Thirty-Five Years Against the House

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Plus 2 printable bonuses

free ~~$24~~.

The Real Cost Card. One page: what each price needs, what a parlay costs, what a year costs, and the most to pay for half a point. Worth ~~$12~~, free
The Bettor's Ledger. The notebook, with the columns already laid out, plus the Sunday sum and the one division that counts each month. Worth ~~$12~~, free

I. The problem

Ask any bettor how he's doing. He'll tell you about even.

I said it for more than ten years, with every bet I'd ever made sitting in a shoebox. I kept those notebooks to check my bookie. I never once used them to check me. The night I finally added them up, the number had a comma in it.

"I'd been paying that bill for ten years and I'd never once opened the envelope."

"About even." Bet $50 five times a week at -110 and go 130 and 130. At any bar in America that's an even year. You're down $591.
"One leg away." On a five-legger you can hit four and collect exactly what you'd collect if you hit none. The book pays nothing for close.
One guy gets a friend. The other gets a smaller box. A buddy of mine was having the worst year of his life when an app gave him a personal host. That same app had just cut my limit. Nobody called me. One night the box wouldn't take my usual bet.
The money leaves in little pieces. You tap a screen. The balance tells you what's left, not what's gone.
The night game. You're down on the afternoon and one more game looks like the way back. Nobody settles up at midnight. All that bet adds is more money moved, on the day you're least fit to move it.

What one ordinary year costs

Five bets a week, $50 a bet. That's $13,000 moved in a year. The only thing that changes is what you buy.

Straight bets at -105	$309.52
Straight bets at -110	$590.91
Straight bets at -120	$1,083.33
At Maryland's parlay rate, 20.21%	$2,627.30

My math, with the rule from Chapter 5: cost = money moved x hold. Assumes you hit half your straight bets, or pay the going rate. Your result in any one year won't be average.

The trouble isn't paying. The trouble is not knowing you're paying.

II. What's inside

26 chapters in five parts. What every bet costs, and how the house works you.

The numbers come from state regulators, the IRS, the law and economists who published their work. When something was only reported in the press, or it's just what a sportsbook told a regulator, the book says so. The price math you can check yourself with a cheap calculator, and I'd like you to.

Part 1 · What Every Bet Costs (5 chapters)

Adding up the notebook, reading a line, the juice, what the house really keeps, and the bill for one year.

Part 2 · Inside the House (8 chapters)

How a line gets made and moves, who gets limited, who gets the VIP call, bonus bets, parlays and boosts, cash out, and why the house doesn't need to cheat.

Part 3 · How I Bet Now (7 chapters)

The notebook, the bankroll, the best price, the closing price, fewer bets, chasing, and the phone.

Part 4 · The Bets I Keep Making (3 chapters)

Key numbers in the NFL, baseball prices and the other sports, with the arithmetic behind each one. Prices and history, never a pick.

Part 5 · Keeping It Straight (3 chapters)

Taxes, including the 2026 rule that counts only 90 percent of your losses, whether anybody makes a living at this, and when to stop.

Three boxes that run through the book

Run the numbersThe arithmetic, laid out with its source, so you can check it.
From the old daysShort stories from my years with a bookie and a shoebox of notebooks.
Before your next betA few plain things to do first, usually with a pencil.

At the back: The Numbers on One Page, every price, parlay and yearly bill from the book in one place.

III. Who it's for

I'm not telling you you'll win. I'm telling you what it costs.

I don't have a list of sure things. I've never met anybody who did, and I've met plenty who said so. This book doesn't give you a bet for Sunday. It shows you the price on the ticket and lets you decide if you still want it.

It's for you if

You already bet, with money you can afford to lose
You say "about even" and you're not sure that's true
You play parlays and want to see what each leg costs
You've been cut back, or courted, and want to know why
You want -110 explained in plain words

It's not for you if

You want to get rich. Almost nobody makes a living at this, and I didn't
You want picks. There are none
You don't bet. This book is no invitation to start. Keep your money
You're under the legal age, or betting isn't legal where you live

If gambling is hurting you, don't buy a book. Call or text 1-800-MY-RESET. It's free, it's confidential, and it's open 24 hours a day.

IV. Who I am Vince

Thirty-five years on my side of the counter. Never on theirs.

I'm 63. I started at 28 the way everybody I knew started: I called a guy. He was a neighborhood bookie, and that's an illegal business, then and now. I'm telling you where I've been, not where to go. After him came the trips to Las Vegas, then the internet, then the phone in your pocket. I've paid juice in all of it.

I never worked in a sportsbook. I never set a line. I was never a pro: I kept my day job the whole time. I lost plenty before I learned anything, and for years I didn't even know how much. Later I started keeping real accounts, and some books cut my limits. They never told me why.

None of this will make you a winner. What it did for me was make the bill smaller, and let me know what I was paying.

V. The e-book

Pay once. Read it on any device, today.

$49.99$27

$49.99 is the regular price. $27 is the launch price, while the book grows.

This is an e-book, a digital download. Nothing is printed or mailed.

26 chapters in five parts, plus The Numbers on One Page
Plus 2 printable bonuses, free (worth ~~$24~~)
A 134-page PDF laid out like a book, and an EPUB for e-readers, tablets and phones
Download on the page that opens right after you pay. The link works for 30 days
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VI. Questions

Before you ask

Is this a printed book?

No. It's an e-book: a 134-page PDF and an EPUB. Nothing comes in the mail. You can print the PDF yourself, and the two bonuses are made to be printed.

How do I get it?

You pay on a secure Stripe checkout, and the page that opens right after has your files. Nothing is sent by email, so save them there. The link works for 30 days.

Will this make me win?

No. I can't do that for you, and I'd be wary of anybody who says he can. Whatever you bet, you can lose. This book shows you what you're paying. What you do about it is up to you.

Do you sell picks?

No, and I never will. No tips, no picks, no system. The book won't tell you who to bet on.

Do the sportsbooks pay you for this?

No. No sportsbook is named in this book and none pays anything for it. There are no links to any betting site or app.

What if I don't like it?

Write to me at info@oldbenchbooks.online within 48 hours of your purchase and you'll get your money back.

The last page

Don't wait for your water heater to break.

Write it down. Add it up. Look at your number, and don't tell yourself a story about it. Nobody's going to do this for you. The house won't, because it already knows.

Get the e-book · $27

E-book: PDF + EPUB, nothing is mailed · money back within 48 hours

Rather not buy anything? Fine. Get a pencil and your bank statements tonight. That part is free.