Walking on Sunshine...oh no!

Heading into the afternoon of Saturday June 19th, things were going quite well here at the Rickenbach house. MLB was on a 16-6 run. NBA had just recently finished up a nice post-season run including 8-2 on side plays. NHL had not too long ago finished up on a very profitable post-season run. Knowing about all the past summer successes in baseball - my biggest MLB runs tend to come in the summer - things were indeed looking up. Then it was that fateful Saturday afternoon that seemed to do me in.

As the title of this article suggests, riding high (or walking on sunshine) certainly does not mean you are immune to being a couple of bad breaks away from a painful negative cycle. The key is to keep that downward cycle short-term! However, sometimes one does not even see it coming. That was the case this time for me.

June is a time of wrapping up the NBA and NHL post-seasons in style and for gearing up for a big summer run in MLB to build up bankroll for football. As noted above, the NBA and NHL season ending runs had been good to me and my MLB was rolling nicely heading into that fateful Saturday. On this ugly day, with the summertime sun shining on us here in hot Texas I certainly did not end up walking on sunshine!

I lost an over 8.5 runs that had 8 runs through 4 innings! That's right, not a single run the final 5 innings of action. Later that same afternoon I lost a side play where my team, the home team, had dominated and was still holding a 5-run lead entering the top of the 9th inning. Inexplicably, I ended up losing that play in 11 innings! Though I recovered that night, those two plays turned what should have been a 4-1 day into, instead, a 2-3 day. To lose two plays like this in the same day was, of course, ludicrous.

Unfortunately, afternoons like I had on Saturday June 19th tend to snow ball on handicappers as these things often go in cycles. Sure enough, Sunday June 20th was a rough afternoon for me. The key message here, for all those who closely follow sports gaming, is just to understand that these things do go in cycles. Sports gaming enthusiasts have to work hard at it but they should never let a couple bad beats or a couple of bad days weigh too heavily on them.

The key is to keep a clear head, continue working with the same systems that have been successful through the years and - before you know it - the winning streak is back underway. Keep that in mind and just know then that a big summer is still in front of you as we all look to build our bankroll for when the pigskin is flying through the air again! Best of luck always with all your sports gaming - Scott Rickenbach

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