Thanks for the endorsement, Joe. Enjoying a lot of interaction with plenty of former betting shop punters elsewhere on this forum in the Lounge area – much of it around the ‘slow count’ fraudsters and how they operated.
As you rightly mention, both books are written from the POV of the day to day betting shop punter – and in Shouting The Odds, to avoid any potential backlash from do-gooders accusing me of glorifying betting, I reference Frankie Dettori’s Magnificent Seven in the closing chapters: the day many small time punters did profit from a highly unlikely and extraordinary occurrence.
The day that happened I was managing a Hills shop in the St Ann’s district of Nottingham – our safe and tills were soon empty. As for my personal punting that day, never have I felt so disappointed in myself in backing just three of Dettori’s shortest priced winning rides in an EW trixie. That’ll teach me for lacking imagination I thought to myself, when I collected my returns the following Monday.
To this day I still enjoy my betting, though almost exclusively on horses. To me, a small on-line multiple bet gives me a ‘vested interest’ like no other sport (perhaps with the exception of dog racing).
I allocate the same amount of ‘hard earnt’ each month and see how far it takes me. I’ve rarely subscribed to tipping lines – nothing worse to me that paying someone else to come up with selections, especially losing ones! During the rare profitable months/runs, I have disciplined myself to withdraw the majority of the winnings back into my bank.
Some of my mates back home in the UK invest a certain amount per annum following their team. That is my attitude with betting. The one betting account I have out here in Sweden isn’t a profitable one – I’d have been closed down months ago otherwise – but it isn’t for want of trying!
What I do miss about my punting is exactly what I write about in the books – the community aspect of the way betting shops used to be. It will of course never return and looking forward, if Fred Done and the other major betting operators in the UK do start widespread closures, the books will before long fall under a new category or genre – modern British social history!
I really enjoy being a part of this forum – and spend more time reading peoples views on up and coming races that actually participating, which I ought to do more often. Racing in Sweden is dominated by harness racing, trotting – that’s the sport here that generates huge betting pools each weekend and while I respect that is what is enjoyed by the majority of bettors here, it isn’t for me.