Jimmy Boyd in 
There is a lot of unique jargon when it comes to sports betting, but one of my favorites is the term “mush.” But what exactly is a mush and why is it significant in gambling? Let’s take a look.
History of the Meaning of Mush in Gambling
A “mush,” was first depicted in the 1993 film “A Bronx Tale,” and is described as someone who is a degenerate gambler and the world’s biggest loser. The character it comes from is Eddie Mush, who was played by Eddie Montanaro. Everything he touched turned into mush. This character epitomizes the essence of what a mush is in gambling – someone whose mere presence or actions are enough to place a jinx on a bet or a game. I recommend you watch the movie as it’s a classic starring Robert De Niro.
Definition of Mush or a Cooler with Examples
At its core, a mush is a person who consistently loses. If you are betting in the casino you might hear a mush called a “cooler.” A cooler is someone who joins a hot table, like blackjack, and instantly the table goes from red hot to ice cold (it cools down.). This could be due to their gameplay, distracting demeanor, or due to the bad luck that seems to hang around them.
The concept of a cooler was even depicted in the movie “The Cooler”, starring William H. Macy. The casino hired Macy’s character to go around to hot tables and cool them off.
Using the Opposite of the Mush as a Betting Strategy
Mushes have an uncanny knack for picking losers that they genuinely believe will be winners. Sportsbooks love these guys and would never want to limit their bets.
Their reputation is so profound that other gamblers become aware of it. Some even go to the extent of betting the opposite, or fading them, if they discover which side the mush has placed a bet on.
Almost every group of bettors knows someone they think of as a cooler or a mush. Their reputation for losing proceeds them whether it’s true or you just have a cognitive bias against them. If they are known to like to bet on a particular team then the rest of the group might automatically lean towards taking the other team thinking the mush’s choice is bound to lose.
However, betting the opposite is far from a guaranteed sports handicapping strategy. As the saying goes, even a broken clock is right twice a day.
Relying solely on the bad luck of the mush is a bad idea. You see, most losing bettors still win around 50% of the time. They lose because the vig adds up, not because they never win a game. If the mush wins 50% of the time then by going the opposite of him you are only going to win 50% of the time as well.
If you like a game and the mush likes the same side, that might cause you to think again. What could you possibly be missing that this looks so obvious that the mush is on it? That’s a question you should also ask yourself when seeing all of the general public on the same side of a game and the line starts to move the opposite way.
More times than not, that means you missed something and you want to take another look at the game.
If you want to avoid being a mush this season then I suggest you look at signing up for one of the top sports handicappers we have on this site. They are here to help you win more of your bets and change your reputation from being a losing bettor to a winner!