Tips for Tikay

[Tal]

You've spoken an awful lot of sense, arb, but saying the current system of tournaments all over the place every week is making the game worse is balderdash of the bottom graviest order.

Players outside the top 16 have for years had to do all the donkey work around the circuit, scrape a living with local money matches and real life jobs, turn up to qualifiers and then sometimes get turned over by people who have been handed VIP passes to every event automatically and can therefore spend more time practicing (because they don't have to qualify, they are guaranteed a wage through the game and get the odd sponsorship to cover some expenses).

Now it's far more level; everyone has to qualify, the QSchool and the Asian boom has brought in lots of young talent, the established pros are finding out (in some cases) how hard the game is off the table and the standard of early round snooker is massively improved.

If a Top 8 player doesn't fancy going to China for 2 weeks, then Thailand, then Germany before the Welsh Open, he can say "No thank you, winning the Welsh Open is more important to me than an appearance fee and a holiday". It's just managing a schedule. At the risk of whacking a massive hornet's nest, it's far more like the tennis circuit: Federer, Nadal, Djok, Waw and Murray all have to pick and choose which weeks they play because they prioritise the major events over everything else. Sometimes they turn up in Dubai and lose in the first round and fly home, of course, but Nike and Adidas are less accommodating to Shaun Murphy and Mark Selby, I expect.

Each snooker player will know how much tournament play they need against practice time. If they don't, they'll need to learn or they won't survive. If you are tired, rest. That's how sport should be.

Your proposition also fails to recognise that the so called elite players might not be the best around; they've just been blessed with the opportunities others haven't. I'm not saying every journeyman pro would have been beating John Higgins ten years ago, but players like Michael White, Ricky Walden and Martin Gould have had exposure to a much greater level or opportunity than the guys of their perceived level say a decade ago. They've made the most of it.

As to the format of the tour events, the public like best of 9/11/13 matches, there are lots of events to fit in and best of 19 matches take 2 days, and there is also a need to have a bit of balance with the major events. Is it any different to men's tennis being best of 3 sets for normal events?

I want to see good games and a high standard of snooker. In that respect, I don't really care who wins. The key to it for me is, when someone beats a seed, they should be able to carry that on to some extent in the next game. You can't fluke a best of 19 but you can play someone who didn't turn up. Now, we have 32 players who can beat any of the others, even if one of them has a 30% chance versus the field. If two guys are trading 50s over a match, the game will reward the players and the public far more than it has ever done.

Or we could go back to Hearn's golden team playing against Alex Higgins, Steve Davis making 8 out of 9 world finals and the same faces on the TV each time you turn it on.

Darts is on the way down, against that, because I see the market as saturated and the characters "the show" needs aren't there. It needs a re-think before it falls away.

[arbboy]

You've spoken an awful lot of sense, arb, but saying the current system of tournaments all over the place every week is making the game worse is balderdash of the bottom graviest order.

Players outside the top 16 have for years had to do all the donkey work around the circuit, scrape a living with local money matches and real life jobs, turn up to qualifiers and then sometimes get turned over by people who have been handed VIP passes to every event automatically and can therefore spend more time practicing (because they don't have to qualify, they are guaranteed a wage through the game and get the odd sponsorship to cover some expenses).

Now it's far more level; everyone has to qualify, the QSchool and the Asian boom has brought in lots of young talent, the established pros are finding out (in some cases) how hard the game is off the table and the standard of early round snooker is massively improved.

If a Top 8 player doesn't fancy going to China for 2 weeks, then Thailand, then Germany before the Welsh Open, he can say "No thank you, winning the Welsh Open is more important to me than an appearance fee and a holiday". It's just managing a schedule. At the risk of whacking a massive hornet's nest, it's far more like the tennis circuit: Federer, Nadal, Djok, Waw and Murray all have to pick and choose which weeks they play because they prioritise the major events over everything else. Sometimes they turn up in Dubai and lose in the first round and fly home, of course, but Nike and Adidas are less accommodating to Shaun Murphy and Mark Selby, I expect.

Each snooker player will know how much tournament play they need against practice time. If they don't, they'll need to learn or they won't survive. If you are tired, rest. That's how sport should be.

Your proposition also fails to recognise that the so called elite players might not be the best around; they've just been blessed with the opportunities others haven't. I'm not saying every journeyman pro would have been beating John Higgins ten years ago, but players like Michael White, Ricky Walden and Martin Gould have had exposure to a much greater level or opportunity than the guys of their perceived level say a decade ago. They've made the most of it.

As to the format of the tour events, the public like best of 9/11/13 matches, there are lots of events to fit in and best of 19 matches take 2 days, and there is also a need to have a bit of balance with the major events. Is it any different to men's tennis being best of 3 sets for normal events?

I want to see good games and a high standard of snooker. In that respect, I don't really care who wins. The key to it for me is, when someone beats a seed, they should be able to carry that on to some extent in the next game. You can't fluke a best of 19 but you can play someone who didn't turn up. Now, we have 32 players who can beat any of the others, even if one of them has a 30% chance versus the field. If two guys are trading 50s over a match, the game will reward the players and the public far more than it has ever done.

Or we could go back to Hearn's golden team playing against Alex Higgins, Steve Davis making 8 out of 9 world finals and the same faces on the TV each time you turn it on.

Darts is on the way down, against that, because I see the market as saturated and the characters "the show" needs aren't there. It needs a re-think before it falls away.

It is making the game fairer there is no doubt about that for players outside of the top 16 and the format helps make every event more of a leveler.  That doesn't make the product more desirable to watch as a customer/viewer though.  That was my point when i said the game is being made worse.

I also don't agree with you on the journeymen of the tour suddenly being world beaters.  They are just a small sample of less talented players who are willing to either a)grind every event on tour for the ranking points and/or b) have just run good in a series of short best of 7 donkfests over the past 2 years.  The following players are still in the top 32 in the world which is truely amazing imo.  Ebdon, McManus, Holt, Milkins, Dott and Day.  Some of these shouldn't be anywhere near the top 32 at their age if the strength in depth in snooker is as big as all these judges will have you believe.  The reason they are is the rankings at the bottom levels have turned into a 'who turns up the most often/who gets the luckiest in the most best of 7 coinflip donkfests every year'.

If Darts is on the way down snooker is already nailed in the Coffin.

[hhyftrftdr]

In this dick measuring competition, I'm gonna get my tiddler out and say the Roma season bet is now gg. They blew a 2 goal lead today and needed a late Totti leveller to salvage a 3-3 draw.

Totti turns 71 on Tuesday.

Juventus cruised to a 4-0. 5 games left, 14 point difference, meh.

Juventus have just steamrolled Serie A since Christmas, making a mockery of their woeful start. See how they get on next season without Pogba.....

[Jamier-Host]

I'm not a big fan of the best of 7 matches either and hardly watch any regular tour events, although have loved watching the Worlds every year since I was a kid. Absolute result that it always coincided with revision periods throughout school and uni too! Oddly(?) i'm also a big fan of the snooker shootout and had an enjoyable day in Reading watching it live for the first time this year. Looking forward to taking my son next year who wouldn't be able to handle the enforced stretches of silence in Sheffield. (he's not got a condition or anything - just a normal kid who's want to chat and mess about!)

On the betting side of things I'm in Tighty's camp and think the qualifiers are good practice for the extended matches and tend to be with the unseeded guys in some way in most cases.

[The Camel]

Chompy is a ten times better judge than me, but it constantly baffles me when he hedges, trades or greens out a massively +ev position with an arguably neutral ev bet.

But as has been said each to their own.

As for the snooker, I find it easiest to blame Barry Hearn. He ruins everything.

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/04/15/sport/horsey-mchorseface/

Wonder if this is worth keeping an eye on lol

Reminds me of

25 Camel Points if you can name the real names of the two horses battling out this finish.

Karabiner can't enter.

[JohnCharver]

Chompy is a ten times better judge than me, but it constantly baffles me when he hedges, trades or greens out a massively +ev position with an arguably neutral ev bet.

But as has been said each to their own.

As for the snooker, I find it easiest to blame Barry Hearn. He ruins everything.

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/04/15/sport/horsey-mchorseface/

Wonder if this is worth keeping an eye on lol

Reminds me of

25 Camel Points if you can name the real names of the two horses battling out this finish.

Karabiner can't enter.

Night nurse getting up to beat monksfield in '77 CH

[Chompy]

We're in a good spot on Will Grigg for the L1 Golden Boot (£25EW, 11-2 two spots) and it's almost certainly a match now between him and Ajose with a handful of games left.

This feels like a good time to close out the win part. Bet356 are 11-10 Ajose (still one in front), 11-8 Grigg, 14 Bar, so we'll have £23 on Ajose at 11-10 to cover the outlay.

I've placed already and stuck it on the tab. Booked!

[TightEnd]

yesterday

Monfils was one set all against Nadel and was then bagelled in the final set -£15

Also took the Roma £10 bet as a loss as advised yesterday

Arsenal now need to win their final five matches and hope for help to win the title after Crystal "no post when they get a result" Palace drew at the Eirates yesterday

Click to see full-size image.

not that i am stressing or anything

Click to see full-size image.

Josh King scored for Bourenmouth against Liverpool. He now leads Wilson 6 to 5, with 4 games to go

Click to see full-size image.

KingsXIP won a game in IPL9 an underdog win over Pune

current league table http://www.rediff.com/cricket/report/ipl-9-points-table-indian-premier-league-2016-standings/20160404.htm

 

[horseplayer]

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/erik-lamela-how-the-winger-has-become-the-embodiment-of-maurico-pochettinos-plan-at-tottenham-a6988201.html

Lovely article on lamela

[tikay]

Chompy is a ten times better judge than me, but it constantly baffles me when he hedges, trades or greens out a massively +ev position with an arguably neutral ev bet.

But as has been said each to their own.

As for the snooker, I find it easiest to blame Barry Hearn. He ruins everything.

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/04/15/sport/horsey-mchorseface/

Wonder if this is worth keeping an eye on lol

Reminds me of

25 Camel Points if you can name the real names of the two horses battling out this finish.

Karabiner can't enter.

Great to see Fred's Dad back.

[Karabiner]

Wasn't snooker player Martin Gould a dealer at Walsall?

[arbboy]

Wasn't snooker player Martin Gould a dealer at Walsall?

He is announced as a former croupier but i have never found out which casino(s) he worked in.  I can't remember ever seeing him at Walsall but not sure what years he would have been a croupier before he turned pro.  Thought he was from London/SE tbh originally.

[vegaslover]

I have seen him mentioned as being a croupier in a North London casino, though doesn't mention which one.

[celtic]

I have seen him mentioned as being a croupier in a North London casino, though doesn't mention which one.

Don't think there are any casinos in north London.

[arbboy]

I have seen him mentioned as being a croupier in a North London casino, though doesn't mention which one.

Don't think there are any casinos in north London.

LondonLuton as in the airport is north London right?