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Better than 99 percent of America!

Haven’t done this well at anything since 3rd grade spelling

by , Feb 2, 2009 | 10:01 am

Comments (10)

Though I’m not yet ready to declare football the new poker — or sports wagering for that matter — it is now safe to tell you about my dominance in something called U Pick’em.

You may recall a post a while back about the heated non-poker competition in the Michalski family, where I was proving my prowess as a no-spread football picker. Of course in the week right after that post, I totally tanked — dropping dramatically on the family leaderboard and several percentage points nationwide.

But as in poker and life, you’ve gotta play 60 minutes of football! … And with that (as well as the knowledge that I probably shouldn’t post about my non-poker greatness) I clawed my way back to the top. With a last-minute switch to the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday, my end results for the 2008 NFL season:

Nationwide: 277th out of 145,498
For people playing through the LVRJ: 33rd out of 9,727
Michalski family: Tied for 1st out of 13

Total winners picked: 176 out of 266 (66 %)

So clearly, I need to develop a sports-betting habit in 2009 to make up for all my rivers that don’t hit in poker.


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10 Comments to “Better than 99 percent of America!”


  1. Brent     says:
    February 2nd, 2009 at 11:38am

    You should boycott the NFL as they are one of the prime opponents of online gaming and poker in particular.


  2. Uncle Ray     says:
    February 3rd, 2009 at 8:05am

    Congrats, Dan, but do you think it might have been a down year for the family? After all, I finished 3rd. The last time I finished 3rd was at the ballpark between innings when you predict which slice of pizza wins the race around the bases. (My pick finished 3rd, but there were only 3 slices to choose from).

    On the upside, Dawn and Luke won the Vegas one week, and we had 13 players in our group, which is as large as we have had. I’m looking forward to the NCAA basketball tournament rematch.


  3. DanM     says:
    February 4th, 2009 at 1:01am

    Brent, I’m not much of a boycotter.

    There was a time when big-time Nevada casinos were fighting against online poker. We didn’t stop going to their poker rooms, did we?

    In Texas, the Oklahoma poker rooms are fighting against legal poker elsewhere. Should players stop playing there?

    UR, I pick basketball teams by uniform match-ups, so you don’t stand a chance.


  4. on tilt     says:
    February 5th, 2009 at 9:14am

    congrats on your picks. unfortunately, they don’t let you bet without a spread or ML…unless you have a willing family member who always thinks the dogs will win.

    for the sake of comparison, try it again next season against the spread and see how it works out.


  5. DanM     says:
    February 5th, 2009 at 10:45am

    I definitely recognize there’s a big difference. But c’mon, can’t I feel at least a little good outplaying 145,000 people at anything?

    Studying spreads requires too much money and thinking.


  6. Brent     says:
    February 5th, 2009 at 12:25pm

    Let me also add my congratulations on your achievement. I don’t bet sports, but I recognize the skill of handicapping.

    There are some Las Vegas casinos that are more interested in supporting online gaming than others. We should make that known.

    I remember back in the day before widespread non-Vegas gaming that similar arguments about splitting the gaming pie were advanced. However, expanded gaming simply expanded the market. The legal and regulated market is larger now than it has been in modern times.

    The NFL goes out of its way to attack online gaming. While we both know that they are hypocrites when it comes to fantasy sports vs. gaming, they get a free ride. What sort of action is appropriate to counter the foes of online poker? In the words of Bobby Knight, should we just relax and enjoy their continued attacks?


  7. on tilt     says:
    February 5th, 2009 at 3:26pm

    I definitely recognize there’s a big difference. But c’mon, can’t I feel at least a little good outplaying 145,000 people at anything?

    Studying spreads requires too much money and thinking.

    I will definitely give you props, since you bested many thousands of others. You earned your moment. I didn’t mean to diminish that.

    I will make an offer sporting offer to you(and you alone).

    Next season, we’ll both pick against the spread for all regular season NFL games. Loser has to buy in the winner into next year’s million dollar guarantee during the FTOPS. $200+16. I’m sure it will be the same next year.

    I’m not calling you out. I just like friendly wagers that have a little substance to them.

    Let me know


  8. DanM     says:
    February 5th, 2009 at 3:29pm

    OK, I might actually be up for that.

    Are you interested in betting soccer, too? I’ve been practicing with pretend bets. Currently I am down about a pretend $300.


  9. on tilt     says:
    February 5th, 2009 at 9:12pm

    Although I loved soccer in my younger and more athletic years, these days I know as much about soccer as I know about Ukrainian Curling Team.


  10. DanM     says:
    February 5th, 2009 at 9:18pm

    Yeah, I hear ya. The Ukrainians are nothing since losing their star sweeper to the Azerbaijanis.

    Be sure to remind me again about our wager before the next NFL season gets underway. I’m up for it.