Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[tikay]

I engaged in a bit of debate on a Punting Diary a day or two ago, & have decided to move my Post across here, to avoid de-railing his fine thread.

The explanation - & very fine thread - is here....

http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=56294.45

The Post will appear here shortly, & then I'll try & deal with the questions which arose from it, which I really want to do. I'm a bit punting geeky, it's an addiction.

[tikay]

Hope you don't mind me asking a personal question, but have you entered into a sort of (good-natured, one would hope) spamming war with "The Vic"?

I ask because I was quite surprised to see this yesterday, as "knocking copy" is still, I'm pleased to say, something we don't see too much of......

http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=56316.0

I think its quite innocent TK, it's just worded badly.

Unlike rival poker room 'Bad Beat' Should be more like, Unlike our rivals bad beat jackpots, ours....

Does Bad Beat poker exist btw , what would the infuriated type in to chat after a beat ?

f###### f##### f##### ####### bad beat poker ######f####f##### all i get is f####f####f#### bad beats f###

If you were leveling, wp  

Oh, I see now, yes, I completely misread it. In fact, I confused "Bad Beat" & "Blackbelt", too. Lord Channing WILL be impressed with me. Not.

Apologies all round.

[tikay]

I was asked, on a Betting Thread, why I was always seen lurking on all the Betting Board stuff. I replied,l & there were questions off the back of it.

My Post read like this, & I'll reply to the questions afterwards......

"....I'm afraid I have gone the whole nine yards, & a bit more besides, punting, during my life.

I started with regular punting on the horses in the Betting shops, in fact, I can date it almost to the day - I did my first lump in the 1974 Derby, on a horse that could not possibly win - Snow Knight, Bryan Taylor was up top, (the horse was trained by Peter Nelson), & was thrown from the animal in the parade ring, & the horse then played up shocking going down. No way he could win, of course. He cantered up @ 50/1, & I did a week's wages.

I got heavilly into the horse in the next 20 years, I was a Member at Cheltenham, Newmarket, & Southwell (!), & I subscribed to all the usual punters gumf, mainly Timeform Racecards, etc. In fact, I had the honour & pleasure to meet both Phil Bull & Reg Griffin on numerous occasions, & I was a sort of regular visitor at Timeform House in Halifax.  I doubt I failed to have a bet less than 10 days in 20 years, during which I learned a lot, & lost even more.

Dogs, too, at one stage, I was dog racing 5 or 6 nights per week - White City, Hackney BAGS (Saturday mornings), Haringey, Walthamstow, Wimbledon, Hendon, Watford, & in later years, Slough BAGS etc. I adored Slough as a track, in fact. I done my money in these punting forecast doubs & trebs, 112 x 10p Forecast Doubles, da de da.....

Later - much later, I discovered Spread betting, groan.....I adored it, & it gives me a tingle even to this day to think about the buzz it gave me. I was with IG Index, & back in the day, what a punter had to do if he wanted to punt "unlimited" was produce a Bank Statement every 3 months proving they were "good" for £50k. So I did that, & loved it. Every Monday, settlement was by cheque. Trust was still around then!

Then I had 2 shocks, days apart.

First up, I was on the Arsenal one Sunday afternoon up @ Old Trafford, on something called "Supremacy", I think I was on at £500 per goal, or whatever. It was carnage - 6-1, I seem to recall. I had plenty of chance to "get out" (you just reversed the bet to get out) but like the fool I am, I hung in, & did the lot, the fat end of £3k as I recall.

Days later, I was a Guest of IG Index at a "private" Golf weekend, @ The Belfry. This was not long after, or before, the Ryder Cup was held there, I think. I booked in & was given a "King Suite", in it was a complete wardrobe of new golf gear, also a note that my Tee-Time on the Saturday morning was 9am, on the Brabazon Course (THE best course @ Belfry).

I toddle up @ 9am the next morning, & there on the tee was Sam Torrance & Ken Brown. "Oh, sorry Guys, thought I was booked for 9am" sorta thing. And I was - I had 18 holes with those two, err, "duffers".

Later, I thought it through, why would IG be so nice to me? A quick look at my Statement confirmed the inevitable. That Golf Weekend had cost me the fat end of £30,000......

The very same week, I discovered Poker, & I snap gave up punting. I think I may have wagered a total of £100 since then, just on Corporate days out at York Races with SB&G etc, nothing else, not a bean.

Snap "cured"?

Not really!

I still yearn to punt, it's like alcholism, or gambling anon, the bug never leaves me, but so far, I've resisted.

My current desire is to mess around on the exchanges, Betfair utterly fascinates me, the maths & logic seem right up my street, but so far, I've managed to resist.

Whether I can continue to resist is another matter altogether. But make no mistake, I've won & lost fortunes gambling. And I do mean fortunes. I'm not proud of it, not at all, but I've never borrowed or stolen to punt, but I have sent myself skinto several times, & dug myself out - by working, not punting - each time. Don't really wanna go down that road again, not at my age!

So yes, I still love to see what's happening with the punting, & have a little smile to myself when I see "idiot betting" - folks doing short-priced accas on football & horses etc.

I tried the "other side" as a youngster too, & took a "Settling Course" with Wm Hill (this was pre Computers or even Genies) which I passed, I think I scored 99.3%, & they offered me a job as a LBO Manager, but I wanted to own my own Shop, so I declined. Then began 5 years in trying to buy a second hand" LBO, & that's a story in itself, believe me.

Now, I have ended up in a lovely place, I work in poker, & work for a "Gaming Site". Every day, I get several updates as to our Sky Bet liabilities, who we want to win, who we want to get beat, then @ 9am the next morning, on the very dot, I see all the numbers, which are midnight-midnight daily, & split into each sport, & each of the "arms" of SB&G. And the daily poker "margin", we look to keep making better numbers, obv, & these are split into each format - so that gives me a kick, a buzz, too, as the Company is stunningly successful. (Ignore all the "SB&G is shit" nonsense, the business is incredible).

I cannot imagine living without the thrill of a punt, be it regular betting, poker, whatever, so I've fallen pretty lucky now, to be honest. I have a pretty impressive library of Bloodstock books, & books about legendary punters, etc. The whole scene just thrills me to bits.

I'm probably a candidate for Gamblers Anon, in truth, except that I'm in remission, & have been for a decade or more. The urge is still there, though, I just satisfy it in other ways. I've never lost money at poker, never made much, either, I just play small-ball, & nick a bit here & there, nice & quietly, whilst the kids shout & scream if they have a winning night, & tell me I cannot play, because I'm over 40, bless them.

Sorry for the overly long reply - as you can seee, I have a bit of a passion for punting....."

[tikay]

None other than Dubai said this......

Your greatest ever post Tikay. Now get out of retirement and back in the game

Can't imagine sweating skys p+l can be the same rush

Get back to punting? You have NO IDEA what a temptation it is, & it's worse now, in a way, as money tends to burn a hole in my pocket, when I have cash, I seem to waste it.

Sweating Sky's Daily results IS quite a buzz, actually, the swings fascinate. To a degree, a betting site is in the control of the Gods - who could have imagined the series of shocks in the PremierShip during, & since, Xmas, the poor punters are geting a right battering, but it's still Xmas for the Bookies, & last night was another monster night, ANY Man U reversal always is.

Good luck in Dublin, Mr S.

[RED-DOG]

Hope you don't mind me asking a personal question, but have you entered into a sort of (good-natured, one would hope) spamming war with "The Vic"?

I ask because I was quite surprised to see this yesterday, as "knocking copy" is still, I'm pleased to say, something we don't see too much of......

http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=56316.0

I think its quite innocent TK, it's just worded badly.

Unlike rival poker room 'Bad Beat' Should be more like, Unlike our rivals bad beat jackpots, ours....

Does Bad Beat poker exist btw , what would the infuriated type in to chat after a beat ?

f###### f##### f##### ####### bad beat poker ######f####f##### all i get is f####f####f#### bad beats f###

If you were leveling, wp  

Oh, I see now, yes, I completely misread it. In fact, I confused "Bad Beat" & "Blackbelt", too. Lord Channing WILL be impressed with me. Not.

Apologies all round.

And today is Thursday BTW....

[tikay]

Quick congrats to Jakally, who is involved next door in something of a "Cash 4 Points" challenge.

In 4 days, he has somehow accumulated a whopping 10,600 points, which is above the MONTHLY threshold to become a Priority Club member. (He already is, of course). What's more, from rumour I hear, he has made a tidy profit doing so, too. It's quite something when an "oldie" can live with the hotshot kids, beat them even, & still giq.

He could end up with north of 50,000 or 60,000 Points this month, enough for a huge C4P payment, & a tidy lump of profit on top.

MBN to be Mr Giblin, but it could not happen to a nicer chap. He has, quietly, become something of a statesman like "elder" both on blonde, & next door, & I doubt he has an enemy on either. A wise old sage indeed.

[RED-DOG]

Quick congrats to Jakally, who is involved next door in something of a "Cash 4 Points" challenge.

In 4 days, he has somehow accumulated a whopping 10,600 points, which is above the MONTHLY threshold to become a Priority Club member. (He already is, of course). What's more, from rumour I hear, he has made a tidy profit doing so, too. It's quite something when an "oldie" can live with the hotshot kids, beat them even, & still giq.

He could end up with north of 50,000 or 60,000 Points this month, enough for a huge C4P payment, & a tidy lump of profit on top.

MBN to be Mr Giblin, but it could not happen to a fatter chap.

fyp

[tikay]

Today, @ 11am, I've been summoned to a consultation with the official Sky Sports Wardrobe Stylist.

Apparently, with our new Studio, which we move into later this month, being fully HD, I need a makeover.

The mind truly boggles.....

Click to see full-size image.

[Karabiner]

When you lost that chunk betting on Arsenal supremacy had you not checked the team-sheet?

I remember that game well as it virtually ended the promising career of a young defender called Stepanovs who's confidence was completely shattered after that experience, enhanced by the fact that many of our fans turned on him too. We had a lot of injuries in central defence at that time and were forced into pairing the aforementioned Igor Stepanovs with utility player Gilles Grimandi who was decent in midfield but hopeless at centre-half as he had a terrible tendency to panic and to also transmit this panic to his defensive partners.

It was a recipe for disaster and I'm not just saying that to appear wise after the event. I was full of trepidation pre-match.

Gilles Grimandi is AW's chief French scout to this day.

[tikay]

Back to the punting.

redarmi - who runs his own, & quite splendid, punting Diary, wrote, after I mentioned that it was only when IG Index flooded me with freebies that I realised how much money I was burning ....

Great tales Tikay.  Reminds me of an occasion when I was a Trading Director and noticed a punter had done half a million to us that year so I decided to get him biz class flights, top hotel and best tickets to the Superbowl.  He never bet with us again I suspect for the same reasons as Tikay never bet with IG again.  Spread betting can be dangerous stuff.  Lead to some of my biggest losses ever and have a few mates who work in the industry that have some amazing tales to tell.  Apparently recently a guy won a small fortune, we are talking a nice flat in central London, one Saturday and had managed to lose it all back by 10am on the Sunday.  By Dinnertime that day he was in for a nice house in central London!!!

And that's the thing, people think giving away freebies is a piece of piss. Well it is, in a way, but it HAS to be done sensibly, or the perceived "value" is lost.

Sky Poker sometimes give players a "Birthday Fiver". Not always, it sort of depends how valued the player is, to be honest, & that is quite obviously necessary, as there are mountains of players who never deposit a penny, & are just freeroll whores.

A Gentleman wrote to me yesterday to remind us that his Birthday is this Saturday, & could he have his Fiver on Friday please, as there is a Friday Tourney he wants to play.....

I wrote him a gentle note, & warned him that not all players get it, it's not "automatic".

He replied with more venom than you can shake a stick at, words to the effect - "I know "x" got it, so if I don't, you'll be hearing from me, & I'll not spend another penny here".

Marv.

[Dingdell]

Good luck Saturday, Miss D, & I hope a few blondes stagger along to rail you.
I gather Dad is not so well right now, with that damn dreaded disease. Thoughts are with you both.
x

Tnx - yes very angry with the world today and playing the 'what if' game in our heads. The good thing about all of this is that it had brought us closer than we could ever imagine, we were a very distant parent and child and for that change in our relationship I am truly grateful. I was happy with 'distant' because I didn't know any different so this has been a blessing in one way.

Very nervous about Saturday as it's the first time I will be judged on content and performance with a visible result, and everyone else who is competing in my heat has been on the circuit for almost or at least 12 months. I may be being over confident entering now but it is a competition for comics with less that 2 years on the circuit and it's an annual competition so it's just fallen this way for me. If I don't give it a go how will I ever know?

Ok - I'm off to write something funny about balaclavas which I'm thinking of adding into my set for Saturday........

[taximan007]

I was asked, on a Betting Thread, why I was always seen lurking on all the Betting Board stuff. I replied,l & there were questions off the back of it.

My Post read like this, & I'll reply to the questions afterwards......

"....I'm afraid I have gone the whole nine yards, & a bit more besides, punting, during my life.

I started with regular punting on the horses in the Betting shops, in fact, I can date it almost to the day - I did my first lump in the 1974 Derby, on a horse that could not possibly win - Snow Knight, Bryan Taylor was up top, (the horse was trained by Peter Nelson), & was thrown from the animal in the parade ring, & the horse then played up shocking going down. No way he could win, of course. He cantered up @ 50/1, & I did a week's wages.

I got heavilly into the horse in the next 20 years, I was a Member at Cheltenham, Newmarket, & Southwell (!), & I subscribed to all the usual punters gumf, mainly Timeform Racecards, etc. In fact, I had the honour & pleasure to meet both Phil Bull & Reg Griffin on numerous occasions, & I was a sort of regular visitor at Timeform House in Halifax.  I doubt I failed to have a bet less than 10 days in 20 years, during which I learned a lot, & lost even more.

Dogs, too, at one stage, I was dog racing 5 or 6 nights per week - White City, Hackney BAGS (Saturday mornings), Haringey, Walthamstow, Wimbledon, Hendon, Watford, & in later years, Slough BAGS etc. I adored Slough as a track, in fact. I done my money in these punting forecast doubs & trebs, 112 x 10p Forecast Doubles, da de da.....

Later - much later, I discovered Spread betting, groan.....I adored it, & it gives me a tingle even to this day to think about the buzz it gave me. I was with IG Index, & back in the day, what a punter had to do if he wanted to punt "unlimited" was produce a Bank Statement every 3 months proving they were "good" for £50k. So I did that, & loved it. Every Monday, settlement was by cheque. Trust was still around then!

Then I had 2 shocks, days apart.

First up, I was on the Arsenal one Sunday afternoon up @ Old Trafford, on something called "Supremacy", I think I was on at £500 per goal, or whatever. It was carnage - 6-1, I seem to recall. I had plenty of chance to "get out" (you just reversed the bet to get out) but like the fool I am, I hung in, & did the lot, the fat end of £3k as I recall.

Days later, I was a Guest of IG Index at a "private" Golf weekend, @ The Belfry. This was not long after, or before, the Ryder Cup was held there, I think. I booked in & was given a "King Suite", in it was a complete wardrobe of new golf gear, also a note that my Tee-Time on the Saturday morning was 9am, on the Brabazon Course (THE best course @ Belfry).

I toddle up @ 9am the next morning, & there on the tee was Sam Torrance & Ken Brown. "Oh, sorry Guys, thought I was booked for 9am" sorta thing. And I was - I had 18 holes with those two, err, "duffers".

Later, I thought it through, why would IG be so nice to me? A quick look at my Statement confirmed the inevitable. That Golf Weekend had cost me the fat end of £30,000......

The very same week, I discovered Poker, & I snap gave up punting. I think I may have wagered a total of £100 since then, just on Corporate days out at York Races with SB&G etc, nothing else, not a bean.

Snap "cured"?

Not really!

I still yearn to punt, it's like alcholism, or gambling anon, the bug never leaves me, but so far, I've resisted.

My current desire is to mess around on the exchanges, Betfair utterly fascinates me, the maths & logic seem right up my street, but so far, I've managed to resist.

Whether I can continue to resist is another matter altogether. But make no mistake, I've won & lost fortunes gambling. And I do mean fortunes. I'm not proud of it, not at all, but I've never borrowed or stolen to punt, but I have sent myself skinto several times, & dug myself out - by working, not punting - each time. Don't really wanna go down that road again, not at my age!

So yes, I still love to see what's happening with the punting, & have a little smile to myself when I see "idiot betting" - folks doing short-priced accas on football & horses etc.

I tried the "other side" as a youngster too, & took a "Settling Course" with Wm Hill (this was pre Computers or even Genies) which I passed, I think I scored 99.3%, & they offered me a job as a LBO Manager, but I wanted to own my own Shop, so I declined. Then began 5 years in trying to buy a second hand" LBO, & that's a story in itself, believe me.

Now, I have ended up in a lovely place, I work in poker, & work for a "Gaming Site". Every day, I get several updates as to our Sky Bet liabilities, who we want to win, who we want to get beat, then @ 9am the next morning, on the very dot, I see all the numbers, which are midnight-midnight daily, & split into each sport, & each of the "arms" of SB&G. And the daily poker "margin", we look to keep making better numbers, obv, & these are split into each format - so that gives me a kick, a buzz, too, as the Company is stunningly successful. (Ignore all the "SB&G is shit" nonsense, the business is incredible).

I cannot imagine living without the thrill of a punt, be it regular betting, poker, whatever, so I've fallen pretty lucky now, to be honest. I have a pretty impressive library of Bloodstock books, & books about legendary punters, etc. The whole scene just thrills me to bits.

I'm probably a candidate for Gamblers Anon, in truth, except that I'm in remission, & have been for a decade or more. The urge is still there, though, I just satisfy it in other ways. I've never lost money at poker, never made much, either, I just play small-ball, & nick a bit here & there, nice & quietly, whilst the kids shout & scream if they have a winning night, & tell me I cannot play, because I'm over 40, bless them.

Sorry for the overly long reply - as you can seee, I have a bit of a passion for punting....."

Awesome read Thank you

[nirvana]

You have a cardigan I'm sure and blonde hair, way ahead of most to be styled into something like this Tikay



Pretty much can't wait to see what they do to you :-)

[RED-DOG]

Good luck Saturday, Miss D, & I hope a few blondes stagger along to rail you.
I gather Dad is not so well right now, with that damn dreaded disease. Thoughts are with you both.
x

Tnx - yes very angry with the world today and playing the 'what if' game in our heads. The good thing about all of this is that it had brought us closer than we could ever imagine, we were a very distant parent and child and for that change in our relationship I am truly grateful. I was happy with 'distant' because I didn't know any different so this has been a blessing in one way.

Very nervous about Saturday as it's the first time I will be judged on content and performance with a visible result, and everyone else who is competing in my heat has been on the circuit for almost or at least 12 months. I may be being over confident entering now but it is a competition for comics with less that 2 years on the circuit and it's an annual competition so it's just fallen this way for me. If I don't give it a go how will I ever know?

Ok - I'm off to write something funny about balaclavas which I'm thinking of adding into my set for Saturday........

My best wishes to you and your dad.


PS- Balaclavas are like minges, no fun if you have an oversized itchy one..

[tikay]

When you lost that chunk betting on Arsenal supremacy had you not checked the team-sheet?

I remember that game well as it virtually ended the promising career of a young defender called Stepanovs who's confidence was completely shattered after that experience, enhanced by the fact that many of our fans turned on him too. We had a lot of injuries in central defence at that time and were forced into pairing the aforementioned Igor Stepanovs with utility player Gilles Grimandi who was decent in midfield but hopeless at centre-half as he had a terrible tendency to panic and to also transmit this panic to his defensive partners.

It was a recipe for disaster and I'm not just saying that to appear wise after the event. I was full of trepidation pre-match.

Gilles Grimandi is AW's chief French scout to this day.

I very much doubt I had Ralph. That's the thing with the "addiction". I would check the Form to the nth degree when time permitted - I'd regularly stay up all night studying the form of the horses - but if I did not have the time, as is/was often the case, I still had to have my "fix". And I would want Arsenal to beat Man U away, of course I would, & doubtless the price was - or looked - big, & so I'd sort of bet blind sometimes, just to get the daily fix. A fool and his money & all that.....

Be interesting to put a date on that match, incidentally. You may or may not  be surprised to know that subsequently, I went busto again, for the xth time in my life, & had to start over yet again.

Funny thing is, when I'm total skinto, it never bothers me an iota, in fact, it's almost a relief, and I enjoy - really really enjoy - rebuilding my finances. There's no short cuts, you see, just gotta buckle down & work, & I abso love the "fightback", as I gradually get out of the hole, & rebuild.

But I'm too old to go there again, my earning power's shelf life is almost gone, so time to nit up now & be sensible. That'll be a first.