I do not bet with sports books. The house wins there, and if the house doesn't win, they cut off the people who do win. I do small pools with friends, primarily for two reasons. I can usually come out ahead there because of my sports knowledge and analytics ability. Not always. It does add some low stakes and gets friends interested in things. No more than a couple hundred bucks down in a given year, and I usually come out on top. It does get frustrating in football season when out with friends and they are so concerned about their parlay. Gambling addiction is a scourge that wrecks a lot of lives.