Sunday, September 11, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Professional bettor's game plan stresses discipline

His advice: Avoid parlays, don't chase losses and never bet just to bet

A gambler is seldom seen as a person who lives with the discipline of a monk. A successful gambler needs to acquire some strict behavioral habits, though, and Ron Boyles knows that as well as anyone.

Boyles, 44, lived in Las Vegas for 23 years, and for more than a decade he has made a comfortable living betting on sports.

"In my opinion, less than 1 percent of people who bet on sports can make a living doing it. Most are long-term losers," Boyles said. "I have not drawn a paycheck since 1991."

It's football season, the time of year when almost everyone has an opinion and money to put behind it, and Boyles has a game plan that bettors would be wise to follow.

Here are three of his tips:

• Make only straight bets and avoid parlays.

• Do not chase losses by doubling bets when things go bad.

• Never make a bet just to have action on a game, even if it's a marquee TV game.

Through trial and error, Boyles learned those basic lessons and said he always sticks to them.

"Even in the 1980s, when I would make scores and go broke, I picked more winners than losers," he said. "I finally said, `I've got to approach it as a business,' and that's when things changed for me. When I really started to get disciplined, the money just kept flowing."

Boyles worked in Las Vegas sports books before making the transition to the other side of the counter, and he never looked back. One year ago, he also made a move from Nevada to rural Pennsylvania, where he bets offshore.

The traffic, the hassle of finding parking and fighting casino crowds, and the frustration he encountered with lower betting limits in Las Vegas forced him to look elsewhere. Aside from convenience, he gets more betting lines and higher limits offshore.

"It's nothing but aggravation, and when you go in there they won't let you bet anyway," said Boyles, who often bets several thousand dollars on a game and said his limits were restricted and he was sometimes denied the opportunity to bet in Las Vegas books.

"I live in a town now where the only traffic problem is Amish people with their horses and buggies. I think offshore is the way to go."

Boyles, who prefers to bet college basketball and football, said he spends about two hours a day on the computer. With above-average handicapping skills, discipline and the patience to look for the best possible point spread, he said, the books can be beat.

"The number one factor in sports betting is getting the best of the number," he said. "If you've got a good game plan and get the best of the number, you've got a chance. Every edge you can get will add up at the end of the year."