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Ben Burns |
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| While he's still having a strong April overall, Ben Burns had a tough Wednesday evening. Expect him to bounce back big today and the rest of the month. |
| YESTERDAY'S PLAYS | ||
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| Matchup | Selection | W/L |
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MLB | Apr 25, 2019 Braves vs Reds |
Reds -131 at YouWager |
Won $100 |
| Play Type: Top Premium | ||
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I'm playing on CINCINNATI. Given the pitching matchup, this line could easily be much higher. Castillo has an outstanding 1.47 ERA and 0.88 WHIP overall. At home, those numbers are even better as he has a 0.92 ERA here to go along with a 0.66 WHIP. On the other hand, Teheran has a 5.61 ERA and 1.636 WHIP. On the road, those numbers are even worse as he has a 8.59 ERA to go along with a 1.704 WHIP. In his last two starts vs. the Reds, Teheran has given up 12 runs (11 earned) on 19 hits, in 11 innings. Off yesterday's loss, look for Castillo and the Reds to bounce back and grab the rubber game of this series. |
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| Matchup | Selection | W/L |
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MLB | Apr 25, 2019 #Rangers vs #Mariners |
UNDER 9 -120 | P |
| Play Type: Top Premium | ||
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I'm playing on Seattle/Texas UNDER the total. I won with the Mariners 'under' the total yesterday afternoon. They lost 1-0. I'm expecting another well-pitched affair in this evening's opener vs. Texas. Gonzales has been sharp for the Mariners. He's 4-0 with a 3.32 ERA and 1.26 WHIP. He allowed three runs in seven innings last time out. His last home start was a 3-2 final. He's allowed 0 runs in each of his last two starts against Texas, too. His last two home starts against the Rangers had final scores of 2-0 and 2-1. While Sampson's numbers aren't that great, he's going to be highly motivated to pitch well in this one. That's because he was born in Redmond (Washington) and that he went to school in Bellevue, another suburb of Seattle. He pitched here once last season and that one finished with a final score of 4-1, Sampson delivering a quality start. Look for runs to be at a premium once again, the final combined score staying below the number. |
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| Matchup | Selection | W/L |
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NHL | Apr 25, 2019 Stars vs Blues |
Blues -149 at betonline |
Won $100 |
| Play Type: Top Premium | ||
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I'm playing on ST. LOUIS. While both these teams were strong in the first round, I expect the Blues to have a solid advantage in Game 1 of this second round series. The Blues were 24-15-2 at home this reg. season. The Stars were 19-18-4 on the road. The Stars are a respectable 27-21 their last 48. However, during the same span, the Blues were a dominant 34-17. The Stars are just 7-10 (-4) when playing with two or more day's rest in between games. On the other hand, the Blues were 6-3 (+3.5) when playing with three or more day's rest. Even after knocking off the Preds, the Stars are still just 12-11 their last 23 against winning teams. Conversely, the Blues are 16-6 (+11.1) their last 22 against teams with a winning record. Expect the Blues to draw first blood. |
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SERVICE BIO |
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Age: 45 Background In "Outliers," Malcolm Gladwell asks the question: "What makes high achievers different?" Gladwell suggests that those at the top of their field have a number of similarities - that their upbringing (culture, family, what generation they came from, experiences) had much to do with their success. As a professional sports handicapper, Ben Burns is widely recognized as being "at the top of his field." A look at Ben's upbringing shows that he fits Gladwell's model to a tee. Exposed to the world of point spreads early and often as a child, Burns reached adulthood as the Internet was first beginning to explode, just as the first offshore sportsbooks were springing up. By that time he'd already spent thousands of hours learning and studying stats. From an early age it became apparent to family and friends that Ben wasn't a "typical" fan. At age 11, he was mentioned in a major newspaper (Toronto Star) for correctly predicting a high profile trade before the Major League Baseball trading deadline. (Winner of the contest got tickets to the All Star game.) Ben's father and uncles were always involved in a weekly NFL (ATS) pool. Some of Ben's earliest memories included that pool and his fascination with it. As soon as he was allowed to play, Ben demonstrated an uncanny ability to surprise the adults. Around this time, one of his uncles moved his casino business to the Caribbean. This was the environment which he came from. The caption underneath Ben's high-school graduation photo references Ben's love for betting on football. That's because he was famous throughout his school for annually winning the local football contest, along with the $1700 per year which was awarded to the champ. Coming of age right as the first sports books were coming online, Ben was fortunate to enjoy some success with his some of his early online sports betting endeavors. He did so well that the first shop he ever played at ended up refusing to take his hockey bets. Also, in the very early days of the Internet, Ben won an NBA playoff contest, put on by a company which was called NSS.net. The contest victory awarded him a trip for two to Las Vegas, $1000 cash, a limo at his disposal, free shows, hotel and live sports odds for a year. Not a bad prize for a kid in his early 20s. However, the bigger prize was that Ben was exposed to the world of "professional sports handicapping." Inspired by his personal success and encouraged by his peers, Ben first made his picks available to the public in 1998. Achievements in Handicapping/Sports Top Ranked NFL Handicapper From the years of 1998-2007, Ben's selections were independently documented at one of the Internet's earliest and most respected sports monitors, Big Guy Sports. During that time, Ben earned literally dozens of documented Top 3 finishes in football, basketball, baseball AND hockey, including numerous #1 titles. Competing against a field of 150 of the biggest names in the industry, he ranked as the #1 NFL handicapper in the existence of that sports monitor, in their All-Time rankings. No competing handicapping service ever came close to matching his NFL record. In fact, Ben also ranked as the #1 combined NFL/NCAA football handicapper. 10 Straight Super Bowl Winners A big part of the reason for Ben's #1 NFL titles was his annual success in the playoffs. He fared particularly well with his Super Bowl selections. In fact, from 1999-2007, he released 10 Super Bowl picks (3 Sides, 7 totals) and went a perfect 10-0. (All selections independently documented.) In the middle of that 10-0 streak, in the 2002-2003 season, Ben won with both the Bucs and the "over" the year that they beat the Raiders. That win was particularly sweet as he predicted that Tampa would win the Super Bowl in a number of national magazines, prior to the season even starting. Fantasy Legend Ben got pretty seriously into the DFS world in 2014 and 2015. Recently, he was featured as "The High Roller" in the 2015 documentary, "Living the Fantasy." A regular fixture at Fan Duel and Draft Kings live championship events, Burns has taken down 6-figure scores in football, basketball AND baseball. While many of the other prominent DFS players come from a poker background, two decades as a sports handicapper provide a unique perspective. Biggest Win of 2016 The year has just begun but Ben has already enjoyed some notable wins. His "Bowl Game of the Year," which happened to be a total (WVU/ASU "over") saw the teams combine for 85 points and 1196 total yards, all of them in regulation. Closing out the campaign with wins on Clemson AND the "over" in the championship game was also rewarding. Systems Used For Handicapping Bruce Lee noted: "Man, the living creature, the creating individual, is always more important than any established style of system." Lee was known to talk about being shapeless, formless (like water) and ready to adapt to any situation. Likewise, Burns doesn't rely on any one particular methodology. Rather, he combines fundamental, technical and situational techniques, making use of any and all data, which he deems relevant to the situation. Ben does tend to pay particular attention to the 'situational' side of things. Among numerous other factors, this includes trying to determine when (and why) a team will be extra motivated ("pumped up") to play its best and also when a team may be ripe for a "letdown." Burns has a contrarian nature and this trait is often revealed in his selections. Betting Philosophy Ever adapting, Burns is just as likely to take points as he is to lay them. Over the years, he's played more "unders" than "overs" but that doesn't mean that he won't pull the trigger on an "over" when the time is right to do so. While many handicappers shy away from playing MLB/NHL favorites on the money-line, Ben has proven that one can be highly successful by doing so. For him, it’s all about value. If he can get a team at -130 that he likes and that believes should be -160, than that's a play.
Rating and Titles of Plays Ben uses a scale of 5-10 to show his level of confidence with each play. Plays may include "titles" in order to give users a better idea of what to expect. Some of those titles include: Personal Favorite - Strongest favorite (or pick'em game) in that sport for the day. Best Bet - Strongest underdog (or pick'em game) in that sport for the day, occasionally can be a total. Blue Chip Total - Strongest rated total in that sport/category for the day. Main Event - Big play which is featured on national television. Game Of The Week/Month/Year - Top rated side or total for that particular week/month/year. |