Geo V

I have just wasted money on backing Marcos Baghdatis (a Cypriot) to win the Madrid Masters. Not only are all the big boys playing like Djokovic and Federer but he is playing none other than Nadal in the second round today and then if he gets through will play Andy Murray, who played his best tennis for ages yesterday to beat 15th seed Chela!! Its a miracle bet but Im backing the ugly little shite to earn me some gambling money for Vegas. Th ebets are as follows... To win the event - 100/1 with Sportingbet £10 win To beat Nadal - 5.2/1 with Betfair £20 win I dont advise anyone to copy me on this one though as its a silly bet.

Roo, are you related to Dave Bassett?!! That was the longest sentence without a full stop that I have read since good old Bertie!! BTW forget friends in the making. Just ask her out you and invite her onto the optimistic bus. I promise i`ll look after her.

Can you change your name to Ian Betmondroyd for this thread only? No bets for me for the dodgy International games!

Have fun fella.

Thats one thing I seem to get from Leicester that you rarely get down here. A smile! I know people were more friendly up there when I used to live there but even when I go up for matchdays, you usually get a joke and a laugh with people whether in a petrol station or in town going into the shops. Its totally different down here though as everyone walks around like they were just informed that they had won the lottery but worked out that they have lost the ticket.

More chance of Gary Lineker scoring 4 against Russia.

As an old twat there are two things that I have come to realize over the years and they are both very similar! As you say good deeds come to bite you on the backside and secondly don't think or even expect that your helpfulness or generosity will be reciprocated! Today I picked my son up from school and after spending a few hours with him I took him home and his mum let rip that I endangered his life after "picking a fight" with some dude who was trying to rip off any normal person wanting to play an arcade machine. Somehow she then reminds me of my temper when I had a fight on Brixton High Road when some dude disrespected her when we strolled hand in hand. Its amazing how she plucks up this stuff 9 years on . Women never forget! As for being helpful, I have lost count of the amount of times someone has called me and wants a favour like helping paint there newly purchased home or using one of my contacts to save them money on one thing or another. Those same people who I have asked to help me move or decorate then go missing! I have learned not to take it to heart but just realize that some people and it is only some, simply want and expect help when they ask but have no intention of helping others.

Well Done to you and all from here who took part. Another hectic day for me and I am getting greyer by the minute for it. I spent part of the day with my son who was his typical handful in Trocadero (biggest arcade in London), had an near punch-up with some Russian dude who I spotted messing about with one of the machines. I put my pound coin in and the machine didnt take it or return the money, I asked for a supervisor but after two mins of waiting I couldnt be bothered and moved on. My son was upset with not being able to play that game as its one of his favs (some beat em up, fook knows the name) so I kept on looking back towards the machine when I saw the dude and his missus sit down, pull out something and then a load of coins followed. I steamed in and he offered to give me £3 back ( profit), I went nuts at him and cooled off as I had my 8yo son with me and it almost kicked off. I caused a scene a got the turd slung out though although in retrospect wasting 20 mins of my time with my son wasnt the cleverest thing but I cant stand people like that ripping others off. Anyway, to cap off the day I got home not long ago and checked my mobile for messages to here that the ex sent me an abusive email for having a fight with some bloke at the arcade ! I think the little lads side of the story to his mum was slightly exaggerated and I`ll know doubt have to explain myself in the morning!

Go and queue up at the payout counter mate!

My silly bet went tats up after an England batting collapse. I thought I had a chance when they bowled out the Sri Lankans relatively cheaply but then it all went wrong I knew we would beat France and at 9/4 it was a great price. We were even 4/5 with a 9 point start but I decided against making a big single bet on it. :doh:

Just because someone highlighted the big day ahead, Ive just made this bet for fun although its a long shot... England to beat France, Estonia and Sri Lanka. £40 staked for returns of £310.78! I need a miracle!

You cant! Its like that Abbey National advert about saying "f u" to existing customers and having all these deals for brand new customers only!

hardly the till but bookies do make me laugh. In the morning where you would think they`d have thousands stashed away they always seem to make the blokes who turn up for a couple of hundred quid by saying they have paid out loads already in the morning! Its amazing how they always want cash for a bet and then ask you to wait a bit of come back later for winnings. Thieving sods.

Lovely stuff. Just remember a couple of things with the free bets mate. Firstly, you dont get the £25 initially stake back. So in other words they give you £25, you put it on a 2/1 shot but you only get £50 back and not £75. Also try and open accounts with bookies where you dont have to use debit or credit cards as that too can get messy as people at time sthink they are not betting with real money! Firms like Hills and Ladbrokes allow you to open internet accounts and get the free bet but you can then go into their betting shops, "buy" a voucher and take it home, tap in the code and the money is credited to your account. If you win, you simply write down the code it gives you and you go back into the bookies to collect your winnings in cash. My local Hills managers face drops when I walk into his bookies

One thing you can do is take advantage of the free bets that firms give I suppose. They usually match your opening bet with a free bet to that value so you it may be worthwhile looking at some on here. http://www.freebets.co.uk/

One of the best lessons I learned a few years ago was from a mate who used to play Blackjack at the casino for big stakes. He used to take a certain amount with him and as soon as he hit whatever that days target was he would stop. He was a big player but would usually want to win 150% of his original stake. Thats maybe what you should do. Dont go for 5 or 10 sides, just pick one or even two for a small profit but a profit. If you win one week maybe increase your stake the next. If all fails you could always pawn the family jewelery

You filthy sod.

mate if you dont like your money thats down to you! I obviously don't mind if you follow my tips but you may be out of luck as I am away for 2 months soon and don't plan on doing any footy betting as I`ll be knee-deep in poker gambling in Vegas! BTW, I don't want to get sanctimonious or even attempt to preach but my advice to anyone who hasn't really gambled is simply, don't start! I only got into gambling through my dad who loved to gamble and got us 3 brothers interested. Aged between 18-22 maybe 23 I regularly donated my money to the bookies, snooker halls and casinos and looking back I could have owned two homes on my wage back then but whittled it away on nonsense. Thankfully I snapped out of it and touch wood ten years on am doing well but I now mainly gamble on things that I am in control of like poker and footy which is something I am interested in. Whenever I get a horse tip or have spare time I end up losing so if you have to bet to a minimum and gamble what you dont mind losing. There endeth the moralistic view from the dude who is about to leav ehis family behind to go on a two month gambling and hopefully f**kfest!!

maybe it should have been as they won again didn't they the buggers?! Well Done Filbert Ross.

Nice one mate. I hear the weather is still OK`ish out there so I hope you had loads of fun and visited the odd caberet club as they call them Off to Vegas on a belated Poker tour. A couple of poker qualifiers and hopefully we can win a seat to the next round of a couple of events and from there, some more trips within the US to play some more comps to try and win some money. Fingers crossed we do well but its something that we are all going to take seriously and structure our money because we cant afford to go and do a few hundred dollars in the casino as we are planning for accomodation away from Vegas after 3 weeks and the travel that goes with it. It should be a great experience either way thats for sure! BTW at adding ten pounds. I put weight on when I last went to the States and always put on a few Kilo`s when abroad after pigging out and drinking like there is no tomorrow. America for upto 2 months is a huge worry because there portions are huge and I have an appetite that is beyond my frame . I`ll come back as the Greek Pavarotti no doubt!

Hit the online poker target as usual, changed plans to come to Leicester for the Sheff U games as I wanted to spend as much time as the little un leading up to my long trip abroad, gave away some Leicester tickets, paid for the first 3 weeks stay of the holiday, ordered the money from the savings account for the trip and cried a little to see what was left from the inheritance, went to the gym in a vein attempt to shift a few more pounds before the trip but we all know I will come back fatter than those Elvis impersonators, I'm well on my way already. Spoke to our very own Raj on the phone today. Went to a mates house to say goodbye as he is off to get some winter style sun and our trips will clash so it was the last opportunity to see the lad and his missus, went out to counter todays earlier training with a meal at a Chinese restaurant and in between all of that, Ive spent far too much time on here

Well Done on those who have had some wins in the last few days. I should have backed Man City on Sunday but didnt get round to it. Im not a fan of International football either as the odds are always dodgy and freak results always come up so I think I`ll save my cash for next week.

Quote: Alan: How much is a Monkey? Builder: £500. Alan: Errr, well how much is a mouse? Builder: There's no such amount. A pony is £150. Alan: I'll give you £200, that's a Pony and a bag of hooves!!

Despite not going out due to having to get up early, somehow some mates managed to convince me to have a poker night here and after winning the first two comps I got knocked out of the third first and hence have been on here for what seems like an hour . The good news is that I am £240 up on poker and when these last two dudes finish, I`ll kick them out with that profit so all is good, I have managed a recovery! BTW Hull arent my fav team as they cost me money the other week when I backed them to win at home and they drew 1-1. Maybe we should just back them at 1-1 every game after all they have managed to shaft us both with that scoreline in recent weeks

hope it comes in for you mate. My outlay was £70 and the odds were about 8/1. I am usually OK at losing but not like that