\u201cIt\u2019s been a crazy few years,\u201d he says of his recent poker and sports betting success. That\u2019s quite an understatement.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.pokerscout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/global-logo-117.png\"){kind=logo}
<\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Poker to prognosticating \u2013\u00a0and finding success<\/span><\/h2>\nWhile he\u2019s no stranger to sports betting<\/strong>, playing in the SuperContest is fairly new for Baker. This was only the second year he and Gregorich entered the contest.<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always bet on sports, but not going to say I\u2019ve done it very successfully in the past,\u201d Baker says. \u201cMost people in sports betting don\u2019t really do it that successfully. But I\u2019ve always kind of felt like I had an eye for it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
At the table, the two poker players are accustomed to using reasoning and logic to make decisions without emotion involved. Gregorich has a nice poker resum\u00e9 as well with $2 million<\/strong> in live tournament winnings.<\/span><\/p>\n
While Baker may not have been a great sports handicapper in the past, he and Gregorich\u2019s approach ultimately proved successful. The team, dubbed \u201cODBMG<\/strong>\u201d in the contests, went 54-26-5<\/strong> for almost 68%<\/strong> against the spread.<\/span><\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.pokerscout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/David-Baker-Mark-Gregorich-SuperContest.jpg\")
Poker pros David Baker (middle) and Mark Gregorich (left) collect their winnings for the Westgate SuperBook\u2019s SuperContest.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe SuperContest began at the Las Vegas Hilton<\/strong> in 1986<\/strong> with competitors ponying up $1,500<\/strong> each. Players select five games each week and the 2020 edition attracted 1,172 players.<\/span><\/p>\n
While Baker, 48, describes himself as an \u201caction junkie,\u201d the SuperContest allowed him to focus on some favored matchups. He credits life at the poker table making calculated, unemotional decisions for some of their success.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n\u201cSports betting is a lot about discipline and just playing the games that you like, as opposed to just betting the board,\u201d he says. \u201cThese kinds of contests force you into that. You can only pick five games, so it\u2019s kind of in my wheelhouse.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Seeking an edge on the field<\/span><\/h2>\nExactly how did Baker and Gregorich win? They decided to dig deeper than just teams with big offensive numbers. A big part of that was checking out the guys up front.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n\u201cLine play<\/strong> was one of the big things that I focused on this year as opposed to other years,\u201d Baker said. \u201cIt\u2019s very easy to get into the mindset in this fantasy football world of evaluating teams based on their receivers and running backs. Whereas in reality, most football games are won at the line of scrimmage.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
This allowed ODBMG to find teams that faced a real struggle. The Colts<\/strong>, Steelers, Washington Football Club<\/strong>, and Browns<\/strong> weren\u2019t NFL juggernauts this season. However, the line play could be relied on and helped score Baker and Gregorich some wins.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
The quarterback<\/strong> position was also a key consideration and a year of limited fans in the stands added to that.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n\u201cWithout the crowds, the better quarterbacks were better able to read defenses and audible off of plays and schemes across the line of scrimmage,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\u201cIt seems like a pretty obvious thing right now. I know it\u2019s brought up many times in primetime games how Aaron Rodgers<\/strong> has really done that, but it really wasn\u2019t anything that was talked about earlier in the season.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
Fewer offensive holding calls<\/strong> and increased pass interference<\/strong> calls only helped these quarterbacks. From the outset, the goal was to try and be competitive in the SuperContest and the Circa Million.<\/span><\/p>\n
Gregorich and Baker chose to overlap an average of three games a week in each competition. That meant going all in on a few picks and then diversifying a few.<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cOccasionally, one of us would like a game more than the other did,\u201d Baker says. \u201cThen we just put it on one card. But we can usually find three games that we just absolutely loved, combined together.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
Season-ending sweat<\/span><\/h2>\nThe SuperContest reached its conclusion on Jan. 3<\/strong>. Baker and Gregorich met at the SuperBook<\/strong> with some friends to see how things would turn out.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n\u201cWe just sat there and sweated it out, and it was great,\u201d says Baker, who lives in Arizona but is a regular in Las Vegas. \u201cWe\u2019ve actually watched a lot of football together this year. With COVID, there\u2019s not a whole lot of other stuff to do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\nBiggest football sweat day of our life with @markgregorich<\/a> (ODBMG)@CircaSports<\/a> $1 mil\/$300k\/100k@WestgateVegas<\/a> $435k\/100k
A couple natural hedges betwn 2
All in Balt\/Car\/Wash
Huge fade Detroit big line move we chose to ignore
Help 1\/hurts 1 Pitt\/Dal\/GB pic.twitter.com\/IJ7b4Q9evX<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 David Baker (@audavidb) January 3, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The SuperContest began at the Las Vegas Hilton<\/strong> in 1986<\/strong> with competitors ponying up $1,500<\/strong> each. Players select five games each week and the 2020 edition attracted 1,172 players.<\/span><\/p>\n
While Baker, 48, describes himself as an \u201caction junkie,\u201d the SuperContest allowed him to focus on some favored matchups. He credits life at the poker table making calculated, unemotional decisions for some of their success.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n\u201cSports betting is a lot about discipline and just playing the games that you like, as opposed to just betting the board,\u201d he says. \u201cThese kinds of contests force you into that. You can only pick five games, so it\u2019s kind of in my wheelhouse.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Seeking an edge on the field<\/span><\/h2>\n
Exactly how did Baker and Gregorich win? They decided to dig deeper than just teams with big offensive numbers. A big part of that was checking out the guys up front.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n\u201cLine play<\/strong> was one of the big things that I focused on this year as opposed to other years,\u201d Baker said. \u201cIt\u2019s very easy to get into the mindset in this fantasy football world of evaluating teams based on their receivers and running backs. Whereas in reality, most football games are won at the line of scrimmage.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
This allowed ODBMG to find teams that faced a real struggle. The Colts<\/strong>, Steelers, Washington Football Club<\/strong>, and Browns<\/strong> weren\u2019t NFL juggernauts this season. However, the line play could be relied on and helped score Baker and Gregorich some wins.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
The quarterback<\/strong> position was also a key consideration and a year of limited fans in the stands added to that.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n\u201cWithout the crowds, the better quarterbacks were better able to read defenses and audible off of plays and schemes across the line of scrimmage,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\u201cIt seems like a pretty obvious thing right now. I know it\u2019s brought up many times in primetime games how Aaron Rodgers<\/strong> has really done that, but it really wasn\u2019t anything that was talked about earlier in the season.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
Fewer offensive holding calls<\/strong> and increased pass interference<\/strong> calls only helped these quarterbacks. From the outset, the goal was to try and be competitive in the SuperContest and the Circa Million.<\/span><\/p>\n
Gregorich and Baker chose to overlap an average of three games a week in each competition. That meant going all in on a few picks and then diversifying a few.<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cOccasionally, one of us would like a game more than the other did,\u201d Baker says. \u201cThen we just put it on one card. But we can usually find three games that we just absolutely loved, combined together.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
Season-ending sweat<\/span><\/h2>\n
The SuperContest reached its conclusion on Jan. 3<\/strong>. Baker and Gregorich met at the SuperBook<\/strong> with some friends to see how things would turn out.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n\u201cWe just sat there and sweated it out, and it was great,\u201d says Baker, who lives in Arizona but is a regular in Las Vegas. \u201cWe\u2019ve actually watched a lot of football together this year. With COVID, there\u2019s not a whole lot of other stuff to do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\nBiggest football sweat day of our life with @markgregorich<\/a> (ODBMG)@CircaSports<\/a> $1 mil\/$300k\/100k@WestgateVegas<\/a> $435k\/100k
A couple natural hedges betwn 2
All in Balt\/Car\/Wash
Huge fade Detroit big line move we chose to ignore
Help 1\/hurts 1 Pitt\/Dal\/GB pic.twitter.com\/IJ7b4Q9evX<\/a><\/p>\n\u2014 David Baker (@audavidb) January 3, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.pokerscout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/David-Baker-Mark-Gregorich-Circa-Millions.jpg\")