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BGonline.org Forums
More about Billy Walters
Posted By: Chuck Bower In Response To: Professional Gambler in the limelight (OT) (Stick)
Date: Thursday, 20 January 2011, at 4:12 p.m.
You'll find if you scout around enough online you'll find lines that go both ways where if you bet on both sites you're guaranteed to make money. I've seen this happen for MMA...
I had to look up that initialism ("Mixed Martial Arts" for those like me). With odds bets (also called "moneylines") you can arbitrage ==> lock in a profit. But it's not so easy in American football or basketball, because of the juice built into the numbers combined with wary linesmakers who keep track (reasonably well, either directly or indirectly) with each others' numbers. Most here know that the house edge simply comes from this type of play -- effectively taking a bit from both sides (in the long run).
I don't know that you were implying that Walters makes a significant amount of his profit with arbs/middles/spread-bets or just making a peripheral comment. I doubt this is a major part of his edge, but I'm sure he takes advantage of it when he can.
I suspect many here aren't aware of Michael Konik's book Smart Money. Basically Konik becomes a football bet runner for a major Las Vegas player whom he never identifies. The chances that big player is Walters is very high. It's hard to say if everything in the book is 100% accurate or whether he might be employing a bit of writer's license, but it's a good read, IMO, maybe even for those who don't give a lick about American football. I was a bit surprised the 60 Minutes piece didn't mention that book (or Munchkin's, even). It's not like them to miss such a connection, so maybe they were asked not to??
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