Saturday Tipping Competition

The final week of June's Competition. It's all change. Alan Winter (pro) - always a good judge - found another juicy winner (12/1) to sit at the top of the leader board with 26pts. Jodonovan (pro) has been in form and second top with 21pts. Davidson (pro) has 17pts in third. With the next best being Stephenson (9pts) in fourth, it looks a three-tipster race. It's not over until the final horses passes the finishing line and one horse to prove you are the tipster to steal the show. 1PM Deadline. Good luck to all.

Tipster selections:

1:25 Newcastle - Fidra Bay 2pt w (HCE) Unp
1:45 Newmarket - Ubla 2pt w (Bobby Talk) Unp
1:55 Chester     - Cappy Brown 2pt w (Longbow) Unp
2:35 Newcastle - Seek The Sun 2pt w (Capt Heathcliffe) 2nd
2:35 Newcastle - Kimberella 2pt w (Shukman) Unp
2:35 Newcastle - Arctic Feeling 2pt w (Me Old Mum) 3rd
2:35 Newcastle - No Leaf Clover 2pt w (Gareth) Unp
2:35 Newcastle - Demora 2pt w (Inittowinit) Unp
2:50 Newmarket - Sixties Sue 1pt ew ( Winter) 4th
2:50 Newmarket - Lido Lady 2pt w (Emanuel) Unp 
3:10 Newcastle  - Dubai Dynamo 2pt w (Rawnsley) Unp
3:25 Newmarket - Horse De Combat 2pt w (Jodonovan) 2nd
3:45 Newcastle - Notarised 2pt w (Mark) Unp
3:45 Newcastle - Oasis Fantasy 2pt w(Davidson) Unp
3:45 Newcastle - Angel Gabriel 2pt w (Danny) 4th
3:45 Newcastle - Blue Surf 2pt w (Bird) Unp
3:45 Newcastle - Totalize 2pt w (Racing Mama) Unp
5:10 Newmarket - Wee Jean 2pt w (Clint) Unp
4:15 Chester     - Rowlestone Lass 2pt w (Waterhouse) 2nd
4:55 Newcastle - Oregan Gift 2pt w (Uncle Keith/Paul) Unp
4:50 Chester     - Tyfos 2pt w (Eric) Unp

Good luck to all 

Congratulations to Alan Winter who won the free and pro competition with 26pts, second Jodonovan 21pts & Davidson 17pts thirds. 

 

Saturday Tipping Competition

The third week of this month's tipping competition. Dive for cover! It's warming up. As yet, the pro competitors are shooting clear of the field - gallant in their two-finger salute to all who dare look ahead. Davison (pro) - bolstered by last month's win - fired a scud missile of a winner in his attempt to depose Jodonovan (pro) from his bunker at the top of the leader table. But in an astute military riposte [from an evasive Passato Sotto] John dropped a hefty mortar bomb stunning his rivals to lead with 21pts. Davidson has 17pts in second place. Next best is Stephenson (free) on 9pts, with Rawnsley (pro) on 5pts in fourth. Most tipsters have struggled to find their aim - keeping their powder dry - but with two weeks to go I'm expecting a couple of petrol bombs to be slung over my fence this weekend. 1PM Deadline. Good luck to all. 

Tipster selections:

2:05 Redcar        - Receding Waves 2pt w (Waterhouse) 1st (6.5pts)
2:10 Newmarket - Il Picolo Grande 2pt w (Longbow) Unp
2:10 Newmarket - It's A Sheila Thing 1pt ew (Inittowinit) Unp
2:10 Newmarket - Parafin Young 2pt w (Glueythepig) Unp
2:30 Ascot          - Force 2pt w (HCE) 5th
2:30 Ascot          - Tonkinese 2pt w (Emanuel) Unp
2:30 Ascot          - Red Artist 2pt w (Me Old Mum) Unp 
2:55 Ayr              - Dubai Dynamo 1pt ew (Rawnsley) Unp
3:05 Ascot          - Fire Fighting 2pt w (OneEyeEnos)  3rd 
3:05 Ascot          - Sennokian Star 2pt w (Shukman) 2nd 
3:05 Ascot          - Sennokian Star 2pt w (Mark) 2nd
3:40 Ascot          - Snow Sky 2pt w (Winter) 1st (26pts) 
4:10 Ayr             - Holly Shiftwell 2pt w (Eric) 2nd
4:20 Ascot          - Tropics 2pt w (Danny) Unp
4:20 Ascot          - Ansgar 1pt ew (Racing Mama) Unp
4:20 Ascot          - Tropics 2pt w (Capt Heathcliffe) Unp
5:00 Ascot          - Kickboxer 2pt w (Uncle Keith/Paul) Unp
5:00 Ascot          - *Huntsman's Close 2pt w (Davidson)  Unp
5:35 Ascot          - Marzocco 2pt w (Jodonovan) 5th
6:00 Lingfield      - Turn Tide 2pt w (Bobby Talk) 1st 4.5pts
6:00 Lingfield      - *Mirsaalah 2pt w (The Smooo)  1st 4.5pts
6:15 Haydock     - Stormy Art 2pt w (Gareth) Unp
6:15 Haydock     - Stormy Art 2pt w (Clint) Unp
6:15 Haydock     - Chicago School 2pt w (Pam) Unp
6:15 Haydock     - thatsallimsaying 1pt ew (Bird) Unp 

*NR Placed on lowest number favourite
Good luck to all 

Table Toppers

26pts Winter
21pts Jodonovan
17pts Davidson
9pts Stephenson
6.5pts Waterhouse
5pts Rawnsley
4.5pts Bobby Talk 
4.5pts The Smooo

2:30 Royal Ascot Racing Tips (18th June) NORFOLK STAKES (Group 2) (CLASS 1) (2yo)

The Norfolk Stakes Group 2 over 5f on good to firm going. A select field of eleven two-year-old colts. If the betting is to be believed this is a two-horse race. With the exception of Ajaya [20/1] this looks a match between Richard Hannon's prized juveniles: King Of Rooks & Log Out Island. As always, money rules, and both have been purchased by leading owners at astronomical sums to fly the respective flags of leading connections Al Shaqab Racing & Godolphin. King Of Rooks has progressed since his debut when third behind Steady Pace, reversing the form at Sandown in emphatic style. The form of the National Stakes with Buratino going on to win the Coventry Stakes Group 2 [admittedly stepping up to 6f], and Steady Pace a narrow defeat when third in the Windsor Castle Stakes Listed adds to the assessment this son of Acclamation out of a Group 3 winning mare [placed at Group 1] has a superbly fast horse in King Of Rooks. Priced at odds of even money there isn't too much meat on the bone and for me these are races to watch and enjoy. This should be a race to savoir. 

Ascot braced for 'Chromies' invasion

There are not too many racehorses who can claim to have their very own band of followers charting every move they make.

American superstar California Chrome is one such horse. Winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes in the States last year, he was named 2014 US Horse of the Year after failing to land the Triple Crown in the Belmont Stakes and valiantly going down fighting in the Breeders' Cup Classic in November.

So devout are the followers of unlikely big-time success story California Chrome, they have become known as 'Chromies'.

Royal Ascot is a million miles removed from the Stetson-inhabited world of California Chrome's part-owner Steve Coburn.

Arriving at Newmarket to oversee his horse's final preparation for Ascot, Coburn acknowledged he would be swapping the Stetson for the top hat and tails in time for the Prince of Wales's Stakes on day two of five-day extravaganza.

Trainer Art Sherman touched down on British soil and, having reviewed California Chrome's Bet fair odds for the 1m2f Ascot contest, declared it would be "the toughest race of his life".

Regularly a short-priced favourite to win his races, California Chrome is set to go off at double figures odds in a race containing Dermot Weld's Free Eagle and Kevin Ryan's The Grey Gatsby.

Sherman acknowledged that the Ascot turf is going to be a different test to anything California Chrome has faced in his career to date.

Having spent over a month at Rae Guest's Newmarket yard in preparation for the Prince of Wales, the four-year-old has had plenty time to settle in and all reports have been positive.

Bred for a paltry fee in the Unites States, California Chrome is the original underdog story. Small-time owners hitting the big time and proving that the small guys can also live out the big dreams.

Victory at Ascot would cement the fairytale story of this American dream horse. Having acquired William Buick to ride at Ascot, Coburn is convinced fate is on his side.”

5:35 Ascot (16th June) WINDSOR CASTLE STAKES (Listed Race) (CLASS 1) (2yo)

The Windsor Castle Stakes Listed race over 5f on good going. A huge field of twenty-seven two-year-olds. A cavalry charge if you have every seen one. Far too many horses to detail so will just note a major contender. 

Mick Channon doesn't have many juveniles win on debut, especially at big odds - it is often a sign they have a touch of class.

In a race of this nature this daughter of Thousand Words will need to shine. 

Purchased at the yearling sales for just £1,800, her original owners - The Sweet Partnership - must have been as happy as a child with a bag of aniseed balls when this strapping filly was sold to Qatar Racing Ltd - a rags to riches tale. 

Opal Tiara looked rather awkward on debut but finished with zeal to beat a decent field and then showed a resolute style when chasing home Easton Angel in the Hilary Needler Trophy over the minimum distance at Beverley. The winner, trained by Michael Dods, is a class act [major fancy in the Queen Mary Stakes Group 2] with that pair beating the third in comfortable style. Opal Tiara's strength in this race is that she is likely to finish with purpose which is the antithesis of the field in general. It is often the case at this high level, horses sprint for four furlongs and tire in the closing stages. There is a propensity for horses to run much too fast here.

For a horse to finish its race is a positive and that could well be the characteristic of this bay filly. At odds of 20/1 Opal Tiara could well be one of the few horses to finish with the verve.   
Ran a decent race in 7th - storming home but all the pace was far side while made it an impossible task for all those high drawn. 
   

6:20 Windsor Racing Tips (15th June) EBF STALLIONS MAIDEN STAKES (CLASS 5) (2yo)

An EBF Maiden Stakes over 5f 10y on good to firm going. An intriguing race with a few well-touted two-year-olds. Alkhor is a good-looking son of Exceed And Excell costing 230,000GNS at the yearling sales. He was very weak in the betting when making his debut at Goodwood, when second string to Hannon's favourite, which went on to win in good style. Al Shaqab Racing will be expecting more today and this horse will take all the beating. A recent Listed race entry indicates the regard this juvenile is held. 

A few of those with race experience are worthy of consideration and could be interesting each way bets. If the favourite fluffs his lines you may get more than a place. Ron Harris doesn't train many talented two-year-olds but he does know how to win and connections clearly expected a bold show from Just Glamorous (NR) when making his debut at Chepstow. There was good money for this son of Arcano, who is a fair-looking juvenile. At 55,000eur he is no bargain buy and related to a horse the stable done well with in Glamorous Air. He showed good pace then tired in the closing stages beaten by Sahreej, who is a capable sort. Harris has this chestnut colt entered for the Windsor Castle (Listed) & Norfolk Stakes (Group 2) at Royal Ascot. They may be lofty entries but this horse doesn't lack for pace and if slightly in need of the race on debut could well blaze a trail. 

Another colt who is all speed is Raj To Riches. David Evans' chestnut has been unlucky not to have tasted victory with a two narrow defeats in his first starts and performing to a standard in all his five runs to date. This drop back to the minimum trip should help but there is a concern that after so may hard races he may regress at some point. In addition, he is quite a small, lean, juvenile who will look the poor relation to some of these. An admirable horse - but one I would watch.

James Given has done well with his two-year-olds this season - in fact it must be his best string in many many years. He has a number of talented juveniles heading to Royal Ascot and must have a good line to Girls In A Bentley. This daughter of Acclamation cost £60,000 at the yearling sales and a decent-looking filly. The Cool Silk Partnership have done remarkably well with Givens this season and this horse showed exceptional pace on debut at Catterick before tiring out of contention. She actually touched short odds in running, travelling well. The finishing position makes this February foal look much worse than she is and priced at 25/1+ could well be backed. If in need of the run on debut she would have good each way claims at those odds. 

Stormflower has been something of a thorn in my side this season but John Bridger's filly has a lot of pace if they endeavour to lead. It is difficult to second guess race tactics because they have the knack of doing opposite. However, from a low draw it may be the day they go to the front and try to hang on to an easy lead. I can't see her winning, but this filly is likely to huge odds on the exchanges and may touch short odds in-running. 

Conclusion: An interesting race. Alkhor will take the beating but a the odds represents little value. Just Glamorous will make a bold show and must have fair each way claims. Girls In A Bentley could go well at big odds and may well be backed. She has a hell of a lot of speed and likely to travel well in this race so should trade shorter in-running. 

Couple of non runners have taken away from this race.

Saturday Tipping Competition

The second week of this month's tipping competition. A relatively quiet start to proceedings with just two tipster finding a winner. Jodonovan was the only pro to hot the mark with an easy victory and 11pts in the satchel. The other tipster to show his worth was Stephenson with 9pts. Early days and much may change by the final week but as I always say: ''A lead is a big lead.'' Get those tips in nice and prompt with a 1PM deadline. Good luck to all. 

Tipster selections:    

1:45 Sandown       - Pacify 2pt w (Uncle Keith/Paul) 3rd 
1:45 Sandown       - Mustaaqeem 2pt w (Emanuel) 4th
1:45 Sandown       - Awesome Power 2pt w (Davidson) 1st (17pts)
2:00 York               - Modernism 2pt w (Capt Heathcliffe) Unp
2:00 York               - Barbican 1pt e w (Racing Mama) Unp
2:20 Sandown       - Master The World 2pt w (Danny) 3rd
2:35 York              - Highland Colori 1pt ew (Rawnsley) 4th (5pts)
2:35 York              - Highland Colori 2pt w (OneEyeEnos) 4th
2:40 Bath              - Wilsp'a magic 2pt w (Longbow) Unp
2:40 Bath              - Jumeirah Star 2pt w (Me Old Man) Unp
3:05 Chester         - Zebedee's Girl 2pt w (Bird) 2nd
3:10 York              - Gabrial 2pt w (Shukman) 2nd
3:25 Musselburgh - Red Barron 2pt w (Jodonovan)  1st (10pts)
3:30 Sandown       - Extrasolar 2pt w (Eric) 3rd
3:45 York              - Field Game 2pt w (Mark) Unp 
3:45 York              - Squats 1pt ew (Winter) 5th
3:45 York              - Scalzo 2pt w (Stephenson) Unp
4:55 York              - Novinophobia 2pt w (Glueythepig) Unp
4:55 York              - Fast And Furious 2pt w (Inittowinit) 2nd
4:55 York              - World's His Oyster 2pt w (Bobby Talk) Unp
4:55 York              - Flying Pursuit 2pt w (Gareth) 6th
4:55 York              - Flying Pursuit 2pt w (HCE) 6th
6:15 Leicester       - Girl With A Pearl 2pt w (Cint) Unp

Table Toppers

21pts Jodonovan
17pts Davidson
9pts Stephenson
5pts Rawnsley

Gambling Movies

Big Hand for the Little Lady

A naive couple and a child arrive to the town on the way to California to buy there a farm. There is a poker play between the richest men in the region. The man cannot resist it and though he is a very bad poker player, enters the game betting all the money of his family. In the climax of the game he suffers a heart-attack. His wife then takes his place in the table. That's the only way of recovering their savings. But there is a little problem. Can anybody explain her how to play poker?



Bugsy

New York gangster Ben 'Bugsy' Siegel takes a brief business trip to Los Angeles. A sharp-dressing womaniser with a foul temper, Siegel doesn't hesitate to kill or maim anyone crossing him. In L.A. the life, the movies, and most of all strong-willed Virginia Hill detain him while his family wait back home. Then a trip to a run-down gambling joint at a spot in the desert known as Las Vegas gives him his big idea.


California Split

A down on his luck gambler (George Seagal) links up with free spirit Elliot Gould at first to have some fun on, but then gets into debt when Gould takes an unscheduled trip to Tijuana. As a final act of desperation, he pawns most of his possessions and goes to Reno for the poker game of a lifetime. A film set mainly in casinos and races, as the two win and lose (but mainly win), get robbed, and get blind drunk.


Casino

Ace Rothstein and Nicky Santoro, mobsters who move to Las Vegas to make their mark, live and work in this paradoxical world. Seen through their eyes, each as a foil to the other, the details of mob involvement in the casinos of the 1970's and '80's are revealed. Ace is the smooth operator of the Tangiers casino, while Nicky is his boyhood friend and tough strongman, robbing and shaking down the locals. However, they each have a tragic flaw--Ace falls in love with a hustler, Ginger, and Nicky falls into an ever-deepening spiral of drugs and violence.


The Cincinnati Kid

In New Orleans, an up-and-coming poker player takes on a long-time master of the game. Not only is there a small fortune at stake, but also the status of being the top player. But the trusted dealer has been blackmailed into rigging the game.


The Color of Money

Pool hustler Fast Eddie Felson finds the young, promising pool player Vincent in a local bar and he sees in him a younger version of himself. To try and make it as in the old days, Eddie offers to teach Vincent how to be a hustler. After some hesitations Vincent accepts and Eddie takes him and Vincent's girlfriend Carmen on a tour through the country to work the pool halls. However, Vincent's tendency to show off his talent and by doing so warning off the players and losing money, soon leads to a confrontation with Eddie.


The Cooler

The unluckiest man in Vegas (William H. Macy) - a guy whose bad luck is contagious - is used by the last of the old time mob run casinos to kill high rollers' action. That is, until he falls in love with a cocktail waitress (Maria Bello) and gets "lady luck," which throws the situation into reverse. Things turn nasty when the casino director (Alec Baldwin) tries to break up the romance.


Croupier

Jack Manfred is an aspiring writer going nowhere fast. To make ends meet, and against his better judgement, he takes a job as a croupier. He finds himself drawn into the casino world and the job gradually takes over his life; his relationship with girlfriend Marion begins to deteriorate. One gambler in particular catches his attention: Jani, whom he starts to see outside of working hours - a serious violation of casino rules. Jani is down on her luck; under pressure from her creditors she approaches Jack, asking him to be the inside man for a planned heist at the casino. Jack carefully considers the odds; it all looks so simple, but even a professional like Jack can't predict the cards he will be dealt.




Diggstown

Gabriel Caine has just been released from prison when he sets up a bet with a business man. The business man owns most of a boxing-mad town called Diggstown. The bet is that Gabe can find a boxer that will knock out 10 Diggstown men, in a boxing ring, within 24 hours. "Honey" Roy Palmer is that man - although at 48, many say he is too old. A sub plot is thrown in about Charles Macum Diggs - the heavyweight champion that gave the town its name - and who is now confined to a wheel-chair.




The Gambler


For $10,000 they break your arms. For $20,000 they break your legs. Axel Freed owes $44,000. Alex Freed is a literature professor. He has the gambling vice. When he has lost all his money, he borrows from his girlfriend, then his mother and finally some bad guys that chase his. Despite of all this he cannot stop gambling.


The Gambler

The Gambler, receives a letter from his son saying he needs help and The Gambler goes to his aid. Along the way he meets up with a young man who thinks he knows everything about playing cards. The Gambler teaches the young man some lessons along the way.


The Grifters

Lily works for a bookie, placing bets to change the odds at the track. When her son is hospitalized after an unsuccessful con job and resultant beating, she finds that even an absentee parent has feelings for her child. This causes her own job to go wrong as well. Each of them faces the down side of the grift.


Havana


A gambler who trusted no one. A woman who risked everything. And a passion that brought them together in the most dangerous city in the world. Cuba, December 1958: The professional gambler Jack visits Havana to organize a big Poker game. On the ship he meets Roberta and falls in love with her. Shortly after they arrive in Cuba, her Cuban husband, the revolutionary Arturo, is shot on the street by the military and Roberta is arrested and tortured. Jack manages to get her free again, however he can't keep her from continuing to support the revolution


Honeymoon in Vegas

On her deathbed, a mother makes her son promise never to get married, which scars him with psychological blocks to a commitment with his girlfriend. They finally decide to tie the knot in Vegas, but a wealthy gambler arranges for the man to lose $65K in a poker game and offers to clear the debt for a weekend with his fiancée. Suddenly the man is insanely jealous, and pursues his fiancée and her rich companion, but finds pitfalls in his path as the gambler tries to delay his interference.


House of Games


A famous psychologist, Margaret Ford, decides to try to help one of her patients get out of a gambling debt. She visits the bar where Mike, to whom the debt is owed, runs poker games. He convinces her to help him in a game: her assignment is to look for "tells", or give-away body language. What seems easy to her becomes much more complex.


The Hustler


"Fast" Eddie Felson is a small-time pool hustler with a lot of talent but a self-destructive attitude. His bravado causes him to challenge the legendary "Minnesota Fats" to a high-stakes match, but he loses in a heartbreaking marathon. Now broke and without his long-time manager, Felson faces an uphill battle to regain his confidence and his game. It isn't until he hits rock bottom that he agrees to join up with ruthless and cutthroat manager Bert Gordon. Gordon agrees to take him on the road to learn the ropes. But Felson soon realizes that making it to the top could cost him his soul, and perhaps his girlfriend. Will he decide that this is too steep a price to pay in time to save himself?




Let It Ride

He drinks. He smokes. He gambles. He curses. He thinks about committing adultery. You'll love him. An average kind of guy who has a slight problem with gambling goes to the track, and mystically, it seems as though he can't lose, no matter how he bets; and he has an incredible day.




Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels


Four Jack-the-lads find themselves heavily - seriously heavily - in debt to an East End hard man and his enforcers after a crooked card game. Overhearing their neighbors in the next flat plotting to hold up a group of out-of-their-depth drug growers, our heroes decide to stitch up the robbers in turn. In a way the confusion really starts when a pair of antique double-barreled shotguns go missing in a completely different scam.


Lucky Town


If you find your dad, what happens next? When she turns 18, unhappy Lidda Daniels leaves Southern California to look for Charlie, her father, a professional gambler who abandoned her years before. On her way to Vegas, she picks up Colonel, a video store clerk whom she finds attractive even though they've never spoken. He's is happy to go, in part because he sees himself as a great poker player. It takes Lidda time to track down Charlie, who's involved in his own tangles: he's freshly back in Vegas for high-stakes poker with Tony, an old nemesis. Tony is jealous of Charlie over a woman, plus Tony has a new habit of hiring a hit man to kill anyone who beats him. Can anyone win?


Maverick


Maverick is a gambler who would rather con someone than fight them. He needs an additional three thousand dollars in order to enter a Winner Take All poker game that begins in a few days. He tries to win some, tries to collect a few debts, and recover a little loot for the reward, all with a light hearted air. He joins forces with a woman gambler with a marvelous, though fake, southern accent as the two both try and enter the game.




The Music Of Chance


The film follows the plight of two hapless drifters - Jim Nashe and Jack Pozzi, a down-on-his-luck gambler and world class manipulator. Pozzi convinces Nashe to shoot the works and put his remaining $10,000 into a high stakes poker game against two rich suckers -- reclusive lottery winners Willie Stone and Bill Flower.



Ocean's Eleven


A gangster by the name of Danny Ocean (George Clooney) rounds up a gang of associates to stage heists of three major Las Vegas casino's (Bellagio, The Mirage, and the MGM Grand) simultaneously during a popular boxing event.


Poolhall Junkies

A talented pool hustler whose stayed out of the game for years, must go back to his old ways when his little brother gets involved with his enemy, the very man who held him back from greatness.

Rain Man


Selfish yuppie Charlie Babbitt's father dies and leaves a fortune -- to Raymond, the institutionalized savant brother that Charlie didn't know he had. They set out on a cross-country journey of discovery.




The Sting


When a mutual friend is killed by a mob boss, two con men, one experienced and one young try to get even by pulling off the big con on the mob boss. The story unfolds with several twists and last minute alterations


Two for the Money


Brandon Lang loves football: an injury keeps him from the pros, but his quarterback's anticipation makes him a brilliant predictor of games' outcomes. Needing money, he leaves Vegas for Manhattan to work for Walter Abrams advising gamblers. Walter has a doting wife, a young daughter, and a thriving business, but he has problems: a bum heart, a belief he's a master manipulator, and addictions barely kept in check. He remakes Brandon, and a father-son relationship grows. Then, things go awry. Walter may be running a con. The odds against Brandon mount.



Vegas Vacation

The Griswolds head off for Las Vegas, as Clark got an extra bonus for developing a food preservative. In the city of fortune, the family ties are once again tested by forces of nature: Ellen finds herself tempted by Wayne Newton, Clark manages to lose all the money the Griswolds own, Rusty, not being 21 years of age yet, hits a lucky streak as Mr. Pappagiorgio and Audrey teams up with Cousin Eddie's daughter Vickie to dance at very interesting night clubs. Also, the Griswolds nearly cause the breaking of Hoover Dam, Clark meets some of Siegfried and Roy's white tigers up close and Cousin Eddie, who now owns some land right out of Las Vegas, gladly offers his helping hand. But the feeling of love and family will bring them all back together again, be it richer or poorer than before - what does money matter anyway?


Viva Las Vegas

Lucky Jackson arrives in town with his car literally in tow ready for the first Las Vegas Grand Prix - once he has the money to buy an engine. He gets the cash easily enough but mislays it when the pretty swimming pool manageress takes his mind off things. It seems he will lose both race and girl, problems made more difficult by rivalry from Elmo Mancini, fellow racer and womaniser. Perhaps some singing will help.


White Men Can't Jump

Billy Hoyle (Woody Harrelson) and Sidney Deane (Wesley Snipes) are an unlikely pair of basketball hustlers. They team up to con their way across the courts of Los Angeles, playing a game that's fast dangerous - and funny.

Saturday Tipping Competition

It's the start of a new month and welcome return of our tip comp fiesta. Well, it could be if you get your maracas out, slapping your thigh to the rhythm of I Calypso. What a battle we had in May. Who needs pistols at fifty yards. Davidson pummeled Winter to take the spoils and £160 prize money. Delight & damnation in equal measure. Both proving ample ability along with their merry men [one girl]. It's reason for all you half-glass empty brigade to smash the piggy bank, put the shekels in the gas meter and find your £10 pro entry. Just think how disappointed you will be when you win the competition and a pro contestant takes the cash. I'm not going to keep banging my drum. Who will win this month? If only we knew! It could be you. Come join the fun and show the world you are a bloody good gambler. 1PM Deadline (no late entries else I'll scream). Very few pro entrants at min - so don't forget to go pro [stole that off the toothpaste advert!).   

Tipster Selections: 

1:55 Doncaster - Hillside Dream 2pt w (HCE) Unp
2:00 Epsom      - Stravagente 2pt w (Stephenson) 1st (9pts)
2:00 Epsom      - Resonant 2pt w (Emanuel) Unp
2:35 Epsom      - Art Collection 1pt ew (Winter) Unp
3:45 Epsom      - Seeking Magic 2pt w (Mark) Unp
3:45 Epsom      - Steps 2pt w (Uncle Keith/Paul) 4th
4:15 Doncaster - Compton River  2pt w (Waterhouse) Unp
4:30 Epsom      - Elm Park 2pt w (Danny) Unp
4:30 Epsom      - Elm Park 2pt w (Clint) Unp
4:30 Epsom      - Success Days 1pt ew (Rawnsley) Unp
4:30 Epsom      - Killimanjaro 2pt w (Racing Mama)  Unp
5:00 Worcester - Tantalized 2pt w (2pt w (Capt Heathcliffe) Unp
5:15 Epsom      - Buthelezi 2pt w (OneEyeEnos) 5th
5:15 Epsom      - Hold The Line 1pt ew (Rawnsley) Unp
5:15 Epsom      - Big Thunder 2pt w (Davidson) Unp
5:50 Epsom      - Ashpan Sam 2pt w (Jodonovan) 1st (11pts)
6:10 Newcastle - Baby Ballerina 2pt w (Longbow) 3rd
9:00 Lingfield    - Cabuchon 2pt w (Bird) 2nd
9:10 Newcastle - Roy's Legacy 2pt w (Eric) Unp

Good luck to all 

Another gambler's tale...Story of my (Gambling) Life!

This is quite an old post (Thursday, 08 November 2007 09:14)  which I found on the net but it shows how this individual gambler diversified over the years - attaining considerable success after a number of disappointments.

My name is Jim Makos and I am a professional gambler since 2003. I played at the casinos' blackjack tables for a year and during the following 2.5 years I have been a Betfair trader trading the odds in the UK Horse Racing markets. Nowadays I'm playing online poker. Apart from online gambling, I also write about online poker and trading for the Betfair's Greek Blog and own various websites.


During my first year playing Blackjack in the casinos, I made €10,000 in a month.

During my first year trading in Betfair's UK Horse Racing markets I made almost €100,000.

Nowadays, I'm trying to make €1,000,000 playing online Hold'em poker.

Seems that I got your attention, right? Here are more details about my life as a professional gambler.

I was born in 1979 in Greece. During my childhood, nothing extraordinary happened, except the fact I had a serious injury at school which held me in a hospital's bed for 6 months and made me use crutches for 2 years. Since I recovered I started physical exercising, swimming and weight lifting and I was in love with gymnastics and a sporty, healthy life. At the same time, I began studying Chemical Engineering in the university, but never actually finished it. The reason was that I needed to stand out from the crowd, to make something out of my life, to get away from the usual "school, university, job, retirement". Nothing wrong with that honestly, I was just another strange, ambitious and extremely selfish kid. To tell you the truth, if you haven't big ambitions and a huge ego, then you are not going to make a big success in gambling. After all, even those, that in fact have these characteristics, aren't guaranteed that they will not fail.

While I was preparing my final diploma's work, I began reading and studying about blackjack in internet. Exploring websites, registering in forums and visiting every little corner in the web that could be valuable for me. I then visited the local casino with €1,500 as my bankroll in Christmas. That was pocket-money I was saving over the last months by not going out regularly, by not using the car daily, and by not making too many calls with my mobile phone. Yes, I was indeed a small Scrooge McDuck.

Although I had that amount of money, I was ready to spend just €300 for the time being and if I lost it, I would quit and return to my university tasks. Now that I think about it, I really don't know if I would actually graduate as a Chemical Engineer, but my options would be limited by then. The first day I gambled, I won about €180. I was in high spirits. My first earned money.

Surely, you now expect the dreadful continue which should see me lose it all, correct? Wrong. Maybe I was the one out of ten kids who would never look back again in this adventure. Without doubt, I was extremely lucky during my first steps. After a week (I played blackjack on a daily basis) I won €1,000 in just 2 hours. My bankroll had almost doubled (€2,800) in ten days.

Now, that is called huge variance. I was playing certainly above my bankroll limits and risking going broke at about 85% probability (risk of ruin). Fortunately the following months made me realize that, without losing too much of equity. My bankroll was neither increased nor decreased, it more or so fluctuated around €2,400. We are talking about playing blackjack for 5 months, almost every day. I was getting a bit nervous and finally, the day that changed my life came.

I was left with €2,150 and I had decided it was time to change my mobile phone. I was about to buy a new one with that €150 of mine. However, I had told myself that if I dropped below €2,000 I would quit the whole idea and get my university degree. I honestly had said that to myself. On that day I went to the casino with a very close friend of mine, Petros. At this point I have to admit that he had been a great companion and support during my early gambling days. He used to come with me almost every day I went to play, and he kept on encouraging and motivating me, although I had been a bit of a pain in the ass for him. On that day I changed my €150 for chips telling him: "That is it, that is my last money ever gambled on a blackjack table". He sat beside me only to lose €50 of his money in a matter of minutes. He was unlucky at that moment, while I was about to witness my best up to then day.

I made €1,350 in just 2 shuffles of the decks. It was the first time I got a grip of a €500 chip. It was the first time my winnings had to be counted with a money counting machine. It was the first time my bankroll finally had broken the psychological (for me) barrier of €3,000 (that is one million in the old Greek currency).

In November of that year, I was playing about 10 hours average per day. There were days that I sat to play at 13:00 and stood up at 05:00 in the next morning. 16 hours straight. 4 days in a row. I made €10,000 during that month, or €40 per hour of playing. On 5th of December I was naturally barred from the casino. Not long afterwards, automatic shuffling machines were installed in casinos country-wide and blackjack was over for professional players. My blackjack career ended in less than a year.

The next 6 months were really hard. I concluded my diploma work, I returned to gyms and swimming pools (which I abandoned during my casino days) and spent over 10 hours daily on the internet searching for methods and ways to make money, mainly through gambling. I tried sports betting, sports arbitrage and stock trading. None was successful, but fortunately I was just paper testing them, except arbitrage which made me €50 daily but with an enormous effort and only to see a profit wipeout in a golf game, due to a mistake I made.

And then I discovered Betfair in May. I registered without a clue of what was going on in there. I had really trouble at first to understand the purple and blue squares, but it wasn't long before I got it. Still, I hadn't found a way to make it pay, and my anxiety was getting bigger and bigger. In late June, another fact altered my way of life. Permanently.

I came across the Racing Traders website. At that time, Adam, the site webmaster and owner, recorded and published videos of him trading the UK Horse Racing markets before the off in Betfair. He had just one 10-minute video trading a Cheltenam's race of that year. I must have watched it over 100 times. That video meant everything to me! I could see that someone made money and how (or at least have a general idea of how). I deposited €500 in Betfair on the 1st of July and started trading using a 56kbits dial-up internet connection.

The year was 2004 and automatic browser refreshers, automatic bets' submission and trading software were really hard to come by. However, after extensive research you could have the betfair interface refresh using a little program called "Privoxy". The bets though were still submitted using the standard way. I turned those €500 into €1,100 using privoxy, a 56k dial-up modem (1-2 secs refresh, occasionally internet resetting/logging out) and manual bet submission. The trick was that while Adam entered the stakes as "300, 400, 600" etc., I typed them as "333, 444, 666" etc.! Apart from that, given I had already studied about stock markets, charting strategies and patterns, I could point out a trend in the horses' charts. Adam on the other hand started publishing more videos, and I could see how he exited bad trades or made the most out of really good ones. That was also very helpful. Yet, the biggest difference was made when I installed an ADSL phone line and setup for a broadband Internet connection. I made €3,000 in August.

Then comes that dreadful continue you were expecting to see. I keep hearing that every gambler will face a tough situation, at least once in his gambling career. In September I had mine.

I had lost €4,500 in just one trade. That was huge money for me back then. I had all my profits during my last 3 months wiped out in a matter of seconds. In late August I lost €800 because I let my trade open in-running and never closed it. In mid September I did the same and lost €3,500 but managed to make it all back through very good trading in the 2 following weeks. And then I became careless and didn't pay attention to the clock, which left me watching a horse race in-play, only to be won by the horse I had an open trade on, costing me my whole betfair balance. That actually read, Total funds: €0.00! (You can see some of those screenshots in the Sports Trading Gallery)

I rang my friend Petros and met him in a matter of minutes. I was really disappointed by my performance and discipline. Once again, he was proven a huge inspiration, he encouraged me for the nth time and put me back on track. I took one week off, and then deposited €2,000 with my credit card in October. I turned it into €5,000 by the end of the month and withdrew €2,000 back to the card. In other words I never in fact deposited money since then and made over €100,000 in the following months. It was like I took a short-term loan from the bank, which I returned in less than a month, making the most out of it.

In summer of 2005 I bought my new car with my trading winnings, a Mercedes SLK. The idea of getting a very good car was a dream of mine since the age of 17, and I had managed to make it real 8 years later. Fulfilling a dream is truly one of the most amazing feelings.

However, since then my sports trading performance has a declining progress and I have stopped trading the horse racing markets in 2007. I have put a lot of hours into researching a sports betting strategy which I applied throughout the season of 2006-07.

Lately, I am playing poker online and you can see here and here some interesting posts.

I have started trading using a Compaq Presario 2702EA laptop at first, then purchased an Acer Aspire 1804WSMi and then I got a desktop and a fanless (quiet) Fujitsu-Siemens Lifebook 7120.

I own and design Jimmakos.com website since 2004. The main purpose of the site was to inform my friends of my progress and performances, while getting in touch with fellow traders and gamblers worldwide. The latest internet fashion trend is called blogging and I have altered my website to look alike one, although it started as an entirely flash webpage, then changed into an html page and lastly in php form using Joomla.

http://www.jimmakos.com/