Big Slick Gets Trendy!
New for 2008!
Last year in 2007, I tried to set the betting line, as well as pick which order that the players will hit the rails, which was a monumental task. This year, my intentions are to base the picks on trends. To study the stats and determine whose doing well, poorly, or not much at all leading into the month, and based on that, make my decision about who I believe is on the biggest up-trend and has the best chance to win!
This means that the order that I place the players in, is the order of who I feel has the most momentum coming into this month therefore the most likely to win, and the line will be set to reflect this. The person in the #1 spot will obviously be my pick to take it all, that doesn't mean that he will, just that the trends indicated that to me.
You will see one of
three symbols by your name indicating whether your stock in the poker world is
rising
, falling
,
or it's just holding steady
, with my explanation
of why I feel this way!
Again this year, Slicks Picks will be a forum for friendly wagering although this is strictly for fun and any actual betting that may occur, neither Slick, nor this web site takes any responsibility! That being said, who wants to bet?
I will be setting the betting line for many of our players. I will also set the “Over/Under”. Understand, that setting an “Over/Under” will be difficult due to player nonparticipation. Example: if I set the “Over/Under” on a player at 8, this means that if you guess the over, the player must finish 7th or higher and if you guess the under, he must finish 9th or lower… but if only 10 players show up that month, the odds of winning the over are greatly increased. But since this is for fun anyhow, oh well!
P.S. Understand that the line is the odds of winning and nothing else. Second place doesn’t mean Jack!
Good luck everyone! Don’t forget about parlays!
February 2008
Burmese Buzzsaw: [Line = 3 to
1] – [O/U = 4]
1st place
The last five tournaments held @ Little Hill, have earned The Saw a First, 2 Seconds, and a third place finish. I don’t think anyone can deny a record like that isn’t deserving of top spot. Nobody, and I mean nobody has produced better results in the last year at Little Hill than the reckless one herself.
Cha Cha: [Line = 4 to 1] –
[O/U = 4]
2nd place
He has a fourth and a third in the last two months and is looking to improve on that, and I think he will. He almost earned top spot except when it got down to brass tacks; he was never really a factor to win. He made it deep, but was short most of the time. It’s tough to win when there are three or four players left, and you are the short stack. Everyone is expecting the big push, and if they have something good, they will call.
Spongerific (2005 Tour
Champion): [Line = 4 to 1] – [O/U = 5]
3rd place
Most improved player for 2008? I know it’s early yet, but the Sponge seems to be all business and no pleasure. The jovial, beer drinking Spongie has become the focused, headphone wearing, root beer drinking, unsociable UniSponger. But that style did get him very near the top. One bad beat away from a chip and some cash. It also scored him 12 points to start the year as well. If the beat wasn’t administered, he may have won, so for that he is deserving of one of the top spots.
Popeye: [Line = 5 to 1] – [O/U
= 5]
4th place
What a way to start the year! A big win like that can really help you at years end. Normally, I would put the champion down a bit farther because of the headhunter award and the hosting duties, but Little Hill will be doing the hosting and he has consistently shown that he can play. Depending on the table, he could go far, or his night could end early… my guess is that we’ll see a final table appearance.
Scooter: (2006, 2007 Third
Place) [Line = 5 to 1] – [O/U = 6]
5th place
After missing the Year-end tournament, she fought her way to the final table of the Season Opener, only to be quickly dismissed to the rail. Nonetheless, it was another final table appearance for Scoots and a good start to the year. Scoots has found some magic formula for making the final table. 8 of the last 12 that she has played, she was at the final table and also grabbed her first victory along the way.
Zug : [Line = 6 to 1] – [O/U =
6]
6th place
After 3 tournaments with the S.B.P.T., he has a 7th place average finish with two final table appearances. It’s early yet but he seems like a good player and if he maintains this average, he will likely be vying for a title at years end. I expect a final table appearance and possibly a double-digit point result for this month.
Meaty:
(2007 Second place): [Line = 6 to 1] – [O/U = 7]
7th place
The good news is… he dominated the end of the year for 2007. The bad news is… when he had a bad month in 2007, he followed it up by having two more dismal results. Both times, he scored 12 points before tanking. Will he repeat his mid-2007 disaster or will he shake it off early and battle his way into contention for another title?
Marshal: [Line = 7 to 1] –
[O/U = 7]
8th place
Another consistent finish that was right in line with his average. But looking back to last year, he has never followed up a double-digit points earning with another double-digit points earning. Is he capable… certainly? Will we see him at the final table…Likely? But these picks are based on trends, and history says single digits!
Turtle: [Line = 7 to 1] –
[O/U = 8]
9th place
He completely bucked the trend of first out @ Little Hill last month (2 of 4 appearances with a 2nd out mixed in), but I still believe there is something to that. Sometimes certain places just don’t create great results for certain people. So I am not ruling out a less than fantastic finish for the Tortoise.
Sandy Cheeks (2005 Tour
Runner-up): [Line = 8 to 1] – [O/U = 8]
10th place
The middle of 2007 is when things were really working in Sandy Cheeks favor, but since then, things haven’t been rosy. She hasn’t seen a final table since October 2007. She needs to find her groove and get out of this slump. Fortunately, it’s early in the New Year and with a good result this month, she will be right in the thick of things.
Big Slick (2006, 2007 Tour
Champion): [Line = 8 to 1] – [O/U = 9]
11th place
This wasn’t the start to the 2008 season that Slick had hoped for. He has a lot of catching up to do. There are already a lot of players above him that will be hard to knock out of the top spots. There are still 11 months to do it but, he can already see it’s going to be a tough road.
El Guapo (2006 Second place):
[Line = 9 to 1] – [O/U = 9]
12th place
Last year, he made double-digits only three times all year, and this year wasn’t a double-digit start ether. He carried an average finish of 7th last year but his results didn’t reflect a “final table” average. He and half the pack got off to a slow start this year, so if the top players don’t have some bad results, and the bottom players have some good results, it could get ugly.
The Ruiner: [Line = 10 to 1] –
[O/U = 9]
13th place
The first time she dawned the S.B.P.T. tables, she battled her way to fourth spot and received a chip and her money back for her efforts, but I believe things are going to get much tougher for “The Ruiner of Everything Good”! A few players, including myself have noticed that she is pretty easy to read. Words of warning/advice… mix up your actions, so when you have a big hand it’s not so apparent.
Spider Rico: [Line = 10 to 1]
– [O/U = 9]
14th place
Well, it’s early yet in the Spider Rico saga but for running into quad aces on his first tourney and then to have his aces cracked by pocket kings his second time out… I will make him a bottom dweller for now until he breaks this awful curse. He obviously had his money in good with pocket aces but there is something about aces that work against him. We’ll see what the future brings.
Riverisa: [Line = 11 to 1] –
[O/U = 10]
15th place
This isn’t the start of an S.B.P.T. career that anyone would dream about, but there is plenty of time to get it going in the right direction. In two tournaments, she has earned just 3 points. But that’s okay because one of the tournaments was played last season. This is a whole new year. She can turn around her poor opener with decent result this month and be well on her way to poker glory.
Slicks Past Picks