Originally Posted by
AxelWolf
Originally Posted by
redietz
There's nothing inherently wrong with handicappers soliciting clients.
That's where most people will absolutely disagree with you( unless inherently means something different to other's).
Unfortunately, some people just don't realize just how scammy the sports touting and soliciting business actually is.
Is there any sports service guys or whatever you want to call them willing to pay all my losses for half my winnings assuming I follow all their picks and advice over the course of 2 years (or whatever it take to almost guarantee a profit) This would actually not be that hard.
As an AP I would absolutely be willing to make that deal with the stuff I play if they played exactly everything the way I did/do/how I directed them.
I was using a general cultural perspective when saying "there's nothing inherently wrong." From my personal perspective, I think target pop-ups on the internet and algorithms on Facebook are inherently wrong, much more so than something as obvious (though annoying) as a telemarketer tout. I personally believe that convincing people they need things or services that they really do not is bad, no matter its form.
I don't have a mechanism to judge what's worse. Sleazebags like the dude who claimed to be a super-handicapper on "Money Talks" are the worst of the worse. The show was horrific claptrap. But these guys are such obvious clowns, I'm not sure how much damage they can do. Is it worse than reality shows featuring psychics? I don't know. Is the sleaze rip-off spiel of "Steve Stephens" worse than mass franchise comfort food sellers whose effect is to create a two-thirds obese population? I do not know. Is "Steve Stephens" worse than any tobacco exec in what effects he causes? I doubt it.
At one time, I thought the sports handicapping field was about 98% scam nonsense. Now I'd say it's probably 80% scam nonsense, not necessarily because handicappers became more virtuous, but because the public slowly has learned, for the most part, what is or is not possible.
My personal orientation is that the majority of goods and services we buy are unnecessary nonsense. So I guess that would make anyone pitching them scam artists, in a sense. I mean, really, almost all ads that use famous pitchmen can be considered scams, and maybe worse than "Steve Stephens" because he's such an obvious idiot.
I think all cold calls are wrong. I think pop-up ads are wrong. I think cookies to track people are wrong. They are all invasions of privacy. I think a lot of things are wrong.
P.S. Axel, that last line of your post made me chuckle. Back in the day, do you know how frustrating it was to make money for people on Saturday, knowing full well they would blow it all on Sunday or on the Monday night game? People rarely do exactly what you tell them.