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Ben Burns |
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| Ben has been in "full-on football mode" for weeks & he's poised for his biggest season ever. Early NFL/NCAAF plays are ready & you don't want to wait for the lines to move! |
| YESTERDAY'S PLAYS | ||
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| Matchup | Selection | W/L |
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MLB | Aug 21, 2019 Mariners vs Rays |
Rays -1½ -136 at pinnacle |
Lost $136.0 |
| Play Type: Premium | ||
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I'm playing TAMPA on the run-line (-1.5 runs) The Mariners may have taken the first two games of this series. However, the Rays have their ace on the mound this afternoon and I expect them to bounce back with a big win. Morton is 13-5 with a 2.77 ERA and 1.06 WHIP on the season. He should reach 200 K's this afternoon. (In his past three starts, Morton has 29 K's without walking a batter!) At home, he's got a 2.50 ERA and 0.93 WHIP. Gearin will be the 'opener' but Leblanc (5.40 ERA) will follow him and he's lost his last four appearances. Rays roll. |
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| Matchup | Selection | W/L |
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MLB | Aug 21, 2019 Angels vs Rangers |
Rangers -122 at betonline |
Won $100 |
| Play Type: Premium | ||
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I'm playing on TEXAS. After these teams played so many innings in splitting yesterday's double-header, having today's starter pitch well and go deep would be extra helpful today. Advantage Texas. Minor has a 1.23 ERA his past three starts, averaging 7 1/3 innings. On the season, he's got a 2.94 ERA and 1.179 WHIP, averaging 6 1/2 innings per start. He's also 3-0 with a 2.08 ERA his past five starts against the Angels. Sandoval, on the other hand, has yet to go more than five innings and has a 5.79 ERA. Rangers roll. |
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| Matchup | Selection | W/L |
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MLB | Aug 21, 2019 Nationals vs Pirates |
UNDER 9 -103 |
Lost $103.0 |
| Play Type: Top Premium | ||
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I'm playing on Washington/Pittsburgh UNDER the total. I said that I expected runs to be at a premium yesterday and the final score was 4-1. I'm expecting another relatively well-pitched affair this afternoon. Corbin (3.34 ERA) is off back-to-back stellar starts. Last time out, he allowed one run through six complete. He'll face a Pirate team which struggles (29th in OPS) vs. southpaws. Musgrove also checks in off a gem. Through seven complete innings, he allowed just two runs, on only four hits. With nine K's against 0 walks in that one, his confidence level is arguably as high as its been all season. He struck out nine Washington batters, while allowing two runs, the lone time he faced the Nats. Corbin's last start here at Pittsburgh was a 2-1 final score, Corbin striking out 12 without walking a batter. I'm going with the Under. |
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| Matchup | Selection | W/L |
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MLB | Aug 21, 2019 Padres vs Reds |
Reds -135 at YouWager |
Won $100 |
| Play Type: Premium | ||
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I'm playing on CINCINNATI. After losing with the Reds in Monday's opener, I came back and won with them yesterday. I'm coming back with them yet again this afternoon. No, I'm not a fan. I just have felt that they've had advantageous situations for each game. In this one, Strahm goes for San Diego. He pitched both Saturday and Sunday though, which means he won't be around long. In other words, this is more of a "bullpen day" for the Padres. Thats not such a good thing, given that SD relievers have a combined ERA which is close to five. Strahm personally has a 5.21 ERA overall and a 5.91 ERA during the day. True, Castillo struggled last time out. He'd been sharp before that though and he's still got a stellar 2.97 ERA and 0.99 WHIP through 16 home starts. Opposing hitters are batting .187 against him during the day. Castillo pitched well in his lone start against the Padres this season, a 4-2 win back on 4/20. Expect him to bounce back, the Reds grabbing the rubber game and closing the homestand with a "W." |
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| Matchup | Selection | W/L |
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MLB | Aug 21, 2019 Phillies vs Red Sox |
Red Sox -160 at sportsbook |
Lost $160.0 |
| Play Type: Top Premium | ||
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I'm playing on BOSTON. Yesterday's loss was a costly one for the Sox. They know that they have very little margin for error. I expect them to bounce right back today, as I believe that these two starters are currently going in opposite directions. Porcello, admittedly, has struggled this season. However, two of his last three starts have been gems. Last time out, he allowed a single run through six innings. Smyly has been even worse than Porcello overall. Importantly, unlike Porcello, he's not showing signs of getting any better. He gave up five runs in his last start and he's served up five long balls in his past two starts alone. He's got an 8.04 ERA his past three, compared to Porcello's 3.71 mark. Though he had previously pitched well here, Smyly got roughed up in his most recent start here at Fenway. That was in August of 2016 though, a game which saw him give up five runs in five innings, his team losing 8-6. Porcello last faced the Phillies almost exactly one year ago and he was dominant. He allowed just one run through seven complete innings, giving up a mere two hits (0 walks) while striking out 10. His teams are 3-1 over his career against Philadelphia, 2-0 when he's at home. Boston responds. |
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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. |
