In OddJack post's he asks an important question that the Sedge Court Journal Football Pick Sheet hopes to answer this football season:
"Its amazing to us how so many people plop down some cash for handicapping services based on a few minor runs"
Our thesis is simple: The Free Picks are the strongest plays a handicapper releases.
Now of course the "Pro's" will claim that it's the other way around; but any ounce of common sense should tell you that releasing mediocre plays that fail to provide positive results is not a successful formula for gaining new clients.
And if you have been paying attention you will notice that many of the more popular professional handicappers are giving out all kinds of free picks all over the web, airwaves, and phone lines, week after week. Take for example the famous handicapper Larry Ness. Larry contributes to the winningedge.com, covers.com, vegasexperts.com, freepicksbyemail.com, he has a 800 number service, he has free picks in "The Edge" weekly newsletter, and he provides his "best bet" weekly on the Winning Edge television show. With all these free picks why would anyone ever want to pay for handicapping advice? And more importantly with all these free picks how does he have time to truly handicap the games he is charging for?
What Larry or any "pro" would tell you is that his best plays are reserved for his paying clients. The "Pro's" will present you with an impressive record which has been monitered and verified by a third party recordkeeper. "Professional" Handicappers often have several services they offer with elite names like the "millionaire's club" or their "platinum selections". By bracketing their picks into different categories they can accurately promote the winning services and selectively fail to mention the poor performing services.
The television comedy Ed did a funny story on this scheme. One day Dr. Burton (Ed's best friend) recieved an anonymous letter in the mail suggesting he bet on a specific baseball team. The team won and the next day another anonymous letter appeared recommending another team that also won. On the third day another letter again appeared with another pick which subsequently won! Dr. Burton was convinced that who ever was sending the letters was a genious and was ready to throw some cash at the next pick that came his way. On the fourth day he recieved another letter but instead of giving a "free pick" it was a letter requesting money if he would like to recieve the next "guaranteed" winner. Of course he paid the money for the pick, bet $3000, and lost! The handicapper who was sending the anonymous picks had worked out a simple but genious plan. He started with 100 people; 50 got picks for team A and 50 for team B. Team A won so half those 50 people received a pick for team C and the other half for team D. Team C won and again that half either recieved a pick for team E or team F. Team E won which left those people primed and ready to believe that their mysterious handicapper was going to make them rich! Ultimaltely they found out that it was just a process of elimination and not based on any level of skill what so ever! Ed sued and thay all got their money back. Happy Ending.
Think something this ridicoulous doesnt happen in real life. Think again. Everyday you see the "Pro's" offering a "pay only if you win" pick. They could care less if they lose because then they can fall back on the weak argument that you were not charged for the pick; but if they happen to be lucky and win they get a nice big fat pay day and you get a huge chunk cut out of you profit. But in real life there is no Bowling Alley Lawyer to come to the rescue. I for one will be staying away from the pay services until they come up with a "only pay if your season is a winner net of our fees" plan.
The mission of The Sedge Court Journal is not only to entertain with our witty (and sometimes foul-mouthed) banter but also to educate our readers on how to become better football betters and hopefully make some cash along the way.
The Record Page tracks how we are doing as well as how some of the free pick sites we follow. Everyday we scan the various free pick sites and consolidate their picks on the records page. We don't charge for our services and do this because we enjoy the game of football but are fanatical when it comes to the thrill of having a couple of bucks in action. This blog is fully supported by our advertising sponsers. So if you see something that interests you please take a moment to check out their website.
Respek,
Rob
Posted by: The Polish Prognosticator @ 
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