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Over the years, I've made more than my fair share of sportsbetting blunders. On more than one occasion I have bet the wrong side of a game and ended up with a loser instead of a winner. But never in all of my years betting sports have I made an error as bizarre and pathetic as the one I made yesterday. In fact, the error was so disconcerting that if I ever make a similar one again, I'm calling Jack Kevorkian for advice on how to end it all. (I'm hoping he'll recommend a deadly session with sadistic dominatrix Ama Deborah as my means of exit)
Even now, as I attempt to explain what happened, the truth is that clarity relative to my blunder still eludes me. Given that, I'll do my best to explain what transpired.
What I somehow ended up doing on Saturday, on one side of a middle attempt, was laying Wisconsin (which played Milwaukee Wisconsin) at -15 at Pelican instead of taking Wichita State (which played Creighton) at +15 at the Stardust. Consequently, instead of a winner and loser (and just ending up with juice on the loser), I had two losers, Wisconsin and Creighton, with the bottom line being that I blew $2200 on the fiasco.
What's as amazing as the error itself is how I discovered it--sort of, anyway--prior to the start of the Wisconsin and Wichita St. games and how I was still incapable of doing anything about it.
The Wisconsin and Wichita St. games were scheduled to start at 5:00 PM. At about 4:50 I looked at my betting sheet and I noticed that I had a play written down in abreviated form, on a lead that I had taken a couple hours earlier. I always abbreviate my plays, but in this case, due to my sloppy scribbling, I was not 100% sure regarding the abbreviation (WI). I was 95% sure that the play was Wichita St. at +15, but it also could have been Wisconsin Milwaukee at +15. In any case, what was perfectly legible was the "Stardust" written next to the play. At least I was sure that I had put the play in at the 'Dust and that a a call to them would clarify the situation.
So, I called the 'Dust, and to my dismay, I learned that I hadn't put in either play there. Dumbfounded, I decided to check the line history of each game in the hopes of determining what might have happened. Well, the line histories (available on the Don Best Premium feed) made it clear that Wichita St. at +15 would have been a decent lead, whereas Miwaukee Wisconsin at + 15 never would have ever worthwhile. Consequently, I assumed--incorrectly, of course--that I must have put Wichita St.at +15 in with one of my 35 outs other than the 'Dust and simply erred by designating the "Dust as the recipient of the bet. With that in mind, I layed -13.5 on Creighton (the other side of Wichita St.) to balance my middle attempt.
Sunday, morning, I immediately checked all my account balances to determine where I had bet Wichita St. However, to my consternation, all my account balances checked, except for Pelican, which was $1100
low. When I checked my Saturday plays with Pelican, I was informed that one of my plays was--you guessed it--Wisconsin at -15.
I requested to hear the tape of my Wisconsin mis-bet, and Pelican complied. Sure enough, I had indeed specified Wisconsin at -15 as my bet, but interestingly enough, I had also identified the play I wanted to bet as No. 561, which was Wichita St.in the Don Best rotation.
The bottom line is that I had done the unthinkable--bet the wrong game at the wrong line at the wrong out. And the gods of sportsbetting rightfully determined that I deserved to lose both of my bets.
I earlier stated that I would do my best to explain my screw-up extraordinaire. Well, after further reflection, I retract my statement to that effect. Instead, I plead Divine ignorance and simply deem my incredible blunder as a mystery beyond understanding. For all I know, the phuck-up could have been caused by a humongous brain fart. With that in mind, I have now decided to replace Johnny Walker with wheatgrass juice as my beverage of choice while I middle. And if you don't believe I'm serious, consider that in my sportsbetting den I've removed portraits of Billy Walters and Tommy Kramer from the wall and replaced them with ones of Railbird and Doug Flutie. But the change has been difficult, and I still have a hard time accepting that Flutie Flakes and wheagrass juice is now the breakfast of champions.
Even now, as I attempt to explain what happened, the truth is that clarity relative to my blunder still eludes me. Given that, I'll do my best to explain what transpired.
What I somehow ended up doing on Saturday, on one side of a middle attempt, was laying Wisconsin (which played Milwaukee Wisconsin) at -15 at Pelican instead of taking Wichita State (which played Creighton) at +15 at the Stardust. Consequently, instead of a winner and loser (and just ending up with juice on the loser), I had two losers, Wisconsin and Creighton, with the bottom line being that I blew $2200 on the fiasco.
What's as amazing as the error itself is how I discovered it--sort of, anyway--prior to the start of the Wisconsin and Wichita St. games and how I was still incapable of doing anything about it.
The Wisconsin and Wichita St. games were scheduled to start at 5:00 PM. At about 4:50 I looked at my betting sheet and I noticed that I had a play written down in abreviated form, on a lead that I had taken a couple hours earlier. I always abbreviate my plays, but in this case, due to my sloppy scribbling, I was not 100% sure regarding the abbreviation (WI). I was 95% sure that the play was Wichita St. at +15, but it also could have been Wisconsin Milwaukee at +15. In any case, what was perfectly legible was the "Stardust" written next to the play. At least I was sure that I had put the play in at the 'Dust and that a a call to them would clarify the situation.
So, I called the 'Dust, and to my dismay, I learned that I hadn't put in either play there. Dumbfounded, I decided to check the line history of each game in the hopes of determining what might have happened. Well, the line histories (available on the Don Best Premium feed) made it clear that Wichita St. at +15 would have been a decent lead, whereas Miwaukee Wisconsin at + 15 never would have ever worthwhile. Consequently, I assumed--incorrectly, of course--that I must have put Wichita St.at +15 in with one of my 35 outs other than the 'Dust and simply erred by designating the "Dust as the recipient of the bet. With that in mind, I layed -13.5 on Creighton (the other side of Wichita St.) to balance my middle attempt.
Sunday, morning, I immediately checked all my account balances to determine where I had bet Wichita St. However, to my consternation, all my account balances checked, except for Pelican, which was $1100
low. When I checked my Saturday plays with Pelican, I was informed that one of my plays was--you guessed it--Wisconsin at -15.
I requested to hear the tape of my Wisconsin mis-bet, and Pelican complied. Sure enough, I had indeed specified Wisconsin at -15 as my bet, but interestingly enough, I had also identified the play I wanted to bet as No. 561, which was Wichita St.in the Don Best rotation.
The bottom line is that I had done the unthinkable--bet the wrong game at the wrong line at the wrong out. And the gods of sportsbetting rightfully determined that I deserved to lose both of my bets.
I earlier stated that I would do my best to explain my screw-up extraordinaire. Well, after further reflection, I retract my statement to that effect. Instead, I plead Divine ignorance and simply deem my incredible blunder as a mystery beyond understanding. For all I know, the phuck-up could have been caused by a humongous brain fart. With that in mind, I have now decided to replace Johnny Walker with wheatgrass juice as my beverage of choice while I middle. And if you don't believe I'm serious, consider that in my sportsbetting den I've removed portraits of Billy Walters and Tommy Kramer from the wall and replaced them with ones of Railbird and Doug Flutie. But the change has been difficult, and I still have a hard time accepting that Flutie Flakes and wheagrass juice is now the breakfast of champions.
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