Zolak & Bertrand: The Football Card – Week 3

We're onto the third Sunday of the NFL season, which means it's time for Week 3 of The Football Card from Zolak & Bertrand.

The crew owns a record of 5-5 after Week 2, with Hardy and Zo coming away with wins. Beetle, Hardy, and Milliken weren't so fortunate. Just a quick refresher on last week's picks:

Zo had taken the Packers -1.5 over the Falcons. Beetle picked the Browns (-2.5) over the Steelers. Hardy put his money on the Chiefs (-3.5) against the Jaguars. T-Bone put his hopes in the Raiders (+8.5) against the Bills and finally Milliken had the Chargers (-2.5) over the Titans.

One of the biggest questions we get each week is what betting lines do we make our picks from. In past years, sports betting wasn’t allowed in Massachusetts, but that barrier has finally been broken down. Check out Bet MGM to see the exact same lines the guys are looking at.

Zo is the only undefeated member of The Football Card remaining and he's betting on the Bills staying hot against the Commanders. After a disappointing Week 1, the Bills came out against the Raiders with something to prove. That continues against a rookie QB in Sam Howell, even after Washington started the season 2-0.

Beetle is looking at strictly talent in this matchup, so he's going with the Chargers. Both teams are desperate after starting 0-2, so a shootout is likely. Just hard to picture Justin Herbert and that roster falling out of things so early in the year.

Coming off a tough loss against the Seahawks last week, Hardy is all in on the Lions bouncing back against the Falcons. Detroit's home-field advantage is the real deal this season. Not to mention, Amon-Ra St. Brown returning to practice a few days back is massive for the offense.

Many are looking at Week 3 as a must-win for the Patriots, T-Bone believes Bill Belichick keeps his streak of beating the Jets going. If Belichick can't make Zach Wilson see ghosts like Sam Darnold, it'll say a lot about his future. Weather could complicate things though, especially if it takes the ball out of Wilson's hands.

Milliken joins Beetle on betting Chargers @ Vikings, but he's taking the very high over of 54. Brandon Staley's defense has been horrendous, and with the Vikings having the 30th ranked pass-rush in the NFL, it should allow Justin Herbert and Kirk Cousins to cook. Expect fireworks.

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Mobile sports betting will launch in Massachusetts Friday morning at 10 a.m.

On Thursday's Toucher & Rich program, the Bankroll Boys—Joe Murray and Dan Lifshatz—join the show to give advice to new sports gamblers.

Lifshatz: I put out some rules on Twitter yesterday for new beginning bettors, and maybe you guys should follow them. 

Rich: Give me your best rule. One that you abide by. 

Lifshatz: One that's huge for me for new bettors is not for established bettors. Newer people includes should bet with consistency, this is in terms of how much you're betting.

Don't bet $500 here, $100 here, and $200 there. Keep it consistent, especially early on when you don't know what you're doing. 

If you like a bet more, add a little bit more, that's fine. But for the most part, consistency is key, and it will help you down the line if you decide to do this more seriously.

Bankroll management is the biggest thing that really hurts bettors. People will bet $100 and win a couple hundred dollars and then bet $500 next instead of just betting $100 again. So, consistency early on is key when you're betting. 

Lifshatz: Some rules for new bettors. Don't follow anyone on Twitter who's like, "Up 400 units in a week! Follow me!". 

Don't do that. There are 4 billion accounts on Twitter that do this.

Also, don't buy picks. There are very few services that win. They all claim to win, but very few services actually beat the line and are profitable. This is extremely difficult to do.

Those are a couple of things I would tell you to be careful about. 

Rich: Okay, so mobile betting goes live at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning? 

Lifshatz: Yes, 10 a.m. I don't know if this is the truth, but just from a few things I've read, I would advise that you take advantage of these promos before mobile betting goes live. 

Fred: Well, you have to do that before 10 a.m. tomorrow. The disclaimer, I believe, on all of them is that as soon as the first bet goes through in Massachusetts, the deal is over. 

Lifshatz: If you want to get your bonuses and some expire tonight at midnight, you'll want to sign up today. Today is the day. 

Ryan Beaton is a producer for 985thesportshub.com. You can follow Ryan at @ry_beaton on Twitter.

Follow @Toucherandrich on Twitter, @Toucherandrichofficial and @fredtoucher on Instagram to keep up with the show!