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The Smart Money: How the World’s Best Sports Bettors Beat the Bookies Out of Millions
The Smart Money: How the World’s Best Betting-Beat the Bookies millions
A fascinating insight into the lucrative world of professional high-stakes sports betting by a journalist who lived a secret life as a key element of the world’s most successful sports gambling ring.When journalist Michael Konik landed an interview with Rick “Big Daddy” Matthews, the biggest commitment he had placed on a sporting event was 0. Tapering, an expert blackjack and poker player, was no stranger to Vegas. But Matthews was in a different league: the man was rumored at the world’s brightest sp Rating: 
So You You Can Gamble, think of sports?: a life long lessons with a professional player (revised) (Volume 2)
Hi, I’m David Greene, and this is my second offer as a writer of sports betting pounds. I have quite the nice living room make bets on college and professional sports (not just football), for almost fifteen years. I have only recently persuaded to go with all my self-taught theories and practices of the public. I have come to believe that if I any kind of a teacher that absolutely anyone can be taught with the right amount of motivation, how to become a Pro. In this book of mine you Rating:
List Price: $ 19.95 Price: $ 18.22
about 1 year ago
Review by David Rubin for The Smart Money: How the World’s Best Sports Bettors Beat the Bookies Out of Millions
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This book deserves an immediate place – alongside “The Eudaemonic Pie” and “Bringing Down the House” – in the pantheon of greatest “Geniuses beat Las Vegas” stories ever written. “The Smart Money” is a true, first-hand account of how one of the biggest, most successful, sports-betting syndicates in history beat the Las Vegas sportsbooks out of millions. It turns out that having a math and computer genius crunch every stat imaginable to find algorithms that successfully predict the outcome of sporting events is only half the battle. The other half is actually getting your bets down, in amounts that will make the biggest vegas sportsbooks cringe, and you and your partners wealthy beyond belief. That’s where the author, Michael Konick, came in. Michael was hired by the syndicate to place large bets for them, using his professional status as a Hollywood-based, highly successful author and journalist as cover. At first it worked perfectly: with a little help from Michael’s acting skills, sportsbooks managers initially thought they had hooked a “whale,” a rich sucker with no clue, who would blow a fortune backing his hunches. But when Michael began consistently beating them for huge money they began viewing him with more suspicion, and the game got a lot tougher. Michael’s account of his adventures cajoling and conning the Las Vegas sportsbooks into booking his syndicate’s bets, while at the same time exploring some of the other pleasures “Sin City” has on offer, makes compelling reading. I highly recommend it.
about 1 year ago
Review by Deke Castleman for The Smart Money: How the World’s Best Sports Bettors Beat the Bookies Out of Millions
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The Smart Money is a detailed, accurate, and surprisingly sensitive look deep within the arcane world — complex, changeable, cutthroat — of high-stakes sports betting.
The bookies are well aware of the vulnerability of the odds they offer on sporting events and they’re hypersensitive to the big money, which can seriously hurt them. Thus, to try to exploit the weakness of those odds, the high rollers have to go to extraordinary lengths. Konik, in his initial capacity as an operative for a heavily financed sports-betting syndicate, and his later capacity as the head of his own syndicate, dives headfirst into this great cat-and-mouse game with guts, gusto, and a glibness so convincing that for four long years, he manages to bluff and outwit some of the most suspicious people on Earth.
The blow-by-blow of game after game is gripping and Konik’s writing imparts all the sensations he experiences — plumbing the depths of defeat and scaling the heights of triumph, along the way making a fortune, losing a girlfriend, being lied to, cheated, and stolen from, and scamming the scammers in return.
The ending, given who Konik portrays himself to be, isn’t a surprise. But it does make The Smart Money not only enlightening and entertaining, but life-affirming as well. By the time you’ve finished reading this book — and you should — you’ll see sports betting in a whole new light.
about 1 year ago
Review by dansam for The Smart Money: How the World’s Best Sports Bettors Beat the Bookies Out of Millions
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Fantastic!
An exciting tale of the transformation of a humble author into a major “player” in the alien world of multi-million dollar sports betting. As the author’s situations became more surreal and as the money grew to eye-popping amounts, I felt my pulse quicken and palms begin to sweat. I don’t know how Michael Konik did it! Just READING about the pressure, money & fear made me dizzy & nauseous (in a good way)!
I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in gambling, sports, probability or (let’s face it) money!
about 1 year ago
Review by Konrad Baumeister for The Smart Money: How the World’s Best Sports Bettors Beat the Bookies Out of Millions
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I have enjoyed Konik’s writing on gambling topics for many years, and after all the good I had heard about this book, I was looking forward to a great read about the workings of top sports handicappers and syndicates. Well, he tells an interesting and unusual story, that’s for sure, but we learn very very little about how it was all done.
Konik is invited into the Brain Trust, but as a runner, a guy impersonating a high roller playing his own money, placing bets as big as he can get down anywhere where he can get it down. He is not a handicapper, nor was he involved in the money decisions (until very late and then on his own), and for as long as he was associated with the big boys they seem to have done a great job of keeping him out of the real loop.
The story itself is still interesting, and I think is pretty well told. First he tries to get down with various Vegas casino books, for a while successfully, but as his rep spreads, and wise casino people connect him with Big Daddy, he has to find new places to place serious bets. This leads him eventually to a variety of outlets online and in the Caribbean, and his adventures with these folks, full of love while he’s losing but ready to stiff him the instant he scores. Getting the money back isn’t easy, and the universe of potential outlets to get his bets down shrinks quickly, shortly endangering his career as a gambler. It’s a constant game of cat and mouse with the books, with Big Daddy considering how to keep the heat on Konik low, and of course still beating the spread over the course of a couple of years, playing for hair-raising amounts of cash.
Konik eventually meets up with an old college chum, a math genius, who develops a new handicapping program, and so now Konik feels he doesn’t have to front for Big Daddy, he can (with the aid of some Hollywood actors who fancy themselves gamblers) compete with him. It works for a few weeks. Then it all falls apart is a pretty ugly way, and Konik wisely decides to retire from sports betting. Konik’s description of the stresses involved, and all it cost him in non-financial ways, is instructive.
The story has lots of stuff on the comped meals he ate, about his hot swinger girlfriend, and lots and lots on virtually every bet he made, which tends to become repetitive after a while. The material on the unusual personalities is of greater interest. There is NO material on handicapping, because he doesn’t know anything about it. In other words, it’s popcorn for the mind, goes down quick and you like it while you read it, but once done you’re vaguely disappointed. There will be lots of used copies of this up shortly; if you’re still interested in reading the book wait for them and save some money.
about 1 year ago
Review by BookieGal for The Smart Money: How the World’s Best Sports Bettors Beat the Bookies Out of Millions
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I saw this book on the new release table at Barnes and Noble, and snatched it up immediately. I once worked in the exciting and shady world of offshore sports betting and new many of the characters in Mr. Konik’s book. It was absolutely fascinating to hear the story from his side of the table….I can honestly say that all the offshores spent a lot of time fretting about Mr. Matthews and his clan. Mr. Konik’s experience isn’t exaggerated at all – it is a true-to-life, accurate depiction of that world and its dangers and allure. A true must read!!
about 1 year ago
Review by Earl Kurt for So You Think You Can Gamble, On Sports?: A Lifetime of Lessons from a Professional Gambler (Revised) (Volume 2)
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Greene tries to bill himself as a successful gambler. My best take is that he is on the down side more often than the up. He doesn’t tell you anything to help your “game”.
It is very poorly written. Not edtited. If he wins so much money he should spend a few bucks on a writing and publishing class.
I don’t mind paying good money for good advise. I did not get my moneys worth here.
about 1 year ago
Review by James W. Barker Jr. for So You Think You Can Gamble, On Sports?: A Lifetime of Lessons from a Professional Gambler (Revised) (Volume 2)
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Not a whole lot of meat in this thin book. I think your money would be better spent elsewhere.
about 1 year ago
Review by David for So You Think You Can Gamble, On Sports?: A Lifetime of Lessons from a Professional Gambler (Revised) (Volume 2)
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This book is terrible. If you have even spent a single weekend betting on sports, you would know everything and more compared to what this book has to offer. First of all it’s written in 2nd grade font to make its meaningless blah into a decent sized book. Second it will teach you nothing you can’t learn from just talking to someone that has common sense. Pleaes and I do beg you please that you don’t buy this book because you will simply be sorry for the purchase. How this book got any ratings above one star is beyond me.
about 1 year ago
Review by R. Mark for So You Think You Can Gamble, On Sports?: A Lifetime of Lessons from a Professional Gambler (Revised) (Volume 2)
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This is the worst book on sportsbetting I have ever read. It is poorly written and had no factual information. The author only spends time telling you stories and opinions and leading you to his pay websites.
about 1 year ago
Review by C. Dale Norris for So You Think You Can Gamble, On Sports?: A Lifetime of Lessons from a Professional Gambler (Revised) (Volume 2)
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Read from cover to cover…each page is filled with detailed knowledge that grabs you immediately and keeps you in the game. Definately a must for beginners and experts alike.