Hello to one and all. I am an experienced sports bettor who has achieved some nice success. I want to learn to play poker well. Well, really I already know how to play well. I just need to learn not to play when drinking. Anyway, I thought I'd start this challenge and let you guys tag along for the ride. It should be fun.

I am currently on Bookmaker. I will be switching over to Bovada when I make the first $1,000. Won $5.45 cashing in freerolls. So really this challenge started at $0.

Anyway, it is NBA Playoffs time, and that means easy money is there for the taking. I will probably run my roll up to at least $20 before I start playing poker. I am more of a spread player, but have to protect the bankroll with easy ML favorites for a while.

First Pick:

Game 1 Bulls -385 (Bookmaker is a bitch on the ML favorites)

$5.45 to win $1.42

Good luck and patience is your virtue here.

Thank you. I agree completely about the importance of patience. I think it is the most valuable asset a sports bettor can have. It is pretty high up the list for poker players as well.

Game 1 Boston v. Cleveland

Prop Bet: 1st Half Cleveland/Full Game Cleveland -300

Risk 6.87 to win 2.29

Game 2 Bucks v. Bulls

Chicago -355

Risk 9.16 to win 2.58

Almost played some poker tonight, but laid off due to alcohol and cannabis consumption. Happy 4/20, Everyone!



Celtics at Cavs Game 2

Cleveland -754

Risk $11.73 to win $1.56

Took fifth in a freeroll yesterday for 95 cents.

BR = $14.25

Spurs v. Clippers Game 2

Spurs -105

Risk $3.15 to win $3.00

I'm not really feeling any of the NBA games today. Decided to start the poker a little earlier than planned. BR is at $17.25. Transferred $4.25 to poker to see what I can do.



I won a few more small pots and then left the table when the blinds came to me per the Jesus BR management strategy. Does everyone agree this is a good idea? Or should I just play the big stack when I am running and playing well?

Also, I am going to need to learn to play 6-handed as the challenge moves along. Any tips for a guy who has mainly played FR, SNG and MTT to make this transition? Good learning resources for the game would be appreciated.

If anyone could give me opinions on this hand, I would appreciate it.





Is this bet preflop okay? In hindsight, I think I should have just checked on the perfect flop, but I thought that at least one of them would think I was just putting up a continuation bet.

Rough way to end the night. First this:



Then this on the very next hand:



I really hate that call on the river. I almost checked it, and I really think I should have check/folded. Any opinions? I think the very slight tilt of the calling station rivering a split in the previous hand led me to the river call.

Still, the first day of poker was a success. BR = $20.45

Mavericks PK Risk 1.10 to win 1.00
Royals -104 Risk 1.04 to win 1.00

What you think is more +EV? Poker or sportsbetting?

That is a good question. I think there is no straight answer. It depends on the person. For me, sports betting offers more +EV since I am much better at it. With a smaller bankroll, I think poker may be more +EV for most people. Since people play so poorly at the lower levels, it is easy to make bank against them. However, once the bankroll grows to a sizable amount, I think sports betting starts to become more +EV. After all, it doesn't get any harder to pick winners as you move up the ladder sports betting. However, it becomes much more difficult to outplay thinking opponents as you move up the poker ladder.

Two other things to consider are swings and lifestyle. I can pick out my sports betting plays most days with 30 minutes or an hour of research. An hour or two of poker a day won't cut it for a pro. The swings of poker can be much more brutal than sports betting too in my opinion. That is added stress that offers -EV for your overall well-being.

SB not so good: -$1.10
Poker better at +$3.36

BR is at $22.81

MLB Cards -160 Risk $3.20 to win $2.00

2H Bulls -3 Risk $1.10 to win $1.00

SB +.90
Poker +4.47

BR is now at $28.18

Cavs v. Celts Game 4

Cleveland -330

Risk 6.60 to win 2.00

SB +2.00
Poker +5.81

BR is at 33.99

Tigers -160

Risk 3.20 to win 2.00

Accidental repost. Here is a threadsaver instead.

Rough day at the tables yesterday. I really only played poorly in one hand, I think. The rest was Suckout City and Cooler Town.

Poker: -3.04
SB: +2.00

BR = 32.95

Game 5 Mavs v. Rockets

Houston -300

Risk 6.00 to win 2.00

Good luck will be following!
I think with your AA hand you could have check called the turn and then check folded river

Any tips for Bulls vs Cavs series? Do you think that Cavs will win without KLove now?

Thank you for the feedback. I definitely agree with the check/fold on the river, but I still like my bet on the turn. It seems that a large percentage of the players at this level will call a flop bet and then fold to a turn bet.

Let me put it this way. The Bulls have to get past the Bucks first. I don't think a team that is struggling with a putrid offensive team like the Bucks can handle LeBron and Irving. I just hope Love is back to 100 percent by the time the Cavs get to the Finals. That really was a bush league play by Olynyk. He deserved a lot more than a one-game suspension for that arm bar. With Love at 100 percent, I think this is the best team that LeBron has ever been on. Should be an epic final between whomever survives the West gauntlet and the Cavs if Love can come back and play like he was before the injury.

Sports Betting noob here!

Is it really possible to beat the bookmakers in sports betting when you take into account how much they ''fix ''the odds in their favour.

Asides from having an incredibly strong knowledge on your sport of choice and bonus whoring, what other things can you do to give yourself an edge over the bookmakers?

Absolutely. Although the book has an advantage over players with the juice, smart players have a HUGE advantage over the books that allows them to win over time. The books have to put out a line on every single contest, and they often put out lots of props as well. Players only have to bet when they see a line they like. If you have the patience to wait for the lines you like and the discipline to practice money management, there is no reason that anyone can't win at sports betting. The problem is that the vast majority of players do not have the discipline, money management and patience it takes to avoid tilting and chasing their losses when the inevitable bad streaks hit.

Still experiencing a little runbad, but definitely had some spew yesterday at the tables as well. Need to focus on making the +EV decision every single time. Managed to eke out a small profit.

SB: +2.00
Poker: +0.27

BR: 35.22

Blazers v. Grizz Game 5

Memphis -215 Risk 2.15 to win 1.00

this is going to be pretty sick if you run up this 5.45 man, been following and wishing you the best

Got back from the gym with Chelsea down 1 at halftime to Leicester. Couldn't get the ML bet in on them before they scored the goal. Took them anyway for:

Chelsea to score next goal -118 Risk 1.18 to win 1.00