Alias: DoctorOfDanger, aka Madmick
Reason behind alias: Long and not very interesting story. Like many newbie bettors I had some less than clever habits, multipes, progressive staking etc. By the time moved from lurking to posting I had learned that many of these were mad. That 'madness' combined my nationality led to "The Mad Mick", a name too long for some bulletin boards where I became madmick and more generally just mick. In parallel a rather reserved aquantaince of mine called mick, under protestation that he was not in fact boring said "I'm mad and dangerous" to which a sarcastic retort was made - "Yeah right - Mad Mick, the Doctor of Danger". That stuck in my mind when I was looking for a new name, and shortens nicely to Doc.
So this betting thing then. Why?
Theres a 'why I started', which is largely answered below, and a 'why I continue' which I'll answer here. A part of me dreams of making vast sums from my skill. The other part laughs! The biggest satisfaction is the pride of outsmarting the bookies (or in the case of exchanges) the average punter. You apply a rational process and your analysis is more correct than that of your peers. The profit is nice (when I make it....lol), but its not the main reason right now. It might be different if I grow my bank to levels where winnings would enable me to splash out financially.
How did you start?
Like many people I had arguments/discussions with mates over the merits of various teams. When the teams weren't in the same league, it often became clash of opinions with little hard facts to back the arguments, especially if the teams in question rarely played each other - as is the case in one of my favourite sports - international rugby union. I ended up coming accross some international rating systems during this time which piqued my interest in the area. Having looked at the underlying workings I decided I could do better myself and made some of my own ratings systems. A 'euraka' (definitely small 'e' ) moment followed when reading a newspaper preview of a match which recommended a bet completely contrary to my beliefs and my rating system. I began to look at the possibility of turning my knowledge into money.
What are you betting on now?
Large numbers of people reading this and thinking "Tosser!"
I have a couple of (my own) soccer systems which I back and a couple of tipsters from Punters Paradise who I follow also. Occasional bets on rugby.
Your finest bet:
Tough question! I've had a lot of succesful bets where I've made a nice amount of money from my tissue prices, but apart from the money involved I had very little emotional attachment, as I wouldn't be glued to the tv watching the result. When I bet on rugby I tend to be less mechanical about generating tissue prices, which I do based on amalgam of watching and reading, without recourse to any complex maths or stats analysis. I also tend to be interested in the games themselves, so when I get a call right there it feels good! In that regard I was very happy with my decision to lay England in this years 6N which I earmarked in November or so and continued to profit from up to the midpoint of the tournament when they all came in.
Your worst bet:
I lost a very tidy sum a few years back in a tennis match on the 'dodgy Georgian' Labadze. There were many rumours about him throwing the match and I wasn't a happy bunny. Recently I made the not so clever (and downright greedy!) decision to lay Wales for the Grand Slam before the Paris game. I still tell myself it was a value bet, but it wiped out most of the above winnings on England.
Best piece of betting advice you've ever received:
Never look at the bookies odds and try to decide if they represent value. You have to have an idea of what the value price should be before you compare what is on offer.
Best piece of betting advice you can give:
Do as I say and not as I do! Seriously, the above is paramount. Other than that 3 jump out - set aside a betting bank you can afford to lose, keep your stakes a small percentage of this, shop around for the best prices.
Best bookmakers:
The vast majority of my betting is via the exchanges. I've tended to take others recommendations with regard to bookies and have been very happy with for example Bet365 and WilliamHill. 'Our own' BackAndLay deserve a mention for great value and the best customer service around.
Worst bookmakers:
Not crazy on Betfair's service. SportingOptions for going bust!
Corrie or EastEnders?:
Watched Corrie for a little while years ago, cos the missus used watch it. Never really liked soaps and don't watch any now.
Name one thing that would most improve the quality of your betting life:
A time machine
The worst thing about betting is:
Having a bad run and wondering if your system is really a crock, or possibly worse - having a good run, thinking your systems is the mutts nutts and then losing money as you discover it wasn't
The best thing about betting is:
That sweet feeling when you reason something out, put your money down, watch the odds shorten and the bet come in.
You are in a room with a bookmaker on a life-support machine; you have a Nintendo 64 with a copy of Grand Theft Auto III and there's only one power source. What do you do?
I think many bookmakers are undead, so I'd no compunction about zipping around San Andreas in my Mustang. I might get some garlic, silver bullets and a wooden stake just in case though.
Any last words?
No, I've said quite enough already, if not too much!
BBC
