John Mac, Take a Bow...

I've been pretty quiet over the last couple of weeks but there is a good reason for that and I'm hoping readers will like it.

I've been involved in protracted negotiations to secure a guest writer for the blog and, finally, I've nailed him down. I'm convinced I've had a serious touch!

John Mac' (not him with the silly hat and oafish attitude)  is somebody I've known of for some time but only recently had the pleasure to get to know in the real world. He's a legendary figure for those in the know - possibly one of the shrewdest, best prepared, all angles covered gamblers I have ever come across.

He's agreed to give readers of the Make Your Betting Play blog the benefit of his vast experience in the game and post some of his thoughts and analysis. I'm pretty excited about it because I know just how good he is and how much we can all learn from being privy to both his thought processes and his meticulous research.

Enough from me, I'll hand you over to John to introduce himself and give us an idea of what he will be letting us in on over the coming months!

 

John writes: 'Having been introduced to gambling and horse racing in particular, from a very early age because of my fathers interest in betting, it really was no surprise to anyone close to me that my first paid job was as a betting shop assistant when I was only 14 years old.

Obviously, back then in the seventies as it is now, I shouldn't even have been allowed in, but the guy who owned the shop, an independent, was also a friend of my father's, so no one was ever going to be the wiser.

My work initially involved marking the board and recording results but very soon also entailed taking bets, settling bets and running cash bets to Hills in order to lay off. I wasn't paid a lot and what money I got, I used to bet with anyway. All was good and things went well until the Grand National of 1979.

As was the norm, Bill the owner would give me my £15 for the day prior to racing so I could place a bet. I normally would save a fiver and bet with the other tenner, but this day was National day, the biggest betting event of the year, so I put the whole lot on. My bet was the first one taken and hence it sat on the bottom of the National pile.

Business was brisk, countless slips were taken and we were rushed off our feet. Anyway the race came and went and Bill, the owner of the shop, had started to put lines through the majority of the bets. He seemed pleased as punch as an outsider called Rubstic had won the race from a Henderson trained horse called Zongerlero who had chased him home, followed by Rough and Tumble in third and The Pilgarlic 4th. Only 7 horses had completed the race as it had been littered with carnage. The favourite which had been heavily backed in Bill's shop was called Alverton and he had fatally crashed out at the Chair. Bill showed no remorse as he gleefully put the line through slip after slip.

Until he came to the very last one.

£5 win Rubstic

£2.50 ew Zongerlero

and a £2.50 r/forecast the pair of them.

I can't remember how much I actually collected but I do know it was somewhere near a grand and Bill was LIVID. He literally threw the money at me and didnt even say goodbye. I never went back to the shop.

And there it is, hooked for life. I have plenty of other stories which have happened along the way, but here I am 30 years on and still at it. Good days and bad days aplenty, hardened by the experience of a lifetime of backing winners and losers. It all helps in the relentless war with the odds compilers and exchange players alike.

I have been a professional punter for many years now and although it can be the most frustrating profession imaginable, I wouldn't swop it for the world. I love the research, the analysis and, in some ways, even the unequal struggle trying to get on.

So many bank accounts used, untold bookmaker accounts burnt. What a charade !! Would I change any of it? Not for all the tea in China!

I hope in the fullness of time I can help fellow punters understand the concept of how I now operate and that when I put forward a suggested bet they can be assured that all the relevant postives and negatives have been fully comprehended and accounted for where it has been factually possible.

To the future and look out for my first blog which will hopefully include the Cheltenham Gold Cup winner of 2012. '

 

Thanks John and interesting times ahead! John will be posting as and when with his thoughts on the big races and on the art of successful punting.

Have a great day

Kieran

P.S. It's been a nightmarish few months to be an Arsenal fan but I'm starting to get the feeling that we've turned a corner. I don't ever bet on Arsenal matches (too much emotion involved to be objective) but I do think that the 1.86 being offered by Ladbrokes for Arsenal +1 on the Asian handicap against Chelski, is a touch of value.