It went down again to 2.98, and there could be more action on the side of the Mavs now that we're nearing kick-off.

I also hope the Mavs can win this first game so I can win my round on the BSFL, but i'm not confident enough to bet on them winning straight up as the Celtics are like the final boss of this playoffs. That said, I have this bet on the Celtics to cover the first half.

That daily special could've been interesting if it was paired with another market since Tatum could go under now that the Celtics have more options with KP back in the lineup.

I had to change my bet from the Mavs to the Celtics' first-half handicap (-3.5), even though I like the full time handicap for the Mavs, you can't go wrong with the first-half handicap on the Celtics when it's only by a few points. This market wasn't that great during the Pacers series, but I think it'll be different against the Mavs, and they could struggle with the pace of the Celtics based on their previous meetings.

They probably scheduled the qualifiers a month early so everyone participating could settle their VISA. I also tuned in to their streams yesterday and it's smooth sailing for them since they haven't faced a good stack so far.

Shopify Rebellion made a couple of changes since last month so it could take more time for them to find some form, and they're probably under pressure as they have to make it work during these back-to-back qualifiers.

If I have to speculate i'd also say RTZ since he's the only remaining core member in the squad while everyone else has moved on.

That's probably sponsor money since he's still consistently streaming on Kick. The impressive part is that his correct score bet got him more winnings than G2.  

While waiting for the TI closed qualifiers, i'll take a shot at one of the many bo1 matches at the YaLLa Compass tournament. Mongolz are on their way to top the group and Heroic is potentially going 0-3 based on their struggling form.

I'm doing something similar, I usually check the opening and current odds to see if there's any line movement, then look up which side the public is on because you sometimes see a lot of bets going through on one side and there's still no movement.

The Dallas/Celtics market that Japinat mentioned is a good example, I remember checking one of the betting bots in our group and it said around 80% of bets are placed on Dallas, but the spread isn't going down anytime soon.

It goes both ways, regardless of the line looking like a trap you could be missing out on an easy win.  Sometimes, we think that getting the best line should translate to a free win, but we forget that it's always easy for a team to crumble on a good day and ruin your bet at the end.

We'll probably hear the updates once we're a week or a few days away from the tournament dates since that's how it was in the previous tournaments.


If Imperial wins the next series, they're locked in for the next season of the ESL Pro League plus they get a map advantage as a team coming from the upper bracket, that's a rare advantage to see in CS2 tournaments.

I also didn't know Red Canids had a CS squad, i'm only familiar with them because their LoL team previously played on the international stage.

My lucky prediction on Italy put me on a good start. I blindly picked them as I didn't see any pre-live odds on flashscore's match page and only found out just now that they're the slight underdogs in this match.  

We only have two questions left before my round against cryptofrka ends, and my hunch is that we'll end on a draw.

I'm also one of the unlucky gamblers, but I did come close to being profitable when i've won a bunch of raffle prizes. After that, it's all downhill for my betting record since that was several years ago, and I haven't had another lucky win like that again.

One of the users that comes to mind is Tykiwanuka, I can't tell if he's a lucky gambler, but I remember that he's a professional sports bettor since he had this AMA thread back then which was insightful.

I also remember someone doing a similar strategy where he'd only go for the lowest odds, but he only did live bets and mostly went for tennis matches.

I agree with Woodie you'll need to find a sport or league you're very familiar with because not all pre-live odds are set accurately.

The biggest downside is probably being picky with the matches you'll bet on because as you've mentioned, the strategy is similar to a parlay it only takes a quick loss or two to put you back to the starting point.

I used to have a goal like hitting a certain amount, but now it's more about trying to have a profitable day or break even. I know it's impossible, and that's why i've set a specific limit and hope I get lucky through some of the promotions or reward systems they put up along the way.

One of the steps i've taken is to create an account from several casinos so I can start progressing my way through the casinos' reward system and at the same time, wait for those profitable promotions to show up.

Yep, nothing surprising from the MENA region, as Quest is still the second-best team there.

I didn't follow the SA qualifiers, but i'm surprised that BOOM lost that badly against beastcoast when they're like the gatekeepers together with Heroic.

Mouz stepping up recently was a bit expected because they looked better after finishing third in the FISSURE tournament.

They mentioned "we" at the end because they could be a group of people as they also run a gambling site.

Anyway, i'm also leaning on Germany or France to win it all even though England is the team with the best odds of taking home the trophy, I still have some doubts since they tend to disappoint in the crucial matches.

I still like Portugal's chances, but i'm not that confident in them to have a deep run despite their squad looking solid.

That's what I also thought when Stewie stood in for G2, the change of pace probably gave them the push to play this well.

Regardless of the success, it's unlikely for them to bring Stewie in because he wasn't that much of an upgrade over Hooxi and I think it's just the other players from the side of G2 stepped up big time during this tournament. Also, they're lucky that a couple of good teams suddenly underperformed like Mouz and Faze.

Yup, it's so random and the last time I can recall we saw a CS team this successful with a stand-in was when s1mple played for Team Liquid. I still have doubts about Stewie potentially being picked up by a team because he didn't stand out as much when you look at his stats.

They probably based those extra slots on the EPT leaderboard as G2.IG and Azure Ray are the next two teams that could've received an invite.

I follow a bunch of gambling streamers mostly the popular ones like Train and Rosh, even gaming streamers who sometimes gamble on the side because of their streaming contract or sponsor.

I used to watch them back then because I find their streams enjoyable like watching a friend gamble his money away, but then it started to feel repetitive so I eventually moved on to other streamers.

I already played in these casinos even before they got promoted, but i'd rather do my research first than try them blindly.

One of the many ways to understand entertainment IMO is to compare it with your other hobbies aside from gambling. Some of the posts from the previous page gave good examples and for me, it's mostly about participating with a group of people, and in gambling, it's like joining a betting pool. At first, you don't expect it to be that entertaining, but once it's over you'll eventually realize how fun it was and look forward to the same kind of activity.

They should eventually notice what's happening behind the scenes if you keep winning and withdrawing every other time, but if you want to help them, it's better to give a heads-up about the issue.

Who knows, instead of confiscating your balance after reporting the issue, they could be generous enough to let you keep your winnings.

There could be other factors why you're struggling to win on sports betting like the sports you're betting on. Not all sports have the same level of unpredictability, and live betting is too volatile to the point it can burn a big chunk of your bankroll very fast if you don't always keep track of your bets.

I used to enjoy live betting at some point, but I had to stop because it's easy to fall for those live odds and I remember it's one of the addicting parts of sports betting as it encouraged me to start chasing my losses.

G2 made it happen and beat Vitality 2-1. I'm glad I didn't make a bet on this match because I would've gone with Vitality assuming they're back on form after taking down Team Spirit.

Nouns finally came out on top with the reverse sweep and denied SR their slot for the Riyadh Masters, it's been a while since we saw SR get dethroned.

I'm willing to place a bet against my team if it means I get to win some money, but it becomes another story when i'm a part of a football club and i'll be betting against one of their matches. I'd rather not risk losing my job over a one-time bet since there's a conflict of interest. In sports betting, you sometimes have to set aside your emotions and learn to take the opposing side except if you're working for a club or team.

Also, here's a link to the betting incident in case others are curious about the details.