The best way for you to get to know and understand me is for me to give the background as to why I started DeanBrowski.com. In the Fall of 2006, I was looking to advance beyond blind wagering every weekend on football games. I had come a long way in my personal development as a wagerer, having been at both extremes of the gambling spectrum and all points in between. In recent years I had to come realize a few simple rules that made betting on sports more enjoyable and also more successful. I was partly motivated by my desire to put my thoughts and analysis out into the world to prove that I was just as good as any other sports handicapper and to begin building a reputation as an expert. I was also motivated to find a way to catch the excitement that comes with sports wagering, while limiting the financial risk. Lastly, I had read two books that ignited the scientist inside of me to test a theory. The books were The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nations and Blink. (Both of these books can be found in my Library by clicking here.) The theory I wish to test is a combination of the respective basis of both previously mentioned books. Namely, that individually our instincts, our initial thoughts, can be just as sound, if not more so, then any decision we make with much deliberation; and, our collective decisions are wiser than any of our individual decisions. I believe that by assembling a wise crowd, and tapping into its collective wisdom, the end result will be more correct decisions than any one person would do on their own.

Allow me to elaborate on my comment that I have been at both extremes of the gambling spectrum. I had runs as a successful wagerer, I had moments of destitution as a desperate gambler. I was on top of the world as a small-time bookmaker, and I was a scumbag bookie trying to collect from college kids who didn’t have a dime. Ironic part was that I was a college kid at the time as well, not only that, I was also a college football player. Rest assured, there was never any action on games that I played in. The point of saying that is to establish my level of involvement in this arena. I was involved with football as both a player and a coach for over 12 years, and have been an avid handicapper for 10+ years. Through that time I have seen a lot and learned even more.

As all of us know, the reason casinos exist is because the house always wins. That is not to say individuals don’t win sometimes, but over the course of time, the house always wins. Knowing that, I realized I was foolish to be on the losing side of things so I decided to be the house. People build houses all the time, why can’t I?! So I did. And in the fall of 1995 I took my first wager, from there, I was hooked. I only had a handful of people placing bets with me, but it was a wide enough group of people that I never had a losing weekend. That football season was the best time of my life both on the field and off. It was all football all the time and I couldn’t get enough. Perhaps you are familiar with the saying ‘big fish, little pond’ and let me just tell you that being a big fish in a little pond is all its cracked up to be and more. Its not that I thought I was big time everywhere, I knew from which well I drew my water and the water was sweet, fresh and plentiful.

As with all things, both good and bad, they come to an end. The well never ran dry, but the path to get to the well became obstructed. People got in over their heads, collecting became a problem, I had to start turning people away because their debts were too high. I then started to lose credibility because of one kid whose debt went unpaid and others began to question why they should pay off their losses if he got away with not paying his. So I was left with only one option. To make a statement.

I am not a tough guy, never claimed to be, never wanted to be. But there I was, confronting this kid, this Freshman to pay me the almost $800 he owed me. In the process of helping him to ‘see the light’ for the second time that week, he uttered something that made me stop what I was doing and immediately re-evaluate just what the hell I was doing. To paraphrase the poor slob, “You can keep hitting me, but its not going to put any money in my pocket”. Its not that his words were something I didn’t already know, and I am sure someone more cut out for that line of work wouldn’t have paused for a second which proved to me that I was not cut out for that kind of work.

I struggled with what to do over the next few days, and sadly came to the realization that I had to close down my shop. It was no longer worth the risk. I was never much for wagering on basketball and being that football was over, that made the pill a little easier to swallow. But when the football season rolled back around I was jonesin’ like nobody’s business.

I kept my nose clean for a few seasons, mainly because after you are the house you never want to be just a player. You want to be the house. I held out for as long as I could, but the urge was too strong, so I started playing again. The problem with playing through a bookie is that you don’t have to actually own the money you are wagering. I was never so bad as to wager more than I could have paid, but I was foolish enough to wager amounts that after I paid them off I was eating spaghetti and butter for a week. It wasn’t fun, it wasn’t fun at all. After hitting a point where I was just grew tired of the stress I called it off. I declared that I was done. Of course, football season was just over so the declaration was not as bold as it may seem.

Later that summer, after thinking long and hard about the path I had been down and where I wanted to go, I stumbled upon an online book, BetOnSports.com, which is now shut down due to the legal issues surrounding online wagering. So, in late summer of 2003 I opened an account and placed a wager. I took Japan in the Little League World Series. Don’t think of me as being that desperate, its just that all other events being played that day had already begun. Plus, Japan was good wager and they won, so I make no apologies. I wagered $10.00 on that game, that was 10% of my initial deposit and I was off and running.

During the course of using the online sportsbook, it dawned on me that the high I felt when wagering $10 was no different than when I was wagering a large sum. The only difference was I didn’t have that sick to my stomach feeling before, during or after the game. I didn’t remove the good emotion from it all, I eliminated the bad emotion. That had a resounding impact on all my wagers. If I lost a game I did not grow so agitated as to be irrational with my next wager. Conversely, I made better bets. And by making better bets, I had more money to play with. Suddenly, I was playing 10% of my investment on a game, but my investment amount had grown. Suddenly I was wagering larger sums of money, but without the anxiety because I never went over 10% of my bankroll.

If you are still reading at this point, thank you, and I will bring this story to a close.

Ever since the summer of 2003, I have found new and creative ways to scratch that itch without having to take on risk. Along the journey I have learned many principles that I wish to share with you, as well as discuss with you. I created this forum so that we all can become Better Bettors.