Betting 101: There is power in social-media crowdsourcing

Gambling Twitter can definitely be overwhelming. If you’re like me, then you have a list of betting accounts you trust, tail their action and perhaps even have notifications on. There’s one part of Twitter, however, that is likely being underutilized … the post thread.

The French Open is happening now in Paris, and of course, I’m making my rounds, placing some bets, but twice this week, I’ve wagered something that I didn’t think of on my own.

Twitter fam, you’ve got me! These are the two bets.

Rafael Nadal to bagel

Each year, one of my favorite bets to place is for the King of Clay — Rafael Nadal — to bagel his opponent at least once in a match, which means he will win a set 6-0. It’s really tough to do, unless you are Nadal at the French Open. He’s actually done this loads of times throughout the years and over a handful of times in the past two years.

The wager I posted was for Nadal to bagel his second-round opponent, Corentin Moutet. The situation made sense, the odds were good, and I saw it as a good opportunity at plus money. I talked about how Nadal was likely to win in straight sets but the juice on that option was heavy.

The tip that came in as a reply, “I’m going to take the under on total games and sprinkle on the bagel.” I took it.

You’re so right! It’s no different than backing an underdog ATS in a football game and sprinkling on the plus money for that team to win outright. Let the less risk option be the one unit wager and then sprinkle on the higher risk that offers value.

The under worked out. My bagel did not, but came close with Nadal winning 6-1 in the second set. That’s just one instance.

Zdenek Kolar to win a set

The 25-year-old Czech, ranked No. 134 on tour and who had played just one ATP tour event prior to facing world No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round, played phenomenal tennis. He had a perfectly timed drop shot, was coming into the net, was speedy and caused all kinds of trouble for Tsitsipas, who likely thought it would be a breeze of a match. Quite the opposite. Instead, Kolar lost the first set 6-3 but then forced two tiebreaks, splitting sets in the second and third to force a fourth set.

The wager I posted was a live bet for Kolar to win the fourth set at 4-1 odds. When live betting tennis, or any other sport, you look for momentum in addition to the skill set involved. Kolar had it all. He had the momentum coming off winning the third set 7-3 in the tiebreak, the crowd was electric and chanting his name as if he were Nadal in the Final. He also had the skills because of that drop shot, which was highly effective against Tsitsipas.

The tip that came in as a reply:

Ugh! Another sound tip in case Kolar dropped the tiebreak. I took it.

The over worked out. My fourth set win did not, but like the bagel, it came close as Kolar was up 6-2 in the tiebreak … and lost.

Diversity of thought

The point is, I shared two losers but walked away positive because of the Twitter community. As bettors, we can certainly overlook a better option, especially if we are placing wagers on the fly, but conversations on Twitter can steer us back to a winning direction. Essentially, Twitter is an open forum. I start the conversation with my thoughts and am humble to realize that I can also learn from others. I’m definitely not afraid that someone has a better idea than me.

The more heads you have in a room, the more sharp your ideas, solutions, and results can be. Diversity of thought can help spread winning bets.

So, the next time your favorite personality posts a pick, check the thread and see what other ideas have been mentioned. Maybe you’re already doing this, but if you’re not, let it become a habit to check comments. If the account you follow isn’t engaging with conversation, then perhaps you need to follow others because the more information you have, the more likely you are to come out with a winning ticket.