Unfortunately, my over didn't make it before halftime due to that 17-0 run from the Celtics in the first five minutes of the second quarter. Still, Congrats on your bet. 

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I'm still giving the Timberwolves spread another go here since the last game was as close as it can get and I doubt the Mavs can pull off another 60% shooting day. The points might seem too much, but it's always easy for these two to start on a run to take control of the game.

Like the others, I also believe in match-fixing only up to a certain extent because i've seen it becoming more common in the competitive scene that I bet on. Still, it takes a while before these cases are proven, and even though it feels like some players perform like they're fixing we shouldn't always assume it's true.

It's easy for players to make mistakes, they'd sometimes have a subpar performance that could cause some suspicions, but I doubt that players at the highest level of competition would risk the career they've built only to fix certain matches.

After watching them play against XG earlier, it doesn't look like they'll be slowing down anytime soon since they still had a clean series or maybe that's just XG overcooking their drafts.

Based on the results, Eternal Fire managed to beat Team Liquid and they deserved it. I remember hearing from one of the CSGO co-streamers that Eternal Fire's IGL was close to switching to Valorant because he wasn't having much success with CS2.

I'm backing the overs again the totals didn't budge as much (only by a few points) and this should be another close offensive match similar to the last game. One of the few things that don't look good here is how the Celtics always underperform in their second home game. If the trend continues for the Celtics and they suddenly underperform in this game, I hope it's during the second half.

Congrats on your live Mavs bet, i'm surprised that the odds were a bit high at the time.

The Timberwolves were close to building their lead by at least double digits before the second quarter ended, but the Mavs kept it together in the last few possessions. Then that back and forth during the fourth quarter with 3 minutes left made it feel like it could've gone either way, but the Mavs quickly brought it back with the double three-pointer while the Timberwolves couldn't get a bucket until the final minute.

If i'm in their shoes, I would also take my time to prepare because it's better to have a plan than to claim it right away and still be confused about what to do next with the money.

There's nothing wrong with claiming it as early as possible or waiting longer, as the winners could have a plan ready to go or maybe there could be more than just claiming the money. I remember reading a case about a lottery winner that became complicated because the money spent to buy the winning ticket wasn't his own money.

The prize pool for the Riyadh Masters was recently announced through Twitter and it was around $5m, not as high as last year's tournament, but still, it's a lot of money for most teams.

I'm looking forward to the classic XG vs. Falcons rematch, and I can't imagine what the games would look like if Valve decides to drop a major patch before the playoffs. 

Thanks and i'm also planning to ride with the over for the next game, as I can't imagine these teams slowing down with the scoring.

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As much as I like the Mavs in this series, I still think they'll drop this first game, and the Timberwolves will come out firing since they tend to win dominantly in some of their games.

These two also met a bunch of times in the regular season and it went in the Timberwolves' favor, but I doubt that'll be a big factor in deciding today's game.

Bayer Neverlusen is no more after that loss against Atalanta, I hope they'll come back stronger with another impressive streak since they've been one of the best teams to bet on this season.

We also had two cup games that finished earlier today with Sparta Prague and Dinamo Zagreb securing their win. That means we 0-2 backers are now in trouble because it'll be impossible to see all three underdogs win in the other cup final.

I'd assume the fees they pay come from their pockets or via the profits they get from the house edge since most casinos have several games with a higher house edge.

Then again, it depends on the timing because fees aren't always expensive, I remember one casino mentioned that they sometimes charge more than usual to cover the overall fees they spend. If it does reach that point where it's getting costly, casinos won't hesitate to increase the minimum limits to reduce the withdrawal requests they receive.

Looking at Group A, Xtreme Gaming should take the second upper seed by beating Heroic. They need a sweep to guarantee the spot while a draw puts them at a possible tiebreaker depending on how the Aurora/GG series will pan out.

Team Liquid still has a good chance to make it out since they'll face PSG.Quest. You also forgot to include Navi in that list, they have the same record as Shopify Rebellion, and it'll be a miracle if they survive against Team Falcons.

Also, Tundra's top two finish in the group now puts them in the top 5 of the EPT leaderboard overtaking OG and Team Spirit to secure the sixth invite for the Riyadh Masters.

Others would even take things further by tracking every bet they make through a spreadsheet. I'm always impressed by those kinds of gamblers since it can become tedious if you're the type to place tens of bets throughout the week.

That's somewhat true, and aside from that, the consistency to control these emotions is also important because we sometimes repeat the same mistakes despite knowing the solutions.

I panicked with my submissions, I thought I only had a few minutes left before the deadline, I could've waited longer to recheck the hockey matchups and changed my answer to snag that free point.

Nice article, our team got mentioned again for this week's tough matchups.  

I also don't have a good read on this game so i'll go back to the first-half strategy that worked in the previous series since the Celtics are always solid at scoring tons of points in the first half.

Combine that with the Pacers' offense that likes to up the tempo, they should hit at least 114 points, and looking at their h2h i'm liking our chances even more (in the three regular games they played two went over 120+).

The casino and sportsbook owners make money similarly, but how they're applied is somewhat different.

In casino games, we have the house edge, which always reduces our chances of winning. It's why we usually pick games with the lowest house edge, but it takes a while before we see its effects kick in.

While the sportsbooks have the juice or vigorish, they are slightly similar to the house edge in that they'd reduce the odds or payout of our bets without affecting our win probability. It's why others would recommend shopping for the best odds because some bookies distribute their juice differently.

Even though the vigorish from sports betting doesn't reduce our chance to win, luck is still a big factor in most sports.

I've only bet on a couple of boxing matches so I can't tell how bad it is, but as someone who has tried betting on different sports, there are more unpredictable sports that you're better off avoiding despite the good officiating. Some sports can reach a level where it gets too competitive (home games provide no advantage, lineups don't matter, etc.), and then you'll eventually view every match as a toss-up compared to other sports.

Yup. It's the easiest way to avoid any potential match-fixing, but suspicious calls and decisions can still occur.

XG's first series ended with them sweeping Aurora, then later got swept by Gaimin Gladiators.

Surprisingly, the Navi/SR series is the only one that ended on a draw out of the 12 series that was played out today. If there's a team to fade throughout the groups it's probably SR since they're not looking that hot with their captain and support skem.

Team Falcons is back with their dominant performance and likely to finish first in Group B if they continue to roll every team from start to finish. For Group A there's Gaimin Gladiators, and they might do the same if they don't drop a map against Team Liquid.

It's been said many times before always set your limits so you don't get too attached to your losses and make bad decisions afterward. Make sure to play with the smallest deposit, as most casinos don't have a minimum amount on their deposits. Don't forget to check your casinos for promotions because they always have low requirements and try to use that opportunity to lessen your losses and have a sweat-free session.

It was unusual for XG to look flat after cruising throughout the tournament, but Team Spirit was so locked in on most of their series.

Team Spirit probably remembered the Riyadh Masters which is only a few months away and falling short of that DL qualifier gave them a wake-up call since there is a bunch of scenarios for them to miss out on the direct invite.

I also recall you mentioning that potential roster change twice because they had two group-stage exits.

At one point, seeing someone get a big win encouraged me to play aggressively. That said, I wouldn't do it again because if your luck isn't great, it can quickly ruin the fun and your session. Instead of going after that big win, i'd better play like usual, stick to the rules i've set, and be satisfied with the wins i'll get along the way. Winning usually makes gambling fun, but there's no need to go overboard and do the same when it can easily go the other way.