Every week, I pony up to the window with my $20 parlays and $33 win bets. I don’t have much of a bankroll to wager with, but I more than relish in the action. Part of it is just beating the bookie, being the smart guy and bragging that “I had that winner”.  Oh Yeah, and part of it is, every once in awhile, getting a payout. This football season, I will be chronicling my efforts to beat the bookie and cash some tickets. Last week was particularly rough as winners were hard to come by for me

The first week of the NFL season is usually a tough one for me and a lot of guys. I guess I could do more research, watch more ESPN or at least listen to my friends who fire up sports talk radio everyday. But, I put in my plays with my usual research of hunches, teams that have cashed in the past and the Statfox power ratings and matchups in Week 1, just like every other week of the season. The biggest difference with Week 1 this year is that I watched very few games in the preseason and didn’t have a lot of first-hand knowledge to go on with current players, teams and coaches.

I had a bunch of stuff to do (mostly ordered by the wife, who knows that in the coming weeks I will only be found on the couch), so I missed watching most of the day games. But I did place a couple of wagers. Typically, I will play a couple of straight bets and one 2 or 3 team parlay and maybe a teaser. The teasers did well for me last year, but often I find that my picks do not need the points, win or lose.

Early on I had the Patriots (-5) and put in a parlay with the Colts (-2) and the Under in the Packers/Eagles matchup. I can’t stand the whole Batman and Robin thing going on in Cincy and certainly did not believe the hype that they are going to be a stallion for covering this year.  Chalk one up for me! But, I heard the talking ESPN heads tell me how great the Texans are going to be this year. Most times I ignore those guys. In addition, I should have checked the preseason, I found out a little late that the Colts did not win a pre-season game and looked awful doing so. So, after the early games, I was still up $10, winning $30 on the Pats and losing $20 on my parlay.

Then it went downhill.

I took the ‘Boys, again ignoring the fact the they sucked in the preseason too. I was able to watch this entire game and was glued to the TV as Romo brought the team down to tie or go ahead. A TD and extra point would make for a loser, but I had hope . . . hope that was squashed by a penalty. Another loser. Total for the day – down $12 after wagering $22 on Dallas.

Monday night is what really took a toll on the bankroll.  I loved the Ravens, but like a fool, I did not bet them straight. I put them in two 2-team teasers with the late MNF game. Baltimore (+7) with the Chargers (+2) and plus 7.5 with over 38.5 (6.5 point teaser). The Chargers lost outright killing one play. Still, I figured in the first half of the late game, I had the over, so it was OK the Chargers were getting smoked. At least I would cash one teaser easily with 28 points scored so early. Then the rain came. And my over play went away. Like my bankroll. And, I didn’t need the teaser points with either play. Arghhh.

After the weekend, I ended up down $36.50. A poor showing to say the least, but at least not a killer. I’ve still got some dough and Sunday is just a few days away. I already jumped on the Pack when the line went down to -12.5 for $33 to win $30. And, after doing a bit of my Statfox research,  I just put in Under 40 on the Ravens/Cincinnati game as one of my bigger plays with a $44 investment. Hopefully, these bets won’t disappoint. I may add in a college play or two on Saturday, now that we have seen the teams a couple of times.

Check back with next week’s Confessions mid-week. Good Luck to all of us this weekend

Billy