Sports Book

Carmine Falcone: No gun? I'm insulted! You could have just sent a thank-you note.
Bruce Wayne: I didn't come here to thank you. I came here to show you that not everyone in Gotham is afraid of you.
Carmine Falcone: Only those who know me, kid.

”Batman Begins”

Trying to finish off the last of some of the bonus at Noble poker last night, but wouldn’t you know it either the PC or the poker room was having problems. I sat down for one hand and then it would freeze. I went out and then back in, and it did the same thing again. Such a shame too, because I found an Omaha table that looked really good.

I think I have a few more nasty things on my machine that shouldn’t be there…besides the poker programs, that is.

I had a bit of an idea just the other day. I’m always looking at Poker Source Online to see if there are any more bonus’ I can take advantage of. When you hardly play limit poker, or if you hardly get off the penny tables, it’s hard to clear many of these raked hand requirements – especially with a small bankroll like mine. But there is one room that has a bit of a different edge to it – at bodog. Bodog also has the option that the bonus is cleared if you wager $300 on their sports book. While betting on things that can talk is a big no-no to some people, generally I don’t mind betting on sports. You can do it at any TAB here in Australia. TAB stands for “Totes and Betting” I think – it’s basically off-track bookies run by the Government.

My thoughts for Bodog were to bet the $300 on a “sure thing” – I know, the dying words of many degenerate gamblers. But I do believe in such a thing – and there is a game on right now that is perfect for such a wager. In England right now, the Australian cricket team is in a series of matches against England. These two teams are ranked 1 and 2 in the world at the moment. That sounds close doesn’t it? And it is – but you see this is a Triangle series – there are three teams in it and the third is Bangladesh. Bangladesh are about 12th in the world (and there are only 12 teams that get ranked). In over 100 years of cricket history, Bangladesh has never beaten either Australia or England – they have never even got close. The English beat them by 10 wickets just yesterday (which is the greatest margin possible when batting second) and there are still 5 or so games to go.

Sure the price would be something like $1.04 (bet $1, get $1.04 back), pretty horrible and the $300 wager would net you a profit of $12 plus $60 worth of stuff from Poker Source Online. So essentially you are risking $300 to win $72, but I think the risk is rather small. Cricket is a game designed to avoid upsets – the game goes for so long that eventually the better team will get back on top. Sure, upsets do happen, but you need more than a fluke for it to come about, you need several flukes. I thought this was worth the gamble.

Sadly, after debating it back and forth and looking at it from every angle, I then decided to find out what the price actually is – it’s 330-1 that Bangladesh win the Tri-series comp, $1.33 for Australia and $2.40 for England. But that’s the local TAB, not Bodog.

Bodog doesn’t cover the cricket. Or the Rugby union, where Australia beat Somoa 74-7 the other day, paying $1.11.

All that thought and glory means nothing. Did you have fun reading it?