The Bad Gambler’s Year In Review

Well, it didn’t exactly go as planned. Last December, I launched The Bad Gambler in hopes that I would be able to retire and spend all my time writing about my two biggest passions in life: investing and gambling. I would immediately attract millions of readers and sign up sponsors ranging from Apple and Nike to Tesla and Shopify. So far, not so much. In truth, I didn’t really expect that to happen. My goal for the site is a little more modest. I want a place to write every day about these two topics and do it in a way that is fulfilling for me and entertaining for others. While TBG is still a work in progress, I think I’m headed in the right direction.

So how did we do in the first year? Here’s a look at some of the numbers.

Total Visitors in Year One: 12,967

Total Views in Year One: 18,992

When I think about these numbers in sum, they seem small. But maybe not. Numbers are weird like that. Thirteen thousand is still quite a lot of people. For example, Cameron Indoor Stadium seats 9,314. So in one year, my site packed Cameron Indoor with an extra 3,653 people waiting outside to get in. That’s not horrible.

I also had a number of international visitors check out the site.

344 from Canada. (Canadians are so nice)

297 from the UK.

211 from Singapore. (Thx Singaporians!)

198 from Ireland.

195 from Australia.

154 from Germany.

74 from India.

64 from the Netherlands.

58 from China.

The China thing is huge. The fact that only 58 people have visited my site from mainland China gives me so much room for future growth! Current estimates are that China is home to 1.402 billion people so by my calculations that means there’s still 1.402 billion (minus 58) potential readers in that part of the world.

The most popular story on the site was the The Stock Market has Lost Its Capitalistic Mind in response to the Gamestop debacle. The second most popular was 55 Reasons I Hate Tom Brady So I’m Taking The Chiefs Moneyline. This tells me I need to write more about GameStop and Tom Brady to boost readership.

Investing Results

As for my own investing and gambling, it was a mixed year. As an investor, I did well. Buoyed by growth in the major indexes fueled by the FAANG stocks, plus SHOP, ASML, ANTM and a host of others, my portfolio was up 28% in 2021. That’s not earth shattering Tesla numbers but if you tell me my investments will go up 28% every year on average, I’ll die a very happy man.

Gambling Results

Gambling results were not quite as good. Turns out betting every day on a bunch of random, foolish things — like how many 3 pointers Caris Levert will hit tonight — is not a recipe for success. Here’s how the gambling number look for 2021.

2,501 Wagers Places

1,366 Wins

55.19% Winning Percentage

Those numbers are a little misleading because a) Despite my best attempts, I didn’t record every single bet placed and b) The numbers don’t show how much was wagered on each bet. For the year, I am down. One thing I plan to do differently in 2022 is bet less. 2500 wagers averages out to nearly 7 wagers per day. That’s too much. By betting less I’ll either lose less or, maybe, possibly, win a little. Hey, we can all dream.

Lastly, I leave you with one of the best things I read this year. As we head in 2022, I’m facing my second back surgery. The last two months have been hard, with lots of sleepless nights and days spent just trying to find a comfortable position. Despite all that, I can’t stop thinking about getting back on the basketball court. It’s crazy because at my age, with my spine, I should be searching for a good Pickleball League. But I can’t. And no one captures the reason why as eloquently and expertly as Sports Illustrated’s Chris Ballard in How Long Can We Play? If you read one long form sports piece this year, make it this one.

So that’s it. Until next year, wishing you health, happiness and investing and gambling success in 2022.

The Bad Gambler