The Betting Man: Testing The 'No Guts, No Glory' Rule

The Betting Man re-learned a hard lesson last week.

Tucked among three losing propositions was this nugget:

As for the rest of the SEC, a couple of hunches are that Mississippi State will win outright at Kentucky and that Tennessee will pour it on South Carolina if given the chance. The problem for bettors coming off big losses is the same as it is for the teams who play the games - shaken confidence.

As we all know, Mississippi State won outright at Kentucky and Tennessee beat South Carolina 31-13. Shaken confidence caused The Betting Man not to bet games he liked.

Those games wouldn't have been enough to salvage a winning weekend, but they would have lessened the damage considerably. "If" - it is the most useless word in the gambler's dictionary.

At this point, The Betting Man couldn't be happier that the bankroll featured in this space is mythical. Frankly, it's going up in flames like Madoff money.

If The Betting Man has learned anything else over a couple of decades of wagering, though, it's that bettors must be resilient. Bounce-backs will happen. You just have to be patient while you wait, and aggressive when you see the right opportunity.

Arkansas, in fact, feels a little bit like one of those opportunities this week. The Hogs are playing the second of three home games in a row, and get South Carolina playing its second consecutive road game. There's also the fact the Gamecocks play host to Florida next week.

This just feels like a good spot to bet on Arkansas and against South Carolina. It's rare you get a two-for like that.

The line, however, opened at Arkansas -4 ½ and has moved to Arkansas -7. That's enough to slow down anyone.