When Handicapping is Irrelevant

There are things that happen from time to time that reminds us that gambling is a gambling game.

This weekend we saw something during the Barracuda golf tournament that doesn't happen very often - the scoreboards across the interwebs failed to update. If you happened to watch the TV coverage (and kept track of what a birdie or eagle meant) you were better than most, but if you were watching on your phone or computer, it was pre-Pony Express.

With that, the big bookmakers were caught in the crosshairs, and the gamblers could find gambles.

Golfer John Chin, who played a few holes well and was in the mix, was offered at 80-1; he should've probably been 15-1. Collin Morikawa, a kid who looks all-world, was near tied, and instead of being +300 or +350, sat at over +700 at some places.

After about a half hour, the books pulled everything off the board.

Come Sunday, Morikawa got the job done, Chin was top three, with top four each/way bets cashing at 20-1.

This had nothing to do with handicapping. It was just a gambler being presented with a good price and having to take it.

In horse racing this too happens (albeit rarely). And it pays to be ready if it does.

Garnet wrote about the "mad bomber" at Northfield Park a couple of weeks ago. With the smaller pools, any large across the board bets will add pool value, and someone betting large was messing things up royally. Gamblers like King of Yonkers Bucky Swope didn't even have a program, but were there in the pools, trying to catch a place price 6X what it should've paid.

Although these are extreme examples, I think it still provides a lesson to those of us who play the game. Sure it's important to try and figure out who is going to win, but when you're betting, the odds offered to us is the great pass/fail question.

Have a nice Monday everyone.