Ashes Crashes!

Unbelievable scenes. Had no investment on the match but thats the most excited I've been over sport in a long long time. Tears in the eyes by the end of it tbh. So many reasons why it was such a great victory. Kevin O Brien  the match hero, puts to bed all the shite that we need aussies/saffers to make up our cricket team (no that would be you England). Fastest WC century. Highest chase in World Cup history. It was against the English....!!! Jimmy giving KOB lip as well during his innings. There will only be one winner there and its not the Lancashire tit.

The media has really latched onto it over here. On every radio station and front pages of all the newspapers. Really is tremendous. Just cant believe how well they held their nerve when they got close. O Brien, Cusack and Mooney were just so cool throughout and then TJ hitting his first ball for 4 off the petulant Broad. Was no chance for them after that. Deary me, English were just awful throughout that innings apart from Swann. Got exactly what they deserved. They have such a poor attitude when they play associate sides. Got away with it against the Dutch but not this time. If this had been Pakistan then there would have been outrage at all the poor bowling, misfields etc and no doubt an ICC investigation!!

Biggest ever gubbing on betfair?? Has to be close. I cant think of anything like it. I remember a few million being done on Barca a few years back when they were 3-1 up against Villareal with 10 mins to go. And there was a Henin tennis match where she was 5-1 up against someone in the final set and lost but I think this is the biggest I've seen.

Low odds backers foiled again. There always seems to be alot of joy when the so called "money buyers" get hurt. Personally I've never taken too much joy in their demise. Im more worried about myself tbh. In my opinion everyone has backed ridiculously low odds at some point hoping for an easy few quid. I know I've certainly been there. The biggest problem with it is there really is nowhere to turn if things start to go against you. The odds get higher and you're either having to make the decision of trading out for a loss or hanging on and hoping that you're saved. Its just more hassle than its worth imo but everyone has their own thoughts. I'm sure some people have done alright backing the right selections at really low odds but it only takes one freak result/mistake/injury and the hard work is undone. But if you think sub 1.05 represents value..... Live by the sword, die by the sword.

Another pain in l'arse!!

Ouch! 400 that little defensive mix up set me back. Would have been a cracking week otherwise but what can you do! Sometimes games come along where the keeper has a blinder and 2 clowns combine at the exact same moment to utterly do your nuts. Thats the game! Its why we love it and hate it in equal measure. Anything can happen. No complaints and we will carry on. Still in profit so lets keep going.

Had to put in alot of hard work over the past couple of weeks as things just seem to be getting a little bit tough. Italy still very hit and miss for finding wins but Fiorentina and Udinese are putting in good displays and are always decent prices. Alexis Sanchez scoring 4 last Sunday!! That will raise his price tag further. Apparently he wants to play for Utd.... Looks quality every time I've seen him. 35-40 million is the reported price. Not really the Utd price range of the last couple of seasons.... Any more homeless dudes for around the 7 million mark Carlos Queiroz??

Poor old Real Madrid backers on Sunday night. Not the fact that Ade and CR7 both hit the post but Karims miss hurt them big time! For anyone who didnt see it, 5 mins to go, ball squared to Karim, a few yards out and gets his legs in a tangle. Oh dear. Give me Chicharito any day over that French tart.

Lost a bit of money on the tennis in the Djoker Lopez match. Just lost my nerve and traded out. The right thing to do when you're having doubts but a pain when the guy you backed goes on to win any way. Just have to keep telling yourself it was the right thing to do which it was.......

Also been messing around with the cricket. The Bangladesh Irish market was just insane. It was more entertaining watching the market than the match but I was gutted for Ireland. At one stage when it was tight, the market moved 50 ticks for 4 leg byes. Crazy. I was worried that we wouldnt be able to chase anything over 180 against the spin attack and unfortunately was right. Also Andrew White at 5??? Said on the betfair forum he was 3 places too high before a ball was bowled to him and thats how it turned out. Looked all over the place. KOB a much better number 5. We'll give England an alright game tomorrow and Dockrell will enjoy playing against his future employers....

Following on from the last post, the outright CL market surprised me. Barca reached as low as 2.4 in the outright when they were 1-0 up against l'arse. No way I thought it would go that low and at the time was feeling pretty smug. That quickly changed! Barca are around 3.35ish now but Im going nowhere. I'll stick with them and hope they get past l'arse before doing anything. If they dont then the money is gone and life will go on. Certainly the outright market is something I'll be looking more at in the various competitions next season. Good luck everyone! Cheers.

Champions League Outright

Had a few quid on Barca at 3 at the weekend. I felt it was important to get the money in around weekend time as once the buildup began to the midweek matches began I thought I wouldn't get that price. Hopefully it will be even shorter after tonight!!!

Realistically I cant see anyone taking them out over 2 legs. Im not going with all the media hype surrounding the Barca team, its just my own opinion based on watching all their matches this season and the standard of opposition left in the draw. Second favourites Real were owned by Barca and have been very unimpressive all season really. An unbelievable dependence on CR7 to win them matches. Chelsea 3rd favourites is a bit ridiculous considering their freefall over the last few months. As a Utd fan I think 10 is an alright price but the team still hasnt performed to a high level this season although number 19 is well on the way. Against Barca I would be cacking it!

Nothing else to speak of really. Spurs playing well but Milan were just awful last night. Inter have lost the solidity of last season as another Benitez project ends in disaster. Leonardo hasnt fared that well in management although he is a great looking individual! Bayern to possibly go far again as Robben and Ribery are now fit and the league is already finished for them (13 points behind the leaders) so possibly something to look at there... Anyway everyone will have different opinions on these things. Thats the beauty of it! Good luck everyone! Cheers!

January Roundup and February 50's

Somehow managed to finish January in profit. It was just such a chaotic month. I went from being down 500-600 euro on 3 separate occasions throughout the month and somehow fighting back thanks to a huge amount of luck. I had late penalties, missed penalties, own goals, mistakes, screamers and comebacks all go my way. Not sure my heart could take anymore of the January madness.

I've been thinking alot about January and why it proves to be a difficult month for punters. Maybe its the desperation to start the new year so well. Maybe trying to win some money after an expensive Christmas. Or maybe there is just too much to choose from. On paper it should be a good month. Halfway through the football leagues across Europe so lots of form to rely on. Tennis traders get 2 weeks of the Oz open. Cricket traders get truckloads of action in January. NFL. Horse Racing. Golf, Too much going on?? You could argue that for lots of months though. Or maybe its just a jinxed month and it will always be one of those things..... Personally I think its a psychological thing and gamblers are expecting the shit to hit the fan at some stage in the month. I know thats how I was certainly feeling.

Anyway, February started off far more relaxed. Was really enjoying some of the odds that were going around. Utd at 1.37ish against Villa and Liverpool were way overpriced last night. Stoke on the road are just..... Also got involved in the Barca match. It was dangerous as they were already through and lost the second leg against Betis a couple of weeks back but this had a different feel to it. Pep is one of those managers that always wants the team to be winning even if its a meaningless second leg tie against a crap side. He talked about how disappointed he was with losing to Betis the last time so I was confident. 1.4ish was fine by me.

All 4 bets in February have won me 50 so Im starting to think I mush have a fetish for that particular number. Ah sure its a nice round figure isnt it?? Keep the 50's stacking up and I wont be complaining. "If we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything is ready, we shall never begin." I dont know where that came from but its todays quote on my calendar. Good luck everyone! Cheers!

Some weekends.....

Sometimes you have a few days in this game where things just go right. You just have to enjoy it when it happens because they dont come along often. Dont think the weekend could have gone much better really. United and Barcelona scoring in the first 2 minutes of their matches, own goals went my way in the Blackburn and AC Milan matches, Besiktas thump Bucaspor on Friday, Real scrape a lucky victory and the one bet I did lose was when I lowered my stakes. It was just one of those weekends and it has put me back in profit for January which never looked likely on several occasions this month.

I was really just going with form. Utd have dropped 2 points at home all season so I was happy with 1.23. Madrid have dropped no points at home this season so again I was happy to take 1.2ish even though it was a struggle for them. Barca at 1.07 were a bit short but they've only dropped 4 points at home all season and they last dropped points in October. The correct score on the Blackburn match was a bit of a punt as was Besiktas on Friday but they've made some impressive signing in the transfer window and could potentially prove to be a very profitable team to get behind for the rest of the season. Disappointing to lose out on the Inter match particularly after they had taken the lead but Udinese are a quality side. Di Natale and Sanchez always looked threatening and they could have won by more than the 2 goals. Thankfully I only bet small on that one. Things just went that way for me.

Not really sure about the Bolton Chelsea match tonight. Its very very tricky. Chelsea usually do very well at the Reebok but Bolton have been solid this season and Chelsea are most certainly not. Do I dare ruin the good work by getting involved or is the luck going my way at the moment?? Knowing me I'll probably get involved! Good luck everyone! Cheers!

January Struggles

Been a tough month so far but Im on somewhat of a recovery at the moment. Its tough to know where to begin. I've been up and down so many times I'm actually quite relieved to not have lost more. The lowest I was down was over 500ish but Im back to about half that now. The matches that have cost me so far this month are Spurs v Utd, l'arse ipswich and wolves chelsea. Just making the wrong choices at the wrong times. Also lost a few quid on an Atletico match in the correct score market. Not felt too clever on several occasions this month. I also forgot about the few quid I lost on the darts until uploading the screen shot. 

On a positive note, my last few bets this week have netted me around 240 without having to do too much and if betfair didnt go down yesterday it would have been more! Bloody ridiculous Betfair. Words cant even describe them at times. "Planned Maintenance" when really the site has done its conkers. Cheeky gits I also went each way on kauto star last saturday. Thanks for hanging on McCoy when Kauto decided to plough through the last instead of jumping it! Cant believe they want to race him at Cheltenham but anyway we'll see what happens. I thought Binocular looked amazing but I'm not that big into the horses. It all happens too quickly for my liking. And the moaning that takes place on the betfair forum when a horse doesnt win. Jesus its laughable. So many threads stating Kauto would have won if it was Ruby and its all McCoys fault??!!!  Great stuff. Could have sworn I saw Ruby on his ass at Cheltenham thanks to Kauto.....

I have a feeling that the coming weekend is going to be a big one. I dont know why. Its got that make or break feel to it. Could still end the month in profit or else do more damage. After a great December Im still feeling in pretty good shape although work is getting tough and Im having to spend alot of time with the other half. Its all about balance! Hopefully everyone else is getting on well. Good luck! Cheers!

New Year

Up and down start to the New Year. Was sitting on €100 profit from football on New Years Day and lost it all on the darts so as we've learnt in the past week this darts lark just ain't for me! Well at least we know that now! I love watching it but when it comes to betting on it I just seem to make the wrong calls....

So just left it to the football yesterday and upped my stakes a little because well I just felt like it! Barca didn't exactly make for easy viewing yesterday but I won and thats the main thing. They're really not the same without Messi are they?? Even when Xavi, Iniesta, Pedro and Villa play, they're still not the same without the Argentine wizard. The Chelsea match also put me through the motions because I was betting on it and because I really didn't want to see them win. You have to really love this game sometimes though. The prat JT thinks he's won them the match and then the Chelsea defenders decide to have a game of musical statues to celebrate their 3 points, the only problem is the bloody game wasn't over.... Honestly, how much time did Clarke have to nod in the equaliser?? The lad could have whipped out his pipe, slippers and swirled a brandy and the Chelsea defenders still wouldn't have reacted in time. Glorious. Having trouble uploading the screen shot but one is coming!

More football on again tonight so hopefully we can find a winner two to keep us moving along. Im up about 700ish for my last 30 days which im happy with considering i missed some weekends betting because I was away and I was playing with lower stakes. Im also considering entering the online poker world to see if it can be any way profitable. Any thoughts or tips would be most welcome. Good luck everyone. Cheers!