Ralph Michaels
Featured Pick
NBA PLAYOFF 5% HOT 78%!
WED NBA 5%! 5% PLAYS RED-HOT 7-2 (79%) P-OFFS LY (73%), P-OFFS ‘23 (61%), #1 P-OFFS IN ’22 (66%)!
•• Ralph went 2-0 on Tuesday including a $5 NBA/NHL parlay.
WHAT HAS RALPH DONE FOR YOU LATELY IN THE NBA PLAYOFFS?
Last season - 24-9 (73%) with 5% going 3-1 (75%)!
2Y ago - 39-24 (61%) with no 5% plays.
3Y ago - #1 IN PLAYOFFS going 33-17 (66%) with 5% 4-1 (80%)!
Hot Streaks
TOP RATED 5% PLAYS ML 13-7-1 (65%)!
NBA PLAYOFFS 24-9 (73%) LAST SEASON!
MLB TOTALS NOW 55-35 (61.1%)!
MLB YRFI/NRFI 57-36 (61.2%)!
NHL TOTALS 3% & HIGHER - HOT 13-4 (76.5%)!
SIZZLING 17-2 (94%) FINISH ON FB BEST BETS (4% & 5%)!
Last updated Apr 22, 9:40 AM EDT
All Plays
NBA PLAYOFF 5% HOT 78%!
WED NBA 5%! 5% PLAYS RED-HOT 7-2 (79%) P-OFFS LY (73%), P-OFFS ‘23 (61%), #1 P-OFFS IN ’22 (66%)!
•• Ralph went 2-0 on Tuesday including a $5 NBA/NHL parlay.
WHAT HAS RALPH DONE FOR YOU LATELY IN THE NBA PLAYOFFS?
Last season - 24-9 (73%) with 5% going 3-1 (75%)!
2Y ago - 39-24 (61%) with no 5% plays.
3Y ago - #1 IN PLAYOFFS going 33-17 (66%) with 5% 4-1 (80%)!
WagerTalk Specials
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Downloads
THE WEDNESDAY WAGERTALK MLB FIRST INNING REPORT
First-Inning Report for Wednesday, April 23, 2025.
The WagerTalk First Inning Report from Ralph Michaels is your daily cheat sheet for YRFI/NRFI betting.
Full game lines and totals
Who scored in the first inning (and who gave one up)
Current streaks (3+ straight 1st inning results highlighted)
Starting pitchers listed — Lefty indicators included
* shows which teams faced a lefty
From trend chasers to prop hunters, this chart is built for quick-glance insights and actionable info.
Updated every morning with the freshest MLB data — only at WagerTalk!
PLUS…..RALPH LOADS A FREE FIRST INNING PLAY DAILY BY NOON ET M-F AND BY 11 AM ET SAT & SUN ON HIS HOME PAGE - WT.BUZZ/RM
If the free play is a Best Bet that means that Ralph released that selection to his clients.
Free Picks
THE PLAY: 1H Total Over 0.5 (-135) Listed Pitchers Must Start
(905) Seattle Mariners at (906) Boston Red Sox
1H Total Over 0.5 (-135) Listed Pitchers Must Start
This was not a client play as I did not want to lay -135 on a YRFI play.
Seattle is 10-0 YRFI, the longest MLB streak this season.
Boston is 3-0 and 6-2 YRFI.
THE PLAY: Total Under 197.5 (-110)
(537) Orlando Magic at (538) Boston Celtics
Total Under 197.5 (-110)
I have an NBA 5% loaded for Wednesday.
It is the only NAB play for today but this was top total for tonight.
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Consultant Bio
Ralph was raised in the home of handicappers in Cleveland, Ohio. Starting in the industry as a key member of Phil Steele's early team, which expanded Northcoast Sports during the mid-90s. Ralph's personal following grew fast, allowing him to strike out on his own as the founder of California Sports. Over the next dozen years as General Manager of Phil Steele Publications and lead handicapper of Northcoast Sports, Ralph managed the creation of some of the most popular sports betting content ever, including Phil Steele's College Football Preview Magazine and Northcoast's Power Sweep Newsletter. Content displaying expertise so elite that Ralph was invited into college football's most exclusive club: Heisman Trophy Voter
Ralph Michaels has a math mind, steadily searching for a value in the numbers in addition to matchup edges, situational advantages, and hidden gems of information. Ralph finds more big bets in the college versions of football and basketball, but his handicapping approach also uncovers selective winners in the professional leagues like MLB. Small conferences are particularly profitable due to mispriced injuries and his profiling of exploitable coaching tendencies.
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