The Smart Money

How the World's Best Sports Bettors Beat the Bookies Out of Millions

By: Michael Konik

Narrated by: Michael Konik

Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's Summary

In The Smart Money, Michael Konik takes listeners behind the veil of secrecy shrouding the most successful sports gambling operation in America, to its innermost sanctum. He reveals how they, and he, got rich by beating the Vegas lines and, ultimately, the multi-million-dollar offshore betting circuit. He details the perks and perils of a lifestyle in which staking inordinate sums of money on the outcome of a game, sometimes as much as $1 million on a single event, is a normal part of doing business.

©2006 Michael Konik. All rights reserved (P)2006 Simon and Schuster Inc. All rights reserved.

Critic Reviews

"Fascinating....The book feels like a mixture of true-life expose and high-stakes fiction....A definite must-read for the gambling crowd." (Booklist)

Not what I was looming for

The subtitle is misleading. I was looking for a book that taught some of the practical ways that the "wise guys" calculate their picks. This is NOT what this book is based on. Just a long, repetitive story about the author and his time working under one of these wise guys. The wise guys simply use him as a puppet to make bets for them so I really learned nothing I didn't already know. Could even finish the book to be honest. Got 2/3rds through and gave up.

Could not have been more interesting

This ia a true story that reads like fiction. The storyline is unbeleivably interesting and really takes you into another world. made me want to gamble like crazy on sports.

Disliked it

I tend to enjoy stories with the theme of gambling, handicapping or Vegas. Not this time. I found the authors' tone to be a distraction, often blowing his own horn rather than telling the story. When the main character is arrogant and unlikable, the story is hard to embrace. The story itself was nothing to rave about; aimless and eventually downright dull. I dropped the book about halfway through; life's to short to listen to jerks.

Exaggeration

Everything in the book seemed like an over exaggeration of the authors importance in the scheme. Just one mans pathetic attempt to boost his own ego. At no point was the author even necessary in his own book let alone pivotal, which leave a lot of questions to be answered about how accurate the book really is. If you are hoping to get some tips about sports betting you will be very disappointed as this isn't a how to.

Riveting

Let me state upfront that I'm female, I know NOTHING about sports or sports betting and was, nonetheless, totally enthralled by this book. The writing is as good or better than Augsten Burroughts and the story moves at a fast clip and in directions you don't expect. Though the author is an established gambling journalist, at times you'd swear you were listening to a novel. His reading and his characterization are better than most pros.

sometime gross and sadist

i purchased this book hoping it would contain sport betting advice. this was a somewhat entertaining story. i did not like the gross description in which he depicts his love life and "girlfriend".

What a page turner

If you like the sports bet and Vegas them this book is right up your alley, I could not stop reading it once I started. One of my top 10 books

False Advertising

Billed as a good book on how to increase your betting skills
Just a florid account of cliches and how cool the narrator/author is...
An awful book...do not waste your money and time
Not one useful piece of info in here
Dime store junk
Ugh

Not about the system, but about the experience...

I noticed when deciding whether to purchase this book that a lot of other reviewers had commented on that the author had centered on his own part of the story rather than a comprehensive explanation of the system itself. I definitely was much more interested in the system than the author's story, but I decided to purchase it anyway. This is definitely an autobiography about the author's experience as an external member of the system, as well as his attempt to build his own system. However, I found the story to be an excellent listen, with parts that I laughed out loud to.

Couple of corrections of the other reviews:

While the author (and narrator) wrote about himself, in no way did he present himself as being any more important than he actually was. He thoroughly explained the limitations of his knowledge (often with a humorous anecdote) and he never blurred the line between his take on how the system worked and the facts on what he saw of the system.

If you're looking for an explanation of the algorithms behind the system, I regretfully have to say that this is not the book for you. However, I was also looking for more information on the algorithms, and found this book a delightful diversion, even if I was officially "disappointed". I have listened to audiobooks multiple times before, and I intend on listening to this one again in the future.

The four stars for the narration is a medium. The narrator's performance of voices other than his own can be trying, especially his take on female voices, but the fact that the author himself is narrating really adds to the realism of the feelings he had as he experienced the story.

I look forward to listening to more from Michael Konik, and put him in the mix with some of my favorite audiobook authors (which include Scott Patterson and Michael Lewis).

extremely interesting

The book is very interesting and I most admit I really liked it. Strange thing I used some one the tricks I learned from this book to start betting on MMA fights and I turned $100 into $500 in about a month and a half.