with my methods.

Since day 1 the NFL has always been the easiest for me to handicap. The volume is  crazy high, the public goes all in on these games, so no where is the public tracks more visible and reliable. 

When you go to the other sports, typically you do not have the volume to work with. Nor the high public interest.

But that does not mean you cannot find a way to profit.

For instance, next season, in MLB, we will stick to overnight sides.

The totals let us down this season , so I am going to take another look at them. But the overnight sides have been profitable since I introduced them.

With a little tweaking we  had a banner year last season producing something like +16.4 units. 

Not many  handicappers can do that in MLB. 

We found our niche:)

In college hoops I expect a winning year. Not many plays, but right now we are  + around  4.5 Units.  I will bring that up to date today

In the NBA  we are at 2-0        +2 Units. 

This reflects my  additional variables and models. A lot less plays

In the NHL we have not had a play yet.  Like baseball the day of the game plays tend to be break even at best. You have to get a jump on the money line with overnight plays in these money line games. I am working on that this season, 

I expect to roll that out soon. 

That is my breakdown as we approach year end. 

My goal for 2023 is to pick up 40+ units for the year.  Lets see how close I get:)

Wish you all a great New Year!

RickJ

RickJ’s Handicapping Picks

https://rickjshandicappingpicks.com