Legendary Sports Bettor Billy Walters Shares Secrets on Joe Rogan’s Podcast

One of the most successful gamblers ever appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience to share his methods and view on the landscape of USA legal sports betting.

Billy Walters, 77, has made millions of dollars by consistently beating the sportsbooks at their own game. But as technology continues to become more powerful amid the sports betting boom, he is aware that his edge will disappear eventually.

Walters already wrote a book called Gambler: Secrets from a Life at Risk, but this is the first time he did a podcast such as Rogan’s.

Rogan, the host of the most successful podcast in the world, led Walters down a variety of topics related to his adventures as a high-roller.

They started by discussing how Walters first discovered a way to consistently win his bets. Walters told him that he found someone with an algorithm in the 1960s and later recruited another six people with similar backgrounds to form a seven-man team. All seven of the men did independent research, and Walters evenly weighted their input before placing his bets.

In total, Walters was around more than 50 odds specialists—but they all knew they would eventually lose their edge as the sportsbooks adjusted and the games evolved.

Walters decides how much he bets based on the discrepancy between his handicap and the true sportsbook valuation. A 1.5-point edge is worth one unit, and every point beyond that is another unit. For example, if he values the Pittsburgh Steelers at -5.5, and they are listed at -3, he’ll bet two units. 

The largest bet Walters ever placed was a $4.5 million wager on the New Orleans Saints +7 against the Indianapolis Colts in Super XLIV, a game in which he claimed he had a seven-point edge.

As luck would have it, the Saints not only covered but won outright 31-17. 

The famed gambler is still very active today. He works with a team that assigns a numeric value to every contributor of an NFL team and quantitatively analyzes the data with an adjustment from a qualitative expert. He then places his bets on Thursday-Saturday since that’s when he can place the largest wagers.

When discussing the trajectory of the national gambling market, Walters was extremely complimentary of the clarity that exists.

“The good thing about legalized sports betting is it’s so transparent,” said Walters. “At the end of the day, whether you’re a casino or whether you’re a bettor, the integrity of sports is the most important thing in the world to you,” Walters said.

Walters also said that he believes there is very little point-shaving or match-fixing, if any, because of how easy it is to detect illegal practices. However, he referenced a 1994 scandal involving Arizona State basketball and claimed he even called the head of the Nevada Gaming Control Board to report suspicious behavior. 

The legendary bettor also ripped into the mindset of casual bettors, specifically their obsession with low-money, high-odds parlays.

Odds are already stacked against the bettors, so increasing the deficit even further is an unnecessary risk, he said.

Walters also shared that 100% of the proceeds from his book go to charities working with intellectually challenged people and to help reintegrate prisoners into society.

“I would not have sold that information 10 years ago for $20 million,” said about some of the details in his book.

Walters does not bet as much and doesn’t invest as much money into beating the online sportsbooks as he used to, but he still won a million-dollar bet on the Kansas City Chiefs to beat the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl.