by Sonny Palermo, team handicapper at www.sportsmemo.com

I remember it very clearly, where I was in place and time, and the number I was writing on the check - and why.

I was a pup in the world of wagering on sports, entering my first season of betting on baseball. I was, a newbie, a novice . . . a knucklehead. What? No point spread? I only have to pick the winner to collect on my bet?

THAT'S EASY!

And, unfortunately for me, it was easy.

 Like the first time I played the lottery and hit four numbers on the lone Pick 6 ticket I bought (this of course came much before I learned the true odds of the lottery, and the disgusting rake for the house, NJ keeping a percentage that would shame even the greediest of loan sharks) like the first time I played craps (I dropped $100 "just to learn how it works" and cashed out with 5 times that), and like the first Sunday I bet on an NFL game (all these years later I still remember the game - a late come from behind TD gave Oakland, and me, a win.)

I have always been a believer in, and recipient of beginners luck. But the down side is it makes you a tequila superman - you think you're invincible, that it will always be that easy.

And, of course - it isn't.

And so it was that I found myself on that Monday, in my kitchen at home on Victoria Ave in Piscataway, filling out a check to give to my local bookie, for an amount just over $600. Because on the last day of the betting week I was down $200. And, having won the previous three weeks I had been playing, I wasn't about to give any money back.

So, I saw Dave Stieb was a 2 to 1 favorite over some lousy team (which one? My memory is not THAT good) on Sunday afternoon.

All I had to do was bet $400 and I'd win my $200 back, break even, call it a week and start again on Monday.

Naturally, the Beast ate me alive.

But, I crossed over on that day. It was one big step on the way to becoming an investor, and not a gambler. I make mistakes, but I don't make the same ones twice. It is the lesson I learned in the corporate world, one that served me well there, and would now be applied for success in sports wagering.

I learned to never chase, and I never did it again. I learned that patience, and education, win in the end.

Baseball is a Beast (always spelled with a capital "B" as in names due respect.) Over the years I have first-hand witnessed it devour many a gambler.

The high priced money line favorites, combined with the public's love of playing favorites and their hatred of losing their money, has sent many a gambler to the poor house.

Or to money lenders.

I have seen it make people stop betting altogether, more than any other sport. It is not a sport for gamblers.

Or novices.

Or newbies.

Or knuckleheads.

It takes time, talent, hard work, experience, and patience to win. If you have all those qualities - congrats and good luck this season. If you don't - look for help. I use a stock broker. Why? Because I do not have time, talent or experience to make it wise for me to invest in those areas. But I know someone who does, and he's good.  And so I use him. He has not always been right, but overall we've copped some decent coinage over the years.

The reason I don't do stocks is because I do sports. I approach baseball the same way I approach basketball. The same disciplines, the same experience, the same application. And as I write this column it is early, Sunday morning - Sunday, the end of another working week at wagering.

And I will not be writing a check to my bookie this week.

And I didn't last week.

Or the week before.

I'm banking my sixth profitable week in the past seven.

And I'll finish the season with a profit.

And I'm ready to tackle the Beast once again . . .