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Ben Burns |
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| Including another winner last Monday, he's 9-4 his last 13 NFL. Tonight is the 49ers hosting the Seahawks, a pair of teams Burns knows like the back of his hand. Still 13-10 with all picks the L4 days - you in NOW?! |
| YESTERDAY'S PLAYS | ||
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| Matchup | Selection | W/L |
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NCAA-B | Nov 11, 2019 Drake vs Cincinnati |
UNDER 141½ -110 |
Won $100 |
| Play Type: Top Premium | ||
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I'm playing on Drake/Cincy UNDER the total. While the Bulldogs do return six of their top nine players, the three that left were there three top scorers. They had success offensively against a weak team (Kennesaw State) in their first game but they're going to find scoring a challenge against a stingy Cincy team. True, the Bearcats are going to be a little more up-tempo under Brannen than they were under Cronin. They're still going to be a strong defensive team though. In their first game, while the Bearcats scored only 56 against Ohio State, they also held the Buckeyes to only 64. Drake has seen the UNDER go 7-1-1 the last nine times it played a road game with an O/U line in the 140 to 144.5 range. Expect those stats to improve this evening. |
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| Matchup | Selection | W/L |
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NBA | Nov 11, 2019 Wolves vs Pistons |
Pistons -2 -110 at 5Dimes |
Lost $110.0 |
| Play Type: Premium | ||
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I'm playing on DETROIT. The Pistons have both the venue and the schedule in their favor for this one. While they come in rested, the Wolves are off a hard-fought tough OT loss against the Nuggets last night. Towns and co. gave everything they had but ultimately came up short. Thats going to be tough to bounce back from tonight. Note that Minnesota is 14-24-1 ATS over the years, when off a division loss of three or fewer points. During that span, the Wolves are just 59-93-3 ATS off all losses of three or fewer points, 4-9 ATS the past couple of seasons. Note that the Wolves have also won just nine of 28 games, when playing on b2b nights. The Pistons, 16-10 ATS the past couple of seasons, when playing with two day's rest, have won three straight at home, the wins coming by a bigger margin each time. Knowing they hit the road, where they've struggled, after this, expect them to take care of business at home. |
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| Matchup | Selection | W/L |
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NHL | Nov 11, 2019 Senators vs Hurricanes |
Hurricanes -1½ +108 at pinnacle |
Won $108 |
| Play Type: Premium | ||
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I'm playing on CAROLINA on the puck-line (-1.5 goals). This is second leg of a home-and-home series. The Sens won at Ottawa, now I expect the Canes to return the favor at Raleigh. Note that Ottawa is 0-4 off a win by two or more goals, 10-25 in that situation the past 2+ seasons. The Sens are 1-6 on the road, getting outscored by a combined 26-17 margin. The Canes, on the other hand, are 6-3 at home, outscoring teams by a 33-24 margin. The Sens last three losses all came by more than one goal. The Canes' last win was by a 7-3 score. Expect them to bounce back with another multiple-goal win tonight. |
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| Matchup | Selection | W/L |
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NFL | Nov 11, 2019 Seahawks vs 49ers |
UNDER 47 -110 |
Lost $110.0 |
| Play Type: Top Premium | ||
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I'm playing on Seattle/SF UNDER the total. When choosing a game to finish 'under' the total, I typically look for games where I expect both teams to feature a heavy dose of the run, as that tends to keep the clock moving. I absolutely expect that to be the case here. The 49ers lead the league in rushing attempts per game. They run the ball a whopping 37.9 times per game. The Seahawks aren't that far behind. Including Wilson's carries, the Hawks run the ball 30.3 times per game, fifth most in the league. On defense, the 49ers allow just 12.7 ppg, second only to the Patriots. Their 242 yards allowed per game is the stingiest in the NFL. As for the Hawks, they'll be out to prove that their defense is better than it showed last week. They've seen the UNDER go 5-2 the past couple of seasons, when playing a road game with an O/U line in the 45 to 49.5 range. They've also seen the UNDER Go 2-0 as road underdogs in the 3.5 to 7 range. Expect those stats to improve Monday night. |
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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. |
