Diary of a professional punter

[redarmi]

£22 Bears under 21 points @ 10/11 Hills.

The 5/6 under 21.5 with Sportingbet is better value i think but I can't get on with them.

[redarmi]

£15 Calvin Johnson to score first TD tonight @ 5/1

Stafford has 11 TD throws this year and 8 of them are to Johnson.  He is definitely the guy he is going to be looking to throw to and whilst he has been 7/1+ in recent weeks I would say that the 3/1 with Ladbrokes is closer to the mark.

[EvilPie]

Thanks for the response. Some really interesting stuff.

I can't believe how closely your life echos my friend's tbh.

He's also 36 and moved to Canada to be with his wife.

He attempted to get involved with bookies as you did but failed so ended up doing his own thing. Maybe you got the job he was after. The time lines are certainly similar.

His downfall was the bookies blocking or limiting his bets.

If he saw some value and wanted to bet £500 on it but the bookies would only take £50 he'd just spite not bet.

I could never understand this especially as he was a pro. If it's value it's value no matter how much you put on.

Have you ever done similar? Basically thought if you can't get on a certain amount it's just not worth the click of the mouse?

[redarmi]

£15 under 2.5 goals Oldham - MK Dons @ 1.95 Betfair

Pretty much totally a weather bet.  Apparently it is pissing it down and the pitch is very wet

[redarmi]

Thanks for the response. Some really interesting stuff.

I can't believe how closely your life echos my friend's tbh.

He's also 36 and moved to Canada to be with his wife.

He attempted to get involved with bookies as you did but failed so ended up doing his own thing. Maybe you got the job he was after. The time lines are certainly similar.

His downfall was the bookies blocking or limiting his bets.

If he saw some value and wanted to bet £500 on it but the bookies would only take £50 he'd just spite not bet.

I could never understand this especially as he was a pro. If it's value it's value no matter how much you put on.

Have you ever done similar? Basically thought if you can't get on a certain amount it's just not worth the click of the mouse?

I tend to take what is offered especially if it is in a shop but I am pretty shy and certainly not that assertive so in person I tend to just take what is given and politely says Thanks rather than kick up a fuss.  To be honest that is probably the best strategy anyway.  Once a bet is referred to trading the shop manager has no control anyway and if you are nice and polite then in the future you might get a couple through without getting referred.  Online it depends.  If it is a particularly dirty bet there is a level where it isn't worth getting your account marked for £50 or whatever.  Getting on is the hardest part about the business to be honest.  Of the 19 bookies listed on Oddschecker I have had accounts closed or restricted to the point they might as well be closed by eleven and of those that i can still bet with I am only not restricted by BWIN and that is largely because I never really bother with them because I know I won't get much.  Betfair has been a godsend as have Pinnacle and the asian bookies but the best value still lies with the normal firms because they are pretty clueless and it is a constasnt battle to get on.  I use shops and other people a lot.

[Chompy]

Here at Punters' Paradise we're people that know people. And we hear things. One of the things we've heard is that Ladbrokes are planning an exchange.

Seen this redarmi?

[redarmi]

It is a rumour I have heard loads of times over the years.  Ladbrokes are certainly arrogant enough to give it a go but I don't see how it will be successful.  I remember Bwin trying something similar about five years ago and I had a few mates that worked there (was called betbull) and it was a pretty big flop.

[adnmdv]

Thanks for the response. Some really interesting stuff.

I can't believe how closely your life echos my friend's tbh.

He's also 36 and moved to Canada to be with his wife.

He attempted to get involved with bookies as you did but failed so ended up doing his own thing. Maybe you got the job he was after. The time lines are certainly similar.

His downfall was the bookies blocking or limiting his bets.

If he saw some value and wanted to bet £500 on it but the bookies would only take £50 he'd just spite not bet.

I could never understand this especially as he was a pro. If it's value it's value no matter how much you put on.

Have you ever done similar? Basically thought if you can't get on a certain amount it's just not worth the click of the mouse?

I tend to take what is offered especially if it is in a shop but I am pretty shy and certainly not that assertive so in person I tend to just take what is given and politely says Thanks rather than kick up a fuss.  To be honest that is probably the best strategy anyway.  Once a bet is referred to trading the shop manager has no control anyway and if you are nice and polite then in the future you might get a couple through without getting referred.  Online it depends.  If it is a particularly dirty bet there is a level where it isn't worth getting your account marked for £50 or whatever.  Getting on is the hardest part about the business to be honest.  Of the 19 bookies listed on Oddschecker I have had accounts closed or restricted to the point they might as well be closed by eleven and of those that i can still bet with I am only not restricted by BWIN and that is largely because I never really bother with them because I know I won't get much.  Betfair has been a godsend as have Pinnacle and the asian bookies but the best value still lies with the normal firms because they are pretty clueless and it is a constasnt battle to get on.  I use shops and other people a lot.

Interesting diary - a bunch of unrelated questions:

Have you considered using a bet broker before? Shady but not miles more so than using other peoples' accounts, assuming of course you land a reliable one.

What's your plan when you move to the USA permanently? I'm guessing that's going to make things a lot harder for you?

Pretty personal question and obv. you don't need to answer, but when do you foresee yourself retiring? Do you make enough that you think it's a possibility in the next decade or so or do you see yourself going until you're 65? It's something I've thought about myself and I'm early 20s - do you still enjoy what you do after 10yrs+ (iirc) of doing it, and do you see yourself doing it forever?

Are you over/under the standard UK work week of 37.5hrs? It sounds like you are basically betting around the clock at all times, unless you're out?

[Horneris]

com goal to fuck you in the Oldham game. Then at least Kuqi missed an open goal to bring some justice to proceedings.

Can't believe im watching it, so depressing.

[redarmi]

Betbroker - I do use commission agents mainly through others but I am not sure that the new breed of firms like Betbrokers (who went bust) and BetButler are feasible in the long run to be honest and I was very close to losing a lump with Betbrokers.

USA - I use vpn's a bit and have plans in place for someone over here to put on for me.  The same person already puts on a fair bit of my business and we share some accounts in others names.

Retirement is long way off.  There are no pension plans in this game and besides I love what I do.  Maybe one day I will cut down on the sports I cover.  As i alluded to yesterday betting on the NFL is tough on my bodyclock when I am in the UK and by about mid November football becomes fairly relentless but on the whole I can't imagine what else I would do with my time.  My old man has just retired and spends his whole time watching sport now.  I am lucky enough to not have to retire to do that.  in terms of working hours I definitely do more than 40 hours a week.  More like 60-70 hours a week although it tends to be massively more when i am in UK and less when I am in States as I don't really have to feel guilty about how much i work when I am here.

[redarmi]

Can't believe im watching it, so depressing.

I'm not watching it.....you have to have some standards mate ;-)

[Ingi]

poker cliffs? (pleno1)

[tikay]

Absolutely loving this Diary, Sir, keep it up, please.

Loved this, too, as it relates as much to poker as to betting, & so many seem to struggle at the slightest sign of a headwind......it (losing here & there) really seems to be torture for so many poor souls!

"....Those are the periods where you have to be mentally strong and that tends to be what separates the pros from the rest....."

As to Ladbrokes, & the comments above, I saw this today......deffo one of my worst ever share selections, & I've had 4,000+ of the damn things ince the early eighties, back in the days when Uncle Cyril was in charge. Oh to have him back now......

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/nils-pratley-on-finance/2011/oct/10/ladbrokes-richard-glynn-plan-a

[redarmi]

poker cliffs? (pleno1)

Started playing a long time ago when limit on Paradise was one of the only options more out of a fascination for the game and characters rather than any real idea that I knew what I was doing.  Was pretty awful for a long time and played well above my natural level for a long time because the amounts I was used to betting on sports made it seem meaningless if I played for less.  Over the years I have played on and off online and then a little bit live too.  I started taking it a bit more seriously when i first started looking on here and then when i moved to Miami and didn't have much to do during the day last summer (no football and couldn't watch the racing) I started going to the Hard Rock there everyday and playing $1-2NL and did very well to the point that it was providing me with a steady-ish income of a couple of thousand a month on top of what sports betting I was doing.  To be honest the standard is pretty awful and it doesn't take much to beat the games there where a standard pre flop would be six players limping in.  Other than that during the summer I started multi-tabling lower stakes tourneys on Stars and did okay and finally signed up to training sites and got myself HE manager but it is still a hobby really albeit one that provides some income.  I have no illusions about my ability but I can be quite obsessive about it and want to be as good as I can be.  I suppose the biggest advance I have made is to understand what level I can beat and sticking to it.  Ego doesn't come into it anymore.

[Ingi]

and thoughts on poker staking?