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Bait and bet

At the time of typing in this article, I had bet $20 on India not winning the World Cup at the odds of 1-7 , ie.. would have to give $140, if I loose. Actually, there were two guys whom I bet with. Both were happy at the end of the bet, infact making fun of my proposal. Amateurs ... If this is not safe, then nothing is.

I would consider my betting track record to be pretty good. In the last soccor World Cup I won nearly 15 pizzas, most of the times backing the underdogs. But concentrating on cricket, I would say, barring Pakistan, which has always disappointed me, I have done pretty well.

In college days I would manage to pick up 7-8 bets per game, each of which would be say on a Five Star bar or something like that.We would never care to calculate the odds.It was always 1-1. But still, over my two years in college I picked up certain subtle tricks on betting.Wait for a mild winning spree of India.Then strike it rich with the patriotic guys over the next few games. I found there were guys who would bet only on India. The trick is to induce them into an argument on the merits of backing India, then throw in some weak arguments against India. There you go. You have a bet on your hands.

I learnt more when I came out of college. I learnt how to support the underdog or rather make teams to seem more of the underdogs than they really are. Enter the calculations of odds. Present some wierd odds calculation and then twist it to favour you. Many people fall for it. For example, say Sri-Lanka will beat India, but the odds are against the Lankans, considering experience, Tendulkar etc etc. Or, say the Lankans will get beaten, but the odds are against India, what with recent form, Jayasurya etc. Sell either story to whosoever buys it and just be sure that you have to gain overall. If the odds are in your favour bet less. Remember, I am talking about amateur betting.

Believe me, there is nothing like having a Five Star or a pizza, with the loser sitting right next to you thinking - ''I will get back at him some day." You see, they never learn. They are customers for life.

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