The Best Bet

Those who know me know I like gambling. Some would say I "have a gambling problem," but to that I say, you only have a problem if you can't admit to having a problem. And I don't have a problem.

Anyway, I'll be in Vegas this weekend (for about the umpteenth time, but it keeps me coming back!) and just wanted to do a post on my "best bets"- betting tips I've accumulated over the years as well as current trends that you can apply RIGHT NOW!!!!!


1.) Don't play craps. That game will destroy you. (Or at least, it destroys me).
2.) Bet against the Lakers. It's a nobrainer. If I had bet against the Lakers in every game since the season started, I'd be a very rich man right now.

3.) The betting lines don't always reflect the actual percentages of who the "bookies" think will win, they sometimes (and I would argue most of the time) reflect how the public thinks about teams, and the bookies want action on both sides of the bet (so that they can just make their commission money) so they move the line against the team that the public is heavily betting on. I've probably made this point before, but I NEVER bet on very public teams : Dallas Cowboys, L.A. Lakers, USC Trojans (sorry guys), Duke basketball, etc., etc.

Lesson combo of #2 and #3: the Lakers are really bad right now, but you can still get plenty of "value" betting against them: For example, tonight, the 17-25 Lakers play the 23-19 Utah Jazz (a solid if unspectacular team) and the Lakers are FAVORED by -4.5. Lakers have lost 10 of 12 and just recently had a "loud" closed door meeting; Utah on a 4 game winning streak. That is 4.5 free points. I'd argue the Jazz have at least a 50-50 shot of WINNING the game, much less covering the 4.5 points. I have instructed my group to get a move on so I can get to Vegas before the 7:30PM tip.

4.) Home Dogs. Especially home dogs going against defending champions, teams that have over promoted stars, teams that they have a rivalry against, ranked teams in college basketball, teams that they might "get up" for.

5.) Don't fall for "the flavor of the month." Teams or players that are "hot" right now often get too much love. I stay away from "cinderella success stories," long winning streaks, and ESPN darlings. Those things are reserved for movies. Betting is a very grim, very desolate reality. If anything, I see a team that has a long winning streak and bet against them. Hard.

6.) "Any other player" or "any other result" is what you want. Vegas often gives you certain scenarios during prop bets that they WANT you to take. Don't fall for it. It's like you're at the grocery store and you're buying cereal. Why are the name brands so much more expensive? It's not they're that much more tasty or valuable; the extra money you're paying is for the brand name of that product. I HATE paying for brand names. Speaking of which, how much money have people lost in the last 6 months for Apple stock, supposedly the most stable and best company in the world? Gosh I wish I could get that money back.

7.) Close your eyes and think of a happy place; a bustling sports town with a rich history. Stop thinking about that team. Now start thinking of the exact OPPOSITE: a desolate town with no sports history that gets no love on SportsCenter that's barely on the sports map. That's the team you want to bet on. Favorite teams to bet on over the years: Golden State Warriors, Wisconsin Badgers basketball, Oregon State Beavers, Vanderbilt Commodores, Milwaukee Bucks, etc., etc. etc.

8.) Do you know which team Vegas has right now as the odds-on favorite to reach the World Series from the AL? (Drumrolll...........) Ladies and Gentlemen, your 2013 Toronto Blue Jays. Yup, the Jays added a lot of pieces over the offseason like Josey Reyes, Mark Buehrle, and R.A. Dickey..........and they weren't bad last year. But gosh the odds-on favorite for a team that hasn't made the playoffs this millenium, have a suspect bullpen, last time I checked still played in the AL East? Have perspective. Avoid hype. Make money.

9.) And finally In life, bet on education, hard work, and dedication. Those are really the best bets. O and your family; they'll always be there for you. Your sports team will not (and especially not when you need a cover).

10.) O and never bet more than you can afford. This applies both in betting and in life.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

The Year of Practicing Law

So it hasn’t been exactly a year of practicing, but I practiced law exclusively throughout the 2012 calendar year, and boy was it an experience. Since I was sworn into the California bar in December of 2011, I’ve worked on 10 different cases, appeared before 7 different judges, been in 15 different courtrooms, been the lead attorney on 6 different cases, reached settlement in 3 different matters, and barely scratched the surface of what litigation is. Here’s what I learned in my first year.

1.)    The first rule of litigation is not to talk about litigation.  No seriously, several times over the year I’ve tried to talk to laypeople about litigation; their eyes kind of just glaze over. Other litigators who know litigation also don’t want to talk about it, they want to get as far away from it as possible whenever they get a break from it.

2.)    Judges matter. Law school gives you a false sense that the law is the law, and judges are bound by it. Ha. Judges are human; they make mistakes. They interpret the law differently. They have “bad days.” The identity of your judge has a HUGE bearing on the outcome of your case. You must adapt or you will die. Well, not die, but your case will suffer. If there was a ratemyjudge.com or therobingroom.com for California state judges, it’d get a lot of hits from my webpage.

3.)    Dealing with court clerks. Like dealing with customer service, it’s not always the easiest. Court clerks, whether they’re justified or not, are often unhappy. Your job is to make them happy so that you do your job of helping your client. That job can be hard.

4.)    Arguing with other attorneys- an art in itself. It’s (usually) not personal; it’s actually an attorney’s job to blither and blather and make ridiculous, often overreaching arguments with other attorneys to establish some leverage or make the other side give in (often to reach settlement). Some attorneys even specialize (like a closer in baseball) in being nasty and as unrelenting as possible to push the other side into re-evaluating their positions and giving ground during settlement. These guys love to feast on first-year attorneys ESPECIALLY because they’re relatively new at the game, like a “Welcome to the big leagues, rookie” type of move.

5.)    Dealing with clients. – often half of the battle. Just in this year of lawyering alone I’ve dealt with several variations of a client suing their former attorney for malpractice and/or the attorney suing the client for legal fees unpaid. This is a business, and lawyers need to be paid. And they charge a lot, often resulting in these difficult situations. It’s soul-sucking, very soul-sucking.

6.)    Evaluate the quality of the case first. Learn everything you can about the case: the client, the other side, the other side’s attorney, the judge, the venue. At least 50% of the time you will have the losing end of the facts of the case. Get out ahead of that. Like Michael Clayton stated in “Michael Clayton,” lawyers are not miracle workers, we’re fixers. If someone’s screwed up, we minimize the damage, so don’t get your clients’ hopes up too much. Don’t promise a grandiose settlement amount when the case has a good chance of going sour.

7.)    Legal theory and whatnot goes out the window at many times. Oftentimes when writing a complaint, those eloquent judicial opinions and centuries of case law go out the window when you’re writing a complaint that needs to get through the demurrer stage; that’s when you look at the boilerplate language of the elements of different causes of action and plug-and-chug; it’s not pretty but it’s what judges look at.

8.)    Settlement can happen at any time. They can happen in the middle of a deposition, on the phone, in your sleep, because your client’s having a bad day, anytime. And you need to be ready to get the client the best deal when that settlement’s happening.

9.)    Getting clients- that’s half the game. It’s a business and you want to get as many and as qualify of business partners as you can. It’s not good to put all your eggs in one basket for the reasons mentioned above (you’re subject to the strength of your case, subject to the judge). At some point in any lawyer’s career you become a salesman, because without the sales, you have no cases to practice law on.

10.)            Know when litigation’s not for you. More on this later, but some people are just not cut out for litigation. Not that they’re not intelligent enough or qualified for it, but their personalities don’t mesh, they don’t want to continue the leeching and soul-sucking, and they want to do something else. That’s ok. Litigation is not the end all and be all. Litigation is litigation.

Fantasize (and litigate) on,

Robert Yan

I have a dream......

As the year is relatively fresh and I didn’t make any New Year’s Resolutions, this being MLK and all I decided to do 10 predictions “I have a dream” style in honor of the late reverend. But first:

 

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in my life as the 341^st most important day of this league’s history, a day that will serve in the memory banks only as another day I spent in the office. I have come to this hallowed webspace to remind all fantasy fanatics of the fierce urgency of Now, a mere seven weeks away from March Madness, deeply entrenched in the fantasy basketball season, the kickoff of the fantasy hockey season, and (gasp) only 3 weeks away from when pitchers and catchers report. This is no time to engage in the luxury of winter hibernation or taking the tranquilizing drug of “watching games without thinking of the fantasy implications.”  Now is the time to make real the promises of dominance. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of mediocrity to the sunlit path of excellence. Now is the time to research for your drafts and band together under the solid rock of sleeper-hood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of the fantasy gods’ children.

And so let fantasy live on from the golden ponds of hockey.

Let fantasy live on from the bracket mania of March Madness (long considered a close cousin of a fantasy leagues).   

Let fantasy live on from the dormant (for now) gridirons of football,

Let fantasy live on from the thawing fields of baseball  

Let fantasy live on from the reverberating hard courts of basketball.

From every fantasy team and fantasy sport, let fantasy live on!

 

(Parts of the previous speech were excerpted from another, less important speech delivered August 28, 1963, by someone not as relevant as Robert Yan. Copyright infringement not intended; all rights reserved).

 

Without further ado, I Have a Dream predictions about this fantasy year:  

1.)    In another wide-open filed of NCAA championship contenders, the modern day Cinderellas of the tournament, Butler and Gonzaga, face off in the Final Four in an epic rematch of their clash on Jan. 19 (Butler won by one point on a buzzer-beater). The Louisville Cardinals, though, win in anti-climatic fashion.

2.)    Kevin Durant becomes the first “Undisputed Fantasy Champion” as the most dominant fantasy player in any fantasy sport for his ridiculous 2012-2013 statistical season, taking over the title from Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Barry Bonds 2001, and LaDanian Tomlinson 2006.

3.)    At least one significant MLB gets hurt during the World Baseball Classic and is out for an extended period, bringing scrutiny to why the event must take place just before the baseball season and whether MLB teams should let their players participate.

4.)    Adrian Peterson reveals via twitter that he is in fact from Mars and that he was using performance-enhancing Martian food during his epic 2012 fantasy season. Fantasy titles across the nation are revoked, champions are stripped.

5.)    In the Year of the Snake, various big-name fantasy players will betray and disappoint, rewarding owners who invested heavily in them with garbage performances. O wait, that’s every year.

6.)    For the first time in the post-steriods era, baseball actually gets some power hitters as balls (not players) get a bit juicier, many ballparks bring in the fences just a tad, and it’s one of the hottest summers. Not one, not two, but THREE! (gasp!!!) hitters actually break the vaunted 50 HR barrier. (Here’s hoping one or more of those hitters is Josh Hamilton, Mike Trout, and Albert Pujols).

7.)    A backlash ensues from the recent draft QBs early and often ! mantra as fantasy owners (in one-QB leagues, at least) realize they can get great value out of mid-tier QBs Josh Freeman, Tony Romo, etc. and 2^nd-year studs RG III, Andrew Luck, and Russell Wilson rather than have to invest heavily in the Big Three of Brees, Rodgers, and Brady.

8.)    Another fantasy sport comes into focus……….(I would pray for dodgeball but that’s not going to be it). Most likely candidates are golf (if Tiger continues his comeback) or Streak for Cash (lots of these “win a lot in a row” games coming on strong, could be the next great office distraction).

9.)    In a miracle of science, Derrick Rose emerges from the Adrian Peterson martian rehab clinic even better than his previous self, leading the Bulls to dominate the Celtics in the Eastern semis, dethrone “the King” in seven and then topple the Thunder in the finals. I have a dream.

10.)                        On the strength of his new “Fantasyball” strategy, Fantasy guru and brilliant fantasy manager Robert Yan finally wins his fantasy baseball league, the title he has always coveted the most. I have a dream.

 

Fantasize on,

 

Robert Yan

Food

If you wanted a food review or a cookbook post or to see what an Asian twenty-year-old eats, you came to the wrong place. I am not a "food guy," or "foodie,"


Most people, I'd say, could categorize their expenditures in terms of "necessities" and non-necessities. Ordinarily, food would be categorized under "necessities" (like, yea, you have to eat) but food is also one of those that can be ramped up so extraordinarily that it's a luxury or a non-necessity (a $5 plate of food from Ralph's is a lot different financially than a $50 steak dinner at a fancy restaurant). It's a different meal, you might argue, but it's still a meal. You've spent $45 more. Therefore, the way I look it, "enjoying food" can be a luxury non-necessity item, much in line with say, going to the gym, getting a dog, gambling, surfing, any of a list of things that are not necessary.

Food for me is like a daily schedule of activities: I know what I like, I know what's good for me, and I stick with those same things. I also go for the most efficient types of food: non-cooking, on-the-going, in-wrappers, kind of things. I try to stay away as much as possible from fancy dinners, elaborate dining menus, and the one that takes up the most time of all: cooking. O man I do not relish cooking. I haven't spent more than a half hour cooking in my life, and if it were mean I would rather not do so. I'd rather use the 30 minutes to do something more productive, because if time is money, that's money wasted right there. My motto is, "the quicker I can get it, the better it tastes." (that's one of my favorite mottos second only to "My favorite food is free food.")


Top 10 "Efficient" foods.

1.) Banana- perfect healthy food to fill you up and give you energy. Perfect to use about 30 minutes-1 hour before vigorous exercise. Any type of fruit, really.
2.) Sandwich- Open the package, put contents on bread, open mouth, start eating.
3.) milk- packs quite a punch for a liquid.
4.) Pizza- put in the oven, wind the timer, set and forget. I recommend Digiorno's.
5.) Chipotle- perfect stop-by-and get food that's actually relatively freshly made. No long lines, no long waits. I wouldn't buy the stock anymore though, too many copycat companies doing what it does and taking market share.
6.) Hawaiian bread- o man this is great with anything. one of the few types of bread that doesn't require any peanut and butter and jelly or anything, just pick up and eat. Great flavor. Very appropriate when already had a meal but still just need a little something to "get there." This hits the spot.
7.) Chinese mini-treats: there's a whole genre here, I'm talking like lotus buns, sesame rolls, and "jian bins"---- you can make these real quick.
8.) "Whatever's in the fridge at parent's house." Can't go wrong there. Usually well stocked. Full of foods you at least used to like, some that you have nostalgia about.
9.) granola bars, wrappered foods- anything that can sit in the car for 2 weeks and still be good. When in a crunch (get it?) these come in handy.
10.) Noodles/Dumplings: Ok takes a while and you have to actually boil some water (man I get antsy even doing this menial task), but very fulfilling. I only do this once in a while so as to save time. Haha.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan