Allan of Sys Analyst sounded cross when he sent an email to members on Saturday morning. The header said: “What idiot is backing this on the exchange now?”.
This was at four minutes past nine in the morning. The first of the day’s bets had been sent out to members just a couple of minutes earlier.
I guess people may not realize – although if you’re a member of Sys Analyst I’d like to think you would – that backing a tipster’s bets on the Exchanges relatively early in the morning is a pretty dopey thing to do. All that happens in what is generally a market lacking liquidity is that the bookmakers will see that money has gone or is queued up and they will cut the price they’re offering. If you’re of a selfish disposition I suppose this doesn’t matter, but it must drive the tipster, who has the best interests of all their followers at heart, absolutely mad. I know Wayne of Northern Monkey used to have real issues with this too.
The thing is, the prices generally will be available on the Exchanges when there is more liquidity anyway. Since starting to follow Sys Analyst, I’ve placed a good number of bets using Smarkets only. I’ve failed to at least get the “Minimum Price” just three times I think, and often get a better price than that quoted. On Saturday, I didn’t place a Sys Analyst bet before 1.00 (I was out driving around all Saturday morning getting bets down in cash in the bookie offices) and placed every single bet at an acceptable price. So why jump on as soon as tips have been released at 9.00 in the morning with all the inevitable knock on effects?
Talking of putting bets down in the offices, I got a couple of Lucky 15s down at the BetFred closest to me (my first stop on my “route”). Opposite to this Fred’s, is a Ladbrokes, and I crossed the road to do the same in there. Whilst coming out, the woman who had served me in BetFred walked in the door of the Ladbrokes. Nightmare!
I turned around – not particularly swiftly, what with a slipped disc and all, pretended to be on my ‘phone talking to the missus, and hoped she didn’t notice me. As soon as I could, I slipped out hoping she wouldn’t spot me. If she did, she didn’t say anything, but this is the same person who I once encountered in another BetFred I visit regularly and had to think quickly of some good reason why I was in that one and not in the one she usually saw me in.
Honestly, the games we play…
