Whale is Beached

[Pensacola Pete]

One of the whales ceased operations Tuesday, after suffering heavy losses this year. The group, led by longtime heavy hitter "Steven the Flyer," specialized in creating a profit line for each wagering possibility and betting those that exceeded that line. Like most other high rollers, wagers were made at the last possible moment.

Two major factors are believed to be the reason behind the team's demise. First and foremost is the increase in cheating that has broken out in the past 18 months. Second was a counter-team, which bet their selections early and hard, thus creating false overlays that Flyer's team and other "balancers" would bet into, which raised the price of the entries bet by the counter team to reasonable levels.

Few tears were shed, outside of those from Flyer's team. George Holloway had the simplest response: "One down, too many more to go."

In other news, Apple Tunes, Google Music, Spotify and Pandora noted that there was an unusual increase in requests for the Queen song "Another One Bites the Dust."

[clicknow]

a counter-team, which bet their selections early and hard, thus creating false overlays that Flyer's team and other "balancers" would bet into

This is why when people give me "memes" about how to wager that seem to have become general rules, I ignore them, because once it's in the hive mind, it's not a "trick" worth using anymore, as too many people are already using it and those people are easy to exploit.

[Dave Schwartz]

One of the whales ceased operations Tuesday, after suffering heavy losses this year. The group, led by longtime heavy hitter "Steven the Flyer," specialized in creating a profit line for each wagering possibility and betting those that exceeded that line. Like most other high rollers, wagers were made at the last possible moment.

I cannot find a single reference to this.

Where did you read it?

[MadVindication]

This is why when people give me "memes" about how to wager that seem to have become general rules, I ignore them, because once it's in the hive mind, it's not a "trick" worth using anymore, as too many people are already using it and those people are easy to exploit.

https://imgix.romper.com/2016/5/3/7826d84158e41f413df9a53e571905bc-620a170a-226e-4f5d-a63a-3ceeb2f36c9d.jpg?w=610&fit=max&auto=format&q=70

[jimmyb]

What's the gestation period of the next newborn calf?

[AltonKelsey]

Can't find it either


It must have appeared in Whale News Daily

[MadVindication]

Can't find it either


It must have appeared in Whale News Daily

It was next to the one page ad for BETONYMOUS! The Anonymous Autonomous syndicated betting system now available for iOS and Android.

[AltonKelsey]

It was next to the one page ad for BETONYMOUS! The Anonymous Autonomous syndicated betting system now available for iOS and Android.


Shame, I'm strictly a PC man

[JustRalph]

What's the gestation period of the next newborn calf?

Great question. In this economy there’s money everywhere....

I bet it wouldn’t take long for these guys to get started up again.

[MadVindication]

RobinHoodWhale would be an interesting proposition.

They tried to implement that on a cryptocurrency social media site where you post and get a cryptocurrency when your posts get votes. But it was skewed because early adopters (whales) had a largest share of the pool so you'd need their votes to make any magic internet money. A band of posters and some whales got together to make an account that would randomly upvote people using a syndicated whale account bot. Worked really well and kept people around using the experimental platform.

Not sure how horseplayers could implement such a model.

But Whale Wars are always amusing. So long as there is some motivation to non-collusion they can get wiped. But obviously they gain more from colluding if they know each other.

[classhandicapper]

Two major factors are believed to be the reason behind the team's demise. First and foremost is the increase in cheating that has broken out in the past 18 months.

Second was a counter-team, which bet their selections early and hard, thus creating false overlays that Flyer's team and other "balancers" would bet into, which raised the price of the entries bet by the counter team to reasonable levels.

I'm not sure I understand either of these.

1. What kind of cheating are we talking about and where is the evidence for it?

2. If I make an odds line, there's nothing anyone can do to alter my decision making unless they bet AFTER me.

Let's say I make the fair odds on a horse 2-1 and he's 5-1 now because someone else bet another horses early in the betting. Most likely he's going to drift down regardless of whether I bet. But when I make that decision it will be based on his price at that time and how much lower I think he might go on the last flash. I would give myself some margin of safety.

Unless the team was using money flows as part of their odds line and the different flows were throwing their formula off, early betting should have no impact. If early flows did throw off their algorithm, then I'm going to say things like this were inevitable and they didn't have a very good model (or didn't it adjust properly). How money flows into the pools is not fixed long term.

[jay68802]

1. What kind of cheating are we talking about and where is the evidence for it?



Good question, and why just the last 18 months?

[Jeff P]

Was yesterday April 1st? (Methinks you guys have been had.)



-jp

.

[Andy Asaro]

Was yesterday April 1st? (Methinks you guys have been had.)



-jp

.

by Jack Zavada
Updated January 25, 2018
The story of Jonah and the Whale, one of the oddest accounts in the Bible, opens with God speaking to Jonah, son of Amittai, commanding him to preach repentance to the city of Nineveh.


Jonah found this order unbearable. Not only was Nineveh known for its wickedness, but it was also the capital of the Assyrian empire, one of Israel's fiercest enemies. Jonah, a stubborn fellow, did just the opposite of what he was told. He went down to the seaport of Joppa and booked passage on a ship to Tarshish, heading directly away from Nineveh. The Bible tells us Jonah "ran away from the Lord."


In response, God sent a violent storm, which threatened to break the ship to pieces. The terrified crew cast lots, determining that Jonah was responsible for the storm. Jonah told them to throw him overboard. First, they tried rowing to shore, but the waves got even higher. Afraid of God, the sailors finally tossed Jonah into the sea, and the water immediately grew calm. The crew made a sacrifice to God, swearing vows to him.

Instead of drowning, Jonah was swallowed by a great fish, which God provided. In the belly of the whale, Jonah repented and cried out to God in prayer. He praised God, ending with the eerily prophetic statement, "Salvation comes from the Lord." (Jonah 2:9, NIV)

Jonah was in the giant fish three days. God commanded the whale, and it vomited the reluctant prophet onto dry land. This time Jonah obeyed God. He walked through Nineveh proclaiming that in forty days the city would be destroyed. Surprisingly, the Ninevites believed Jonah's message and repented, wearing sackcloth and covering themselves in ashes. God had compassion on them and did not destroy them.


Again Jonah questioned God because Jonah was angry that Israel's enemies had been spared. When Jonah stopped outside the city to rest, God provided a vine to shelter him from the hot sun. Jonah was happy with the vine, but the next day God provided a worm that ate the vine, making it wither. Growing faint in the sun, Jonah complained again.

God scolded Jonah for being concerned about a vine, but not about Nineveh, which had 120,000 lost people. The story ends with God expressing concern even about the wicked.

Scripture References
2 Kings 14:25, The book of Jonah, Matthew 12:38-41, 16:4; Luke 11:29-32.

Points of Interest From the Story of Jonah
God commands everything in his Creation, from the weather to a whale, to carry out his plan. God is in control.
Jonah spent the same amount of time—three days—inside the whale as Jesus Christ did in the tomb. Christ also preached salvation to the lost.
It's not important whether it was a great fish or a whale that swallowed Jonah. The point of the story is that God can provide a supernatural means of rescue when his people are in trouble.
Some scholars believe the Ninevites paid attention to Jonah because of his bizarre appearance. They speculate that the whale's stomach acid bleached Jonah's hair, skin, and clothing a ghostly white.
Jesus did not consider the book of Jonah to be a fable or myth. While modern skeptics may find it impossible that a man could survive inside a great fish for three days, Jesus compared himself to Jonah, showing that this prophet existed and that the story was historically accurate.
Question for Reflection
Jonah thought he knew better than God. But in the end, he learned a valuable lesson about the Lord's mercy and forgiveness, which extends beyond Jonah and Israel to all people who repent and believe. Is there some area of your life in which you are defying God, and rationalizing it? Remember that God wants you to be open and honest with him. It's always wise to obey the One who loves you most.