This is an a really different job application. How would you answer?
- A summary of your experience of betting. What type of bets interest you most, and why?
I started betting when I was 16. I had my first online/phone betting account by 17. I was around for Luvbet, the first firm to price all races overnight and the predecessor to Betfair, flutter.com. I always thought I would be successful at betting but it took me years to get it right and now I've probably come full circle. I've had some massive highs and lows but having burnt most of my outs I now consider myself some what in limbo. There are loads of edges out there but finding the one(s) that you can maximize your returns based on your available outs, bankroll and time is a hard equation to solve. Beating the exchanges is the one real goal I have never got on top of, its beat me. I'm not close to finding the correct bets in my artillery to use or the correct execution for it to be viable. It just doesn't fit my style. Its like asking Martin Kaymer to win at Augusta. He's a world class golfer but just not on that track.
The type of bets that interest me the most are the ones that no else finds. The bets you find in obscure markets or in markets that are undervalued by professional and savy punters. If you're willing to do the research you can find the answers to lots of markets the reason being you're probably doing more work than the guy pricing/cutting and pasting the prices. Irish EP bets, extra place races and extra place golf bets will always help to keep you ticking over but you need a bit more to make a real impact. A well informed, well researched or well structured extra place multiple is the real key to getting ahead. The rest of the bets just give you more bullets to load that gun. You ideally grind it out day to day and use your spare time to find a bet that will really make a difference. When you find that bet that uou must stake accordingly. Going skint in this spot with a medium sized tank is acceptable.
- What would you consider to be your best-ever bet? Explain why you chose that bet.
I backed San Antonio to win the NBA Championship (€2,800-€600) in 2014. After they won the title I was still automatically clicking on Basketball on oddschecker in work everyday. I stumbled upon the WNBA (Women's Basketball) market. I looked at the conference markets with Ladbrokes and straight away knew that the place terms were wrong. After some research I soon discovered it was more wrong than I initially thought. There are 8 teams in each division with 4 teams making the playoffs. At 1/2 odds 1,2 that meant you were betting half the odds that the team made the playoffs and won one series to collect on the place part of the bet. The WNBA does not have parity among its teams. It was pretty easy to work out what the ricks were. I sought advice from a WNBA expert in Las Vegas, asking him what price he made each team to make the playoffs. Chicago Sky 7/2 (also 11/4)and Phoenix Mercury 2/1 were unanimously the bets based on both logic and maths. Phoenix ended up being 1/10 to place and Chicago were 11/10.
The next part was to find something to stick them in with as I was really only after the place, the win part of the bets was not in my mind. Vincenzo Nibali was 9/1 with Ladbrokes for the Tour De France 1/4 odds 1,2,3. Nibali was around 6/4 to place on the exchanges and looked superb value at 9/4 to place for my e/w bets. The World Cup draw was very lopsided and Argentina 7/2 1/2 odds 1/2 were shorter than 7/4 to make the final. Argentina was marginal but for the purpose of multiples it made sense. I was looking to do e/w trebles and 4-Folds with a mix and match of selections. I also got involved in Wimbledon with Lucie Šafářová 80/1 (1/2 odds 1,2) getting agonizingly close to placing losing in the semi final. Some bets also had Mexico and Belgium e/w in the World Cup. I also took 6/1 Atlanta Dream 1/2 odds 1,2 in the WNBA outright as they were trading 6/4 to reach the final.
The best part was getting on. I was a genius at it. Having worked for Ladbrokes I knew the limits for all the markets and also how to talk the staff members through placing the bets on their system. A few lads in work were trying to get on Nibali but were told there was no betting on it. I was able to instruct the staff to type his surname into the search function and off they went. I got the bets on across 5 Ladbrokes shops and I'm certain that Ladbrokes had no idea what the bet was running up for until the last leg settled. Mind you, I had to contact them myself to settle their conference markets! Getting the bets on was a serious high, they were absolute dynamite bets. I invested around €2,300 in all.
I watched the World Cup final with a victim off of POF (Plenty Of Fish). I didn't have any emotional reaction to Germany winning (or her removing her clothes for that matter) as getting to final was all I thought I needed. What I would come to realise months later was that one result cost me €80,000. Nibali had the Tour De France won in week 1. Phoenix Mercury were never getting beat in the the WNBA western conference. That meant I was sweating on Chicago Sky from a long way out. Their best player was injured most of the season and they barely made the playoffs. They came from 1-0 down to get it back to 1-1 in the conference semi final. In the decisive game 3 where a Chicago Sky win netted me €7,000 their opponents Atlanta Dream traded 1/100 in running. The Goddess Elena Delle Donne put the Sky on her back in the 4th Quarter and they stopped Atlanta scoring with the last shot of the game to win. They went on to win the Conference Final in a blowout game 3 against Indian netting me €23,000 total as I had a win and place treble up on Phoenix, Chicago and Nibali. I was left to wonder what might have been had Argentina prevailed.
It was some ride. I literally spent two months reading about WNBA and watching or following the score of every game. I read WNBA forums and followed their players on Twitter. It is insane what a serious bet does to you. After it was over I said to a friend of mine "What do I do with my life now?". A shoe box stuffed with €10k was no substitute for the buzz of having the bet running which was an important lesson in betting. I don't really care about the money, its just for keeping score.
- What bookmakers or betting outlets do you use and why?
If you have a Bet365 account you have more opportunity than with any other account. They bet races to no margin on a Saturday. If you can find someone that understands the form and put that together with an understanding of the prices, you have one lethal combination.
Boyles and Ladbrokes shops are the easiest to try and get bets on with but it involves visiting shops which is not always possible. Ladbrokes have run me from a few of their outlets for the WNBA bets and other atrocities. Getting other people to place bets of using the exchanges are my only options now.
- How you would go about making a living betting on sports for a year, how would you go about it? (Assume you have a reasonable starting bank.) Do you think you would succeed?
Would I succeed? Yes. Would it be a desirable lifestyle? No. I would just live in betting shops knocking off all the enhanced prices, extra places and special offers. I'd be doing small Lucky 15s full of arbs taking full advantage of the treble the odds one winner. You could grind out €100 a day but it would be a soulless existence and getting shown the door would eventually become a regular occurrence. You would be surrounded by degenerates and your emotions would be too closely linked to your betting balance for that day or week. There is also the option to try and trade on Betfair but my mindset would make me slight odds against to succeed long term. I'd much rather earn a decent wage, be surrounded by like minded people and use the ammo to take down a big pot. I'm not sure what advantage 'going pro' offers someone like me who is aggregating information rather than sourcing bets daily. I do find my own bets but not enough of them to not leverage my salary.
- What did you achieve in your Maths GCSE?
Leaving Certificate C- (Pass Level)
, I think they are probably more interested in the thought process behind your answers about betting rather than the accuracy.