My previous best was coming out $127 ahead on a $360 budget, back in 2023.
It's hard to come out ahead, ya know? Just breaking even and having a good time is a win in my book.
On Saturday, I placed one bet on college, Georgia -3. They covered. (42-7).
In the early slate, I had:
Rams -4.5
Rams -4.5, Puka 80 and TD, Stafford 240
Chiefs -2.5, Lions -2.5
Chiefs -2.5, Saints -2.5
Chiefs -2.5, Rice 40, Walker 50, Mahomes 210
Cowboys -4.5, Williams 60 and TD, Lamb 60
Cowboys -4.5
Giants -3
Panthers to lead first half, Broncos to win
Jets +10.5, Packers +7.5
In the first half, the Chiefs are only up 2 and Mahomes looks like he got a dislocated shoulder/elbow. It could have ruined the Chiefs season and my day. But it didn't.
I was smart to put half units on Cowboys.
I miraculously pulled out the Rice 40 yard part of the parlay on the last drive and then checked the ticket and the odds were still only +104. Seemed like a miracle only to win $20.
Stafford was 12 yards short of hitting that one.
So early was a mixed bag.
In the afternoon, I had:
Texans -6
49ers -9.5 and over 52
49ers -6.5, Seahawks -2.5
Bears -6
and my 8-leg moneyline parlay: Rams, Chiefs, Giants, Cowboys, Seahawks, 49ers, Texans, Bears
The Texans won easy.
The 49ers and Seahawks won easy.
The 49ers over parlay was tricky because I was rooting for points and 49ers big win, and that's exactly what happened. This turned out to be a +245 ticket.
And then there was the 8-leg ticket at +1024.
The Rams, Chiefs and Giants all took care of business. The Cowboys almost blew it! But didn't. And then the Seahawks, 49ers, Texans didn't even make me sweat. Which means I'm 7 for 7 of the way there.
I tell Paula that I'm 7 for 7 on a 8-leg parlay, and tell her I'm thinking about hedging a little. She says don't do it. Don't be a luck blocker.
So the game starts and I've got no hedge. Letting it ride with the Bears.
And they storm out to a 14-0 lead. I'm loving it.
Then Caleb starts throwing picks.
The Bears are lucky to still be up 17-6 at the half. It's a good lead. The moneyline for the Bucs is +800.
So I hedge. $20 bucks buys me a $160 insurance. If the Bears blow this game, I'm still getting a big pay day. I can relax. And I'm glad I did.
Because the Bears put me through the freaking ringer.
They didn't even cover my -6 ticket.
But in the end, they won. Which meant my first ever longshot parlay, in this case 8-teams, actually won.
With the Georgia win (not pictured) that's $390 in winnings and only $120 in losses.
$270 ahead with only $300 in play.
That's the equivalent of winning every single bet you make.
Here's the rest of my pictures:
