by Doc's Sports - 10/10/2005
Since 1971 Doc's Enterprises (Doc's Sports) has been in the sports handicapping industry so we were excited to finally see a film about our industry. It had some good parts but overall the film needed some work. Below is our take on Two for the Money as well as some information on the realities of sports betting and the sports handicapping industry as well as a trial offer of our service so you can understand how this business really works.
The Plot
Former college football star Brandon Lane's uncanny ability to predict the outcome of a game introduces him to an unexpected new career when his gridiron glory is sidelined by a crushing injury. Brandon's talent makes him a prime candidate for recruitment by Walter Abraham, the head of one of the biggest sports consulting operations in the country. Walter hires the small town ex-athlete and grooms him into a shrewd front man. Brandon soon begins to enjoy his status as a Manhattan golden boy and finds himself growing comfortable with Walter's high-rolling lifestyle.
The surrogate father/surrogate son relationship fattens Walter's business and personal accounts -- until Brandon's golden touch begins to falter at the same time that Walter's manipulation of his protégé crosses the line. With millions of dollars on the line, Brandon and Walter engage in a deadly game of con versus con, each one trying to maintain the upper hand while everyone in their world, including Walter's wife, Toni, are drawn into the escalating duel -- where ultimately everything isn't what it appears to be.
Doc's Rating for Two For the Money - C
The Good
Two for the Money had some tones of "Wall Street", "Boiler Room" and "The Gambler". The movie does a good job of showing the ups and downs of sports betting as well as the huge emotions that are involved in gambling in general. (casino, sports, horseracing or poker) Anyone who has ever gambled could find parts of the film identifiable. Al Pacino makes and saved this movie by playing a powerful role as the compulsive and deceptive head honcho. Pacino has two great scenes. The first is in a Gambler's Anonymous meeting and the second is in an airport in Puerto Rico. Rene Russo and Matthew McConaughey also play solid rolls and we can say this movie will not bore you.
The Bad
Two For the Money is on the edge of being very good but doesn't seem to find itself or go anywhere. It shows signs of an inexperienced filmmaker as there seems to be some poor editing and bad music choices, and some poor dialogue by the character Brandon Lang. (It's hard to say anything negative about a film with Al Pacino, but this film had so much potential and it was frustrating to see it getting screwed up - we would have love to see Oliver Stone get his hands on this one).
The Ugly
We thought Two for the Money was going to be about the mechanics of a sports handicapping service, but it didn't even scratch the surface. In fact very little of the movie focuses on the operation and when it does it portrays a seedy, ruthless telemarketing operation that gives our industry a bad name.
The realities of sports betting and sports handicapping services
Being in business since 1971, we've seen and heard it all. The fact is, at one time this industry was filled with scam artists and high pressure boiler room type operations. These operations, known as Scamdicappers in our industry, make outlandish claims and winning percentages, use multiple business names, give out both sides of the game and call and harass customers at all hours. These operations that once plagued our industry are dying out and the handicapping industry is evolving into group of reputable operations.
What can you expect from a reputable operation?
At Doc's Sports we've been recognized as one of the leaders and most trusted names in the sports handicapping business over 34 years. There are a lot of reputable services like ours out there but unfortunately there are still many that are not legit. A reputable operation will only have one set of plays for one price. Services that offer different levels of service for different prices (silver, gold, diamond) should be avoided. Be careful of services that have you call them for free picks or they call you. These are typically the high pressure sales guys like you see in the movie. Any service that claims they hit 70, 80 or 90 percent long term is also one to run from since these percentages are next to impossible.
If you are interested in learning more about the sports handicapping industry we suggest you read the following three links.
//www.docsports.com/best/football/picks.html
//www.docsports.com/whydocs.html
//www.docsports.com/unitsystem.html
You can also get a one week trial membership of our service for only $10 (normally $99) by clicking the link below. We guarantee you a profit or we'll extend your service and work for free until we show you one. Please note this offer is good for new members only and can only be used once.