A Pittsburgh Pirate fan decided to spend the 2010 baseball season putting his money where the common perception of the Pirates is - losing. Greg Mercer decided to try an experiment whereby he bet $20 on every single Pirates game, either on the money line, the run line, or a combination thereof, against the Pirates.
↵162 games later and the results are telling - $20 per game over the course of the year will yield a $342 profit. You might look at that number and think it appears low. Consider, however, what Vegas would have been giving a gambler like Mercer in terms of odds. A loss to Mercer (and win for the Pirates) was a straight loss of $20. However, every Mercer win (and loss for the Pirates) netted him a profit well below his bet line. The average "To Win" result for Mercer was a meager $16.75.
↵