testmeat photoblog

i wouldn't class myself as a gambler. i don't think i've ever bet on a horse, or gone to the dogs, and i rarely do the lottery. however every two years, i tend to place a few bets on the world cup or european championships. this involves a fair amount of time and effort, trying to predict results as well as work out the most likely combinations for accumulators. and i usually end up breaking even at the end of it. for this year's world cup i've stepped it up a little. this is mainly due to the ease and speed of going to an online bookies instead of a bricks and mortar version, and also due to an ipod touch app i've downloaded. this app allows me to bet from my sofa, whilst i'm watching the match. this carries a huge advantage to the gambler, as you can judge how a game is progressing, instead of the relative blindness of a pre-match prediction. a particular trick that works for me is to wait for about 10 or 5 or 2 minutes to be remaining in a half, and bet that the score will stay the same. the odds aren't that great, particularly when it's in stoppage time, but if you bet the right amount you give yourself a better chance of winning something. as it stands, through a combination of winning bets and other promotions, i've made £140 profit. this unexpected bounty acted as justification in my head to replace my knackered canon a620 so i put the money towards a new compact camera - a canon sx210. i thought it appropriate to debut it with a shot of the bets that put it in my hands.

here's the original