There was a time when the Tenner Bet thought that writing a vicarious column through the medium of my two-year-old son was a ludicrous idea.
Of course, the very notion is preposterous, but then all words and thoughts in some form are imaginary – making sense of them requires a shared knowledge and set of beliefs to make them come to life. Where the problem arises is when art starts to imitate life, for who would have thought that the make-believe of a two-year-old's predictions about the weekend's football action might actually yield a winning bet or two.
It is now four weeks since this experiment started and in that period there have been four well-priced winners. The hundred-odd quid deficit that sat at the foot of this page is now a profit and all because I chose to write in the voice of a toddler.
It raises the question: how many of these recommended bets would have won should I have merely addressed my audience as the Tenner Bet. The answer can be found in a popular lament of mine: teams with great winning runs or terrible losing streaks find a way to win or lose as soon as they have been tipped by this column, yet that simply hasn't happened since Wee Fiver's timely intervention.
Gambling is about luck to a large degree, but it's also about limiting the potential for fortune to play too big a hand in the outcome of results. And, if luck plays a part, I'm going to stick with superstition for yet another week.
That's also fortunate because Wee Fiver sent his first letter home from university this week.
It read: "Hi Mum and Dad, Really enjoyed my first week here. I've joined a band and we're making plans to gig soon. Also, bought an Xbox 360 and have almost completed The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Man, that game just blows my mind. Oh, and we're viewing camper vans this weekend, Jez thinks we should tour Europe this summer. Ciao for now, Jay."
Mrs Tenner Bet and I were horrified. "He's turned into a proper student," she said. "My wee boy is all grown up." "And he didn't even supply his picks for this weekend's coupon," I replied, fully understanding a mother's heartache. "Surely, there's been a mistake?"
I picked up the phone immediately: "You're mother's worried sick," I said. "She's told me to tell you that if you don't get your act together you won't be getting this month's rent cheque. So, and she said this specifically, give your dad the picks for this week's bet or face the consequences. And she also muttered something about an Xbox . . ."
"Chillax, dad, they're on the back of the letter."
And there they were: 'Alloa minus a goal to beat East Stirlingshire. Hearts to beat St Mirren and Ross County to nick it against Hamilton Academical. That's your treble. As for the draw, I think it's worth doing Arbroath and Dumbarton.'
Selections Hearts (11/12, 188bet), Alloa -1 (11/10, Paddy Power), Ross County (11/8, Coral) Treble 8.6/1;
Arbroath and Dumbarton to draw (29/10, vcbet);
Season's total £0.37
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