The Worst Gambler in America!
A Blog By Greg
No other way to put it: this past week was terrible. I started poorly, ended poorly, and in between wasn't all that much better, in all honesty. I plan on making adjustments to my strategy next week and will most likely put out smaller cards only focusing on games I have a strong feeling about. For now, let's get right into the many losses and few victories of the past seven days.
MONDAY (1-1, -0.85u)
Mets ML (-130, 2u) LOSS
Astros ML (+115, 1u) WON
Despite going 1-1 and hitting on an underdog in the Houston Astros, Monday was ultimately a disappointing day, as I placed two units on the Mets to defeat the Boston Red Sox, which unfortunately did not happen. The Mets played the Sox tight all game but just couldn’t turn their base runners into runs. The Mets had eight total team hits but could only turn that into a singular run. The Red Sox ultimately won 3-1. The Astros fought hard against the Rays and narrowly escaped with a 4-3 victory.
TUESDAY (0-1, -1.5u)
Mets ML (-125, 1.5u) LOSS
“There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again.” The Mets fooled me on Monday and again on Tuesday, leading to a total of 3.5 units lost in two days on just the Mets. This matchup against the Red Sox was an even harder watch than their game on Monday. Honestly, it isn’t even worth recapping. The Mets totaled four hits and no runs. It was pathetic.
WEDNESDAY (1-4, -3.85u)
Reds ML (-125, 1.5u) LOSS
Astros -1.5 (+120, 1u) LOSS
Guardians ML (+115, 1u) WON
Padres ML (+140, 1u) LOSS
Athletics ML (-150, 1.5u) LOSS
In the case of the Astros and Reds, I simply backed the wrong team in two close games. That will happen. It stinks, but hey, thats gambling. However, in the case of the Padres and Athletics, I simply was betting on two teams in the midst of massive slumps at the worst possible time. San Diego, on the road against an inferior opponent in the Blue Jays, collapsed late in the game, losing by a score of 14-0. The Athletics took on the Angels, and while their offense fared better than usual, putting up 5 runs, the Angels could not be stopped and won the game 10-5 in the end.
THURSDAY (4-1, +1.55u)
Padres ML (-130, 2u) LOSS
Brewers ML (-120, 1u) WON
Sal Frelick o1.5 H/R/RBI (+105, 1u) WON
Nationals +1.5 (-125, 1u) WON
CJ Abrams o1.5 H/R/RBI (-115, 1u) WON
Prior to Thursday, my record for the week was an abysmal 2-6. While I was able to stack a few wins and finally have a day where I made money rather than lose it, I continued my trend of losing games in which I wager more than one unit. The Nationals’ and Brewers’ games were both high scoring, and the props easily cashed. Additionally, the Brewers controlled most of the game, and the safety net of having the Nationals +1.5 rather than their moneyline allowed for a stress-free experience, as the Nats eventually won outright 8-7. Unfortunately, for those four wins, I only placed one unit on each, and for my sole loss, the Padres' heartbreaking, extra-inning loss, I placed two units. A Padres victory or a decision to place fewer units on the game could have changed the trajectory of the week drastically. The Padres fought back to tie the game in the 8th inning to force extra innings, and they seemed to have all of the momentum in the game. They even struck first, scoring runs in both the top of the 10th and 11th innings. The Blue Jays answered both times and ultimately hit a walk-off in the 11th to defeat the Padres and extend their losing streak.
FRIDAY (0-1, -1u)
Diamondbacks -1.5 (+125, 1u) LOSS
I was super confident in the Diamondbacks taking care of business against the Cardinals on Friday. Arizona jumped out to an early lead thanks to a Ketel Marte solo home run in the 1st. Zac Gallen also pitched fantastically for 5 innings, holding St. Louis scoreless. Unfortunately, he collapsed in the 6th inning, surrendering 4 runs before being pulled. Gabriel Moreno hit a two-run shot to cut the lead to 1 in the top of the 9th, but the Cardinals held on to defeat the Diamondbacks.
SATURDAY (2-2, -0.08u)
Royals ML (+105, 1u) LOSS
Diamondbacks ML (+100, 1u) LOSS
Astros ML (-115, 1u) WON.
Braves ML (+105, 1u) WON
I’m going to start off with the pair of losses, as they are far more interesting and upsetting than the two victories. The Royals led for practically the entire game before a bullpen collapse causeded a walk-off single in the bottom of the 9th to secure the 5-4 victory. If that wasn’t heartbreaking enough, the Diamondbacks seemed poised to bounce back against the Cardinals and get revenge for their loss the prior day. Merrill Kelly pitched well for 6 innings but was left in for too long and ended up being responsible for the 3 runs scored in the 7th. In the 8th inning, the Cardinals tacked on another 2 runs to ultimately defeat the Diamondbacks. It was a truly heartbreaking game, as the Diamondbacks truly played better than the Cardinals. Five out of the six runs scored by the Cards were in the final two innings, fully displaying a fundamental flaw in their roster. The Braves easily dismantled the Padres, and the Astros fought off a pesky Mariners team to secure the victory.
SUNDAY (0-0, 0.0u)
NO PLAYS
I decided to cut my losses and abstain from wagering on any games on Sunday. I knew I was down big for the week and figured I didn’t want the losses to grow any further.
This was a bad week; there's no other way around it. Like I alluded to earlier, I am very likely going to switch up my strategy going forward. Expect smaller cards, more days with one or zero plays, and more prop bets. Make sure to follow the journey on X (GRMBets)!