The Hunch Bunch
THE 2012 SEASON IS UNDERWAY

IF YOU NEED THE PRIVATE EMAIL ADDRESS,
CONTACT US AT G S H @ P O W E R R A T I N G S . C O M
(WE WILL USE THE SAME PRIVATE EMAIL ADDRESS AS LAST SEASON.)

FOOTBALL:

  • For betting purposes, unless otherwise stipulated, games are official after 55 minutes of play.
We form some opinions based on what we call "hunches". These picks are made out of thin air using series history, current momentum, personal like/dislike for certain coaches/teams/players, etc.

Here are the rules for 2012 at the Hunch Bunch:

  • 1) Each player is limited to 10 picks per week. This is because it is major work to monitor 35 picks in a week for one player. We're looking out for #1, if you know what I mean. 10 picks, make them good ones! Of course, you need not make 10 picks. Some weeks are not so ripe with good ones.

  • 2) YOU ARE LIMITED TO A TOTAL OF 30 STARS EACH WEEK!  BE SURE YOU READ THIS ONE!!!

  • 3) You are granted 10,000 units FOR THE ENTIRE SEASON, if you make your first picks by September 30th. After that, you will be granted only 9,000 units. This prevents some late player from swooping in on December 18th and winning the whole thing on 5 bets. Should you run out of funds, we allow deficit financing. If governments can do it, so can you.
  • 4) You may rate each bet from 1 to 5 stars. 1 Star = bet 110 units to win 100. 2 Stars = bet 220 to win 200, etc. Many of you have requested the ability to rate your plays. This is yet another reason why we limit you to 10 plays per week. Also, we only monitor pointspread (no halftime stuff) and over/unders. No parlays or other exotic bets. Keep it simple.
  • 5) Please use only those lines from XXXXXXXX (no longer used) or from World Sports Exchange for your picks. Over the course of an entire season, we may see some questionable lines used by some players. We all know that lines change frequently, so please check with XXXXXXXX or World Sports Exchange for the latest lines for College and NFL. We grade all picks at -110, regardless of the tinkering that books do with -3 and -7 lines. But we use only -110 for grading here.


    NOTE: I have chosen the World Sports Exchange as a good updated source for pointspreads. All will be graded at -110/100, regardless of what is listed. You are always free to use PinnacleSports.com for pointspreads as well. The buttons here will refer you to World Sports. Thanks for your input and suggestions! O.T.B. means OFF THE BOARD. Usually, this is due to an injury or other unknown condition affecting the game.

  • 6) Remember, if you begin after October 1st, you are granted 9000 Units instead of 10000 Units for ranking purposes. Minimum 50 picks to be ranked at the end of the season.
  • 7) Have fun. And have a terrific season.

  • 8) If you have any questions, please contact me at: gsh@powerratings.com

  • 9) This is strictly for fun. If you have a website and wish us to link your name to that site, let us know. Oh, no preseason NFL please.

  • 10) Please send your STAR RATED picks to our Super Secret Email Address. Take that, spammers!!!

THE HUNCH BUNCH WEEK RUNS
FROM TUESDAY THRU MONDAY.

HUNCH BUNCH WEEK #20
4-4-3, -400

HUNCH BUNCH for the 2012 Season:
749-696-29, -8610

Week #20 was a little loser.

Jack won Week #20 with 1-0-1, +500

Our Hunches: TW: 1-0, +300
Our 2012 Record: 87-61-4, +6300
Our 2012 Bank: 16300 Units

Our Picks for 2012
hstar12.gif (905 bytes)hstar12.gif (905 bytes)

1. 3stars.gif (1242 bytes) nflshield35.gif (1277 bytes) Baltimore** +3½ over San Francisco
winner.gif (1146 bytes)In our view, this Super Bowl sets up as one of the more interesting matchups in recent years. We have the unpredictability of San Francisco's bright young QB, Kaepernick, facing the classic longball expertise of Baltimore's Flacco. Our ratings show the game to be a virtual tossup. Both teams rose to the occasion in January and that's why they are here. We must remember that a pointspread is an assessment of public opinion. Sportsbooks do not like to see the number move. They like to nail it with an opening line that sets up a 50-50 betting situation with the public. The oddsmakers correctly assumed that the public would be wowed by Kaepernick and would conclude that Baltimore could not contain the Pistol offense. Getting to the X's and O's, we see this game differently.

For many years, the Air Force Falcons have employed a run oriented option attack that is often unique on an opponent's schedule. Notre Dame, in particular, has often struggled when playing Air Force owing largely to the unusual nature of the AFA offense and the short preparation time involved. So what does this have to do with defending the 49er offense? Plenty. The Baltimore defense consists largely of veteran defenders who will have had 2 full weeks to assess the nature of Kaepernick and Company. Our belief is that the challenges facing the Raven defense are no more difficult than the challenges facing the 49er defense. Baltimore QB Flacco led the league in yards per completion, validating the belief that Flacco has become the game's best long range passer. And that offensive line of Baltimore been just as sound as the offensive line of SF. We saw Denver completely unable to get to Flacco, despite the fact that the Broncos feature two of the league's best pass rushers in Dumervil and Miller. Flacco had plenty of time and that is lethal for a QB with deadly accurate long passing skill. In our view, analysts are vastly underestimating the talents of the Baltimore offense.

While all of the focus has been on Kaepernick, Flacco could just steal the show. In any event, we see this game as a fascinating contrast of styles and we will take the generous points with a team that is fully capable of winning outright.

TOTAL 3 Stars

* Home Team
** Neutral Field

TEASER TIME

Now 16-15, -1.90 Units.

fsb.jpg (6904 bytes) You too can bet a teaser today. FreeSportsBet will give you 50 cents for watching some inane ad and then you are off to the wonderful world of teaser betting. You literally can't lose. If you lose your bet, they will give you another 50 cents after you watch another inane ad. Sign up and give it a shot! Of course, you can make straight bets as well.

Click on the logo at the left. Warning. Their server can be slow.

 

Give us your top picks against the spread and we'll post them for all to enjoy. Develop your own following! Feel free to make comments justifying your thinking. Check here often to see what our visitors recommend each week.

Our Hunches are usually posted by FRIDAY.

Yes, we have a special email address for The Hunch Bunch
It's private due to spam issues over the years.

PLEASE READ OUR POLICY

Notice: Any picks sent on Saturday or Sunday will no longer be posted. We cannot get them posted before the games are played, so they are not read by anyone until after the games ... So, please get them in by Friday night! Thanks for your understanding!

We would also like to take the time to THANK all of our great Hunch Bunch selectors. Without your dedication, this page could not exist and we enjoy doing it immensely. THANKS!!!

2011 RANKINGS
THE TOP EIGHT
(Minimum 50 plays)
Historically, some players make a profit, but make less than 50 picks.
Note: We do not monitor parlays or teasers, but you are welcome to mention them.
*Vig = 10% of losses. hstar11.gif (950 bytes)= 2011 Weekly winner

Player Plays Won Lost Pushed Units Season
Net		 Win
Percentage
(Pushes ignored)
HP Legend from Texas
hstar11.gif (950 bytes)hstar11.gif (950 bytes)hstar11.gif (950 bytes)hstar11.gif (950 bytes)		 87 51 34 2 +7150 17150 60.00%
Jack from Tampa
hstar11.gif (950 bytes)hstar11.gif (950 bytes)hstar11.gif (950 bytes)		 114 63 49 2 +6670 16670 56.25%
Kittpix
hstar11.gif (950 bytes)hstar11.gif (950 bytes)hstar11.gif (950 bytes)		 114 63 46 7 +6200 16200 57.80%
Goforsun
 71 40 26 5 +3890 13890 60.61%
PowerRatings.com
hstar11.gif (950 bytes)		 170 93 74 3 +3470 13470 55.69%
Sim990
hstar11.gif (950 bytes)hstar11.gif (950 bytes)hstar11.gif (950 bytes)		 124 66 56 2 +2610 12610 54.10%
Pat from San Diego
 137 74 62 1 +1860 11860 54.41%
BC from Cape Cod
hstar11.gif (950 bytes)		 99 52 44 3 +1800 11800 54.17%
Total - Season
(All picks)		 1831 946 842 43 +12500 ........ 52.91%
The group had a great year in 2011. Your host recovered from a 2010 disaster to get back in the plus column. For the group, it was our 4th winning season in the last 7 years. That is fairly remarkable, considering we had to overcome -110/100 odds on every single one of thousands of recommended plays over that period. HPLegend was a rock star last with a 71.5% increase in his bankroll over the course of the season. Jack from Tampa had a great year at +6670. Kittpix, our all-time champion, produced yet another fine year and we look forward to his choices this season. Goforsun produced another solid winner and has become one of our more consistent winners. Sim990 made a huge stride forward by nailing the Super Bowl side and total. Nicely done, Sim. Most of us had the Pats and/or the over.
Win Percentage ignores all pushes.

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Updated Sunday, February 3, 2013
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