When I first burst into betting ascendancy full-time back in 1988, I got wind of the famed “Computer Boys” betting syndicate headed by renowned gambler Billy Walters. Ages before the interwebs and services like DonBest, we procured our odds from J&J odds service, via a telephone rundown. But they also had a callback service for when they believed the boys placed a bet. The Burger Man and the cute-looking daughter of the owner were among the workforce that had us on speed dial.

That was the era of corner bookie, hence we would customarily conquer the line moves getting great middle prospects by betting with several outlets.

Still, I was most fascinated with the influence and science of referenced betting consortium. I wanted to replicate and eclipse their conquests. Via Computer Sports World, I unearthed a software package developed by distinguished statistician Dr. Mike Orkin, “The Pointspread Analyzer.” It changed my life. I matured into the numbers cruncher I aspired to be. Inputting countless data, I confirmed many theories, humbly refuted others in objective testing and trial while identifying previously undreamt-of betting systems, exploring literally almost any valuable state of affairs germane to a sports trader.

How does an NFL team following three straight double-digit wins execute ATS against a team off subsequent double-digit losses? Should I ride or fade an NBA team with winning percentage of .750 or higher if they are off a loss? Is it consequential if they are playing home or road? What a war chest of knowledge I had at my fingertips.

The bulk of my theories proved to be well-founded, reinforcing my contrarian conceptions before there was such a thing. It is good to pick bad was certified. Sinking and substandard teams had great value, superior and ascending teams were overprized. This reality is sustainable today. The rabble relishes betting on the better and hotter team and the oddsmakers recognized it then and distinguish it now.

Written in DOS, Orkin’s Windows version Snoop Data wasn’t as user-friendly. Sadly, the niche program faded away. To the rescue was SportsDataBase, a terrific cloud-based program coded by a physicist Dr. Joe Meyer. BetLabs, subsumed by the multi-million-dollar Action Network is satisfying too, but once one masters the SQL language of Meyer’s program, it becomes a more lethal weapon than BetLabs or StatFox.

Though my site OffshoreInsiders.com is a mom-and-pop shop competing against Fortune 500 companies, there is one reason I proceed to prosper as both a gambler and professional handicapper: the merit of the finished product. My obsession with bias-free computer-aided testing, achieving thousands of manhours of research with the push of a few keystrokes, endures me as cutting edge. My hunger for reproducing the triumph of Billy Walters computer group has not waned in more than 30 years of computer implemented handicapping. Enjoy the ride with me fellow sports investors.