Like singer David Bowie said a long time ago "ch-ch-ch-ch-changes" are in the air.

Not that I am suggesting running out and buying tickets for the championship game but don’t be surprised if the Detroit Lions are suited up against the Houston Texans.

The number crunchers still look at basic ways of trying to sort out a winner in a meticulous way. They don’t like change.

Days aren’t long enough and decisions don’t come easy. Few find a way to survive and advance and I tip my hat to all of them. The way the games are bet is the biggest difference since I landed here in the mid 70’s.

Straight bets were at the top of the menu bringing in roughly 75% of the daily handle. Parlays, including parlay cards, have now tipped the scale drastically to the latter. Parlays off the board were usually two or three teamers. Now that is almost obsolete with the thinking of today’s recreational player.

First of all the "new" guys on the block looking for a lumber mill out of a toothpick don’t understand having the worst of it. Still, that person is persistent and loyal to a way of doing business.

All that person bets is teams and not numbers attached to those teams. If a number has moved three points on Stanford it doesn’t change his mindset or his card. Obviously in the long run he should loosen up but about three or four weekends a year he can give you a buzz cut.

The most astonishing thing is the 10 teamers usually outdistance the 4-5-6-7 teamers combined. I once thought of that stat being remarkable but now it is business as usual. On the surface, things might look the same but they are everchanging.

I thought I saw Bowie cashing an eight-teamer on Sunday morning, but could be mistaken.

Take care,
Jimmy V.

Re-printed with permission of Gaming Today