Falcon Points

3 ways to still get your gamble on while we have no sports

Horse racing
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Yes, things seem bleak right now, especially in the sports world. But you can still get your gambling fix. It is limited right now, but here are three things you can bet on right now:


1) Horse racing 

Several tracks are still conducting racing without fans. Oaklawn Park, Gulfstream, Tampa Bay Downs and Los Alamitos and Remington Park are all racing on the weekends. Tracks such as Will Rodgers Downs and Fonner Park race during the week. The pools have been large, leading to some nice payoffs. You can learn more about horse racing with the audio book Acing Racing 2016. You can pick up past performances, picks and info at Daily Racing Form. You can play in Texas at betusracing,com (use promo code The Blitz). Horse racing offers a variety of low-risk, high reward wagers. Think of it as having many different prop bets on a given race.

2) Form an online poker club

We have done this through pokerstars.net. We have a free league, and are also doing a charity tournament on Saturdays. You can play there, or set up your own home game with your friends and exchange money through Venmo or PayPal. Unfortunately pay poker sites are still not legal in most states, but by creating your own, you can work around this. There are several other sites you can use as well.

3) There are other things to bet on

Some sites now allow you to bet on the weather. Mybookie.ag is allowing wagering on Madden and NBA 2K simulations as well as whatever sports are going on in the world. While not ideal, at least you have some ways to play. You can also bet on the result of the elections, and of the NFL Draft.

Who knows when we will have familiar things to bet on again. But there are at least some options, especially if you are going to be stuck at home for a while.

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Help is on the way.But not right away. Composite Getty Image.

The Houston Astros are officially back on track, climbing two games over .500 after beating the Blue Jays in the series opener on Monday. It's been impressive to see the team go on a run with several key players out of the mix due to injury.

And by the looks of how things currently stand, it doesn't appear any reinforcements will be arriving before the All-Star break. Astros manager Joe Espada told the flagship station on Tuesday that the club is going to be cautious with Kyle Tucker and Justin Verlander.

Tucker is expected to start running soon, and Verlander is already soft tossing from sixty feet. But based on Espada's comments, we shouldn't expect Tucker and JV back before the break. They're hoping that when they do return, they'll be fully ready to play the rest of the season without any “hiccups.”

With Tucker out for likely another two weeks, we should get to see more from Jake Meyers, Chas McCormick, Trey Cabbage, and Joey Loperfido. All of which have had some big moments in recent days.

Espada also said Luis Garcia is scheduled to make a two inning start on Thursday with the Double A club. Lance McCullers could also be ready to return in early August (fingers crossed).

Fortunately for the Astros, Shawn Dubin pitched well in his spot start in New York. Espada told the flagship that Dubin has a good shot at making another start, depending on the state of the bullpen heading into the Twins game on Friday.

It was once believed Houston would have to look outside the organization for pitching help, and they still might. But don't expect a move to happen anytime soon. The Astros depth is holding up, so other teams don't hold all the leverage on GM Dana Brown if he's interested in making a deal.

Speaking of which, the Astros have been rumored to have interest in Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

And while we know Jim Crane loves to make a splash, it's hard to believe he would agree to exceeding the second tax threshold to secure the Blue Jays slugger.

Between Mauricio Dubon, Jon Singleton, and Joey Loperfido, first base doesn't feel like a priority. In the end, the Astros may view a trade as unnecessary with the returns of Verlander, Tucker, Garcia, Jake Bloss, and McCullers. Which could mean a very quiet trade deadline for Houston.

Considering the lack of depth in the farm system, this could be very beneficial in the big picture.

Finally, when looking at the schedule leading up to the All Star break, there are some great opportunities for the 'Stros. They can gain ground on the Twins in the Wild Card race, and push the Rangers further down the standings in the final series before the break.

And let's not forget the series with the division-leading Mariners coming out of the break.

Don't miss the video above as we break it all down!

*Catch our weekly Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo discuss varied Astros topics. The first post for the week generally goes up Monday afternoon (second part released Tuesday) via The SportsMap HOU YouTube channel or listen to episodes in their entirety at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. And be on the lookout for bonus episodes on Thursdays!

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