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Ben Burns |
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| Its the final day of the month and Ben Burns is determined to make it a good one. Win, lose or draw, November will go down as another profitable month. Burns was 2-0 with Monday's college hoops but just 2-2 y-day. |
| YESTERDAY'S PLAYS | ||
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| Matchup | Selection | W/L |
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NBA | Nov 30, 2021 Warriors vs Suns |
Suns -2 -110 at linepros |
Won $100 |
| Play Type: Top Premium | ||
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I'm playing on PHOENIX. The Warriors have been on a remarkable run at the betting window. I say it comes to an end this evening. The Suns have been every bit as hot as the Warriors, arguably hotter. Golden State is 7-0 its last seven and 18-2 on the season. Phoenix is 17-3. However, since the Suns started 1-3, they've now won 16 straight. Indeed, this is a true clash of titans. Both teams have been excellent, at both ends of the floor. However, if one looks closely, the Suns' home numbers are slightly better than the Warriors' road numbers. Not only do they score more points at home than the Warriors do on the road, but the Suns hit a higher percentage of their field goals (48.4% to 46%) while holding visiting teams to 43%. When on the road, the Warriors allow a 43.6% field goal percentage. The Suns lost their last road game against the Warriors but won big the last two meetings here at Phoenix. Scores were 120-98 and 114-93. Obviously, the Suns haven't needed Thompson. However, they've got some other players banged-up right now, too. I say homecourt proves the difference and the Suns keep on rolling for another day. |
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| Matchup | Selection | W/L |
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NCAA-B | Nov 30, 2021 Clemson vs Rutgers |
Rutgers -135 at linepros |
Won $100 |
| Play Type: Top Premium | ||
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I'm playing on RUTGERS. While the Knights have struggled of late, I expect a date with Clemson to be just what they need to "get going." This is a very talented Rutgers team which hasn't been playing up to its potential of late. They lost three straight close ones, two of those coming on the road. The Tigers, a team they faced in the NCAA Tournament earlier this year, will bring out their best. You may recall that the NCAA Tourney game was very low-scoring. Rutgers won 60-56. With an O/U line in the mid 120's, this one figures to also be low-scoring. That should suit the Knights just fine. They're 7-0 SU and 5-1-1 ATS their last seven home games, with an O/U line in the 120s. During that span, the Tigers are 2-4 SU/ATS when playing a road game with an O/U line in that range. In fact, the Tigers are just 6-12 ATS (5-13 SU) on the road, overall. While the Tigers' record is better than the Knights' record, keep in mind that this is the Tigers' first true road game of the season. Their two toughest opponents were St Bonaventure and West Virginia and the Tigers lost both. While the Tigers would love to get some revenge, its not happening tonight. Rutgers bounces back. |
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| Matchup | Selection | W/L |
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NHL | Nov 30, 2021 Red Wings vs Bruins |
Bruins -1½ +109 at pinnacle |
Lost $100.0 |
| Play Type: Top Premium | ||
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I'm playing BOSTON on the puck-line (-1.5 goals) While the Bruins are fairly steep favorites on the money-line, we're able to get them as small underdogs on the puck-line. In this case, I believe that's where the value lies. Trips to Boston rarely go well for the Red Wings. Indeed, the Bruins take care of business against teams like Detroit. They're 6-0 their last six against losing teams. As mentioned, they've owned the Wings here. The Bruins won the last two meetings here by scores of 5-1 and 4-1. The Wings scored an upset here in December of 2018 but that's been their only win here in years. Thirteen of Boston's last 15 home wins against Detroit have been by multiple goals, too. The Wings are 1-7 their last eight on the road and the only victory came at Buffalo. They hung within a goal of a bad Arizona team (2-1 loss) last time out but their previous five road losses all came by more than a goal. So, when on the road, they can compete with the other really bad teams (Buffalo and Arizona) but not against the stronger ones. Knowing their schedule gets tougher after this, expect the Bruins to go all out in this one en route to another multi-goal victory. |
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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. |