Thursday, December 30, 2010

Less Darting Around Please!

Well it had to happen at some stage in December I suppose. My first loss of the month came in the darts. Paul Nicholson losing to that tart Peter Wright. Its an amazing game really is the darts because if you're not hitting the doubles then it really doesn't matter what else you do. Nicholson comfortably outscored Wright all match but was just atrocious when it came to the doubles. Strange really for a man who likes to think he is at his best when he is under pressure. Afraid not Paul!! Perhaps the Aussies getting spanked in Melbourne was on his mind although I dont really understand all this Nicholson is a dirty Aussie talk, whenever I hear him speak I just hear a Geordie.... Answers on the back of a post card to that one! Whitlock, now there's a proper Aussie!

So damage control was required and there is nowhere else to turn to then good old reliable football. I didnt chase as such as the tactics remained the same, just upped the stakes a bit to boost the winnings and get myself in profit again. Correct score on l'arse chelsea worked a treat and then it was match odds after that in the other matches. Thankfully managed to avoid the carnage at Anfield. Wouldnt touch a Liverpool match with a barge pole. Shocking to watch as well. The brum equaliser against utd was a bit of a sickener, handball, offside, Rio fouled.... Was strange how Bowyer wasnt tracked and had so much space that late in the game though. And VDS didnt exactly throw himself in the way of it did he?? Anyway, 3 points in the early kick off on Saturday would be a good tonic to cure the blues. Im also enjoying picking up a few quid here and there on Spurs particularly at White Harte Lane. Just good to watch and seem to deliver nearly all the time. No major stakes but just tipping along.

So unless I dabble in the darts again, thats it for December and the year. Im sure every gambler is starting the New Year with the same aspirations of having a good one and making it count etc. I suppose I'll be no different really. I'd like to wish fellow bloggers/gamblers a happy new year. After all, we're all in the same boat so we might as well try and keep each other going instead of joining the "I told you so" army. They have plenty of members already thanks very much! As Churchill once said, continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential. Slightly corny I know but it keeps me going through the day job and the gambling! Have a great 2011 everyone! Cheers! Enda


Sunday, December 26, 2010

St. Stephens Day

Happy St Stephens Day everyone and hopefully the xmas was good to everyone! Its looking like I'm going to make it through the dreaded December in profit. Update since the last post is below. Again I've not been risking too much but I feel like Im in good form going into the new year.

The only real blemish was Fulham earlier but if you told me that I would have a loss and still end the day in profit then I would take that all day long. Fulham really not in good shape at the moment. I actually think West Ham can stay up but signing Sidwell could be a sign that they're going to lose Parker and then they would be in bother. Utd just keep on delivering so was happy to risk a few bob on them today. Loving the form of Anderson in particular. Always rated him very highly and if you compare his performances to his Brazilian colleagues Ramires and Lucas then I definitely know which one I would be picking but I'm always biased. My old man walked in the door today and said that Newstalk 107 said Utd had signed Ashley Young!? Hasn't been a mention of it anywhere else all day so either Newstalk are the only news source in the world that knows this or the old man is starting to lose his marbles... A tiny win on Anderlecht rounded off the day. Never really dabble in the Belgian stuff but there you go!

Plenty more matches to keep us going over the next few days. Hopefully everyone is getting on grand and Happy Christmas and New Year. Lets hope a few winners come our way. Good luck everyone! Sláinte!

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Balance

Its been a quiet enough 7 or days so. I spent last weekend in Carlow. Was able to pull off a couple of bets on Saturday but on Sunday I was stranded, helpless, nothing could be done. No laptop. No computer. I have a phone that doesn't accept betfair mobile. I'm not sure I've ever felt as frustrated. I suppose when you do the majority of your betting at the weekend and then something pops up its just a right pain in the ass. I think Im pretty good at balancing this stuff and the rest of my life but Sunday left me really pissed off. It wasn't so much that I was missing out on a good day of betting but I think my frustration is that everything feels very slow at the moment. I've spoken a bit over the last couple of weeks of my fear surrounding doing my conkers in December and perhaps it's affecting my mindset. Still though, winners are coming so its not too hard to complain.... Would love to take this thing to the next level. I suppose its good to develop a certain level of fear. There was a time where I could lose a hell of alot and just sleep like a baby!! I dont want to be that guy who is always pissed off when  he cant bet though, particularly when Im spending time with someone important.

Anyway, enough of the serious chat! Chelsea still cant buy a win. Oh its so delightful. But what was even more pleasing was seeing some Liverpool supporters on the Betfair forum looking forward to tearing Newcastle a new one on Saturday evening because Woy has the team playing well, Lucas is now world class, Meireles is settling in and Torres looking sharp. Just the 3-1 to the toon then! Its always tough to assess how teams with a new manager are going to play so thats why I stayed away from match odds.

Was looking forward to the match on Monday all day. Really didnt fancy Arsenal getting anything better than a draw and was super confident laying them. Thought they were really poor against Partizan last Wednesday and lets face it, they've lost to Newcastle and West Brom at home this season. Title contenders?? Get fourth and they will be doing well. And Wenger blaming the pitch capped off a very happy evening. A proper handbag so he is.

Just sort of tipped along for the last few nights. Nothing major at all but it was something. Not sure how the weekend is shaping up. Could end up being away again! Would love to see the Espanyol Barca match, even if I dont get to bet. Will be a good un! Hopefully everyone is looking forward to the Christmas. Good luck!

Monday, December 13, 2010

A Brief History of Carlos Tevez

A Brief History Of Carlos Tevez
The boy's got form...

Boca Juniors (2001-2004)
Tevez forces his way out of the club claiming that the press intrusion in Argentina is too much for him and his family and the club aren't doing enough to support him. Public bust-up with manager also ensues.

Claims he loves the club and supporters, and always will.

Time at club: Two-and-a-half seasons.

Corinthians (2005-2006)
Tevez forces his way out of the club, going on strike, after arguments - some physical - with teammates, the head coach and the club president.

Claims he loves the club and supporters, and always will.

Time at club: One season.

West Ham (2006-2007)
Tevez almost immediately falls out with the manager and players. Storms off and threatens to go on strike after being substituted. Goes AWOL to Argentina at one point.

Claims he loves the club and supporters, and always will.

Time at club: One season.

Manchester United (2007-2009)
Tevez complains of being fatigued and overplayed in his first season. In his second, he complains of being underplayed - drama queening it every time he's taken off - managing just five goals, despite playing more minutes than the league's third top scorer Fernando Torres. Parting shot of "I'll scream in Ferguson's face when I score against them".

Claims he loves the club and supporters, and always will.

Time at club: Two seasons.

Manchester City (2009-????)
Tevez is tired, homesick, wants to retire, takes time off to see his daughter and is caught on camera spending that time allegedly banging his mistress (the actual banging remains unphotographed), feels there's too much greed in football despite being the highest-paid player in Britain, hates football in general yet throws a wobbly every time he's taken off, wants his old life back, hates the club executives, claims that he would like to punch his young teammates and finally hands in a transfer request.

Claims he loves the club and supporters, and always will.

Time at club: One-and-a-half seasons so far, some of it begrudgingly.

Who would sign him now?

Source: Football365.com

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Steady

Steady if slightly unspectacular progress over the last 3 days. Still, winning is winning. I have very big concerns betting on the last round of champions league matches because some teams have nothing to play for. I was surprised with the strength of some of the lineups though. Barcelona aside, there was no ridiculously under strength lineups and they still won anyway!

Lets start at Monday because the finish to the Porto game was slightly comical. Porto were 1.15 pre match and despite not playing well and getting a very dodgy penalty in their favour, went 1-0 up and were 1.07 for the whole second half. Setubal always looked like they had a bit of a comeback in them though and with 2 minutes to go they rightfully get a penalty! Cue the celebrations from the Porto layers. Setubal lad steps up and smashes the pen in the top corner and the ref makes him take it again because he said he didnt blow his whistle!!! Second time around, the poor lad looks like he's about to shit his pants and we all know whats going to happen... The lad steps up and calmy proceeds to smash the pen into row Z!! Oh dear. My money was safe before this happened but heartache for the porto layers and there were a few on the betfair forum seething over the refs decision to make him retake. It can be a cruel game sometimes (dont know if Im talking about gambling, football or both!) Certainly dodgy refereeing to say the least, not so much the retake but the penalty Porto got was very very soft. I do rate Porto extremely highly though and they have played some top stuff this season. 10.5 to win the europa league?? Im extremely tempted. Certainly better value than Man City at 6!!

Tuesday and Wednesday went off without too much hassle. Liked the utd lineup but only got involved in the second half. Disappointed that Valencia didnt put out a more attacking team. Thought Soldado and Aduriz would start together. I think they were happy not to lose and utd were happy to top the group. The beautiful thing for Valencia is they dont have to worry about Barca or Real so finishing second is no bother to them.

Yesterday was very quiet because I went out after work, shite night and all. Managed to win a tenner though! Is it wrong to be sitting there with a pint in your hand thinking "I could be betting if I was at home!" Is that when you've gone to the dark side?? I dont think so! Good luck everyone! Cheers.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

More Satisfaction

Very happy with how today went. Really wasn't sure where I was going to win a few quid but everything came together nicely. When you back Djokovic and Monfils breaks his own racquet off his foot while attempting a stupid shot, you know its going to be a decent day. Monfils has got all the talent in the world but he's just a nutter isnt he? Gets carried away with his own flashes of brilliance. Broke Nole twice in the third set and was broken back straight away. A very weak performance. I was delighted to see Troicki beat Llodra. He has been very solid the last few months but there was alot of pressure on him once he was picked ahead of Janko. The biggest match in his career and he really delivered. Great stuff.

Had to do a bit of hunting in Italy today to find a few quid. I dont particularly enjoy Serie A but thankfully things went well. Correct score in Fiorentina match and then match odds for Juventes. Both came off. Delightful. Also thought West Ham were too short against an in form Sunderland. West Ham havent won away from home in over 12 months according to sky?? They were around 4.6-4.7ish and were layed accordingly. Maybe an over reaction to beating utd in the cup but just couldn't see them winning today.

So a nice weekend overall winning over 200. Matches on for the next 3 days as well so hopefully I can keep things moving nicely. We'll see what happens. Good luck everyone! :)

Satisfactory Saturday

First betting day of the dreaded December and things went fine actually. The Barcelona scheduling completely caught me out though. They couldnt fly down to Osasuna because of the strike so then they had to take the bus. Then they thought the game was cancelled. I check flashscore.com and it says the game is on Sunday instead so thats fine. I play around with the AC Milan match while Barca win 3-0! Ouch. Should have been paying better attention really shouldnt I???

Chelsea match was pleasing for 2 reasons. I won and they didnt! Yahoo. They really cant buy a win at the moment. Have to feel a bit for those using the "back Chelsea every week" strategy. Same shit every season with them. Perfect set of fixtures to start them off, they go a few points clear and everyone says they cant be caught! As someone smarter than myself once said, Chelsea in "getting giddy" shocker.... They only have to play Spurs and Utd next! Scenes. Pleasing. Very. 

Its a shame the Utd game was called off. The evening game always fits perfectly  between the 3 o clock matches and then the night Spanish matches. There was nothing to fill that gap yesterday although I was busy but still.... I expected a response from Real after the Barca thumping so had no real worries there. Valencia are just decent, nothing more. Im actually surprised they have had such a good season after selling Villa and Silva. Soldado and Aduriz looking like clever signings. Will be interesting to see how they get on at OT on Tuesday..

Nothing really appeals to me today at all. I think Djokovic will beat Monfils but I've no real confidence in my tennis betting at the moment. Havent done any since the US Open. I think I will play correct score with Sunderland and maybe the Fiorentina match. But Im not looking forward to it. Maybe take the day off altogether or just bide my time and see what happens???  I just dont know. It is December after all! Not the time to be engaging in arse clownery for the sake of it... Good luck everyone





Wednesday, December 1, 2010

December Conundrum and Blog Comments

Well El Classico went to plan from a punting perspective to make it a happy birthday indeed! Netted 25 from correct score and 12 from match odds. Didnt expect 5-0 though. Crazy scenes. Certainly as good a performance as you will see from any team this season. Simply majestic. Madrid couldnt get a kick. If Barca had been able to play like that against a 10 man Inter last season then they would still be European champions, no question. Have to credit how well Inter defended on the night though.

So we're into December, the last month of 2010. Is anyone else feeling a little weary? Hand shaking when they're entering the amount they're going to stake on a match on betfair? Got that rotten feeling in your stomach when a bet is matched? Heart racing faster than it usually does? The fear that this time you are going to do your conkers?? No, me neither.... It is a dangerous time. Coming close to xmas you want to do well and you want to finish the year on a high and there just seems to be so many matches on. It would be a right pain to make a balls of things this month of all months. I think the key for me is not trying to do too much. Just pick a strategy for a match and stick with it. Dont go looking elsewhere, dont look at the other markets, dont try and bet on many matches at once and I should be ok. If a loss happens it happens, sometimes its unavoidable and thats the game but as long as Im happy that I did the right thing then I can live with it and move on to better days. The race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong but time and chance happens to them all. Lowering my stakes has helped me look for a bit more value but I still have that temptation to go bigger again and to really go down swinging. How thin the line is between bravery and stupidity.

Another thing I'd like to mention is that on my post "7 days in the sun" 4 people left comments that I didnt respond to until now. I am completely 100% sorry. I think if someone has made the effort to comment the least a blogger can do is respond. I didnt see them until today. The comments were mainly about adding their blogs on my blogroll - which I have done, how things went with the older lady - suberb, and that they enjoy reading the blog - thanking you very much. Hope somebody gets a bit of entertainment from the thing.  I dont think I'll never have the discipline to be a pro or an expert at this thing but as long as somebody enjoys reading and i dont go bankrupt we'll keep plugging away! Cheers and as usual, good luck everyone.