Episode 110

Kevin Berar [00:00:00]:

No. Andrew, your father. Original father.

Andrew Pace [00:00:04]:

My father? Dad? Mark Andrews?

Kevin Berar [00:00:08]:

No, no. Your actual father. Your actual father. You're listening to behind the Lines, a podcast presented by inplayLIVE and powered by Pinnacle, the number one sports book where winners play and never get limited. Go to pinnacle.com/inplaylive to sign up and get in the game. Welcome to behind the Lines Powered by Pinnacle. On this week's episode, we talk NHL, NBA first round playoffs recap, the NFL draft. Caesar is refusing to pay a Chicago sports bettor over $800,000.

Kevin Berar [00:00:56]:

And if we have time at the end of the show, a little rapid fire Q and A with Pace mixing it up a little bit, adding some color to the show. Finally, my name is Kevin Burrard. KB for short. Longtime IPL member filling in for Shane Mercer. I believe Shane's in Zimbabwe right now trying to find a women's basketball team total to bet on. Actually, I don't know where Shane is, but one guy that's always here is a founder of inplayLIVE and CEO and one of the worst softball managers in recent history, Andrew Pace, along with one of the newest, almost soon to be the newest resident of of Colorado, John Gosu. Wilson Pacer. First off, how are you? You okay?

Andrew Pace [00:01:36]:

No. Oh, my God. Adding a little color to the show finally. Oh my God. I don't even know if I heard the rest of it after that.

Kevin Berar [00:01:45]:

How are you doing? You ok?

Andrew Pace [00:01:46]:

Shane, your beard looks good. Your suit looks even better.

Kevin Berar [00:01:51]:

I mean like I would like I was saying off air, you know, you want someone that's going to be, you know, we got to class it up a little. You want someone wearing a raptor so you and a Vikings hoodie to co host there to host the show or you want someone to class it up a little bit here as well? Right. Also doing my best John go sue Vegas soon impersonation too.

Andrew Pace [00:02:09]:

Oh my God, man. Shane, you've just been one upped in a big way. That that was the best intro ever. But yeah, I'm doing great, man. Doing great.

Kevin Berar [00:02:18]:

Awesome. Gosu, how you doing?

John Wilson [00:02:20]:

Doing good, man. Good. It's a busy time, but doing well.

Kevin Berar [00:02:24]:

Yeah, yeah. For you're heading out to Colorado. So again, congrats on the move and yeah, we're going to be the newest Colorado sports bettor soon to be lot to dive into here in this week's episode. First off, appreciate you guys, you know, asking me to host. We'll kick off talking about NBA NHL playoffs. We're at the point now where we've reached some elimination games at this point in time, one series is over. The OKC series, which we figured would be over pretty quick in both sports. Elimination games coming up.

Kevin Berar [00:02:51]:

By the way. Who would have thought Nas Reed would be the most clutch player so far in this NBA playoffs? If we had to go through guys, we don't need to go through every series, but we can go through a couple of them. Maybe go to just talk about your favorite couple, the series to watch in the NBA and NHL and what's intrigued you about them?

John Wilson [00:03:11]:

Yeah, I mean I think starting with the NBA off the top, you got to go with that Nuggets Clipper series, right? Let's tie a couple teams that are. It actually looked like the Clippers were pulling away with that series after that game three blowout. And then Nuggets came back in game four really strong, had a big huge lead and that, that evaporated in the fourth quarter and then just one of the craziest walk off shots you'll see in basketball with that put back. It's like shades of NC State against five slam and Jama with Valvano running on the floor. So that was just, that was a crazy one. And then that Rockets Warrior series with no Butler is, is really close and it's. Man it's a, it's a grinder. That's like some mid-90s basketball being played in those games where like if you can get to, if you can get to 100 points you're just almost guaranteed to win it seems like in that series.

John Wilson [00:04:01]:

So those have been really good on the NHL side I think like that I was kind of surprised with the. When The jets went up 20 and then St. Louis has really just dumpstered them the last two games. I've watched pretty much all of that series. I mean in those last two games like I think Hellbut got pulled in in both of those games. Right. Like he's, he's been real bad. So that series was interesting.

John Wilson [00:04:25]:

And then the I think Dallas Colorado I think is tied 2:2 and that's kind of like back and forth like seems like home ice isn't really doing much there and that's just kind of like a been a wild, a wild one. Some high scoring games and then oh and then the Oilers being down the last two games coming back and winning those games. Good for some of my square butter parlays that I keep getting on those at the last second somehow. So yeah, there's been some really, really good first round series.

Andrew Pace [00:04:56]:

John, I would be remiss if I didn't bring up your advised wagers from back in February that. That are now coming into fruition. So the Bucks to win the east, obviously, that one is dead.

John Wilson [00:05:09]:

Dead.

Andrew Pace [00:05:10]:

People have to know when they're listening to this. We're recording on Monday, it's airing on Wednesday. So sometimes there's a little bit of information missing when. When you're listening to this, but, you know, D. Dame being healthy, they win game three. You know, know, there's maybe a chip in a chair there. Too bad. I hope he.

Andrew Pace [00:05:27]:

I hope he's going to be okay, but. So Bucks to in the east is dead. Obviously, we know why you liked it at the time. Are you looking at any teams to win the east, or are you looking at any futures at all now in the playoffs? Or are you kind of done with.

John Wilson [00:05:40]:

Yeah, I think that you. There's an episode I did with Shane, I don't think you were on, where I talked about the Pacers at plus 2800. And I think Shane bet it with me like on the podcast there. So, again, it was like, conflicting, obviously, with the previous Milwaukee value bet there from like a couple months ago, but the Pacers have just been one of the hottest teams in the NBA and they look. They look fantastic in the series. And I know Milwaukee is kind of a shell right now of what they've been in the past, but, you know, I think when I, when you. When we saw the draw and it was they were going to get Cleveland in the second round instead of Boston 28 to 1, just was really appealing to me for a team that's been really, really good.

Andrew Pace [00:06:20]:

Sounds like you just bet every outcome and then give.

John Wilson [00:06:22]:

Yeah. You know, the Herb school of betting. Yeah.

Kevin Berar [00:06:29]:

Sorry. Sorry. Go ahead.

Andrew Pace [00:06:31]:

No, go ahead, KB Go ahead.

Kevin Berar [00:06:32]:

I was just gonna say John's talking about that LA series. Interesting. We, you know, we're recording this on Monday. We saw the game where they died it with 30 seconds left or whatever, and I was thinking the same thing. You were quitting byfield. Easy chance to literally clear the puck out, you know, dump it down, whether it's a nice thing or not. Just clear it out. You know, it puts another 15 seconds, let's say left one last rush for McDavid to get it done.

Kevin Berar [00:06:52]:

Highly improbable. But instead tries to make a DE and tries to, you know, score that net or literally, possibly it cost them the game, possibly costing them the series.

Andrew Pace [00:07:02]:

Well, Bouchard pinched on that puck, too. It was it. And he scored the goal.

Kevin Berar [00:07:07]:

Yep.

Andrew Pace [00:07:08]:

It was unbelievable. Like, it was. It was unbelievable. Sorry, I was. What I was going to say is, John, are you looking at anyone in the west now that you've seen what you've seen? Like, like anything different than what. What's been advised?

John Wilson [00:07:18]:

Yeah, well, I mean, we talked about. I think in that same pod, talked about the. The Clippers side, where I was actually surprised when the lines opened that the Clippers were underdogs to the Nuggets because the Nuggets had been so bad and they're so thin. Right. And like, they're just. I mean, everybody's hurt on that team. Like, I, I don't also don't think Jamal Murray gets enough. He hardly ever gets flack for just kind of not showing up or being out of shape or like, like, lot of, like, leaving some hustle plays out there, which is kind of interesting to me because I guess because they already.

John Wilson [00:07:46]:

He's already won one. But I really like the Clippers in that series again, even though it went against the Nuggets. Bet that I already have. But the Clippers were sitting there at like 17:1, I think, to win the west. And I think that. That if they go on to play Oklahoma City, I mean, I think they have the matchups, especially on the wings, to be able to actually keep up with them. The Oklahoma City looks fantastic, but it's just that those, those are the numbers. I don't really.

John Wilson [00:08:13]:

It's hard for me to get or get behind like, Houston or. Or Golden State or the Wolves, maybe. I think the Wolves have probably the biggest upside out of that side of the bracket, but I just. I. I just. There's a lot of guys on that team I just don't really trust, so it's hard for me to want to bet them because the number is just not good enough for me. Sure.

John Wilson [00:08:32]:

Because I think they. I think Ant is just such a. Everybody wants him to be the next thing. And so there's a lot. I think they get a lot of money. I think they get a lot of public money, so the number just tends to not be very good for them.

Andrew Pace [00:08:45]:

Yeah, I was surprised at how big of dogs they were against the Lakers. Like, I understand why they're an underdog, but I was surprised at how big of dogs they were. And the real dog is Anthony Edwards. Like, he's insane out there. And, And I know Schnoz hit, hit some clutch shots to win that game, but my God. But also, they were up three nothing against the Nuggets and it went to game seven, so I don't think that series is necessarily over. I think the Lakers can easily win game six, and then they got us or game five, and then they got to steal one and, and go from there. But yeah, I mean, it's been super exciting, these playoffs.

Andrew Pace [00:09:19]:

A lot of great betting opportunities, for sure. Kb, you've been betting much?

Kevin Berar [00:09:22]:

Yeah, absolutely. That I know we were on the Oilers plus one and a half. Even took some, you know, go to OT Moneyline as well to hit that when they, when they won that game. So that was a little nice to hit that on that end, but gotta.

Andrew Pace [00:09:33]:

Pay for your suit, right?

Kevin Berar [00:09:35]:

Yeah, yeah. And I asked JCPenney, don't worry, it's okay. No, any other, any other series that stands out to you, Pacer, Besides some of the big ones that we mentioned, any small, like no one's, no one really talks about the Hurricanes is going to talk about the Hurricane series. I think series has been sort of interesting, though.

Andrew Pace [00:09:53]:

The Hab series is super interesting. The one thing I'd say, I, I, I gotta be honest with you guys, I flicked the game on and I don't even know the series score until I, until it's like the third period. Like I'm being genuine. Like I, I don't follow a lot of the stuff outside of, outside of what's going on. And then, yeah, sometimes I'll flick open my phone, I'll be like, we got like four elimination games tonight. This is going to be electric. Right? But I think the one thing I'd say, just as we head into round two, because as we record next week, round two will already be underway. Don't let the first round fool you too much.

Andrew Pace [00:10:24]:

And the reason why I say that is because if you do have a team like the Thunder, obviously they're the most obvious one. Like they're the one seed, you know, they just swept memph there. There's huge advantages to getting out of your series early. You know, your opponents, if they go to seven games, they play three extra games, there's higher probability of injury, there's greater fatigue, there's less rest. That's, that stuff goes without, say, the team that sweeps four, zero, they look brilliant. It isn't that they aren't. They got a lot of rest. They could get a little cocky sometimes.

Andrew Pace [00:10:53]:

Like the, the drive of the team can get a little weird when you have this full week off. They could come back a little rusty. It's not to say they won't do well, but I'll never forget this game. Like, never, never, never forget this game. Golden State warriors prime season. Whichever one of the ones it was, they went on to win the title this year. They came out against San Antonio after sweeping their previous opponent and lost the game by almost 40 points at home. Game 1 After having the week of rest, I think they won the series 4:1.

Andrew Pace [00:11:23]:

After that it was certainly 4:2 or better because I know I had the warriors minus one and a half in my round two parlor. But some of these teams that get a little bit of rest, a little too much rest, don't necessarily think that they're going to come out looking as good as they have. There can be some really big upsets in game one of round two. And then after that, obviously things settle down and the best team tends to win. But something to keep an eye on.

Kevin Berar [00:11:48]:

Yeah, I think you know, John was talking about the warriors rocket series grinding 90s basketball which, which is fun to see from, you know, some an old school basketball fan on the other side of the NHL. I definitely miss the the days of seeing long ots. I just don't think in this day and age in this NHL with how fast paced, how athletic the guys are, you know, I just don't think we're going to see, you know, I think we saw one double overtime game, the Devils game. But I mean, you know, rarely are we seeing games go into the second or third overtime. I'll never forget as a kid that I think it was Pittsburgh Philly pace, 5 OTs. I get Keith buried it long. It was like, you know, I think it ended at like 2:00am and started at 4:00am Eastern or yeah, when Joe.

Andrew Pace [00:12:30]:

Sakic won his first cup, I think it was like a triple or quadruple overtime. West coast was like well past midnight. So if you watched the cup get hoisted on the east coast, you might have been waking up in the morning. Right?

Kevin Berar [00:12:43]:

Yeah, those ones I like. And yeah, I mean hopefully we get. It'd be nice to get at least one, maybe a couple some triple overtime games. They're just fun to watch in the playoffs either whether you're by yourself or, or with your buddies. But as you mentioned pace next week we should be wrapping up round one series if there's any game seven potentially or even starting probably some of the round two. So we'll see what comes out of that. For for next week's podcast discussion. Let's move on.

Kevin Berar [00:13:05]:

Let's shift gears and we'll go over to the NFL draft. 2025 draft coming, gone. Definitely one of the more interesting ones in recent years basically mainly because of One single person who didn't get drafted till very late. You know, we're not really even talking about Cam Ward or even the Jags moving up to the number two spot, which is a, which was a big deal. But yeah, of course shedeur Sanders projected to go top 10 at least first round from what all the mock drafts and all the analysts had. You know, that all turns out to be completely wrong. Goes fifth round, 144th overall to the Cleveland Browns. You know, and if that wasn't.

Kevin Berar [00:13:41]:

If that wasn't even more weird or Brown selected Dylan Gabriel ahead of Shedeur in the third round. And there's so much speculation, tons of rumors as to. To what happened and why. Something that I guess we as a public will probably never know, you know, why he was drafted so late according to. To some of the GMs. But let's just dive into this GOSU. I know we were ripping on Shedeur during the season with his awareness or lack of awareness for, for a QB is not what it should be considering his talent, his gene pool. We can touch on that prank call instant later.

Kevin Berar [00:14:11]:

But your thoughts on the whole Shedeur saga.

John Wilson [00:14:14]:

Yeah, I mean obviously very surprised that he fell as far as he did. I think it. It's kind of interesting though when you're. If so one thing I want. I wanted to zoom out on when I was thinking about this a couple days ago was there. When you actually look around the NFL right now, there's. There's really not a lot of teams who don't know who their starting quarterback is or don't have like some kind of plan. It's actually.

John Wilson [00:14:40]:

I mean there's a lot of bad quarterbacks. In fact, most are pretty bad, I would say in the league right now, at least compared to the ones who you can actually win a championship with. But most of the teams have some kind of plan. So like the Colts have Anthony Richardson who I think is terrible, but they're at least going to start with him. So that's just an example. Right. So there's really not a lot of spots for, for guys to go at the top. And so I think it was surprising when he slid, but it actually kind of made sense if you think about him as a potential starting quarterback.

John Wilson [00:15:13]:

Because when you're someone that's like. And it's. It's not even really his fault. I think it's obviously the typically it's mostly around his dad and then the media coverage around him, but when you have a backup quarterback, it. You don't really care so much if that quarterback is the 33rd best in the league or if he's like, the 80th best in the league as long as he's not in the way, or there's no controversy. Like, if you have two quarterbacks, you have zero quarterbacks, right? So if the media is focused around your backup quarterback, it's kind of why I think people like Jay Cutler and like Tim Tebow was bad, but it's like, nobody wanted him on their team because he's just a distraction and he's not actually playing. Like, nobody wanted Cutler as a backup quarterback because he's, like, always in the news with some celebrity girlfriend or he's, like, getting arrested for something or whatever. Right? It's like, well, that's fine if he's actually playing at a high level and he's starting for my team and we're winning games, but if they're just on the bench, what's the point? So I think, like, seeing somebody slide despite the talent, it kind of makes sense from a framework of I wouldn't draft him to be my backup quarterback because then all the media is going to want to talk about is, when is it? When am I going to make him my starter, or why isn't he playing or why isn't he seeing time? I don't want Dion tweeting about it and, like, all that kind of stuff.

John Wilson [00:16:31]:

Right. So it kind of made sense to me the more it happened, but I was definitely shocked when he didn't go in the first or three rounds.

Andrew Pace [00:16:37]:

It's. It's so funny you say that, because that's like, it's so simple and it's genius. Like, it. That is genius, what you just said. It makes so much sense. I would never want Tim Tebow on my team now. I remember him throwing a. A back fade end zone touchdown in pre in the preseason for the Patriots, and everyone thought he'd made the team.

Andrew Pace [00:16:56]:

And when they cut him, people couldn't. They're like, why wouldn't Bill Belichick keep him? Everyone wanted him to have a job. Everyone wanted Johnny Mansal to have a job.

John Wilson [00:17:02]:

Right.

Andrew Pace [00:17:04]:

He's a huge distraction.

John Wilson [00:17:06]:

Yeah. Kaepernick's the obvious one, right?

Andrew Pace [00:17:09]:

The Sanders storyline is going to be crazy. You're. You're so right. It's gonna. It's gonna be very bad for the Browns. I didn't even think about that.

John Wilson [00:17:16]:

Yeah. So, I mean, that's like, you know, like, that it was the whole Colin Kaepernick thing, like, Even if he's in the top 30 quarterbacks, but he's not in the top 15 or 20. It just doesn't make sense to have him on a team when he's just going to be a distraction and you can't win it. Like, there's no ceiling where he. You're winning a Super bowl with him. Right. Like, it' simply not worth it from, like, a business standpoint to. To want to deal with it.

Andrew Pace [00:17:39]:

So, yeah, speaking of business standpoint, there was a clip I saw yesterday, but it was an old clip. I don't know if you guys had seen this. And it's Cam Ward and Shadur Sanders working out together. And Cam Ward just ripped Shedeur over and over, but, like, in kind of a professional way. And I haven't been the biggest Cam Ward fan. It made me be like, this guy. This guy could be really good. But he's like, he made fun of him, like, running out of breath, and he's like, go drink some water.

Andrew Pace [00:18:05]:

And Shedeur is like, I don't drink water. I only drink Gatorade. Cause they pay me. And I was just like, oh, man, there's so much wrong with that statement. Because Gatorade is terrible for you as an athlete, number one. Number two, like, that's the way you're talking. You know, when. How old is Shedeur? Like, 20, 21.

Andrew Pace [00:18:26]:

I have no idea how old he is. Maybe he's 22. I. I don't know. But. I don't know. I don't know. I would.

Andrew Pace [00:18:31]:

I wouldn't want anything to do with him after I just saw that one clip alone.

John Wilson [00:18:34]:

Yeah. And, you know, there's a difference between, you know, like, when everybody made fun of, like, the Caleb Williams thing, talking about owning a team. And I think a lot of the stuff around Caleb Williams is kind of. I don't say media created. It was definitely the media ran with a lot of the narratives around him specifically. But he. He has. People believe he has such an elite talent ceiling that you can win with him.

John Wilson [00:18:56]:

And they knew from day one he would be a starter. So there's no reason to pass on that. When you. When you know that there's just an obvious path that he's going to be in the limelight no matter what, so you don't have to deal. It's not a distraction necessarily. Right. Because your quarterback, your starting quarterback is always going to be in the media, but it's when it's like, I'm looking at it potentially value on a guy falling to be my Backup quarterback. Why, why, why, why deal with that?

Andrew Pace [00:19:21]:

Yeah. So any, any surprises in the draft there, kb Besides Shedeur?

Kevin Berar [00:19:27]:

I mean, obviously Shedeur. Yeah. And the big one was Jacksonville moving up and, and somehow getting the number two pick from Cleveland, trading those draft picks to go and grab Travis Hunter, which was never on the radar until literally hours before I think Cleveland came out.

Andrew Pace [00:19:41]:

Did you bet the draft?

Kevin Berar [00:19:43]:

I did. I lost money on Cleveland betting, taking Travis Hunter. Yes.

Andrew Pace [00:19:47]:

Oh, yeah. So I heard a bunch of people did that.

Kevin Berar [00:19:49]:

You would have, you would have won if you took Travis Hunter to go two overall. But you lost because Cleveland traded that pick. Right. So, I mean, in the end it is what it is. But I mean, I think the reason the trade is so shocking just because it was a deal that you, you never see in the NFL. And goes to a little trivia question here, but I, I don't know if you've already seen this or not, but the Jags became the first team in almost 30 years to make a trade into the top two and not take a quarterback with that pick. Last time it happened goes through 1997. You know who it was?

John Wilson [00:20:20]:

1997.

Andrew Pace [00:20:22]:

Not a quarterback.

Kevin Berar [00:20:22]:

If I give you the team, it'll give it away. Oh, it was the LA ran or what? I guess it would have been St. Louis Rams back then.

John Wilson [00:20:31]:

St. Louis, but it was the Rams.

Kevin Berar [00:20:33]:

Yes. 97.

John Wilson [00:20:35]:

Give it away. Oh, like I wasn't Holt or. No.

Kevin Berar [00:20:41]:

Marshall Faulk. No. Andrew. Your father. Original father.

Andrew Pace [00:20:47]:

My father?

Kevin Berar [00:20:48]:

Yes.

Andrew Pace [00:20:50]:

Dad. Mark Andrews.

Kevin Berar [00:20:51]:

No, no, your actual father. Your actual father. That was the last time.

Andrew Pace [00:21:03]:

Hold on. So it's been freaking like almost 30 years since someone traded up for a top 10 pick and not drafted.

Kevin Berar [00:21:14]:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Top two. Top two pick and not taking a quarterback. Yes. Orlando. I believe the Jets. I believe the jets had the first pick that year in 97. But yeah, Orlando face was the last time and back.

Andrew Pace [00:21:30]:

So I'll tell you guys what I was most surprised by in the draft. I didn't follow this thing like I usually do. I couldn't believe what the Bears did with drafting that tight end that they didn't need to draft. That was just weird about sometimes how impactful a player can be. So like Captain Jack from Ohio State, you know, like, I don't know anything about where this guy's projected to go. I, I don't know if he's projected top 10. I don't know if he's a first rounder. When I see a team draft that man, I know they have got a TJ Watt type player.

Andrew Pace [00:22:02]:

He's a leader.

Andrew Pace [00:22:04]:

He's an absolutely electric player capable of changing the game at any moment. But separately of that, people like that have the ability to shift the people around them. And I'm sorry, I don't care if you are Rob Gronkowski or Travis Kelce. It is crazy to me to take a flyer on a tight end that wasn't even projected in the first round. In the first round when you could have gotten him on your next draft pick. I don't understand that. So I thought that was a little. Chicago don't know what their plan is.

Andrew Pace [00:22:36]:

Maybe they'll make me eat my words there. But yeah, I thought that one was really strange.

Kevin Berar [00:22:43]:

I want to circle back to that whole Shoer saga with that, with the prank call and stuff. And I know a lot of people are. Were laughing about it and whatnot. But yeah, I just want to get thoughts on because just like that's not one of the cruelest things that you can do for a guy who's, you know, know, waiting to get D. Like I don't know what is so not. And not the fact that it came from a random person. The fact that it came from. It wasn't random.

Kevin Berar [00:23:05]:

No, it was Jeff Ulbrich's son, the defensive coordinat of falcons. Like the fact that it came. So basically he was at. So the son was at the parents house. He saw an iPad and it had Shedeur's private number that he had just for that draft day or for the, for the draft there and his phone number. So he came across it, I guess wrote it down and then, you know, made the call and I believe he pretended to be Saints gm, the Saints general manager, and told Sanders that they'd be taking him with their next pick. And obviously, you know, Shedeur, who's live streaming it as a lot of people are nowadays doing it, and so he's obviously going nuts. And then whoever's on the phone, I don't know if it was Albert or, or someone else saying that he'd have to wait a little longer.

Kevin Berar [00:23:46]:

Like you hear that, you're thinking, it's like, like, I don't know, go through just your thoughts on that because that's, that's something that, that's as cruel as you can do for someone waiting to be drafted, no matter how much of a, a clown or goofball you may think of that other person.

John Wilson [00:23:59]:

Yeah, it's kind of, it's kind of sad and unfortunate. Just like a. I guess that guy's like in that Kid's in college or whatever, you know, so it sounds like something that people would do around that age.

John Wilson [00:24:11]:

The broader danger, I thought, from, like, the. The narrative around it was that because it's a private phone number, you know, that it has to. It had to have been somebody within the league, right? Or. And so, like, then you start to put on, like, a con, your collusion, conspiracy hat, right? So then it's like you got people going online talking about how, like, they're. The owners are trying to keep them out of the league. And, like, you know, this, like, narratives around, like, same kind of stuff you hear with, like, you know, you know, Kaepernick or Tebow or those guys, like, and it's just you. At the end of the day, you know, you could. Like, I.

John Wilson [00:24:46]:

We just went through. You can come up with very logical reasons why the situation plays out the way it does. But, you know, I think everybody has, like, a real conspiracy mind sometimes, and you kind of. It's like, when you're a hammer, everything's a nail. And so if you can find a way to make it look orchestrated or something, you can do that. So I think that a lot of that stuff started, like, specifically because of that prank call, right? So then it's like, oh, people have to be in on this, because that's the only way they would get the number. So I think that that, to me, was, like, kind of the worst thing that came out of that was just that that narrative started to crop up and even, like, made mainstream, you know, media discourse.

Andrew Pace [00:25:26]:

I think, like, there's a reason I'm not a father. Like, I'd kill my kid if I was that that kid's dad. I'd kill him. Like, I'd crucify the kid for that. That. That. That's. Yeah, it's.

Andrew Pace [00:25:39]:

It's shitty behavior. And you're exploiting your dad's position in the NFL to do that. Oh, man, that's bad. That's bad. Like, that. That. That, to me, is like, as close to. There's a lot of criminal behavior that you could actually be in jail for.

Andrew Pace [00:25:55]:

That. I'd be less mad at my son for. Than. Than doing that, because that's, like a severe bre.

Kevin Berar [00:26:02]:

Yeah. Sad. Yeah. Sad to see. It's. It's. I mean, social media is just, you know, we. We always talk about the goods and bads of it, and that's an incident where it's just an awful, awful example of.

Kevin Berar [00:26:14]:

Of how to use social media to totally.

Andrew Pace [00:26:18]:

Hey KB, before you dive in here, dude. So we should let people know who you are. Like, I know, I know. Obviously you, you know, you've been a long time listener behind the lines, and I think you've commented sarcastically on every single episode we've ever. We've ever shot. But, you know, you've made some jokes about being host, so why don't you give us just a little Cole's notes, like, how did you and I meet? You know, your background is a bettor. Some of the different things you've done, maybe, because I know you've certainly gone outside the box. And I don't mean that in a bad way.

Andrew Pace [00:26:54]:

I mean, you know, there's a lot of different edges you were chasing down back in the day, a lot of which have disappeared. Right. Because you've. You did find success with stuff. And, and what brings you into the. The driver's seat dressed so well? Fake Shane.

Kevin Berar [00:27:10]:

Or is Shane Fake KB.

Andrew Pace [00:27:12]:

There we go.

Kevin Berar [00:27:14]:

Yeah. Yeah. No, so I came on inplayLIVE November 2020. Yeah. Just a few months after you initially started. So not a. Not OG, but shortly after.

Andrew Pace [00:27:26]:

That is. It doesn't get any more OG than that. It doesn't.

Kevin Berar [00:27:31]:

OG would be when you were hitting 20 to 1 Stanley cup bets in that first. When I. When I missed out. You know what I'm talking about? That's. That's what I consider og.

Andrew Pace [00:27:43]:

That was the bubble. The bubble playoff where there's no fans. Yeah, that was. That was when we launched. That was when we launched our product. So you would have been NHL season after that? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Kevin Berar [00:27:54]:

Shortly after, I came in as just a guy from Vancouver, born and raised. So, you know, playing sports action as a kid, like a lot of us, you know, we're doing just not great sports bettors. Came across one of your ads, of course, jumped in and liked what I saw. I remember I just started off with 100 bucks in my bet. 365 back when it was good to use. And first day I remember I lost it all because you. It was you. And you.

Kevin Berar [00:28:21]:

I think you were in Whistler for one of the streams where you used to do the stream. Whistler. And Ritzker was there and you guys were. You guys were talking about these pregame bets and I'll never forget it. My first bet ever with inplayLIVE was a pregame wide receiver yards over by a guy who doesn't play in the league. Couldn't even tell you where he is now, but Ritzker called him and he's and you're like, ritzker, what do you think about this guy? Andy Isabella for over 10 and a half receiving yards. And Risker's like, yeah, he can get one catch. Yeah, he's just.

Kevin Berar [00:28:51]:

Just throw bombs to him and he'll catch it. And I'm listening. I'm like, never heard of this. I'm like, yeah, okay, sure, I'll take Andy's. And I'm, you know, I. And I've watched out as a kid. I know players, you know, inside out and whatnot. So I'm like, yeah, sure.

Kevin Berar [00:29:01]:

I've never heard this guy. I'm like, okay, sure. And took it and then obviously, you know, lost that. He didn't even. I don't even think he caught a ball. Of course. And then, and then it was just. It was not a good.

Kevin Berar [00:29:14]:

Not a good first day. I remember that. And then I lost. I'm like, what is going on, though?

Andrew Pace [00:29:18]:

You put your whole bankroll on the first.

Kevin Berar [00:29:20]:

No, no, no. Through. Throughout the stream. I think I put 10 bucks on it. Right? And then. And then throughout the stream, I was just. Betting was not. Not a good start initially.

Kevin Berar [00:29:29]:

So there goes $100. So I'm like, Jesus Christ. Like, who are these clowns? Like, like, do I. Do I need to like one month and I'm gone. But obviously after that, you know, learning the strategies, watching. Watching the courses, master classes, I definitely think, you know, help, you know, change my life, help change my perspective on betting. You know, I was definitely. I felt like one of the first ones to, you know, we talk about, you know, Tim and Sean doing the nerfy year fee stuff, which is great.

Kevin Berar [00:29:55]:

I remember doing that four or five years ago when, before people were doing it, when you were not getting solid odds and they were hitting at a better rate. Before all the sort of new inventions or technology, whatever you want to call it, before the ballparks were, you know, getting smaller. So definitely I felt like there was a better edge than. Than there is now, I think. Although there's still an edge. Yeah, if you can find it. But. And then NBA first baskets.

Kevin Berar [00:30:18]:

As you know, when we were first doing it, I was on the NBA first basket train back when you were getting 8, 15 to 1 on some guys to shoot the first basket. You know, Jaylen Brown, as a Celtic before Porzingis came in, was always, you know, hitting first baskets at a ridiculous clip. Porzingis, when he was on. I can't remember who he was on before Boston, whether it was the Knicks or Dallas. I don't know, but anyways, he was one of the top guys, so there was definitely an edge. And now you're looking at guys like Giannis, you know, will play plus 250 for a first basket. Like, there's, it's just now there's, the engine's gone there, so it's just not worth playing that anymore. So like you said, you know, at inplayLIVE,

Kevin Berar [00:30:54]:

One thing we do here is always adapt and, and improve and, and learn. Right. So that's been my journey. So, yeah, like if I were to say, you know, six figure bettor. Yes. You know, a few times over and I would say, you know, when it comes to probably 60, 40 IPL to, you know, my own strategies when it comes to hitting that six figure mark. So maybe a little different than some people that, you know, that maybe tail ipl, you know, to the core. I would, you know, and being honest, I would probably say I tail picks probably maybe 60% of the picks.

Kevin Berar [00:31:24]:

If in my mind, if I'm like, ah, you know what, I'm okay if I don't bet this just because it hasn't been working for a few times and once it hits, okay, I'll take it. But, and that's just the way I am. I mean, you know, there's nothing wrong with you taking it all. You're still going to get ahead, but that's just the way I do it. You know, I think before you always have that fomo, we always talk about the number one thing that you teach new bettors coming to IPL is having that fomo. Oh, no, you, you know, you're going to miss a bet or, you know, you're driving. Oh, no, I'm driving. I'm, I'm going to miss a bed, pull over and make a bet or whatever it is.

Kevin Berar [00:31:51]:

And you know, you get to that stage eventually where it's like, yeah, you know, I'll listen to the stream, but if it's a bet that's called and I don't take it, you know, and it wins, great for the team, but for me, it's not the end of the world because I know there's going to be hundreds of thousands of more that are coming out.

Andrew Pace [00:32:03]:

Totally. And it's such a, it's such a healthier approach to the whole, to the whole process. There's an actually interesting little story that came out of inplayLIVE this, this past week and we just lost a bet. We just lost a bet. People were all pissed off. The guy comes in the chat, he's like, yo, Pace just hit the five figure club after two years with inplayLIVE. And I'm sitting there going like we just got kicked in the nuts. This guy's coming in with his success story.

Andrew Pace [00:32:28]:

And the reason why I bring it up is because two things. Number one, took this guy two years to do it. And after that message, he said basically, you know, he had to get out of his own way for the first year entirely, right? So he wasn't winning. And then you got to recoup what he's lost and then get, get up to this five figure mark, which he's done, which is amazing. And the reason why I bring that up in relation to your story isn't actually the same, but what it is is when you come in as a bettor and you have your own information, your own knowledge, you know, your own sort of bias and maybe strategies that have potentially worked in the past or, or maybe they worked at a time that thought like that almost created a perception in your head that they do work, when in fact there isn't an EV there. It's hard to drop all of that. It really, really is. Now the best advice that I could give to someone is just follow us to start as you learn, obviously.

Andrew Pace [00:33:27]:

And then of course there's going to be some sort of branch out. You know, for some people that's hitting five figures. For some people it's hitting six figures. And for some people, they can never do that. They don't get out of their way and they fail before they even even get started. But in your case, the reason, the reason why I bring that up is because in your case, it sounds to me like you were always committed to EV with everything that you were trying. So when things didn't work, you moved on. When things did work, you hit it while you could and then adjusted from there.

Andrew Pace [00:34:00]:

And you don't have to be a guy that's a hundred percent inplayLIVE. You're passionate about this stuff. Clearly you have way better player and personnel knowledge than I ever have or ever will. So that leads you to look at things that I'm not going to necessarily look at. And sometimes that's going to be some dips that I didn't have and vice versa, you don't dip when I did. Right. And I couldn't agree with you more. Like I think if you're hanging tooth and nail on every pick, number one, I don't think it's healthy, and number two, I don't think it's smart.

Andrew Pace [00:34:33]:

I think there's a lot of bets that get called even by myself that you could probably have good reason to pass on. And if you do and it wins, you have to be comfortable with that moment. So I cannot tell you guys how often, like, I'll shoot a gun or support the team when I didn't have the bet. Like, it's, it's a lot, a lot, a lot of times. So, you know, you gotta, you gotta, you gotta have your own journey. And it sounds like that's, that's kind of precisely what you've done. So, yeah, big congrats on the success. You've really stuck with it.

Andrew Pace [00:35:07]:

You know, you've, you've ridden every, every down wave we've, we've thrown at you, which, as you probably know, is not easy to, to get through sometimes. Right?

Kevin Berar [00:35:17]:

You zoom out like goes, who has said a few podcasts back, right? Look at the big picture, see where you're at, right? It makes a world of difference. It's so easy for us to live in the moment and get pissed off and want to punch a wall or whatever it is when you lose a bet where you, you think you should have won, you lose on a, you know, a last minute three or whatever it is that we've been, you know, Halliburton on a few times. But at the same time, you zoom out and it's like, you know, like you said, you either overexposed, you know, for whatever reason, but you step out and take a look back and you see that we've actually done incredibly well, not just this month, but, you know, go back to 2025 or the NFL season or whatever season you want to look at.

Andrew Pace [00:35:51]:

Totally, right? Totally. And I think one of the biggest things that people struggle with in the group will be like access to books or access to outs or, you know, access to maybe specific odds and specific situations. And I think, you know firsthand, you're not waiting on a call from us to validate something. You see that soft line, you hit it. I never called it. Or I give you a reason not to. Like, it doesn't matter. You're already in.

Andrew Pace [00:36:16]:

You made the decision at the time you made it. Right. And there definitely are people where they, they won't get limited on BetMGM and it's because we're not necessarily calling their, their, their lines and they didn't individually have the ability to exploit the sportsbook that's so highly exploitable. So the journey as a bettor. Yeah, we can hold your hands and we can call some pics and things like that live. But at the same time, if you don't transition into being able to identify some of those things yourself, you're. It probably isn't going to be for you long term. The other thing with that same point is as a community, when you have hundreds of people looking at this, and I don't have a bet, mgm as an example, just to.

Andrew Pace [00:37:00]:

To go back to that same point, someone else does, they see the line, they call it out, and we go, oh, this is a great opportunity. And many others are then able to get in and thank that person for it. So the power of the community with people that think the same way is, Is tremendous. So you've been a big part of that. I know there's other things that you've worked on, some hockey stuff as well, and things like that, that there's other people in the group that you've been able to say, hey, what about this? What about that? And it's all led to, I think, overall positivity. So, yeah, I want to thank you for all your support over the years because, you know, you've been to a few inplayLIVE events, lost a few softball finals with me, and it's been fun.

Kevin Berar [00:37:41]:

Many more to come, probably. Yeah, you keep. If you keep drafting like that. Many more to come. No, I appreciate the kind words.

Andrew Pace [00:37:52]:

That should be a whole episode on itself.

Kevin Berar [00:37:55]:

We should get all that. We should get our guests get in the draft room.

Andrew Pace [00:37:57]:

This Shadeaur Sanders. Why did pace draft vh and we go into the real nitty gritty of this whole thing. Do you know some of the backstory of that? So everyone knew that this guy had a. Had a sort of a lustrous baseball career based on his word. Everyone. I thought no one else knew. That was my personal perception heading into the draft. Meanwhile, Kenny got a photo of the guy.

Andrew Pace [00:38:27]:

Do you know about this?

Kevin Berar [00:38:28]:

No, I don't. I don't know.

Andrew Pace [00:38:30]:

So we're in the draft room and Kenny's like, hey, we gotta get a. We gotta look like. Let's, let's, let's get a gauge on, on what this guy. This guy looks like, right? So he says in the like, the most heterosexual way, can you please send me a selfie? So, you know, he takes the picture of him pole dancing since sends it back to Kenny. And sure enough, Kenny passes on him. And then he sees I draft him and they just blew up laughing. He's like, this guy's not going to be the, the baseball superstar that he claims to be. But the thing is, is, like, I'M happy.

Andrew Pace [00:39:06]:

I drafted him because it led to a great story. He's a great guy to hang out with, obviously. He's a lot of fun, great Gifs. Yeah, yeah, it's been a. It's forever been a. A running inside joke inside the group. Todd, if you're listening, I. I love you, buddy.

Kevin Berar [00:39:21]:

Yeah, me too. VH is a legend. Before we jump onto the next topic, just want to mention the Pinnacle contest. I know you guys were talking about it last week on the podcast where the guy didn't claim it. So IPL and Pinnacle contest, if you want to win $1,000 US which I think is 85,000 rupees, make at least a $10 wager on Pinnacle. Take a screenshot, send it to inplayLIVE. Do they send it on social media? Do they slip into your DMs, send out a discord.

Andrew Pace [00:39:45]:

How do they do it? You got to join our free Discord. Send it to Rodge. Or if you're in the group already, send it to Rodge. Yep.

Kevin Berar [00:39:51]:

And that guy still hasn't claimed it. Who won?

Andrew Pace [00:39:54]:

He has not claimed it. And like, even in the group chat, you see, I'm like, there he is, guys. I'm like, it's Nick all.

Kevin Berar [00:40:01]:

And nobody's tell. And nobody's telling him and nobody wants to help him out.

Andrew Pace [00:40:04]:

Yeah, I think, I think at this point it's 2000. I don't know. Can't keep, we can't keep rolling it over. But yeah, anyways, that's how, that's how you get entered, no matter the amount for the next entry.

Kevin Berar [00:40:16]:

Yeah, sounds good. Let's move on here. Someone posted this in our Discord. I saw it as well on YouTube, I think yesterday or the day before. Story of a 24 year old Chicago resident Thomas McPeak, who won US$800,000 in a bunch of different parlay bets that he placed at kiosks at casinos in Illinois and Iowa. So then he goes to the casinos to claim the winnings. The casinos, which are both owned by Caesars, refuse to pay him, voided the bets, and then banned him. So this guy's like an advantage player.

Kevin Berar [00:40:48]:

What he does is places a bunch of small bets at kiosk because he doesn't want to do one large wager. He says he wants to stay under the radar, not go to the ticket windows. He says he'll even disguise himself so he doesn't get banned. Ironically, he did the same thing in Michigan city at a FanDuel casino. They paid him the 127,000 he won, and then they banned him. So he ends up filing a complaint with the state regulators in Iowa and India or Indiana. And the regulators both sided with the states. So Caesar's basically saying.

Kevin Berar [00:41:18]:

Caesar saying, says he circumvented the rules. They showed him terms and conditions like these. Anti money laundering rules, repeat wager policies. Yeah. I mean, this isn't the first time we've seen stuff like this. Like, you know, this pays better than probably anybody, but you feel for this guy and just your thoughts on it.

Andrew Pace [00:41:36]:

They. They took his bet. So, like, this is a. This isn't like, you know, who didn't pay me recently? This isn't like Duck Dice Casino that stole, you know, 90 GS from me. This is Caesar's sports book. They took the bets. Right. Like, he obviously knows what he's doing.

Andrew Pace [00:41:58]:

It sounds like he exploited a loophole. Do you know if it was. This is multiple, multiple, multiple, multiple bets on different events, or is this one different? I know he made. I know he made multiple bets.

Kevin Berar [00:42:09]:

Yeah.

Andrew Pace [00:42:10]:

But is it, Is it. Are they all the same across all these different kiosks that all were the same wager?

Kevin Berar [00:42:16]:

Some were, yes. So some were repeat wagers, but he also had other ones that weren't repeat. Like, let's say he had 80 tickets. I'm guessing he probably had 20 tickets that were similar. 20 tickets. 20 tickets. 20 tickets. And he placed a few casinos and.

Andrew Pace [00:42:29]:

And different events, but like a similar type EV strategy that he had found maybe some correlated stuff. Wow. Wow. I mean, that's just insane. They need to. I totally understand banning him. I, I don't support that. I understand that they gotta pay him.

Andrew Pace [00:42:44]:

Like, they gotta pay him his money. And I'm. I'm hoping that the regulator would side with him on him getting his funds. He wasn't banned outside of Michigan, was he? That's the one thing that maybe I could say they'd have a leg to stand on is if they said, you're banned from Michigan casinos, and this bans you nationwide across all Caesars Entertainment products and lists, all the brands. And he knew that and went in and did it anyways. That's the one leg I think they could have to stand on. Again, I don't support that. But that would be the, the, the situation now.

Andrew Pace [00:43:15]:

Those kiosks, if people are not familiar with them, you don't need to put a player's card in to make a bet. So they. That the other side of it is no matter what the casino, and there's a reason why the limits on the kiosks are lower. It's because they know someone can walk in that is an advantage player and place bets there. The reason why advantage players do use them is because of that, and the reason why advantage players don't use them is because the limits might be a little too low, that it might be too cumbersome to go up and down the strip or wherever the hell it is that you are placing these bets. It can be a little bit. A little bit annoying and just a lot to deal with. Like, I know firsthand if the max bet was 250 at this one kiosk, I'm not trekking.

Andrew Pace [00:44:05]:

I'm not tracking down to 10 different locations to get the. The money down that I want. I. I just wouldn't do that personally. So. So the.

Andrew Pace [00:44:14]:

I guess what I'm getting at there is because they run their operation that way, even if they did ban them from everywhere, it's like, well, this is why you have the limits so low on these things. So, you know, you should probably just pay the guy out from a good publicity standpoint and. And both agree to move on from each other as partners. The other thing, too, is if this guy's putting on face masks and trying to be fake. Shane, like, you are, you know, growing a beard overnight and. And to. To look like someone else or whatever it is that he's doing, it's like, dude, be a little bit more creative, because then it's like you're walking into a casino dressed up as someone else. Like, that's a huge red flag.

Andrew Pace [00:44:53]:

Like, find a buddy that you can work with, you know?

Kevin Berar [00:44:56]:

Yep. That is absolutely. Yep. 100. When it comes to, like, the repeat wagering policy, which I guess they have, and he's making the same bet that obviously that's a strong case for them to be like, ah, you weren't following terms and conditions. Boom, we're boarding everything. Or you still, like, out. He still should be paid out, and then banned.

Andrew Pace [00:45:19]:

Repeat wager policy off. Um, sure. Yeah. I guess that's a leg. I'm just always gonna side with the player.

Kevin Berar [00:45:27]:

Me too.

Andrew Pace [00:45:28]:

Yeah. Yeah. Repeat wager policy. Like, you took the bet. That's all I can say. Like, if. So we had the guy on that looks at, like, obviously players and corruption and manipulation and how when money comes in on an event, that can be a huge triggering red flag. Caesars could shut the.

Andrew Pace [00:45:51]:

The event down before it started if they didn't like the way the bets were coming in and void it before it started. You can't void it after, after it's played out. You just can't.

Kevin Berar [00:46:01]:

Exactly. Yeah. Hopefully he gets his, his money back. I think they v. They basically voided everything, gave him money back. I think on the losing bets as well that he had, that he had put in. So I'm not. We'll see, we'll see what happens with that anyways.

Kevin Berar [00:46:15]:

But move on here before we.

Andrew Pace [00:46:18]:

I bid him adieu. I bid him adieu.

Kevin Berar [00:46:20]:

Yeah.

Andrew Pace [00:46:21]:

And if he wants to come on the show, we'd be happy to talk to him. I'm sure you'll see one of our, we'll see one of our many hundreds of listeners.

Kevin Berar [00:46:27]:

One of our tens of listeners. Well, absolutely. Let's move on. As a business owner, I want to touch on this because this is, is involving you. Face of the company, you're. As a face of the company, you're always going to be faced with scrutiny and the more successful you are, the more likely it is. That's just the world we live in. You know, social media makes it very easy to do that.

Kevin Berar [00:46:50]:

You could be doing 99% of things right and the 1% when you're successful, people will rip you for it. You take a Sharks 3Pmoneyline bet, you're going to get ripped for mostly from me. Another story. So last week, guy by the name of Josh, right, commented on one of your betting videos on, on Pinnacle, I think, where you're helping sports bettors gain knowledge about different types of bets, strategies, outcomes, etc. So this Josh guy comments, I think he commented scam or whatever. He commented saying, you know, can't trust this guy. Whatever it was anyways, it was negative comments basically just trying to discredit you. Not the first time that's happened to you.

Kevin Berar [00:47:29]:

Reading the. Definitely not the last. Let's be honest. And this isn't coming on to, to rip on the guy. But you know, my question to you is when you're, when you see this, you know, when you see those negative comments, that's a lot of dick skin. You have to have to be doing this day in, day out. This. Does it not affect you as much as it did, let's say when you first opened inplayLIVE and, and sort of what's, what's changed? Has it just become you just sort of getting, you know, used to all this scrutiny and hate that's come with it? Just talk, talk about this.

Andrew Pace [00:47:59]:

Yeah, I mean I got banned on Facebook, dude. Yeah, that's, it's, you know, it's a really, it's a, that's a really good question. So I think there's a lot of positive, there's a lot of, there's a lot of validation in being in a position like that. So we just talked about Shedeur Sanders for like, however long. He'll never hear our opinion on him. He shouldn't care about our opinion either. Aaron Rodgers has a great statement. Don't care about the opinions of someone that you wouldn't ask for advice.

Andrew Pace [00:48:33]:

So I don't think I'd be asking this Josh guy for advice anytime soon. But at the same time, I have haters. I. A lot of haters that I would ask advice for because maybe they were a member at some time that left and actually have good feedback for me that could, could help because you actually reference like the 99%. Well, people harp on the 1%. I've given people ample one percents to, you know, talk about me. There's no, no question about that. Yeah.

Andrew Pace [00:48:59]:

So, you know, in the, in this particular case, I, I don't believe this person worked with us or was a member in any capacity. And if they were, I don't think they gave us an honest shot. So that one really, I, I just kind of laugh at it. Doesn't, doesn't really bug me too much. But yeah, it certainly used to bug me. And there's a, there is actually a professional athlete that I look to sometimes. It's Kevin Durant. So KD has notoriously engaged with his haters and I think to his own demise and detriment.

Andrew Pace [00:49:32]:

Someone posts something about him losing a bet for him. Someone posts something about him missing a shot that he's trash. It really all started when he made the move to Golden State and he started getting just absolutely ripped for like, copping out of, of, of a title because his team was up 3:1 on the warriors in the west final. You know, the previous year, you would think you'd grit your teeth and figure out a way to beat them. Instead, he them rather than just, you know, going, I'm going to focus on my game and let the haters hate and stay away from this kind of stuff and focus on the positive. He, he really dove in the gutters with, with all the people hating on him. And I remember seeing that and thinking to myself, that was not the best way to handle this for someone in his shoes. Now I am certainly no, no, no online presence like Kevin Durant or several other millions of people that would be, you know, bigger online online presence or social leaders or whatever in the space.

Andrew Pace [00:50:32]:

But, you know, when that stuff does come. Yeah, it used to bug me and it really doesn't anymore. I think I can hang the hat, hang my hat on guys like UKB where, you know, there's been times where you've probably questioned a lot of the stuff that I've done. You've been around long enough to, to make fun of me as much as you want, whether it's serious or at times and, and, and whether it isn't at others. But you know, at the end of the day, like if I never spoke to you again, which is the case with some of the members that joined around the time that, that, that you, you came by and they did talk about me, there's two things that I will look at. Number one, can I have a productive conversation with this person that will actually help myself and inplayLIVE for the future, which I've had many of those conversations. Number two, I can go to sleep at night knowing I made a positive impact on that person's betting journey. And I just make peace with those two.

Andrew Pace [00:51:28]:

Two things improve where I can and, and hope that I help them as a part of their journey. Don't think this Josh guy falls into those categories though.

Kevin Berar [00:51:37]:

I don't think so either. Hats off to you. Thick Skin had definitely always been the, the bigger person. For the most part it seems like too Pace. So again, that's up to you. I want to finish off the show with a little rapid fire Q A. Just questions that I've always had wanted to ask you in case I ever got the chance 48 weeks later that host an episode of behind the Lines. And all this is is answer this as if since you started ipl, not beforehand betting wise, but since you started inplayLIVE.

Kevin Berar [00:52:08]:

Okay, in play from 2020 August let's say or whatever June or whatever it is. So first one is. And try and keep it as quick as possible. Biggest lesson you've learned as a sports bettor since starting ipl

Kevin Berar [00:52:18]:

Max Bet isn't the solution.

Andrew Pace [00:52:24]:

Biggest lesson you've learned as a CEO since starting inplayLIVE.

Andrew Pace [00:52:30]:

Whoa, you don't have all the answers.

Kevin Berar [00:52:36]:

If you could change one thing about inplayLIVE since you started it, what would you change?

Andrew Pace [00:52:42]:

Oh, so like I could go back in time or I make the change. Oh, November 2022. I reference that all the time. I would go back in time and tell myself all the lessons that I've learned since then and not handle that month and beyond the same way that I did.

Kevin Berar [00:52:59]:

For reference. That was one of the. Was that one of the worst months.

Andrew Pace [00:53:02]:

In the worst betting month of my entire life.

Kevin Berar [00:53:04]:

Of your entire. Okay.

Andrew Pace [00:53:06]:

And we had a lot more members then than we did today. Do today.

Kevin Berar [00:53:10]:

Right. Your favorite IPL strategy that the books have adjusted to and we no longer bet it or, or bet it is often. What would it be without giving it away? Maybe you could just give us a sport.

Andrew Pace [00:53:23]:

Teams kneeling out in the NFL.

Kevin Berar [00:53:29]:

Yeah, absolutely.

Andrew Pace [00:53:31]:

That was a great strategy.

Kevin Berar [00:53:33]:

Yeah, absolutely. Five years into five years. Five years in inplayLIVE. Coming up here, you're on streams from day sometimes, basically from morning all the way to late night a lot of times. Best advice you can give people that are. That are on the streams with you, that have spouses or partners and are in morning to night.

Andrew Pace [00:53:54]:

Transparency is. There's no, no substitute for honesty and transparency. Sit whomever you need down, tell them what your goals are and why you're attempting the journey and never, never be dishonest about it. That can sometimes mean Monday morning, you know you're not betting and a message goes out with a calendar to the team. This is when I'm working this week. Are there any issues with this? Will this be okay? Maybe that's even a month ahead. But that those, those conversations have to happen and they have to happen before, not after. When those convers happen after that you're on the defensive.

Kevin Berar [00:54:40]:

Last one. If you hadn't found IPL or even sports betting, what would you be doing? What would Andrew Pace be doing right now?

Andrew Pace [00:54:47]:

Oh, man, I think definitely something similar. Like I did the poker thing. I was in finance. God, that's a really good question. I don't know, man. I'd probably be betting on. If I, if I couldn't bet on a sportsbook, I'd probably be at a local street basketball game betting on the sidelines with some people that would try to take my money. I don't know.

Andrew Pace [00:55:14]:

I don't know. Definitely something to do with sports like that. That's what I can say confidently because even when I'm not talking about sports or working with inplayLIVE or actually betting on sports, I tend to be in some capacity playing some sort of sports sport or wishing I was playing some sort of sport. So yeah, I, I just love the whole sports, sports entertainment and obviously betting side of things.

Kevin Berar [00:55:39]:

Future pickleball pro, the Tour. You might be signing up for the Tour.

Andrew Pace [00:55:45]:

That would be insane. But no, I'm not. I'm not there.

Kevin Berar [00:55:49]:

That's it for me as far as questions go. Is there anything else that you want to mention to anybody? Listening, watching this podcast coming up for this weekend for, for next week.

Andrew Pace [00:55:57]:

You know, I, I don't know. I mean, we're, we're heading into the. What I would consider to be the downtime of betting. And I think every bettor's journey is. Is different. But there's definitely that. That sort of tone at Bet Bash that for the most part, most people don't bet baseball, approach the off season with the utmost level of discipline, health, balance, and take that same EV approach into that time of year. That is that what I just said means something different for everyone that hears it.

Andrew Pace [00:56:34]:

But for me, that means maybe for you too. Kb. I'm not sure I'll ask you the same question. That means I'm gonna focus on the cfl, which is a harder time of year to get money down and a harder sport to get money down on and less out. So, like, even if you do have a book that you can get some money down, oftentimes the max bets will be smaller than any other sport that we wager on. So you have to be content with different levels of success and not chase it somewhere else. So last summer for me was by far, by far, like, not even close. My most profitable summer that I've ever had.

Andrew Pace [00:57:13]:

But I think I made more on, like the first NFL Sunday than I did the entire summer. And that wasn't because the ROI was higher. It was less on. On the season I'm referencing, it was actually less so. The CFL ROI was higher than the NFL. It wasn't that it. We did something different or better. It was simply an equation of being able to get more money down and a higher volume.

Andrew Pace [00:57:39]:

So, you know, you have to adjust and be content with. With what you do have and the opportunities that are in front of you. And sometimes that means for bettors that do bet quite a bit of money, you know, you. You do lower things and you, and you. You just become comfortable with that. And sometimes that means, like, my full unit is a couple thousand bucks instead of, you know, into the five figures or well into the five figures. So, yeah, I'll actually ask you that question as we head into, obviously, you know, the start of the summer here around the corner. Do you bet much and what do you plan on betting this summer?

Kevin Berar [00:58:14]:

Yeah, I'm still, I'm still betting quite a bit, definitely. I mean, nowadays, over the last few years, you look at the Stanley Cup Finals and the NBA Finals, they go into June where it's 30 degrees out and there's still hockey being played. Do you know what I mean? So it's not like we're. So instead of having June, July, August off or whatever, like it's literally July and then August, we're right into NFL preseason. So it's not like it's as long as a break as in six weeks. Yeah, it's, it's, it's not long. Absolutely. But absolutely.

Kevin Berar [00:58:40]:

I'll be in on, on cfl. Don't forget tennis season right around the corner as far as majors go. French Open starts next month. I know we do really well on, on some of these tennis strategies that a few, a few of the members have. Yeah, other than that, it's. I'll be in on baseball quite a bit. I'll definitely be really doing a lot more. Baseball player.

Kevin Berar [00:58:58]:

Yeah, player props are always fun. Like I scale down big time. Like I'm doing it, you know, a tenth of a unit or eighth of a unit just on a few different player props just to have skin in the game and just to sort of keep betting, keep. Keep the mind sharp a little bit as well. Just going into when before we sort of ramp things up. So that's basically what I normally do for the last, last couple of summers.

Andrew Pace [00:59:18]:

So you're not picking too many winners in baseball. It's more about batter, batter, pitcher matchups.

Kevin Berar [00:59:24]:

Yep. Strikeouts, hits, hits, runs, rbi, pitcher, outs, whatever it may be. So just looking at some, some data and strategy and just sort of seeing, seeing if there's any, any edges that I can find there. But like I said, it's. It's very small stuff.

Andrew Pace [00:59:39]:

Right. Right on. Cool. Well, kb, you were a natural born fake, Shane, so we appreciate you popping on the show. I messaged KB last night, so he had. What'd you have, like 12 hours to prepare, including sleep time and time to sleep?

Kevin Berar [00:59:57]:

Yeah, if that.

Andrew Pace [00:59:58]:

A couple hours.

Kevin Berar [00:59:59]:

Oh, good. Not the first time, not the last time. I've had, you know, less than a few hours notice to prep for this stuff. Been doing it for a while, so I, I appreciate that. Yeah, no, hopefully I don't have to wait long for the next time to come and jump on as a guest host whenever needed.

Andrew Pace [01:00:14]:

Well, I think the thing is, is someone like yourself is, you know, we know that you're kidding, but then that makes us wonder when you're serious. So it's like he's talking about hosting our podcast every week. We're like, hey, he's clearly kidding, but the opportunity came. And look at you, man. Shane's got some big shoes to fill next week.

Kevin Berar [01:00:33]:

I'm only a size nine and a half. It's not. Not that big. All right, well, hey, that does it for another episode of behind the Lines. Thanks to you, Pace, and to Shane as well for again letting me guest host. I'm kb. Thanks for watching or listening. And to quote our friend Shane Mercer, until next time, keep beating those books.

Kevin Berar [01:00:53]:

Thanks for tuning in to another episode of behind the Lines. Remember to like, download and subscribe. We are on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, and everywhere. You get your podcasts, have a betting story or want to be featured on our podcast. Drop a note in the comments below. And if you want to join inplayLIVE, use promo code BEHINDTHELINES.