Basil Posted November 16, 2018 Share Posted November 16, 2018 As an antidote to the doom-and-gloom that appears to be prevailing on all other threads, here's a story that should warm the cockles of anybody who’s ever harboured an ambition to take the TAB to the cleaners! (Disclaimer: I had squat-all to do with it and so can claim no credit) Some of you may recall my story about how my 'other team' had won the Methven heat of the KPC with a big place bet in the last race. I thought that had got me off the hook for the final, but that turned out not to be the case and so I duly turned up yesterday in my role as sober punter and drinks boy. For most of the day, we had enough rats-and-mice collects to keep our heads above water (after 10 races our $5K had become $7K), but with two races to go we were only mid-field amongst the 40 teams. However, we then came home with a finish that Inky Lord would have been proud of! First, after a vigorous debate over whether to put $2K or $5K on the nose of Cruz Bromac in the FFA, we opted for the relative safety of the former. Home rolled CB paying $4.40 fixed and bitter recriminations over not putting $5K on him. The entire $8800 was then rolled over onto Dr Tim for a place (putting that much on a single horse was a novel experience I can tell you!) DT promptly settled 3rd-last, stayed there for a lap, got into the 3-wide line that took him up to the leaders, hit the front at the top of the straight, and although eventually beaten a nose and a nose into 3rd, never looked like not being in the first 3. The really good news was that the TAB had allowed us to get on at $7.80 fixed, so we’d just collected a bit over $68K!??? Unsurprisingly, that was enough to take us to the top of the leaderboard and the big prize. But there were some hard-luck stories. One of the leading teams going into the last at a table near us had a big bet on Copperhead Rose that took them to well over $40K, which in previous years would have easily seen them home. They probably got a bit of a shock to discover that still left them $30K behind us… Took it in very good spirits though. Bottom line: our main selector may have a few personal idiosyncrasies (including the wearing of alligator shoes on all occasions), but there’s no doubt he’s the man with the golden arm when it comes to horses! And yes Brodie, I was thinking of you when putting the DT bet on — it took over a minute to go through and even the operator seemed surprised that it had.? 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newmarket Posted November 16, 2018 Share Posted November 16, 2018 Basil, bloody well done man. What a great bet in the last to get you home. Must have been your lucky day, was amazing that copperhead rose kept up that huge run with you behind, how many times usually would you be carried back?? Great effort to your team, One question, who gets to go to vegas? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Sunrise Posted November 17, 2018 Share Posted November 17, 2018 Brilliant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Sunrise Posted November 17, 2018 Share Posted November 17, 2018 2 hours ago, Basil said: And yes Brodie, I was thinking of you when putting the DT bet on — it took over a minute to go through and even the operator seemed surprised that it had.? Funny. The old buttocks must have been clenched while waiting to see if it went through... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brodie Posted November 17, 2018 Share Posted November 17, 2018 (edited) Well done Basil, great effort! Not sure how the TAB let you get that much on but they must’ve made allowances due to the Punters Comp? I wonder which one is Basil????? P..S. Of course it beats working Basil, working for a living is so overrated, that why I try to keep away from it nowadays! Edited November 17, 2018 by Brodie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted November 17, 2018 Author Share Posted November 17, 2018 20 hours ago, Newmarket said: Basil, bloody well done man. What a great bet in the last to get you home. Must have been your lucky day, was amazing that copperhead rose kept up that huge run with you behind, how many times usually would you be carried back?? Great effort to your team, One question, who gets to go to vegas? Thanks Newmarket, but my role was essentially that of the Fool in King Lear. And yes, luck certainly went our way. At this stage, we're all intending to go to Vegas. Gawd help us (and Vegas!)? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Sunrise Posted November 17, 2018 Share Posted November 17, 2018 37 minutes ago, Basil said: Gawd help us (and Vegas!)? I highly recommend the movie 'The Hangover' if you have not seen it. Sounds like your crew will out do them. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kakama Posted November 17, 2018 Share Posted November 17, 2018 Good stuff basil....to think that both the heats and final you got up in last race...always good staying alive. Met you at methven punters club....your a good guy...glad your team won...and your also a member here. Wahoo.... 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the galah Posted November 18, 2018 Share Posted November 18, 2018 Congratulations basil and your teammates. The method your team used twice of putting almost your whole pool onto a last race selection at long odds has been the successful formula for you. I guess its a win or bust type approach,but its certainly paid off big time. Ive noticed It does seem to be the way to win those competitions. Certainly the strategy has its fair share of failures but when you have large numbers competing and several using the all or nothing approach, one of them often will come out on top. I guess being in a syndicate spreads the risk involved of putting so much money on at once. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newmarket Posted November 18, 2018 Share Posted November 18, 2018 Yeah, good to see a big punt pay divs. Must admit, i would be cringing if someone suggested putting $8800 on a longshot for a place. My thoughts would be boring, lets take initial $5k out, then have rest on it. Then i would have had members kicking me for years that we didnt win it because i was chicken?? Just out of interest Basil, how did you all agree on Dr Tim? Was it same member that picked longshot last race at methven? Only reason i asked, i have been in a few syndicates, but getting everyone to agree is a bit of an act 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Sunrise Posted November 18, 2018 Share Posted November 18, 2018 28 minutes ago, Newmarket said: Just out of interest Basil, how did you all agree on Dr Tim? Was it same member that picked longshot last race at methven? Only reason i asked, i have been in a few syndicates, but getting everyone to agree is a bit of an act I can't even agree with myself half the time! It is a sign not to put any bet on. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted November 18, 2018 Author Share Posted November 18, 2018 2 hours ago, Newmarket said: Yeah, good to see a big punt pay divs. Must admit, i would be cringing if someone suggested putting $8800 on a longshot for a place. My thoughts would be boring, lets take initial $5k out, then have rest on it. Then i would have had members kicking me for years that we didnt win it because i was chicken?? Just out of interest Basil, how did you all agree on Dr Tim? Was it same member that picked longshot last race at methven? Only reason i asked, i have been in a few syndicates, but getting everyone to agree is a bit of an act Some good questions that I'll do my best to answer. First, the choices of Cruz Bromac and Dr Tim were initially the choice of our principal selector (the alligator shoe wearer!) Remarkably though, in these cases we were all in agreement. Everybody thought CB looked like a good thing after Tuesday's run, and while we differed a little on who we liked most in R12 everybody agreed that DT was well and truly overs and hence, in the circumstances, the best bet. But you're right, getting agreement can be a nightmare. Which is why we delegated the final say to our principal selector — the rest of us made suggestions (in my case, generally stupid ones!), but the final decision was up to him. The only real disagreement of the day was how much to put on CB (some of us wanted $5K, but the principal selector wanted a backstop to unload on Dr Tim, which he really liked). Galah — you're completely right about our strategy, although it's fair to say we stumbled on it accidentally. With the benefit of hindsight, it seems to me that, with fixed odds betting available, the optimal strategy is to stay in the game and then attack in the last, or at least as late as possible. The problem with having a big collect with X races to go is that you're basically wearing a big bullseye on your head — everybody else knows what they have to beat, and the chances are that, in a big enough field, at least one of them will succeed in doing so. Whereas if you leave it to the last, it's too late for everybody else. Of course, our approach wouldn't have worked under previous years' rules — putting $8800 on the tote would have killed the divvy! It also won't work in Las Vegas. I don't know the details yet, but it seems like it consists of a large number of $2 EW virtual bets in 150-odd races over 3 days. Kakama, Happy — thanks for the advice and kind thoughts.? Unlike some of my team, I'm not a very serious punter and so am still in a bit of a daze... I'd also say that, despite it being a relatively high-stakes competition, the atmosphere in the tent was excellent — everybody seemed to get a buzz out of somebody else having a good race. 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Sunrise Posted November 18, 2018 Share Posted November 18, 2018 21 minutes ago, Basil said: Vegas. I don't know the details yet, but it seems like it consists of a large number of $2 EW virtual bets in 150-odd races over 3 days. 150 races....The Coast to Coast of punting championships! May I suggest you be drunk the whole 3 days because trying to find the winners of that many races will be hard work. 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
globederby12 Posted November 18, 2018 Share Posted November 18, 2018 2 hours ago, Happy Sunrise said: 150 races....The Coast to Coast of punting championships! May I suggest you be drunk the whole 3 days because trying to find the winners of that many races will be hard work. Trying to find agreement on 50 races a day when you are out of your local comfort zone will be monumental. Great stuff and a brilliant back story to a wonderful punting contest. Enjoy yr Jim Beam. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewFitzgerald Posted November 20, 2018 Share Posted November 20, 2018 On 17/11/2018 at 11:12 AM, Basil said: As an antidote to the doom-and-gloom that appears to be prevailing on all other threads, here's a story that should warm the cockles of anybody who’s ever harboured an ambition to take the TAB to the cleaners! (Disclaimer: I had squat-all to do with it and so can claim no credit) Some of you may recall my story about how my 'other team' had won the Methven heat of the KPC with a big place bet in the last race. I thought that had got me off the hook for the final, but that turned out not to be the case and so I duly turned up yesterday in my role as sober punter and drinks boy. For most of the day, we had enough rats-and-mice collects to keep our heads above water (after 10 races our $5K had become $7K), but with two races to go we were only mid-field amongst the 40 teams. However, we then came home with a finish that Inky Lord would have been proud of! First, after a vigorous debate over whether to put $2K or $5K on the nose of Cruz Bromac in the FFA, we opted for the relative safety of the former. Home rolled CB paying $4.40 fixed and bitter recriminations over not putting $5K on him. The entire $8800 was then rolled over onto Dr Tim for a place (putting that much on a single horse was a novel experience I can tell you!) DT promptly settled 3rd-last, stayed there for a lap, got into the 3-wide line that took him up to the leaders, hit the front at the top of the straight, and although eventually beaten a nose and a nose into 3rd, never looked like not being in the first 3. The really good news was that the TAB had allowed us to get on at $7.80 fixed, so we’d just collected a bit over $68K!??? Unsurprisingly, that was enough to take us to the top of the leaderboard and the big prize. But there were some hard-luck stories. One of the leading teams going into the last at a table near us had a big bet on Copperhead Rose that took them to well over $40K, which in previous years would have easily seen them home. They probably got a bit of a shock to discover that still left them $30K behind us… Took it in very good spirits though. Bottom line: our main selector may have a few personal idiosyncrasies (including the wearing of alligator shoes on all occasions), but there’s no doubt he’s the man with the golden arm when it comes to horses! And yes Brodie, I was thinking of you when putting the DT bet on — it took over a minute to go through and even the operator seemed surprised that it had.? Congratulations mate - as I said on the day it took balls to have 8.5 on him and you deserved the win. We finished 4th, with just under 10k on Cruz we thought we were in the running but as we said coming into the last there was so much profit money rolling around that the only possible way we could hold onto our lead was if the top three favs run in the money. Ah well all great fun and was get to see so much profit made Brodie - The TAB basically opened up the fixed odds and would accept any bet during the day especially towards the end - in the room with around 40 teams we turned over just under 400k. Great day had by all. Cheers Andrew - Off N Racing 4th Place ?? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Sunrise Posted November 20, 2018 Share Posted November 20, 2018 2 hours ago, AndrewFitzgerald said: Brodie - The TAB basically opened up the fixed odds and would accept any bet during the day especially towards the end - No point in entering in 2019 fellas. The Brodster will enter next year as he will be able to get any FF bet on. I strongly suggest you run your TAB accounts dry or withraw all funds by the final next year as the TAB will cease to exist after Brodie is on the money and has taken them to the cleaners. ? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brodie Posted November 21, 2018 Share Posted November 21, 2018 2 hours ago, Happy Sunrise said: No point in entering in 2019 fellas. The Brodster will enter next year as he will be able to get any FF bet on. I strongly suggest you run your TAB accounts dry or withraw all funds by the final next year as the TAB will cease to exist after Brodie is on the money and has taken them to the cleaners. ? I think it is great that the TAB were taking all bets! Why don’t they do this all year round, rather than treating their customers like criminals ? Yes I will be in boots and all next year if they are going to allow all bets!!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newmarket Posted November 21, 2018 Share Posted November 21, 2018 58 minutes ago, Brodie said: I think it is great that the TAB were taking all bets! Why don’t they do this all year round, rather than treating their customers like criminals ? Yes I will be in boots and all next year if they are going to allow all bets!!!! Didnt you state that you are no longer punting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brodie Posted November 21, 2018 Share Posted November 21, 2018 1 hour ago, Newmarket said: Didnt you state that you are no longer punting? Extremely quiet on the investing in recent times Newmarket, as I just can’t be bothered with poor odds and restrictions, it just not worth my time although I do,have too much spare time now! If I can get decent amounts on and the odds are reasonable then I will be back in!! What I don’t like about the punters comp is the compulsion to have to wager on every single race! To my mind that is not the best way of investing but rules are rules And you have to run with them! Well done to everyone that participated and all the best to the winners when they go to Vegas, It will be a very difficult challenge punting on those damn gallopers and especially when you have no idea on how the horses run! Be a great trip though! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted November 21, 2018 Author Share Posted November 21, 2018 6 hours ago, AndrewFitzgerald said: Congratulations mate - as I said on the day it took balls to have 8.5 on him and you deserved the win. We finished 4th, with just under 10k on Cruz we thought we were in the running but as we said coming into the last there was so much profit money rolling around that the only possible way we could hold onto our lead was if the top three favs run in the money. Ah well all great fun and was get to see so much profit made Brodie - The TAB basically opened up the fixed odds and would accept any bet during the day especially towards the end - in the room with around 40 teams we turned over just under 400k. Great day had by all. Cheers Andrew - Off N Racing 4th Place ?? Thanks Andrew. Yes, when you surged to the lead in the penultimate race you just became a great big target for everyone else! I suspect a lot of teams thought like us — even if we'd run down the track in the last, we still had our original stake left, which made it a cheap day out, and so worth an all-or-nothing approach. I hear on the grapevine the TAB took a hammering on the last race, and not just because of my team. Sounds like R11 might not have been an awful lot better.? Good on them for opening it up, I say (obviously!), but you can see why they normally have restrictions on. I wonder if the same rules will apply next year... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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