Anyone here successful at betting?

RandallFlagg

horse racing has more rigging that HMS Victory, which is one more reason I lay bet on selected favourites

Bygone_Tones

About 10 years ago I used to bet on the big brother evictee and won it every week. Crap odds, but it used to be a sure thing.

The "saddos" on the digital spy forum used to have a poll every week and with hundreds of people participating the stats always predicted the evictee.

If you were really quick (I wasnt) there used to be someone on there that had inside information about who was going to be up for eviction before it was televised and the bookies knew about it and slashed the odds. They cottoned on pretty quick though and soon changed their system holding off bets until the 3 evictees had been anounced.

Havent done it for ages, cant bear watching big brother thesedays.

TTBZ

I don't have the patience to study the form tbh. Whenever I get tips from work they very rarely come in. I work for a horse racing tv channel so I would have thought if I was going to get into it i would have by now. I don't even enjoy racing enough to bother haha.

Iamnobody

RandallFlagg;1115540" said:

horse racing has more rigging that HMS Victory, which is one more reason I lay bet on selected favourites

Betting exchanges have brought about new opportunities. As has cash out etc.

TheBlueWolf

I used to gamble moderately a few years back, mainly on those computer generated races. It was usually a 50p each way on certain horses and IIRC I probably won a little more than I lost.

iseverynamegone

Computer generated races like this?

octatonic

RandallFlagg said:

I don't enjoy betting, I am dispassionate about it. 

My ROI is far higher than any ISA or savings account

I can't think of anything I do dispassionately that regularly that isn't a household chore or a bodily function.

StanleyAccrington

I have the occasional punt. On horses....never bet on anything else. Always bet to 'place' or 'not placed'. Odds are reduced accordingly. I know I'm never going to get rich....but I usually do well enough to keep my float topped up.

DefaultM

The last world cup I got one of those £20 free bets that I put on the final. Think I decided it was going to be 3-2 and the final score was 1-0? That was enough to put me off carrying on.

UnclePsychosis

I like to have the odd bet here and there, but only ever small amounts - I'm not interested in making mega bucks, just having a bit of fun here and there.

For instance I've got a few quid on silly Euro 2016 bets - a 16 team "top 2 from each group" accumulator and a few more quid on a couple of outsiders to make the final.

I'm pretty bad at it to be honest, but I quite like doing all the research on form etc beforehand and I go into it fully expecting to lose every bet so it's not a problem when I do!

Iamnobody

DefaultM;1116451" said:

The last world cup I got one of those £20 free bets that I put on the final. Think I decided it was going to be 3-2 and the final score was 1-0? That was enough to put me off carrying on.

If you layed that free bet off at an exchange you could have guaranteed about £15 profit. £15 free money is better than nothing - which is often the result when you stick £20 on a 25/1 football result.

hugbot

I've been betting on the EU referendum, the shitter "remain" does, the more money I get. 

fretmeister

Only poker

EricTheWeary

I've mentioned my nephew before who makes reasonable money out of online poker. As I think was said it's about being better than the other guy and he's a masters degree level mathematician so he has an edge(not that I know much about poker). He is in a line of family card players and sharks that skipped me but started with my grandfather, who had played endless hours of cards in the army. My father has stories of his father being paid on Friday and by Saturday morning it was all gambled away and he had to live with his aunt for the rest of the week in order to get fed (and avoid his father's mood).
So, my father never gambled (or gamboled even, he was a heavy set man) and I grew up largely unaware of it's existence. I've never been in a bookies in my life, to a race track or to the dogs and even buying a lotto ticket makes me anxious.
With drugs and alcohol I have a huge reservoir of stories about people I've met whose lives were ruined by them but I'm struggling to think of a handful in 23 years in criminal justice were gambling lead to crime.
Overall I guess if you know what you are doing it is fine but there's maybe a lot of people who are convinced they know what they are doing when they don't.

RandallFlagg

octatonic said:

RandallFlagg said:

I don't enjoy betting, I am dispassionate about it. 

My ROI is far higher than any ISA or savings account

I can't think of anything I do dispassionately that regularly that isn't a household chore or a bodily function.

I guess what I mean is that I have no emotional attchment to the events I bet on, I don't have a favourite horse or allow subjective favouritism colour my selections, the horse racing is just the medium I use for bets as there are plenty of opportunities every day. It's not like betting on a favourite team to win etc.

dafuzz

EDIT: The only time I actually gamble is when I'm forced to sit through an entire football game. It's the only way I can make the experience even remotely bearable.

Deijavoo

Careful fellas, I believe we're not supposed to talk about matched betting here.

Nitefly

When I was 17 I lost a week's wages playing brag - I had the better hand, and we both knew it, but the other guy had more money than me, and cleaned me out.  I didn't see it coming, thought I couldn't lose with the better hand.

I haven't bothered since.

mellowsun

Deijavoo;1116560" said:

Careful fellas, I believe we're not supposed to talk about matched betting here.

What is matched betting anyway?

dafuzz

Well I can't answer...

Actually - why is it verboten? There's threads about it on money saving expert and other fora I visit