What's Going On

Hello.

I love the sports betting industry - it has everything a bettor could possibly want. Shady characters mixed with brilliant minds. Scumbag touts trying to sell you defective products mixed with intriguing individuals that could have used their skills to contribute more to society. Wannabe winners mixed with some of the most financially successful bettors you'll find anywhere in the world. The sports betting industry is a constantly evolving ecosystem, and yet, most of the people involved in the industry are saying and doing the same shit every single day. It's beautiful and mind numbing, all at once.

Our ecosystem, full of terribleness and it's own unique charm, has grown stale. We see and hear the same voices telling us what to watch, how to bet, what we should be focusing on, what tools we should be using, etc. Every piece of content focuses on the same, used up topics. You know why? The dirty little secret in sports betting is that there's just not that much to discuss. 

Are sports bettors in a hurry to give away their edges? No.
Are sports bettors trying to help the competition get better? No.
Are sports bettors the most collaborative group of people? No.
Are sports bettors desperate for more content? Yes!

What do you do if you're in the business of providing sports betting content, don't want to give away your edges, but still have to find a way to provide value to your customers audience? You rehash the same, tired topics over and over. Throw in a CLV debate, speculate on who's a winner and who's not, bitch about the same well-known personalities, rinse and repeat. And at some point, the providers of content realize all they have left is giving out picks, or my personal favorite, leanszzz, for games. Once the sports betting content creators have hit this point, and be assured they will, we're back at square one. 

We all know sports bettors are desperate for more sports betting content. So, I'm starting this blog in the hopes of exploring unique perspectives in the sports betting industry. It's 2023 and we're bringing blogging back. Long-form writing used to be a thing. It feels like so many of us are around the same age and have similar experiences. This might be lost on some of you, but there was a time when Bill Simmons would drop a long-form article on Page 2 of ESPN.com on a Friday, and you were legitimately excited (Yes, Simmons used to be funny and can't miss content. Yes, I know that's weird). It meant escaping from the office cubicle for your morning dump was going to be that much better. You sat there and read the article until your legs went numb, then went back to your desk to see what else you could do to avoid work for another 6 hours. Long-form writing is a lost art and it's time to revisit this outdated medium.

I considered doing a podcast in a similar style to TBWC (The Business We Chose). Phil Shepherd's short lived podcast series felt original and genuine, two qualities most sports betting podcasts seriously lack. However, that seemed like a ton of work and I didn't feel as though I've earned the right to do something like that. Plus, I have a face for radio and a voice for writing, so blogging it is. Maybe a podcast in the future when I want to explore what selling out feels like.

Some things to know about me before moving forward:

  • I am not, have never been, and do not plan to be, a professional sports bettor. I am a sports bettor in my mid thirties, have a family, and have a career that provides me with more than enough satisfaction. Like many of you, sports betting has become far more than a hobby. I easily out earn my day job (not that hard to do), but my day job gives me purpose. I'm not one of those people who believes you need to be out contributing to the greater good for your life to have meaning, but my job makes me feel like I'm giving something back. I truly believe it's what I was put on this earth to do. Of course, the thought of quitting my job and betting on sports has crossed my mind. The temptation of working your own schedule, every day of the week, will always seem appealing. But I've settled on knowing it's always a fallback option, and that's good enough for me.
  • My betting consists of originating small markets, moving for others, and the occasional pick of an off-market number. I do not believe I can beat major market sides and totals, and I'll never spend the time to even attempt beating these markets. I'm perfectly content with what I bet on, how I bet on it, and who I work with. Also, I want to make it clear that any success I have is more of a result of the impact others have had on me than anything I've done for myself. I would not have reached the point I'm at without some extremely helpful and patient partners.
  • I continuously feel like I'm in this weird middle ground where I'm sharp enough to know what's going on when it comes to sports betting, but nowhere close to the "inner circle" of sports bettors. I'm that stupid kind of dangerous where I know enough to write intelligently, but inexperienced enough to not realize when I missed something sharps would have picked up on quicker. I still ask tons of stupid questions, but I think I've proven myself to some of the more well-known individuals in sports betting that they respect some of my knowledge. While it's somewhat of a weird spot to be in, I believe it will benefit my writing as so many of you feel like you're in the same spot. People like us listen to the pros' perspectives and love hearing some of it, but also feel like it's just not relatable as we aren't full-timers. I want to speak to and connect with more of the "middle ground" sports bettors like myself.
  • My entire experience of producing sports betting content consists of two articles written for The Hammer and a podcast appearance on Circles Off (Episode 74). The Hammer had what appears to be a very short-lived "community creators" section where you could contribute writing samples. I very much enjoyed the writing process and have felt the itch to get back into it. I'll post or link the articles on here at some point - I think it was decent work. My podcast appearance was the first ever episode of Circles Off sponsored by Pinnacle. How the show is still sponsored by Pinnacle after that episode is a mystery to you and me.
  • I'm going to write for my intended audience - experienced sports bettors. I don't plan on providing explanations for topics I cover and will assume the reader is well-versed in all things sport betting related. Novices will eventually figure it out or leave. What I realized after attending Bet Bash is how small the "sharp" sports betting community is. Before you rip your jokes, yes, I understand that Bet Bash isn't full of the sharpest sports bettors known to man. But it was eye-opening realizing how few people actually understand even beginner-level sports betting concepts.
  • There will be times when my writing seems mean-spirited. That makes sense, because I can be mean-spirited. There will be times when my writing feels too targeted. That makes sense, because I plan to target some of the bullshit I see. There will be times where you feel like I missed the mark on a topic. That makes sense, because I don't always get things right. I'll be writing as if my voice is the authority on the subject, while also understanding I'm nowhere close to the top of the food chain. It feels like a logical way to go about this.
  • Above anything else, my priority is to be authentic. There's nothing I enjoy more than when I listen or read something in the sports betting space that was delivered by someone being truly authentic. It comes across differently and it resonates with me. I will be holding myself to the same standard as I hold others to when it comes to authenticity. 
I plan to write maybe 1-2 posts per week, depending on how much there is to talk about. I would like many of my posts to be evergreen and revisited some time down the line for a good laugh or in order for someone to "get me" on something stupid I wrote. Additionally, I would like to bring in the occasional ghost writer to mix up the voice and continue to deliver a variety of viewpoints. However, their writing would have to not suck as determined by yours truly. 

I look forward to entertaining readers and exploring the lesser-seen aspects of the sports betting industry together. 

Ferris
@FerrisB_86

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