Some female called me a SQUARE because I bet more small chalk then I play dogs, and because I have been winning for many years doing this, in 3 different sports, so I must be a Square.....I have to say, that maybe she is right.
I think I have found a bit to much success doing what I do to be considered SHARP by any means, anyways....LOL.
Anyways, my opinion when it comes to this issue, is that I dont care what I am Sharp or Square,....as long as I come out ahead of the game, small or large, is all that matters to me.....When I cap a game out, hitting as much angles, addressing as much situations, crunching as much numbers as I can, then factoring in the number put out,....and only after I am done with all this shit, and my brain is about to explode, althewhile trying to keep an open mind towards both the dog and the favs, and not just trying to justify playing a dog or a fav, but simply to letting the advantages and disadvantages listed for each team to determine what is a better call for me, ONLY then will I play it. The more advantages to disadvantages, the higher the value play it will be for me. Plus, the advantages on a side have to be strong ones and be overwhelming against the other, for it to even be a play for me.....This intense work, the Square player, I feel will not venture in to, all the time.....Like they say, what you put in is what you get out....and that to me is one determinant of a Square vs a Sharp or Smart Player...
I have been playing more small favs lately, as I think this type of game is at an almost even terms between the teams which the books feel that the public or people in general will see as a good match or even match and hence such a small number.......After I do all my capping, I will just simply come out and follow the side that, like I mentioned have the majority of the advantages over the other....Ironically, it has been mostly the small chalks which I have found to have the advantages......I think that to just simply play all dogs or majority of dogs may be something that a Square or person who is trying to beat the house based on non-handicapping techniques is just trying to do...and that to me is square and not smart.....A Sharp or Smart Capper will know how to back up and find these advantages that justify and support his decision to play a certain game.....The Square will not go to the extreme or put in all their efforts to do this, but mainly justify their play on public info or obvious facts, instead of looking for more of that hidden facts or intangibles to support or be in addition to the obvious ones as well......A Sharp or Smart player looks for the not so obvious things, mainly done through hard work and research, and not just on public information given through newspaper articles or TV commentators.......
I feel, that a Sharp person or a smart sports investor will also handicap to find advantages, which will also eliminate their chance for risk as much as possible....He will let this work in capping a matchup fully to determine what it is that will bring him confidence in the game and his selection....But, you also need to have what I like to call a feel for the game as well.....This feel is almost like an instinctive type of feel which you are able to simply have, which will lead you hopefully in the direction of the best play. It will also allow one to pick up and insightfully see the majority of the advantages one team may have over another, before they even look at the stats or information, etc......It is like your in the groove, the loop, the zone, so to speak, where you are so immersed in what is going on in a particular sport that the best plays come to you almost naturally. Of course this by no means will guarantee anyone success alone, but like I mentioned it could lead you into the right direction for the majority of the time......A perfect example of this groove can be seen in the lack of immediate success when a Capper now ventures into another sport...This slow start is primarily because they arent quite yet in that groove of this particular sport, its teams, its players, its situations, etc, which are continually occurring and changing, as they try to adjust or get a feel for......Then later, as the Smart players gets more information and more insightful on the current sport they are now capping, the good ones are then able to simply allow themselves to get into this groove(zone), giving them the better chance at hitting a higher percentage of their games.
Now to me a person who is able to do this is one who I call Sharp, because he knows what is going on and what it is that will eventually happen. He also knows how to stay focused and confident in his abilities and knows what he needs to do to synergize himself into what is happening.....The Square to me is unaware of this groove or the importance of getting into it....They constantly are fighting this movement into the groove of the sport, by allowing himself or herself to be affected mentally by what is happening outside of the game itself.....This person who gets influenced or allows outside influences, which sometime is an influence that is due to their own negative thinking, to affect them, will never be in that area of the groove.....Still, the Square or uneducated player will of course also be unaware that this groove even exist and thus continues to struggle, fight, create negative thinking, buy into false or inaccurate beliefs and ideas that is being thrown at him constantly and mainly from outside influence, which then indirectly and directly causes him to be confused and uncertain, consciously as well as unconsciously......and this confusion and uncertainty is what the books all want you to be in.....Because when confusion and uncertainty exist, bad decision making an impulsive actions will usually occur.....and thus it leads to more loses to the unaware Square player.
Anyway, this type of thing is very hard to explain and I think I may have even screwed up what the hell I am trying to say....Dam I am such a freakin Square ASS. LOL....Anyways, for me it is these simple rules that I will try and follow each time I hit the books to cap a game......That is to be very aware of what is going on from Coaches on down to the Players, and especially the CHEERLEADERS(just kidding).
Always keep an open mind in order to see things that are not visible or readable. Dont buy in so much to what the media is saying. Stay away from uneducated peoples opinions, always remember that what YOU put IN is what YOU get OUT, have fun, keep your emotions in check as best you can, and lastly let my capping abilities and what results come out from it, determine what plays are best to invest in and nothing else. This of course is JMO, TFWIW, but also know that it doesnt explain completely by any means some of the other differences between a Sharp Player and a Square Player........Please carry on, this is a good discussion inwhich to learn a lot of valuable information and insights in being successful at beating the MAN.........Aloha CC.
BTW, I completely agree with what Wilheim stated in his post and feel that he makes very good and important points.
[This message was edited by Co-Captain on April 16, 2004 at 06:19 AM.]
