Category Archives: Opinion

Euro 2012 Review & Preview

Posted on by

If you are gambler and if, in particular, you like to put your money on what could be seen as a safe bet, you may now be more than a little concerned about Sunday’s final between Spain and Italy.  Germany will have let a lot of people down and not just the German population;  10/3 to win before the tournament began and 6/4 to reach the final, every German performance in the competition has been excellent until last night.

Only Joachim Loew will know why he set his team up to try and contain Andrea Pirlo rather than stick to their previously successful game plan.  Rather than starting the game on the front foot and taking the game to Germany, they changed their tactics, allowed Italy to retain the ball and paid the price.  Mario Balotelli scored two classy goals, one from a header and one by springing the German offside trap and all Germany could manager was one very late penalty. Check the goals out:

So Italy will go into Sunday’s final against Spain probably wondering how exactly they managed it.  The Italians began with odds of 14/1 for the win and 6/1 to reach the final so there will at least be some happy speculative bettors out there.  Pirlo again played well last night but you feel that if the Spanish can dominate possession as comprehensively as they normally do then Italy will suffer; if Pirlo can’t dictate the play then Italian chances will be limited.  On the plus side, Italy will look to their opening 1 – 1 draw with Spain for some optimism.

Spain have also no doubt disappointed; they may be missing David Villa and Carles Puyol but they also appear to have been sleepwalking through this competition.  That they’ve managed to do that all the way to the final does go some way to justifying their tag as pre-tournament favourites at 14/5.  They will certainly want to improve on the semi-final performance which saw them sneak past Portugal on penalties and will want to rediscover their goal scoring form to avoid another tedious 120 minutes of football.

If you fancy a late bet, best odds currently are 9/8 for Spain and 16/5 for Italy with the draw at 9/4.  That draw might not be a bad shout.

The Best Poker Playing Sportspeople

Posted on by

It’s fair to say there’s always been some crossover between the world of the casino and the world of the professional sportsperson.  The rate at which it has happened has increased exponentially over the years in which the popularity of all casino games has risen.  Poker is the clearest example of this phenomenon as the variety known as Texas Hold’em has dominated the casinos and tournaments for the last thirty or so years. The internet has only helped the game’s popularity.

So why do sportspeople get involved with gambling?  Actually that’s not a well-phrased question as it brings to mind gambling addicts who’ve lost fortunes to unwise sports betting – a better question is to ask which sportspeople have chosen to invest their time in the noble game of poker?  To be a high profile player you need to be able to afford high profile-level buy-ins, something that is within the reach of wealthy ex-sportspeople.  But, you say, surely you also need a reasonable level of intelligence to play the holy game?  How do some of those cerebrally challenged footballers grasp the finer nuances and technical challenges of poker?

Well of course they don’t; the system soon weeds out those who can’t cut it at this level.  They lose they substantial buy-ins and go back to the golf course, never to return.  The ons that remain are the ones who can do the business, those who are sharp enough to learn the poker ropes and challenge for the money successfully.  So below are a few of the more notable sporting/poker crossovers.

Teddy Sheringham – veteran of several famous English clubs across the leagues, he won a number of honours on the pitch before turning his attention to poker at invitational events.  Some success at these convinced Teddy he had what it took to expand on this new career and he began to play more seriously.  His first major success was in 2009 at a €4000 buy-in charity tournament in Monte Carlo where he finished second.  He linked up with PokerStars and continues to make a name for himself in European events.

Tony Cascarino – another footballer, this time from Ireland who couldn’t match Sheringham on the pitch but has outperformed him at the poker table.  Cascarino appears to favour high-stakes games and his best finish so far has been a win in 2009 at the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour.  Cascarino has earned an estimated £500,000 in career prize money. If you’re looking for some poker tips, ask this man.

Boris Becker – sticking with the European theme, former tennis champion Becker has not yet had the success of Sheringham or Cascarino but may well in the future.  Also signed by PokerStars, Becker has placed well in several medium sized tournaments, especially in the European Poker Tour but has yet to win any significant sums.  Watch this space though.

 

Training For Poker

Posted on by

That’s an odd title for an article to be sure but those casino aficionados will be aware that being successful at the Roulette wheel, the Blackjack table or the Poker tournament requires a certain type of mental and physical preparation.  This post is also at odds with an article we featured well over a year ago which lambasted many Olympic activities as not being sports at all, but pointless pastimes which just waste everybody’s time.

However we like to make the occasional exception and because there are some keen gamblers among us, the impartial choice is those games of skill and luck which comprise an evening out at the casino or perhaps some hours spent at home, playing roulette on one’s laptop.  But how do you keep fit for these activities and how do you persuade an overweight poker player that spending a few hours a week in the gym is beneficial.

training for poker

Training for Poker

The first place to start is to make the connection between physical exercise and mental acuity.  If you want to spend a number of hours concentrating on whether or not your opponents are bluffing, you must be fit enough to be able to stay alert and sharp enough to maintain your concentration.  A junk food-eating poker player leading a sedentary lifestyle will be a poorer player than one who pounds the treadmill or the exercise bike on a regular basis.

On a similar note, physical exercise not only keeps the muscles and joints fit and healthy but also produces greater levels of natural substances which keep the brain active and alert.  If you have the pleasure of following the Twitter feed of some of the top poker players such as Daniel Negreanu and Phil Hellmuth, you won’t fail to notice their frequent mentions of gym attendance at whichever hotel in whichever part of the world they are currently playing.

Exercise is especially important for you if you play as an amateur in the evening but spend all day sitting in front of a computer in the office.  30 minutes a day is all it will take to make you and your brain fitter and your general lifestyle healthier.