Shulman Vs. Shulman

Many of you know that Card Player is giving away a free trip to the Super Bowl to the lucky CardPlayer.com football contest winner (check out the details at www.CardPlayer.com).

Enter even if you know nothing about football. There is no cost.

Yes, I say lucky winner. For too many years I have been sitting at poker tables listening to the boring sports conversations of people who have far too many hours on their hands for talking sports. I haven't found one yet who would have produced a profit for me if I had followed his football picks. Actually, one guy is so bad that I always take the opposite side of any sporting event he is betting. That is the only certainty I have found.

Like many of the other hotshot young gentlemen, Jeff "Happy" Shulman thinks he is some kind of football maven, as well as poker player and businessman. I have goaded him into making his picks public on CardPlayer.com every week prior to kickoff. He is going to invite one of his hotshot handicapper friends to join him weekly. He actually thinks his opinions bear noting.

I'm not so sure that there isn't more luck involved in sports handicapping than in poker. So, for week No. 1, I have personally challenged Happy and will make my picks public. I hereby represent that I know nothing about football. In fact, I just learned that they put in the 2-point conversion option in pro football sometime ago.

I am even disclosing my strategy here: I will look at the spreads and go with heavily favored teams. On close calls, I will go with teams that had good programs when I followed sports 35 years ago. Finally, I will bet against the team that is touted by the loudest person at the poker table where I happen to be playing that day.

Have some fun; enter the contest. Perhaps you will win a trip to the Super Bowl. Don't let the pros intimidate you. They take this stuff far too seriously.