The world of punting is an altruistic domain.
This is for two reasons: the denizens of the realm are generally ne'er-do-wells who like nothing better than hosing their money down the nearest urinal; however, there is an altogether more obvious reason that unites these dubious characters . . . the chance - figuratively speaking at least - to poke the bookie in the eye, to flick his ear, to tell him just the once that your daddy is bigger than his daddy.
Earlier this week, the infamous gambler Barney Curley went one better, striking the kind of blow for punters that equated to the pulling down of the bookmakers' pants and then selling the pics for profit.
Mr Curley, a former trainer, put together a winning quad that at prices 24 hours before racing would have paid out at 500,000/1. Two of the horses had been handled by the County Fermanagh gambler while all four had been off the track for more than 2500 days combined. Upon checking the finer details on Wednesday it seemed the entire racing community had enjoyed a return approaching £2m as prices tumbled. Word had got out and it was shared by punters everywhere and with everyone. Everyone that is, except the Tenner Bet.
Nevertheless, a strange thing happened this week that illustrates my original point. One regular reader of the column contacted me to point out a bet that might just have some merit in following up. The reader, who shall remain nameless, lest a braying mob led by Mrs Tenner Bet arrives on his doorstep, wrote: "I enjoy the Tenner Bet on a Saturday but the NFL stuff is too bitty. Stick to the fitba! Can I make an alternative suggestion? Every top-flight French league game (excluding the PSG match) to be under 2.5 goals. French teams are more interested in passing the ball around and looking good than actually trying a leg. Give it a bash and feel free to credit me when it wins!"
So there you have it: community journalism now extends to telling betting journalists how to win money. I'm all for it, personally.
THE BET
Our confidant is bold. Let's call him Rene for now. Then if he loses we can turn Les Chiens loose and I can sit back smugly with a knowing smile and if Rene is correct he can claim the glory. One of these weeks I will write a column that actually has some input from myself but until desperation sets in I will allow the stats experts to take over. Suffice to say that, for now, I'm doing a Barney Curley and will be sticking to a quad on the following four fixtures at 4.99/1.
Montpellier v Nice. Montpellier's last 11 games have all gone under 2.5 goals while five of Nice's last six league games in the league have done likewise. Under 2.5 goals is 8/13 with BetVictor.
Toulouse v Bastia. Eight of Toulouse's last 10 home games have gone under 2.5 goals. As have the last four games between these two in Toulouse. It's best priced at 4/5 with BetVictor.
Bordeaux v St Etienne. All of St Etienne's last five games have all gone under 2.5 goals. It's 3/5 with BetVictor.
Nantes v Reims. Of Nantes' last 15 games, 11 have gone under 2.5 goals, as have 14 of Reims' 23 this season. When they last played, the result was 0-0. Under 2.5 is 3/5 with BetVictor.
SEASON'S TOTAL
Yes, the NFL is too bitty, isn't it? It certainly took a bitty of my winnings from the previous weekend. We're in trouble again at -£58.40.
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