Betfair..

Really have to sort out the site problems FFS, awful again today, the term "fooking useless" comes to mind, APIs down all day and whats even worse on the main site, I was doing bets and they werent coming up on the market, or in my bets, but the bet had been placed. SEETHING. Gave up for the day after that happened, I hate moaning about stuff but its incredibly annoying, just fooking fix it!

Huge point I noticed today, not sure whether it was to do with the site problems, but Betfair SP.. I've never placed a bet on it to date, but I thought it was supposed to return the overround to 100%. First two races at Kempton were returned at 104% (one was a 4 runner race) and first three races at Plumpton were 105% twice and 106%, races at Limerick were returning at 110% (one 116%!) and Punchestown had one at 109%. Youre adding on 5% commission each time, so that race at Limerick people were betting to over 120% on an exchange?! Very weird. Have they added an extra 5% without telling anyone? I thought the software was programmed to return the overround programmed, which was meant to be 100%? Anyway, I've far more things to worry about than an overround, I'm sure the Racing Post will pick it up tomorrow (wink wink), or they could completely and utterly ignore it and pretend it never happened, they could perhaps slag off the Irish bookies instead because they dont have a full page advert with them. Might just be the site acting up, be interesting if it continues though.

Cricket this morning.. Boom Boom biting the ball! Cheating fooker. Sky said afterwards they had something like 26 or 28 cameras there, what the hell was he thinking doing it in front of everyone. When I woke up Australia were trading at 1.07, couldnt resist the 1.5ish when they lost a few wickets, Pakistan always find a way to balls things up. How did Australia get the winning runs? Hit it straight to a fielder (out) but it was given a no ball for height, that was the last over too with the Aussies 8 down, it would only happen Pakistan!

Aussie wallet..
Cricket: €41.25 Total P&L: €41.25



Sir Alex Ferguson is a genius too. Looks at the game for the first 20 minutes, decides to change things a tiny bit because Arsenal have too much of the ball, United ten times better in attack and then 3-0 up. Hes the daddy, he just is. One thing though, the ref gave five minutes extra time, did he think United were losing 3-1 instead of winning FFS, ya cant do that.

Taylor getting beaten hurt, messed up the week, but Nicholson played well, had 100% checkout rate after 7 shots or something, went 9-9 thought Taylor had him, but wasnt good enough last leg to win.

Darts: -€150.00 Total P&L: -€150.00

As I said Taylor losing messed up my week, apart from that wasnt the worse in the world and was in horrid form at the start of it, felt my touch coming back a little from Thursday onwards, Taylor losing a setback though. Hopefully next week is better but still small stakes until I stop backing losers FFS..

30/01/2010

Two SIS tracks called off today and Cheltenham was on C4 so stayed at home, plenty of people complaining on the forum the APIs were goosed this morning too, service announcement from Betfair which is always a bad sign, normally, er, "nothings wrong, delete your cookies."

The site was nothing short of a joke today really, got a good warning comment about APIs on Saturdays this morning but even the main site was crap. Messed about on the darts but never had a liability over €25 and it froze during two games, seething.

Taylor just came through a good game there, slightly dodgey interview saying hes only practiced for one and half days since the World Championships, maybe thats why hes so high. 4/11 - 2/5 with no Barney, Wade or Whitlock. Anderson and Jenks (who he beat) already out. Only players of any note left are King and Lewis, the rest with respect are mugs compared with Taylor. Lewis generally is beaten before walking on the stage against him, has the talent to beat him but Taylors in his head. King slightly scares me because he has the mental strength to beat him and is a good front runner if he gets a good start, Taylor absolutely hates King though, and he plays better against players he hates. He wouldnt be 4/11 - 2/5 in a straight up match anyway if they meet later on, put it that way. Format gets longer every round which suits too, lack of practice is a worry so wont go max bet but you know he'll still average over 100 and if hes beaten it'll be through the other bloke playing amazing, which is never an issue, I dont mind losing to the better player.

Also, Van Gerwens shaved head, jaysus!

29/01/2010

Finally a winning day, forget how long its been and too afraid to check.. must be nigh on two weeks though, maybe more, hopefully its the end of the bad run anyway.

Was back in the exchange shop, went well, all bar one race, Ruby on the 1/6 shot, was jumping OK down the back straight, McCoys wasnt, Rubys still at SP so backed it. Gave completely no respect to the outsider and sure enough the outsider comes and does me. Even after the last I still thought he'd pick up the better. Wasnt happy. Apart from that no worries and still using smallish stakes. Gruss was handy enough today too, no problems there. Was a hard enough day like, three 1.01s beaten, not that I'm backing them mind, but you know the whole he is, he isnt, he is, he isnt type of race - not a fan.

SEETHING with my myself for the stakes though, was betting in fives and tens all day, then click 50 and 20 for Rubys race, no excuses, just seriously annoyed with myself for changing, I'm a fooking eejit basically. Lesson learned. If I took out that race it would have been a really good day, I know I cant "take out a race" it doesnt work like that, sure you could do that for every loser you back then, but you know just the staking, that took the wind out of my sails for half an hour or so but was alright after that.

Got a good tip for McCoys winner, friend knew the owners, was a welcome email at the time. And couldnt resist a cheeky lay at 1.07 on the boxing (SP was 1.09), it was such a shite fight and the judges over there, well lets say they could do anything, wasnt to be but no harm trying.

Have an assignment in college due Monday, havent started it yet (head in hands man FFS), not sure whether to do it tomorrow and do in running Sunday, or do in running tomorrow and the assignment Sunday, evens the pair, the few inspections in the morning will probably swing the betting. I'm nackered.

PS. How the fook do they let people beg on the luas? Homeless people walking up and down it every time I get on.. I dont mind them but its an awful awkward position to be in standing there. And its odds on if I didnt pay for a ticket I'd be fined.. with my track record with public transport anyway!

Boxing: -€10.94 | Horse Racing: -€48.41 Total P&L: -€59.35

IFSC Exchange Shop

First time in an exchange shop today, and it was amazing! Couple of positives and a couple of negatives, I'll list them below but in the main it was good and I'm going back tomorrow.

Positives..
1) Speed of the internet connection was incredible.
2) TVs state of the art, everyone has their own, headphones too.
3) Computers the same.
4) Comfortable chairs!
5) Being up to speed with the market, first time its happened me, everything is so much easier compared to home.
6) Gruss (one click software) is very good, dont have it at home, took me all day to learn how to use it but its amazing for €6 or whatever it is a month.
7) I can trade in running, cant do that at home.

Negatives..
1) €40 a day for a seat, you'd want to be winning for that like.
2) Its a bus journey AND a luas journey away from me, anyone that connects transports knows it can be a little awkward, especially in Dublin.
3) Its weird not being at home, I missed little things like wandering around in between races and having a cuppa tea, simple stuff like that, I didnt eat today from 11 until half 6 too.

Apart from that, really enjoyed it and as I said I'll be back tomorrow. One thing I would say if asked for a bit of advice, mine would be if you cant win money off ATR etc at home (I know its difficult), its still gonna be difficult with faster pictures, you have to know in running basically, cant just walk in. I'd a friend with me who doesnt do in running normally and lost today.

As for my day, finished up losing €2, feels like a proper win given my run of form! Spent the best part of the day learning how to use gruss, and only worked it out towards the end, theres stuff on it I wasnt using that would be really helpful and theres stuff I was using at the start which wasnt helpful. The "level profit" button doesnt suit my style at all, yet I spent over half the day greening up that way. Then discovered how to change the stakes buttons at the top (real beginner stuff like), the "fill or kill" tool is seriously helpful too. Suppose its nothing new to people who have APIs but its new to me.

One thing I noticed the minute I came home and looked at the P&L was, I was involved in so many races, nearly just about every one of them bar the all weather which I wasnt overly bothered with, when I'm at home I'd never have so many markets, main reason was because I was always getting matched because of the speed. Cant complain win or lose once I get matched. Was playing small stakes, €2 a click, another thing I noticed was my liability was much lower there, because I was getting matched at lower odds than having to go to at home. Played the same as I would have done here, same style, only loss of any real substance was that Obe Gold in Southwell, fook me it came from about 6 miles back, was thinking "not again" because thats the way its been going lately but sure how many times are horses going to win like that, just have to hold the hands up at the time, thankfully didnt lay McCoy with that wonder ride today on the thing that wasnt jumping the whole way around, hes a genius.

Still learning the ropes, learned new stuff today I never knew but thats what its all about sure. Banging headache now though, and out for a well deserved drink.

Things are looking up anyway, went from losing to finishing level, BOOM!

Irish Soccer Fan In Court Over World Cup Protest

This is fantastic..! I have to give it to him, hes original if nothing else. Mahers shop no connection to me by the way. But what a story! What a man!

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(ROSCOMMON, IRELAND) A drunken unemployed plasterer who was found urinating on the French loaves section of a large supermarket in protest at the infamous handball incident in the France vs Ireland World Cup qualifier, was this week given a suspended sentence, fined and bound over to keep the peace.

Frances “Smokie” Larkin, The Meadows, Killareagh, Co Roscommon pleaded guilty to the incident at Maher’s ValueStore supermarket, Killareagh, one week after the match which Ireland controversially drew after the French goal was deemed to have scored despite a blatant handball by French striker Thierry Henry.

Staff found the 46-year-old urinating on the Cuisine de France section of the bread shelves in Maher’s, shouting “this will teach ye, ye cheating French bastards,” before he was taken away by local Gardai.

Gardai Anthony Flanagan told the court that he had been called to the store at 11.15 on the morning of November 25.

“When I reached the shop, I was informed that Mr Larkin was causing a disturbance in the bread section and when I got there, he was urinating on the French bread section and stamping on a loaf. I later ascertained that the loaves were brioches, a sort of French bread.

“When he saw me, he tried to run away but I apprehended him and grabbed him by the arm. He said ‘that’s for Thierry Henry, guard. If you have any pride in your country, you’ll let me go.

“Then he said ‘that’ll teach them, the cheating French bastards.”

Addressing the court, Angela Roche, solicitor for the defendant said that her client had a problem with drink and that normally he was a placid character.

“It is when he mixes alcohol with his passion for sport that he gets himself into situations like this,” she said.

She said that Mr Larkin had become quite agitated with the result of the World Cup match and had worn an “I shot Thierry Henry” t-shirt that he had made up in a local t-shirt shop,” she said.

In evidence, Mr Larkin apologised to Mahers store and said that he “had no axe to grind with them,” but that they had been caught up in what he said was “friendly fire.”

He said that he wanted to make a grand gesture to show that the Irish were not going to take the controversial incident lying down.

“The French loaf is the symbol of France and so by doing what I did, I was standing up for Irish pride,” he said.

Mr Larkin had a previous conviction for setting fire to a tennis club shed in his teens, an incident from which he had earned the nickname Smokie.

In his summary, Judge Fergus O’Halloran said that what Mr Larkin had done was despicable and was also a threat to public hygiene.

“You did this without any thought to the consequences for the unfortunate shoppers who had to buy that bread.

“If it was in my power to recommend that you seek help for your alcohol addiction, I would do so and also suggest that you take some responsibility for your temper and inappropriate behaviour.

“We cannot have louts like yourself with half-baked ideas about national pride carrying out acts like this,” he said, before sentencing Larkin to six months in jail, suspended on condition he does not breach the peace for one year, fining €500 and ordering him to pay €1,000 to Michael Maher for the clean up of the bread shelf areas.

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God only created beer, to stop the Irish from conquering the world..

The Losing Run Continues..

I've set new records today. Since the start of the blog I dont think I've ever had six losing days in a row, and still keeping to the average, lost another €125 today. Bugger. Someone post the head in hands man for me please!

Its been eventful..
-€107 on Shaun Murphy missing the simple red started it.
-€150 on the snooker market mare.
-€120 on the boxing draw.
-€270 on the horse in Leopardstown.
And today -€125 on Pakistan.
Done other stuff as always but theyve been the main ones.

Six days, losing the best part of €750. Its no craic. The two weeks before the losing run started, I'd won around €1,450.. so it swings in roundabouts really. I dont want to lose it all back which is the main focus at the moment.

Few things going through my head, first one being I've already had a "break" while the house wasnt ideally set for gambling, so that rules out the "take a break and gather your thoughts" idea, second being I dont think I've done anything particularly wrong or outside of what I would normally do, and lastly its very hard to actually take things seriously in a professional manner, "try to win" and lose six days in a row! Winning isnt easy you know but sods law says you'll win at least one day. I know I take the piss with everything but I take it seriously when I'm in the middle of gambling obviously.

Theres absolutely no point being depressed about it anyway, sure look it happens, no one likes losing and yes it feels terrible, but you know I went out and had the craic today after the cricket finished, theres no point crying over it.

A few events have gone against me, Shaun Murphy and the boxing draw for example but thats sport and what can I do like you know. Apart from that, I've done my normal thing, I havent lost the head, gone chasing, or did anything I wouldnt normally do. I've just been losing. "Whats worse than a loser? Someone who wont admit they played it wrong." I believe in that statement, but I'm still left scratching my head wondering what would I do differently, you know no one makes you press buttons, I clicked because I wanted to, I clicked because I thought my judgement would win.

So, er, I've no excuses. And I'm not going to make up excuses either and blame anything. I'm just losing. Shit happens. As I said, no one makes me click buttons, its no ones fault bar my own, and I'm not seething at myself either because well, losings part of the game isnt it. I'm still happy, doesnt feel good to lose, but you know, I'm not gonna be depressed about it.

I had a discussion today about taking a few days off, I said I've already done that, my argument anyway was if you take a few days off and come back, how do you know things will be better? Youve no idea form will magically return. I havent lost the head and gone mad, so stuff like that doesnt have to leave my system. I'd rather crack on through it and go from there. Obviously my form is poor at the moment, but its not gonna be great all year round either.

So, withdrew a few quid this evening, have €140 in the Betfair account, I'll play with that for the rest of the week and see what happens. At least you know I cant make things THAT more worse with just €140 and if I win with it, confidence is back, maybe a little bit of form will be back, and I'll know. Rather than staying away worrying what I'll be like when returning.

As I said, I'm not depressed about it, these things happen, and life goes on, no point seething at the world over it. Just cant back a winner!

I had a fair bet today in my opinion, Pakistan to chase down 287 against Australia this morning, laid the Aussies half way through the run chase, less than five minutes later they got the worse ever LBW I've seen trading cricket, it was miles outside the line (cant be out if it pitches outside leg) and it wasnt even going on to be hitting from hawkeye, I called the bowler a mug for even appealing, then the umps finger went up! SEETHING! Thats only one wicket in a whole team though, so no blame there, things never go your way when youre on a losing run though. Boom Boom came to the crease, 140 off 100 needed, all on him, I was thinking Allah be praised FFS no hope, Boom Boom does have the look of a nutter at times. Sure enough though he got the market moving, was at 1.44 after he hit a 4, 60 off 40 needed, he stays there they win handy I'm thinking.. out next ball, market straight to 1.05, wouldnt of done anything differently, just when it adds to the other losses it adds to the pressure. I feel skint, even though I'm not, I still feel the pressure.





Its been that type of six days though, small few things I'd like to have done differently, but thats only after the event because I lost, I've felt like I've done everything I've wanted to do for a proper reason. I've just lost. I wont be losing any sleep over it, its part of the game. And I move on and still enjoy life, fook it sure.

Next time I back a winner, I'm going to fooking dance around the room like Michael Jackson. It can only get better anyway, because it cant get any worse!

Someones Taking The Piss..

Sky Sports 1 - Football.
Sky Sports 2 - Golf.
Sky Sports 3 - NFL.
Eurosport - Football.
BBC - Snooker.

Football and golf I've packed in, I dont know much about NFL and snooker was a disaster the last time! Any fear of a spot of cricket? Yep, tonight at 3-15AM.. bollocks.

No cricket Irish hours until late February on Sky. However, I do have a plan for the Australian games, I'm setting the alarm for 9 bells each morning (early for me!) and go from there. Hopefully the market/game isnt finished but sure I've tried the hours and discovered how painful they are on the body. I tried this tactic Sunday but Pakistan were 7 down by the time I was up and no prices on offer. I'm still not getting up at 3 o'clock in the morning though.

Australia v Pakistan the 26th, 29th and 31st. And then Australia v West Indies in February on the 7th, 9th, 12th, 14th and 19th. All start at 3.15AM, thats no craic, but theres very little else on. Its times like this the discipline is tested no end, I want a bet, I want to be involved but you know if I get involved on something I dont know thats no good either.

The cats back to nigh on full health anyway and should be allowed back into the wildness of the outdoors tomorrow or the next day, so I'll get the house back to normal, the last five days I've gambled have all ended with a loss, however big or small each day was the total has amounted to just over €620. Thats €125 a day on average. Thats awful. In a row like, days off in between but anyway. People go out and work for that each day, I stay at home and lose it, wonderful. All I want you know is a little simple win 20 quid day without uprooting trees to get things back on track. Then look at the TV for whats on and think bugger, confidence is a bit low too so I want a sport I think I'm good at.

Anyway.. I have found a song about getting back up when knocked down. Ronnie O'Sullivans walk on tune, love a song with a birra gambling in it somewhere. I think its a good'un.

My favourite lyrics ever possibly..
Like Ali in the jungle,
Like Nelson in jail,
Like Simpson on the mountain,
With odds like that, they were bound to fail.

24/01/2010

Well, theres no such thing as a certainty then. Bugger. I should probably just pack in pre-off national hunt and forget about it totally you know, if I cant get 30/100 shots right what hope have I got. Anyway, I'll move on and forget about it, it happens. Doesnt feel clever but anyway.

Apart from that, havent done anything else, and with the cat being sick no other bets all week, I'll lump everything from the weekend into next week. The Betfair screen shot looks amazing but sure Ladbrokes have my €750.

I really cant do pre-off national hunt, like I really cant. Packing it in after today, I might as well just admit it you know and accept it. Along with soccer and golf, at least I know what I cant do. Possibly the only positive I can find today.

Anyway this week..
In Running.. €0
Pre-Off.. -€272.24

I also now know why people fully arb, I thought I was sitting pretty having -€250 +€175 on a 30/100 shot but sure you cant eat "value." I'm not even going into that "value" discussion, off to the gym to forget about it.

Ya live and learn. And unfortunately with gambling you always learn the hard way.

Quel Esprit 3-20 Leopardstown

Ladbrokes completely ballsed up their book here and I reckon because its a Sunday morning they still havent noticed.

Going 1/2 still after the non runner, Quel was 1/2 before the non runner, the non runner was the second favourite. Quel now 1.4 on Betfair to lay and 1/3 with other bookies.

Ladbrokes laid me €750 at 1/2, three different bets.
Laid €500 back on Betfair at 1.4ish.

So book stands at -€250 +€175 about at 1/3 shot.

All he has to do is win now..

Still being the same price after the biggest danger was a non runner was a massive error, he should win handy enough like, I think hes one of the best novice hurdlers in Ireland but sure we'll see. Even though I think hes a certainty, its not my style to have €750 on something just because of bookie error, happy with €250 liability though rather than lay the lot off.

Fair chance it'll be the end of Ladbrokes account now too!

No One Understands..

No one understands indeed. Ever try to explain gambling to your mate down the pub who know absolutely nothing about it? Ya might as well talk to the wall. The biggest problem is people often reject something they dont understand, instead of looking dim, they'd rather dismiss the topic, or whatever, for example "cricket is boring" is often used by people who dont understand the rules/terms, when in fact cricket is probably the most nervy sport to watch at times. Theres many examples. But the normal bloke thinks all gamblers lose.

So, Paddy Power goes on Liveline (an Irish radio station) to explain why a customer has had his account closed. He won €15,000. Thats why you got closed down mate. Que absolutely every tom, dick and harry ringing in to give Paddy an absolute roasting. All of whom talked shite in my opinion, nevertheless Paddy came out of it looking very, very bad.

A couple of reality checks here..

Firstly, the bloke who won the €15,000. Fair played to him and he sounds fairly shrewd without understanding how bookies work. You know in reality we'd all be delighted to win €15,000 off a bookie before being closed down, I think its a good innings, anyone that read last year will remember I got closed down by Sky Bet after having €400 to €500 on Go Native, so it could of been worse, €15,000 is a lot of money. And he still has any number of other bookies to go to.

Another point is, he bet with PP the whole time. Ever heard of best price? Ever heard of Betfair? Thats a no then. Most books will close winning accounts down, but chop and change things will obviously last longer. People hate bookies but theyre not the worst in the world.

Anyway onto the nutters and the funny bits.. the bloke who thought they kept records of his hand writing. Jaysus. It gets worse.. the bloke who thought they had CCTV on him when he walked into shops. Please. (Paul Sheridan, its gas! At 18mins in) Youre never alone with a schizophrenic! C.S.I PP coming out soon! Obviously anyone who bets knows theyre talking nonsense, but the general public think its all true, and even rang in to say so FFS.

The bloke who talked about your man crying because he lost all his money and smashed the screens with a chair. That made the evening papers here at the time. He didnt lose any money, he went mad because they wouldnt let him bet on a race that was over. Sounds shrewd doesnt he.

Lastly, and the most important issue, the thing about not closing losing accounts.. you know every man is in control of his own personal affairs and it is NEVER anyone elses fault bar yourself if you lose. I mean people are blaming PP for losing, whats he suppose to do you know, people bet of their own accord. How can you explain it you know, if a person is losing they should know to stop themselves, I cant put it into exact words but you get the idea, if people want a bet they'll bet. And every bet is their choice. Youre opening a whole can of worms, like why do McDonalds still serve obese people and why do off licences serve alcoholics, that type of thing.

The point is, if something is wrong its up to you to correct it and you only. I had it instilled into me at a young age to never be jealous of another person, because no matter what they do or have, I could have it too if I put my mind to it and wanted it enough. We all seeth at players and teams at times but at the end of the day we did the bet, and thats life.

Its 40 minutes long now but its fairly interesting listening, just down a bit on the link, you'll see Paddy Powers name there from Friday. But it does go to show, us gamblers are a minority and the real world will ever understand us..

http://www.rte.ie/radio1/liveline/

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A update on the cat, hes getting a little bit better, no life saving injections this week anyway (so far!) and hes better today than he was yesterday you know, that sort of thing, slowly but surely. He still has a horrid cough, his breathing is getting better though. Thanks for all the well wishes, its nice to know everyone likes him, everyone that comes to house knows tom though, you know tom is tom. Its appreciated. As for my gambling, havent had a bet but gonna try get back into things this afternoon, nothing major, fivers and tenners and see how it goes. Bet to finish level, I know that makes no sense whatsoever, my target for the day is to bet and finish without losing, rather than not bet and then cant lose. As I said, no one understands whats in my head, not even me..

PS. I know you all watched Countdown this week after the photo.

Disaster

The IPL 2010 choose to put the games "live" on the internet through Youtube. WTF.

"There are a few countries where the feed will be near as live which means there will be a delay of only a few minutes."

"Only" a few minutes, FFS its bad enough being 10sec behind never mind a few minutes! What fooking eejet came up with this idea. Has this ever happened before? No it hasnt, because its a total disaster.

I am SEETHING. Any cricket follower/trader is SEETHING. I'd say Betfair are even SEETHING. Surely one of the sports channels have to pick it up.. its the biggest 20/20 tournament of the year FFS, whats more its the biggest trading bonanza of the year.

They cant let this happen..

http://www.cricinfo.com/ipl2010/content/current/story/445173.html

Time Off..

Just back from the vet with the cat, hes been in all day, but needs antibiotics until Saturday.. bugger. Thats our life out the window for this week anyway, the house is in utter chaos still and you know after last week went so bad I might as well pack it in until Saturday or Sunday.

People ask me why I choose to gamble for a living instead of working, its purely for the lifestyle of course, I mean you dont get more glamorous than staying at home looking after the cat. Hopefully Ems gets a few days off so I can leave and go to the nearest casino to have a tenner on red.. picture the shakes I'm going to have FFS.

Just looked at the sports schedule for the week, I'm not missing too much anyway. But the way things are I'm odds on to lose no matter whats on. I shall be on the couch for the remainder of the week, hope theres something good on tv.. anyone for countdown? Purely for the numbers of course to sharpen the mind.

17/01/2010

Decided against having a bet today, had another shocker on the snooker yesterday, with lower stakes though so under €50 awe-red instead of €100+, not the worse thing in the world to happen but hardly a good sign. Decision making as gone out the window for the time being.

Snooker: -€47.27 Total P&L: -€47.27

This week has been a bit mental really. I was going well until the cat got sick, was over €250 in profit and ended up losing, you know the house has been in utter chaos, I joined that group on Facebook "Only in Ireland does a bit of snow equate to a National Emergency" taking the piss, well only in Maher towers does a sick cat equate to total meltdown. Its hard to focus on Betfair and once you ever so slightly take your eye off the ball, things start going pear shaped fast. Little unlucky with the boxing draw but had the chance to green and didnt take it so my fault, and the snooker, well I'm glad its over put it that way. Think Ronnie will win the final but not enough to back him.

Had a good two weeks previous to this one though and once I've lowered stakes I can have a bad two weeks now and its still an absolute fact I wont lose as much as I won during the good form. The cats getting better after another vet visit yesterday, another tomorrow morning so thats alright, and hopefully the house will be back to normal as soon as possible because it really does my gambling no favours. I like everything happy and peaceful you know, and its exactly the opposite at the moment.

I was watching a documentary last night, where Sir Winston Churchill said: "Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." Might be alright for war, but its fooking impossible to do that gambling! Although cant be too unhappy about things, "only" lost €100, I've had worse weeks like. Last three days €350 has gone down the swanee though so just have to stop the rot if you like. I know one thing though, a bit of panic and chasing things that arent there will only make it worse, a bit of calm and waiting will probably do the trick.

Everything for the last two weeks as been In Running, no Pre-Off bets, so thats another good thing, sticking to what I'm best at. It feels shite losing and less than shrewd, but sure you cant win every week..

Woeful..

Poor, poor effort today. I've always believed that gambling was 100% in the mind, you know we all see the same race, read the same Racing Post, watch the same match, see the same wicket, etc etc, its all the same for everyone and what makes the difference is whats in between your ears. How you process things and what gives you different thinking from everyone else. People constantly row over opinions yet seem to be forgetting were all different you know, and just because you think something is a good bet doesnt mean someone else should too. Its like, for every price you think is high, theres someone laying it because they think its low.

Anyway, mentally I wasnt at the races today. Now, I've no excuses for my trading/gambling, you can only expect back what you put in and I deserved to lose today. But the cat being sick this week and had a bad day coughing, weve had him 9 years and it really breaks my heart to see him not well you know, I know he'll be alright eventually but just being helpless, hes there coughing and what can I do bar sit beside him and put my arm around him. I cant make him feel better and its killing me, I'd actually rather I had it instead. I've never had a sick pet before and I honestly never thought it'd make me feel this bad.

As I said though thats not an excuse for losing, you know I wasnt fully focused on what I was doing and when you dont respect Betfair, you dont win on Betfair, its simple. I made so many bad moves on the snooker I actually lost count, I went from €10 awe-red after two trades to €150 awe-red maybe less than an hour later, I wasnt given any help from the players mind, who were absolutely shite. Anyone who watched will know, it was dire viewing, but do things right and theres money to be made like everything else. Again, once I lose trust in a player/team, the market is a total mare for me, I should notice it straight away but you always think you can make things better.







The cricket went well this morning, that was before the cat started to cough for the whole day though and my mind wondered elsewhere, I'm better on cricket than snooker anyway sure, the two arent connected. And the boxing, ah the boxing, a fooking draw! How many draws are there in the year.. and FFS why am I always involved in them! I was being greedy bugger though, backed Dolan at all odds over 3 and didnt trade out when he went down to 1.3, I had him two rounds ahead easily but sure the judges didnt. Unlucky to finish a draw but I could of been awe-green, so not unlucky to lose. Again, you know, bad decision making and not 100% concentration. I deserved that kick up the arse not trading out.

Normally start each day with €400ish and crack on, knocked it down to €200 for the time being. Plus is this the bad turn of luck after the fantastic run? Uh oh, uh oh. Dont think it is, today was just me being pants, but you know once the head isnt screwed on I'll never do any good, small stakes for the next few days and go from there. I'm gonna stay up all night to keep an eye on the cat too, I know people will think its silly, but if you have animals and like them you'd understand.

Probably a small bit glad I "only" lost €200ish, lesson learned anyway, I cant win if the head isnt there, like everything else in life I suppose, you only get back what you put in. €200 is probably a cheap lesson for the future, put under "life experiences" no bother.

If ever there was a time to watch the bloke falling on the news again..
(who by the way has over 50,000 fans on Facebook now!)

How Thin Is The Line Between Winning & Losing

Shaun Murphy v Mark Williams, Murphy in the balls, one red left to make it 5-5 (colours were easy-ish looking, would have got them in my opinion without worry), Williams trading 1.55, I had laid 1.4ish mid-break, if he gets the red its a massive flip flop because Murphy started the match favourite, if he misses its 1.01 Williams straight away. He misses the red and leaves it in the jaws. I did the head in hands man, I did. Not seething, these things happen sure, jaysus its a horrible feeling in the stomach though, especially when youre not expecting it like. I suppose to add to the horrible feeling I was €25 awe-green before being €110 red on Williams after that move. Er, gutted, but sure its done. Small margins.

The Ronnie match went slightly better anyway and picked up a small few quid there, he is actually immense at giving interviews, the BBC hype him up no end and then he just comes out and goes "Yeah I was shite, its pretty boring, I'd rather be 3-0 down than 3-0 up to make it interesting." Whatever about him playing left handed, found this video on Youtube of him playing with one hand.. potted both balls too, in a proper game and all against Williams.

Ah, it'll take a small while to get over that missed red but what can you do except move on to tomorrow with a clean slate. Seething over it will hardly make any difference, probably the only thing it'll do is annoy me tomorrow again if I keep thinking about it. Annoying, but "fook it" its done.

13/01/2010

Good news, the cats alive, BOOM! Hes home on antibiotics for a few days, theres something wrong with his throat but hopefully he'll be fine in a week or two. Just when the snow was going away I've found another reason to stay around the house and avoid college, jackpot! Thank god hes OK though, hes like a little mascot, only one allowed in the room when I'm gambling.

Anyway, cricket went well again, you know no secrets or special tactics, 7th ODI, 7th win for the chasing side, been doing it all week. Slightly touchy and nervy at times today because Sri Lanka made it difficult for themselves really, every time the market went to 1.12 they'd lose a wicket, it was like clockwork. Gutted its the end of the tournament though, I'll have to find more clever ways of making money now, but sure I made the most of it while it was on.

Snooker went alright too, developed a tactic of backing the player when he gets in and the table looks OK, only thing is if he misses I'm goosed, probably not the best idea to have in the market but it works if theyre looking in good touch. Some of the balls have been lying on the table as if theyve placed them there themselves, it works with Ronnie etc and players I can get a good read on, probably wouldnt work with some of the others. For example, Day v Perry tonight, I know very little about either player so giving it a miss.

Cricket: €133.18 | Snooker: €47.02 Total P&L: €180.20

Anyone see the Adebayor interview, wearing an Arsenal shirt. Now, I know hes just had some mad blokes shoot at his team bus so fair enough like, BUT why does he even have an Arsenal shirt in his wardrobe, he ran the whole pitch to celebrate in front of the fans to piss them off, yet goes around with the shirt on. Hes hardly the brightest tool in the shed is he.

I also have a list of jokes like "Bet ya he didnt run up and celebrate in front of those gunners" and "He really shot himself in the foot by wearing that shirt" but you know its a touchy subject..

11/01/2010

Well, bit of a mad day, not in betting terms though. The cat started choking this morning (wasnt a hairball!), Maher towers were up in arms I'm telling you, got him to vet in a few minutes and theyre keeping him in tonight to get him back to full fitness hopefully. I know some people dont like cats but seriously hope hes alright because hes a likable little bugger, its amazing, you never know how attached you get to something until something goes wrong. I'm quite fond of him around the place really, so much so if they said it cost 6 or 7 grand to fix him I wouldnt think twice about saying yes you know.

Anyway, 6th ODI, 6th win for the chasing side. Cant say how the market or chase went because I was busy with the cat, completely forgot I'd max liability on it at the time but there you go, couldnt give a flying if it had of lost really, I wasnt thinking about it. Nicked a fiver off the snooker too, very cautious of having a big liability with it being best of 11, prefer the longer games myself.

Probably take tomorrow off, and then India v Sri Lanka on Wednesday.

Dave Chisnall

Why oh why oh why does he make life so hard for himself, FFS I am SEETHING! I actually quite like the bloke, his interviews are priceless, argh why does he have to miss so many doubles though FFS! The problem is, he has all the talent in the world and knocks in 180s for fun, then misses six darts at a double and of course lets the other bloke in. Then does loads of hard work, gets it back to level or 2-0 up in legs, then opens with a 41 or hits 22 when on a 120 finish, just SO frustrating. Fair played to Adams though, he played well, had an average in the high 90s (I think) and finished well. Just a mental note to never ever back Chisnall again because he has your heart in your mouth on the doubles, which makes it impossible to trade for me cause I cant trust him, my book yesterday was terrible and again today was terrible. Annoying from my point of view because I feel like I'm backing the better player but being let down by him, which is the one thing that annoys me you know.






Snooker on tonight but cant do it, the heads gone. Cricket went well this morning again, surprised Lanka choose to bat first after winning the toss given every team has won batting second but sure I have no control over that, India won handy in the end. Another game on tomorrow, but involving Bangladesh so you know, anything can happen with that lot, be interesting if they chase because they'll have the advantage, but er, trusting them to "bat sensibly," I dont know. Plus its a dead rubber, India already through, Bangs already out. Could be a few mad swings mind.

Funny how I was only thinking to myself I havent had a losing day for two weeks and then one comes straight after, should of kept my mouth shut, but sure it could be worse.

Cricket: €53.67 | Darts: -€88.62 Total P&L: -€34.95

Niggly annoying end to whats been a fantastic week again, crickets gone really well, nice to have it on you know, its my favourite sport so I always enjoy when theres a game every second day or so, win or lose. The dew factor in the ODI tournament has been absolutely massive, every team batting second has won this week and thats helped my betting because I've always went with that in mind starting off. Plus the test match probably just caught a good hour to enter the market. The darts was pretty good but just the Chisnall matches let me down, lucky to get away with it yesterday, wasnt lucky today. Er, I'll never back him again, the stress of the misses is unbearable! Massively talented, it isnt half bloody annoying though. Hopefully the snow buggers off and we get a bit of racing next week, even though I wouldnt be betting on it much, I still miss it being on every day..

You Know Youre On A Good Run When..

You get away with books like this..







I've been here a million times before, the usual, switching and swapping positions every few minutes, it never works for me. The problem was, Chizzy was banging in high scores to beat the band, then got down to a double and it was kaput, needed nearly 9 darts to hit it FFS! Once he settles hes the man though. First position was €77 on him at evens, I was left asking myself why oh why didnt I just stick with it. Once I lose trust in a player or team though, the market tends to be a shocker for me, you know the feeling when you think he'll win but dont trust him not to fook it up. Even at the break, 3-2 to O'Shea I had -€210ish O'Shea €72ish Chizzy, and had the €72 on O'Shea at 1.7 because I was uncomfortable looking at over €200 red, thought about going awe-red but then I thought Chizzy would win so left it with a birra hope and green one side, just so frustrating on the doubles. Of course once he started hitting them he absolutely ran away with the game, to get me out thankfully.

Confidence was a bit low after the first game so kept stakes small for the second game and managed to eek out a tenner to end the day. Thought about doing the tennis and NFL tonight because I'm snowed in, nothing else knocking around, but sure would I be doing that on a normal Saturday night? Definitely not and would probably be odds on to lose given the amount of guessing I'd have to do, so packing it in for the evening.

Did the cricket yesterday, the dew still came down even though they started the game earlier, was a handy run chase again, every game played there so far this tournament the team batting second has won. Suppose it'll come to an end at some point but sure once the dew is still arriving it makes life so easy for the team batting and so difficult bowling with a bar of soap. Another game tomorrow with the big guns, India v Sri Lanka, be interesting what happens with the dew.

Last two days..
Cricket: €84.81 | Darts: €11.43 Total P&L: €96.24

Was just fumbling through the forum there and came across a thread asking for advice for a novice punter (I dare not comment, anything you type gets shot down), but some bloke wrote this "Deposit a certain amount in your account and treat it as if thats all the money you have in the world. Focus on keeping what youve got first and making a profit second." Makes a whole heap of sense to me you know, more days than not its a good result to finish level, if you think about it youre probably doing better than most finishing level. I'm always trying to cut out the guessing and the taking chances, obviously gambling is guessing and taking chances but theres always a right time to enter the market, just about finding it.

Yesterday and this week I've been finding the perfect time to enter the market on the cricket (bar the India game!) and profited well, today went in far too early on the darts match and mugged the book up before actually coming back to my first opinion. Suppose its a bit like football, theres times you have to defend your position and theres times you have to attack prices (in running now).

Its sounds awful weird, but I tend to set out each day trying not to lose rather than win, and try let things appear in front of the screen while watching a sporting event. Try having a blank opinion because it leads to being bias, which costs me sometimes when I favour the player thats shite, its odd how moments sort of just pop up when youre content and relaxed to wait. Might miss the odd bet yes, but not betting means you dont lose either. Life tends to become easy when youre relaxed about it I reckon.

Without sounding like a complete "look at me" tosser, the last losing day I had on Betfair feels like ages ago, the 26/12/2009 lost €27.50, why? I reckon because its Christmas/New year and just been taking it easy, in a good mood, relaxed, nothing to worry about sure. Things are tending to just happen by themselves, and obviously once you get on a good run its easy to wait and not 'need to bet' on anything you see. Keeping the head of course, I still started each day with €400 regardless, keeps the feet on the ground and dont push the boat out.

Now, finding this happy and relaxed feeling while on a losing run? Theres a question I dont have the answer to. I'm still learning new stuff I never knew as I go along each day though, and once one thing goes wrong, if I try change it that it wont happen again, its probably worth losing you know, once I learn from it.

There Comes A Time In Life..

When one single moment puts everything in perspective and you find happiness in your life. Some people get married, some have children, some win the lotto go to Thailand and ride everything in slight, some get season tickets for Manchester Untied, some can just say "I was there" when amazing scenes happened at a sporting event.

OR you could just watch the six one news..



FANTASTIC.

I'm sorry for the people who dont like to laugh at other people, but why in the blue hell was he walking so fast, ya cant walk like that on ice FFS, head in hands man.

You can just tell the camera man had been there for two hours thinking "FFS someone hurry up and fall, its bleedin' freezin' out here" and then when your man decks it "JACKPOT.. unlucky mate, you just fell in front of the whole country!"

Is he alright? Who cares, lets watch it again..

Ah, I love life.

The Snow Of 2010

D'ya think in a few years we'll be looking back at how mental it is now? Or are we set for a few winters in a row like this? I'm snowed in of course like many people but had to walk the 5/6 hour journey to my Grandad yesterday to get him food and tablets etc, it really is mental. Anyone that was out in Dublin/Kildare yesterday will understand what we all went through.. what can you do sure, just have to get on with it.

Anyway, glad to be back indoors today and again gambling well (its the snow I'm telling ya!), the test match is below but also had a win on the ODI. To be fair, I made an absolute balls of it, was backing India to win because of the dew that comes at night over there, outfield quickens up, wet ball for the spinners, hard to field, hard to bowl, ball comes onto the bat better, everything in favour of the batsmen really. What went wrong was India tried to balls things up before the dew came losing three wickets, why didnt I wait until the dew arrived I asked myself.. had to bail but didnt go awe-red, left zero India €160 red on Bangs, the situation probably dictated that I went awe-red but this is where having a max bet and not going over €300 comes into its own you know, I can just turn around and say to myself if it loses, it loses, I wont die and neither will my bank. Then Dhoni came in and did exactly what I was talking about yesterday, milked the spinner so bloody good (hes a genius at it seriously), so backed them again at odds against, book was €58 India -€210 Bangs, with India odds against, horrible position. But was saved by India winning quite easily in the end, the dew came in time! I would have loved to have not ballsed up the book and been able to attack that 2.4ish India price but sure I dont have a crystal ball, cant be right all the time.

For the Lanka v bangs game tomorrow, the skippers have moaned and moaned all week about the dew making it too easy for the team chasing, so theyre starting the games earlier from tomorrow onwards, so it wont be as big a factor. I reckon it'll still be around for the last maybe 15/10 overs, so the rate up towards 7ish should be OK, depending on whos batting obviously. Lanka SP is around 1.17 so it might be a walkover, might not though, sure we'll see. Very hard to trust Bangs chasing, they lose the head very easy.. hit a 6 and then out next ball springs to mind.

I must admit though my gambling days are numbered, I've decided to take a new path in life and go into darts. Watching the BDO, I reckon if I buy a dart board and a few darts, practice for an hour maybe two, I'll be flying. Of course cant get to Champion Sports with the snow to buy the dart board so I've put myself on a strict diet of 12 kebabs, 4 big mac meals, 7 twisty fries, 3 pizzas and 11 packets of crisps per day. All to be washed down with 9 cans of dutch gold. I reckon two weeks of this should have me in tip top shape, also have to remember to get myself down to Argos to get a few gold rings and chains, just to fit in you know, dont wanna look out of place.

Johnny picked a horror craic day with the weather to open the new boxing gym..! Its in Kildare Business Park if youre kids are that way inclined, I'm sticking to the darts, wouldnt mind a few boxing lessons though for when I play (and beat of course) Ted Hankey. Also looking into getting Tony Fleet as my doubles partner. I actually laid Hankey today at 1.1 at the break only to trade out too soon, he then went on to lose, happy with the €50 win of course but it could of been jackpot time had I waited 5 minutes longer, it was never an outright bet though.

South Africa v England - 3rd Test

First position here coming into the market, Colly and Bell there. Bell has looked fairly good against the Saffer attack this tour, alright he left a straight one first test but sure he got a 100 after, and we all know what Colly is like in games like these, betting for a draw is his kind of thing. So putting a bit of faith into them to get the market moving. Laid Saffers.

Mornings have looked hard to bat, and evenings is when the nerves kick in, afternoons seem the easiest time to bat (if there is one), hopefully the Saffer price ticks out if they see off the new ball. Then again its England, logic sometimes tends to go out the window..

Still some batting left (one wicket was Anderson) and the pitch doesnt look too bad. Just a case of them not giving their wicket away and how the Saffers bowl. Its most definitely playing with fire but the risk/reward is very high. Whole bet hinges on seeing off the new ball.






-----

EDIT AT 12-42PM. Awe-green, dream hour and a bit without losing a wicket, still an awful long way to go and England could do anything in the final session, happy to be out of the market. I've aged four years seeing off that new ball.

About greening up, its my style to drip feed the bets back in as the market is moving. If it goes well I make my green bigger, if it goes tits up I've at least made my average odds better and could probably red out smaller than usual. Its taking an extra chance, probably the gambler coming out as opposed to the trader, if things went tits up during it, yeah I'd probably be annoyed but sure thats gambling you know what can you do.

What happens now? If they lose a wicket, collapse is well and truly on, dont lose a wicket sure its plain sailing. I'm not gonna lie though, I'm all green I dont care..

For whats it worth, I do hope England hang on.

Thissara Perera - India v Sri Lanka

Remember that name. Plays for Sri Lanka. He is the new BEAST. Bloody hell he doesnt half hit a long ball, basically won the game here too coming in, in the middle of the usual Lanka middle order collapse. Rate went from 5.8 to 8.2 in the space of a few overs, then this bloke comes him and sends it to all parts. Ground is massive too. And his stats sort of back him up with the amount of 6s hes hit at first class level. First time I've seen him play. He is immense. Who'd he come in the team for? Replaced the injured Dilshan, and you know how good he is. Hes up there now with the batsmen never to take on, and hes younger than me.

Apart from that, was a good market for me. Perfection for my style is a team odds against to tick down towards the total milking singles, nothing fancy, the market doesnt put much pass on it for a few overs, then finally it wakes up and weve a crash. Need not to lose a wicket though and need the players able to do it (mentally). For example, Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting would be the dream team for milking chasing a high total, the likes of Matt Prior would not, nothing against Matt Prior, just hes open to a loose shot more times than not.

Today was good though, because it happened twice.. ballsed it up first time though. Was on the Lanka trade at the start, first powerplay, new ball, Indian seamers, anything is chase-able. Got the trade from 2.6ish to 1.75, and never took it. Seething. Had to bail at around 2.3 for half, and again at 2.7ish for the other half when wickets fell. Was actually so annoyed I never took the trade I squared up for a tenner at India 1.4, what a shite bet that was! Noticed Samaraweera and Sangakkara (very good at this) wanted to tick along for a while and milk the spinners without risk. Grand and handy once the rate is in or around 6, lower the better obviously. So, got another trade from 1.7ish India lay to 1.25ish Lanka lay this time. Learned my lesson to green up.. then Lanka fancied a cock-up (whats new!) and the market had another flip flop, I was out of the market by then though (picture the seething if I wasnt), before Perera took them home with 36 off 15 and a SR of 240. Hes the new beast. I'm calling it first here and now.

Excel, I notice the rate never goes above 6.2 (and even then thats late), while the odds dont react probably as much as they should. Different things for different games but once I'm happy with what excel is doing, the market can do what it likes. Generally when very little happens, subcontinental game = odds up and down like Alex Ferguson on the sideline when he sees only 1 minute injury time.

This Man Is My Hero

Step froward Tony Fleet.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/darts/8440534.stm

Double 1 aiming for treble 20.
1, 1, treble 1.
Fumbling the darts.
Nearly falling over "hes having problems on the stage."
Couldnt find the place to put his foot.
The 11 scored at the end is brilliant too.
Blokes laughing in the background.
27 darts to get down to 155.
The BBC at the end "sometimes youre so nervous you look drunk."

He was locked..! It actually gets funnier the more and more you watch it, I've only watched it 20 times mind.

04/01/2010

I said yesterday I was looking forward to leaving the house today, only to wake up, look out the window and see it snowed overnight again.. FFS! So, another day stuck inside, and more snow forecast for tonight with minus 8/9/10 to boot, the problem is New Years snow has completely turned to ice and then theres a layer or two of snow on top of that now. Bugger. I'm gonna have to trek out tomorrow I reckon no matter what, unless I wanna start eating cat food. If that wasnt bad enough, to make matters worse, the vodkas gone.

For every cloud however theres a silver lining and again a healthy P&L, being snowed in clearly does no end of good for my gambling for some reason, as someone said today, if I hit a bad run in July or something, I'll just have to pretend to be snowed in. I reckon I could pull it off. Although, what good is money when youve no fooking food..!

Delighted with how I traded the cricket anyway, sign of learning lessons you know, Sri Lanka v Bangladesh ODI, obviously you can assume Sri Lanka will win at the start, its just about how you trade the price then. They never went over 1.45 (highest I think) but had been a low of 1.12 before that (1.2ish SP), so was working in those prices the whole game. I'm a sucker for a market dog and a bounce out trade so was on the Lanka lay at low odds, normally I'd be sat here €1,800 green Bangs and zero Lanka if things went my way, or something along those lines, with Lanka trading in the 1.1x's, but switched all the green onto Lanka at one stage today and rode the price down a little before going awe-green. Rather than sitting here hoping for a miracle and jackpot.

I'd normally think, "ah, well, I didnt lose" and leave the grand or so green on the market dog, but then after the game, even though I didnt lose, I'd still regret it and wouldnt feel the greatest or the smartest you know. So, I'm working on the level green rather than having all my green on one side and zero on the other. When the market goes well by the way! Otherwise I'd choose awe-red, I choose awe-red when things go tits up so should go awe-green when things are good.

Anyone watching the BDO darts? Never laughed so much in my whole life. Just unbelievably pissing myself laughing at them, its sounds terrible I know, but how in gods name do you hit double 1 when aiming for treble 20, haha! 1, 1, treble 1 was another of my favourites, there was a lad locked too and he oh so very nearly fell over. Brilliant. Shite darts however.

India play Sri Lanka tomorrow so suppose being snowed in wont kill me again, no position in the Saffer test match yet, very hard to call really, Saffers odds would only move out (a lot) if they collapse or England pass them in the morning, not so sure they'll pass them if Saffers bowl well. Then we have basically a one innings game.. how much would you be confident of England chasing down? I'd get nervy at 230ish or so. Hard one to call and once theres ODIs on, theres no need for me to be getting involved in tests.

Horse racing? Wolverhampton today, Southwell tomorrow. How exciting whaaa. Cant blame them really with the weather but its awful depressing seeing them as the only meetings. Good luck to anyone betting on them is all I'll say!

And just heard on Sky Sports News, Whitlocks been given a spot in the Premier League, delighted.

03/01/2010

Phil Taylor. He really is the daddy. Was tested all the way tonight too, upped it again and again, that 167 checkout changed the game really. Then the 170 checkout against the darts when Whitty was sitting on tops, he even said well done when Taylor got it. Very hard not to like Whitlock, have an awful amount of time and respect for him after this week, up there with my favourite sportsmen now, he seems a nice bloke too and you can only wish good things for him. Hopefully he gets a spot in the Premier League.

Darts: €140.64 Total P&L: €140.64

Had a great week gambling really, cant fault it at all, cant exactly put my finger on it you know, just on a good run, I dont change things so its just the ups and downs of gambling. One sight difference this week has been what I've been doing in between markets, playing poker, or trying to play poker would be a more correct assessment. Not for money now, free on Facebook, Texas Hold Em, I wont lie, it makes me seeth, it really does. Awe-in with three Qs only to be followed by the bloke behind you with three Ks. Seething. Pair of Ks with a 10 kicker, beaten by a pair of Ks with a J kicker. Seething. However, the thing about playing it is, I never feel in control at any moment, in control of my own business yes, but not knowing what everyone else has and having to guess. So, when I click back over to Betfair, I'm in control of everything, my own trades, how I see the game, how I see the market, theres no guessing, I feel confident and I feel like I know what I'm doing. Its an indescribable feeling really but poker takes away all that feel good factor I have on Betfair, but then almost makes Betfair feel easier to trade at the same time. I know, weird.

I suppose I've also been helped by the fact I've been snowed in since new years and couldnt leave the house. At least I know what its like to be skint now though, weve been living off Christmas biscuits for the last three days FFS, last time went the supermarket was before Christmas, normal people would obviously go in between Christmas and New Years but sure Leopardstown was on. So, we have bread, but no butter. We have tea, but no milk. Fantastic. Upon inspection of the kitchen today however we do have 12, yes 12, spare tins of cat food still, but no food for ourselves. This is the first time weve ever been snowed in actually, and I'm still full sure, absolutely full sure, we'll be buying 24 tins of beans and 48 weetabix every week for the rest of my life, "just in case Stephen, just in case." I dread to think what she'll come home with from the supermarket tomorrow, I'll have to build a new shed or something.

Its not all bad though being snowed in, I'm now fully up to speed on Eastenders, Corrie and Hollyoaks, I've watched Twilight, Bride Wars, Mamma Mia, in fact I've watched every click flick possible, honest to god, all I'm short of doing is painting my nails. "Being snowed in is really romantic isnt it Stephen," ah yeah, I found an old bottle of vodka in the kitchen while routing through the presses looking for food and never told her, I've had a great few days.

Looking forward to being able to leave the house tomorrow. Although back in college so cant devote the whole of my time to gambling you know, so things will slow down. Frustrating to have a good week, be in good form, and then have to go to college, but sure it has to be done and its only a couple of months of the year I suppose. When I'm on a good run and can feel it I like to kick on with things, and then hit the wall, as is the norm you know, nothing lasts forever, then revert to trying not to lose rather than trying to win. Like, if you can go through bad patches and not lose, then you win during good patches, you can only finish in profit right? Back to poker then..

P&L In-Running this week.. €457.50
P&L Pre-Off this week.. €18.40
And €140.64 from Taylor winning, dont know whether to put it down as in running or pre-off because I did it half way through the tournament but still an outright bet.
Lost €100 to the books too, damn Barney with his 14 180s.

02/01/2010

180s, Barney 14 - 13 Whitlock, bugger. Cant believe he hit 14 FFS, cant moan either though because it was hardly a fluke. Its weird, its like god is sending me a message, every Pre-Off bet finds a way of going tits up! Hits 14 in one game and 13 for the rest of the tournament, I thought that was a certainty but anyway, cant fault Whitlock either scoring 13.

In running went OKish, obviously Whitlock v Barney was pretty hard because there was so many swings, got all green and settled for it early, didnt touch the book for the last maybe 3 sets. Had a small bet on the first BDO game this afternoon then watched the second one, couldnt possibly bet, spent the whole game pissing myself laughing. There was a player called Willy Van De Wiel and there was a small dutch fellow in the crowd wearing a t-shirt saying "I love willy" not joking. It was fantastic. You know, how the fook are you suppose to focus on the darts when stuff like that is happening..

Also have a new favourite player. Ted "the count" Hankey. Hero. Pissed myself at his walk on, then his seething whenever anyone makes a noise. I was sitting here thinking jaysus his wife looks a lot like him, then found out it was his mother. He also throws out little bats at the crowd, with his low cut shirt so you can see all his chest hair. The mans a hero to be fair. I get the sudden urge to listen to Barry White while watching him play. Spent the whole day laughing at darts players actually, must be the snow, I'm going mad.

Darts: €57.45 Total P&L: €57.45

Losing day because of the 180s bet, annoying because I was on a bit of a roll but sure fook it no complaints. No bet on the Taylor game, already on him for the whole thing so no need.

Barneveld v Whitlock - Most 180s

Its official, I'm snowed in, a bit of snow and the country comes to a total standstill, snowmen is clover however.

I've been making a point of staying away from Pre-Off bets lately to focus on in running, but one price stood out for tonight to be worth €100 of my money. For every 180 Barney has hit this week, Whitlock has hit nearly two (1.9 to be exact), just about double the amount. Scoring 15 180s in his last match against Wade while Barney has only scored 13 in the whole tournament to date. Barney looks a bit out of sorts really and hasnt averaged over 100 yet this week, while Whitlock has been going bonkers every time he plays averaging under 100 only once (99.24). Yesterday was the best darts match I've ever seen where he averaged 105.37 over 8 sets.

VCbet go 4/5 Whitlock most 180s which seems a tad high to me considering the ratio of near 2:1 in his favour over the week, theres not much money in the market on Betfair but as I type Whitlock is 1.64 to back and 1.78 to lay, you can lay under the 4/5 youre backing at so it seems a tad high of a price to me.

Whitlock has hit 34 180s in 85 legs, one every 2.5 legs. Barney has hit 13 180s over 64 legs, one every 4.9 legs. Whitlock has played and beaten in the following order Colin Osborne, Wayne Jones, Terry Jenkins and James Wade, with a lowest average of 99.24 scoring 5 180s that time. Barney has beaten Warren Parry, Brendan Dolan, Kevin Painter and Ronnie Baxter, Painter and Baxter were absolutely shite though, he beat Painter with an average of just 89.14, beat Baxter 5-0 with an average of 95.16, players just havent turned up against him at all.

The highest number of 180s Barneys got in a match this week has been 4, against Baxter and Dolan. The lowest number of 180s Whitlock has got this week has been 5, against Jones. If Barney steps up to the plate and comes out playing well, sure thats grand, beaten by the better bloke wont bother me. But on all known evidence this week however Whitlock should be winning this quite easily.

I also favour him to win the match. I was hoping for closer to evens though to be honest given the market love for Barney, at the price now I'd rather wait and back Whitlock at 1.4 - 1.5 with a fast start and a set up than back him at 1.75 at 0-0.

01/01/2010

Phil Taylor. Immense. You run out of words sure. Today was a fantastic day of darts overall though, I think Whitlock v Wade was the best match I've ever seen. It was amazing, anyone that seen it will surely agree! Think what makes it great is when both players are playing equally that good you know. Taylor is fantastic, but his games are still one sided even when the other bloke is averaging 110.

Whitlock v Wade, as good as it was, was the only game I was awe-red in, had a few positions, was awe-green at one point but fooked it up. Was in the middle of going awe-green for a healthy sum when Whitlock took out 170, I was just sat here with my mouth open thinking how the fook did he do that, then next leg he took out 150. In the middle of banging in, what was it, 15 180s or something? There was 24 180s in I think 30 or 31 legs. Amazing. At the time I had €160 on Wade at 2.6, Wade won the set before and got a flip flop, was ticking back liability bit by bit because Wade had the throw but sure Whitlock had other ideas. I tick back liability bit by bit in cricket, in hindsight darts probably moves too quick for that tactic, no complaints though, you cant seeth at amazing scenes.

And Barney, how does he do it? He averages in the mid 90s yet has the special ability to make the other bloke turn to absolute mush, Painter never turned up the other night, same craic with Baxter today. Can see Whitlock beating Barney easy tomorrow should he play his normal game hopefully, although no bet until in running, I presume that'll be the biggest match of Whitlocks career so theres bound to be a few nerves.

Taylor v Webster, Websters probably been my favourite player this week, and he looks awesome, only thing is though even with an average of 100ish he'll come no where near Taylor. Plus Webby gets nervous and the early starts this week have really helped him, crowd are more quiet etc, they'll all be against him tomorrow night. Handy win for Taylor probably the outcome.

I said the other day when I backed Taylor that I thought Webster and Whitlock were the only dangers. Even though both are still left, just on what I've seen Taylor do tonight, I dont think hes beatable. Barney is the least likely winner in my opinion. Probably Whitlock has to add 5 to his average on todays match, and sure that was the greatest game I've seen, lewis averaged over 110 in two sets tonight and still lost 5-0. Taylors just the daddy. I'd be highly surprised if he lost.

What Betfair Has Done For Me

Well, the end of the year always brings upon reflection for some reason, new years resolutions and what not, really and truly though its just another day and nothing really changes unless you want it to. Why need a new year to change things?

Anyway, what has Betfair done for me? Its changed my life completely and in fact has made me ten times a better person than I was before I discovered it. Now, when Emma comes in from the kitchen and says were out of milk, I just turn and say "has this ever happened before?" In the pub with the lads, instead of taking the mickey and saying everything is a "certainty" I now find myself saying "Ah, 1.01" Although no one will go to the pub with me anymore, two minutes left in the game, what a game, can they hang on.. "Well, its 1.06 they do." Betfair mobile is a great invention!

The biggest change has been, when I'm annoyed or angry instead of telling everyone, I prefer to say seething, not small letters actually capitals, SEETHING. I find myself making up imaginary odds with myself everywhere I go, looking out the window and deciding if its going to rain, 1/3 it does, 3/1 it doesnt. Wouldnt go to college at odds on rain..! Now, when anything good happens I shout "BOOMM, WHOS THE DADDY!" while doing the wanker hand shake to all the losers. Upon hearing what someone else did wrong, I find myself doing the "man with head in hands."

Not to mention when absolutely anything out of the ordinary happens in "real life" or indeed on Betfair, I immediately think "I'll put that on the blog later." Then I discovered the real jackpot, yes thats it, the Betfair forum. Where countless fellow gamblers meet to discuss tactics, race riding and of course what is todays "FREE MONEY" bet. I briefly looked at the chit-chat forum, but I dare not go back, they all talk to code, "spaff on chebbs" and "does she let you in the backdoor" clearly some sort of code for front running and hold up tactics.

So, more and more days past on the horse forum, every second minute spent clicking on refresh to see what was todays "100% LUMP ON JOB," one pro punting window cleaner had even stated that he had his whole bank on a one section, he had insider information. So, I lumped on armed with the knowledge he knew, then sat and watched as the horse, ridden by a fellow called Frank Spencer finished fast on the outside to grab 3rd place. It was only after the race I discovered that "ITS ALL A FIX," "HE WASNT TRYING" and "HE WAS BENT" I was shocked, further more, I never thought a jockeys sexuality had an impact on the result.

Never before I had I thought the sport I love, the sport I get out of bed every day to watch, was all decided in the jockeys room. I've been in the jockeys room, they never talked about this before? I was seething. Alas, it was too late, they were going in for the next race and I had already received 26 tips for it. All of whom lost, before long I found myself roaring "you fooking mug," "useless cooont" and "bleedin' muppit" at the screen.

The days past, losing and losing and losing, no longer had I any faith left in todays "GET ON ITS A CERT" selection. But I knew there was light at the end of the tunnel, daily checks of the soccer forum "how much have you won today" showed that nearly every member was winning, upon clicking on the general forum I noticed thats where all the "pro gamblers" hung out, expressing views about the premium charge, how great it is not to have to work, how much the dole was, what their bank was, even went as far as to tell people about how to bet. I knew they were correct by the way they swore at anyone who disagreed. I knew I could make the game pay.

So, here I am, every day from morning til night, clicking refresh to see if the odds have moved a tick or even two. Armed with the information that if it drifts its "not off" and I'm to lay it for my whole bank. While if its supported I'm to claim "its too short" and I'm to lay it for my whole bank. If it wins, its OK, I didnt lose, because I'll tell everyone I got the "value" and greened up in running. Those gobshites are all wrong, I'm the fooking gambling daddy here.

Happy New Year Everyone..!

2007 Year of the Cow.. We had Mad Cow disease.
2008 Year of the Bird.. We had Avian flu.
2009 Year of the Pig.. We had Swine flu.
2010 Year of the Cock.. Anyone else worried that England will win the World Cup?

(Just to make sure everyone knows, I was taking the piss with everything I said!)