Falcon Points
3 ways to still get your gamble on while we have no sports
Apr 15, 2020, 6:55 am
Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
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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The Houston Astros passed their first test of the second half with flying colors by going to Seattle and taking two of three from the Mariners.
The Astros starting pitching managed to outduel Seattle's, only allowing eight runs in the series. Hunter Brown continues to look like a top of the rotation starter, and Framber Valdez has allowed 3 earned runs or fewer in six consecutive starts.
On the offensive side of the ball, Yainer Diaz and Yordan Alvarez are keeping the lights on as the team awaits the return of slugger Kyle Tucker.
In the meantime, the 'Stros have an important series with the Athletic's looming, followed by an epic clash with the Dodgers. It will be in the club's best interest to take care of business against the lowly A's, because wins could be tough to come by against LA.
Both the Mariners and Rangers have the White Sox on their schedule this week, so this appears to be a three horse race in the AL West as the trade deadline arrives next Tuesday and beyond.
Outside of pitching, first base continues to be the area where Houston could stand to upgrade. Both Jon Singleton and Mauricio Dubon have fallen back to Earth a bit. And The Athletic's Chander Rome reported that Yainer Diaz was taking ground balls at first base recently.
That's an interesting nugget considering the struggles of Singleton and Dubon. Plus, Victor Caratini is back with the team after being activated off the injury list.
Will Joe Espada give Diaz some starts at first base with Caratini back in the fold? Only time will tell. Having a hitter like Diaz playing catcher certainly gives the Astros an edge over many teams.
But at the same time, it's hard to find teams with worse options at first base than what Houston is running out there on a daily basis.
Be sure to watch the video above as we react to the series win over Seattle, look ahead to the upcoming matchups with the A's and Dodgers, and much more!
Plus, we examine how the Astros offense can take another step forward!
*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.