With the big 4 days of the Spring carnival run and won, our attention turns to trying to to find a good thing in another sport. And given the performance in the first test in Perth, it looks to be a safe bet that South Africa will win the series ($1.52), and Australian selectors will give out about a dozen new baggy greens in pursuit of a test victory. Just don't call it a rebuilding phase.
Getting this out the way early.... If anyone out there can let us know if they backed more than one winner on Thursday at Flemington, we may have a job as a tipster going in the newsletter. If bookies got bent over by Winx, we are pretty sure they made it up on Thursday in spades. Lucky anyone who followed our 4 leg sports multi last week would have got around $7 a unit, so we have that going for us.
Most of us at the office haven’t lost the goosebumps after watching Winx smash the field last week, or the jealousy of knowing some other blokes from the office were trackside for it. If someone can show me a better run by a horse in this country ever, I will have a 3 course sit-down meal with Michael Clarke with a view to discussing how to win friends and influence people.
Michael Clarke has proven himself to be needier than our last ex with the Australian public, and it turns out he was about as popular as a red headed step child with his team-mates. Nick Kyrgios should send him a thank you card for diverting attention.
Nick Kyrgios surprised us all, and acted like a complete flog at the Shanghai Masters this week. We are pretty sure that when your coach says “go with your strengths”, he means your tennis strengths Nick. The ball is back in your court, Mr Tomic. Don’t let Nick outshine you in the mental strength stakes.
Mal Meninga has declared a “no d*ckheads” policy for his Australian league side to contest the Four Nations tournament. Given he has to choose from NRL players, strong bet there will be plenty of empty seats on that flight.
Golf's famous Atlantic pissing contest, a.k.a. the Ryder Cup kicks of Friday night between the USA ($1.55) and Europe ($2.90). It’s quite hilarious hearing golfers trash-talk - muskets at dawn you cad!
Man U were lucky to escape with a win in the EFL against Northampton Town mid week. They’re now at $11.00 to win the Championship, and probably at $111 to make it off the bus safely if they lose their next game.
Bernard…. Just when you think he has peaked… not tennis-wise obviously… Quite amazing that a bloke who spends his life acting like a bell-end gets upset when it’s pointed out to him! Lets just hope he is well groomed if he continues making that offer! Murray is favourite for the US Open at $2.37, heading the Djoker close behind at $2.75, and Serena always out front at $2.25.
With the Olympics over, Australian tax payers will be pleased to know that each Gold medal essentially cost the nation $11.4 million dollars. Money well spent we feel, given the Olympics stimulate our economy so much what with the loss of sleep and TV watching that goes on in offices. Or maybe that is just our office. And maybe that’s just every week here….
The Australian Cricket team (if you can call them that…) did exactly what we thought they would do, and gave us the sh*ts by getting whitewashed in Sri Lanka. At least we have the Olympics to keep a smile on our face, as the Boomers make it through to the semi-finals, and the womens athletics is… well… the womens athletics! And Usain Bolt smiled his way to his Olympic triple-double gold in the 100m/200m sprints
The Olympic dream started as a nightmare for some Aussie athletes, with the accommodation looking like it was built by contestants from The Block, but without the professional help. And the Australian cricket team looks like it can only be beaten by rain at this point in Sri Lanka. And it also proved to be the undoing of an Australia streaker who was fined $28 and will spend a week in jail after his genius move to fill the time in.
Phil Mickleson played the perfect final round in The Open last week, only to be beaten by a Swede who somehow was more perfect! Stensons final round 63 allowed him to clinch The Open title, while Phil is so good at finishing second, he is now second on the all time list of seconds at majors. Hang on a second….
We¹ve just formed our first Punt Club this past fortnight seven blokes aiming for some cheeky banter and (unlikely) fund a few frothies at a midyear trip to the Map of Tas (a 50th b/day excursion for our senior). A semi-intelligent group of professionals two IT propeller heads, a cartographer (the bi-centenarian), a travel agent (apparently they still exist), a forensic toxicologist (don¹t ask), a lawyer (really don¹t ask) and a stereotypical “business consultant” and you¹d think we could get the punt sorted pretty quickly.
From Vegas to Moe:
The excitement was building up, rumors and banter had been going around for months now throughout our friendship group. It had been over 7 years since we were all last at university together, and with further work commitments and people moving to different areas across Victoria, what better way to keep in touch than by forming a Punt Club!
One Friday arvo at my desk I put the last $10 of the weekly cash on a long shot. Mitchell Pearce to score first try / Roosters 1-12 at the juicy odds of 46-1, in the 2014 semi-final against the Cowboys. An outrageous bet by anyone's standards.
Got home from work and sat down with a beer to watch the start of the match, within 3 minutes Pearce went 90 metres and the bet was on!
In the beginning, there were four simple mates battling away using a makeshift group account with a rival online betting agency.
The year was 2BP (Before Punt Club), their set-up was amateur at best and much effort was required to maintain order amongst the people, consequently results were poor and the mood was sombre. The only saving grace was the constant preaching from two group members...
It was a Saturday in the middle of autumn 2015. The weather was crappy so four mates and myself decided to go to the local pub for a few beers and a bet. I'm probably the biggest punter of the group and have a bet and do form most Wednesday and Saturdays, however my mates experience levels at punting varied.
We’re uni students, the lot of us, so our motto isn’t quite ‘Bet Big Win Big’. Two of us punt $8.75 a week each and attempt to do something other than burn it in smaller amounts. Every so often, one of us rises above the crowd in pursuit of greatness, albeit via a different highway. $7.75 of your money is gone, it’s coming to the end of your week, clutch time, the pressure is on, how do you use your last dollar?
A lot of AFL tips got shown the pointy end last week when Collingwood treated Geelong like a red headed step-child in the first quarter. The Cats fought back, but it was a bridge to far. One of the better matches in this round is Adelaide hosting GWS at Adelaide Oval. The Giants are looking set to deliver on their potential now, and well into the future. They are slight favourites heading into this match, and we think they can get it done by less than 39 points at $2.55
Jason Day led wire to wire to win the unofficial 5th Major, The PGA Players Championship this week, in what many are seeing as a “Tiger-esque” run. Tiger sexted Jason to say he's was going to kick his ass on return to the tour, but judging from the 3 balls from 3 shots in the water this week from Tiger while promoting his own tournament, we think Jason has more to worry about from Jarryd Hayne beating him in next years Masters!
With Collingwood driving Eddie to the brink of retirement (just from a club position sadly), the AFL threw up no shortage of discussion points last week. If Eddie has said he isn’t going, the next best suspect is the coach - maybe the Pies and the Tigers can start a new trend, and trade coaches? On second thoughts, that might be like swapping a brain tumour with lung cancer.
Leicester City made several punters hundreds of thousands of dollars after claiming their first Premier League title this week. It would be fair to say that there are some players on that team that made less money this year than the fans that got on the Foxes at 5000-1.
The Divinyls taught us there's a fine line between pleasure and pain. We have all experienced the highs and the lows of a weekend on the punt.
One night you're witnessing a robbery, as the umps help Hawthorn steal another bloody game and take a shit on your hopes and dreams, after you loaded up on the Crows at $3.50 odds. While other times life throws you a bone when Perth mare Sheidel wins the Bel Esprit Stakes after a protest was upheld.
ATM’s are full of horrible scams that t
ake our money like the $2.50 withdrawal fee when using another bank’s machine. Yet surely we should be able to trust the technicians who supply the money in each machine?
Quiet please..... a millionaire needs to concentrate on his ‘job’
G’day trendsetters. Apart from Christmas morning, or leaving for an end of season footy trip, getting up at 4am on a Monday morning isn’t high on our list of things to do. Jason Day will hopefully change that this week. His form is amazing. He is full of confidence. He has gotten over his cold! And he will start a hot favourite for this year’s event. But golf, she is a fickle mistress. We have included some value bets below that might keep things interesting should Jason get all Greg Norman about life.
Punt Club is thankful the South Australian Showdown was played in daytime because there was a power outage the whole game.
Punt Club would like to file a missing person report. Charlie Dixon was last seen taking a mark in the first quarter and was not seen for the rest of the game. Crows defender Daniel Talia is one of the main suspects for Charlie's disappearance.
There’s a few rules to remember when mixing business with pleasure.
Don’t dip your pen in the company ink, don’t get too drunk at the office Christmas party and don’t under any circumstances screw your mates in the lottery syndicate.
Every big win on the punt can be a tale of heroics, but every now and then it can also be a story about a villain whose greed ruins friendships. At Punt Club we like to name and shame these villains, because friendship is a ship that should never sink.
The team at Punt Club spent Easter the same way Jesus did. Gone Friday, came back to life Sunday.
(Read about this weeks AFL, NRL, Tennis, Golf and EPL)
Punt Club has felt endless sorrow since that sad day in October when the AFL season ended and Hawthorn continued their intolerable smugness.
A weekend without an AFL multi is one of the emptiest feelings a man can endure. There’s a sense of helplessness. It’s almost like being a Carlton supporter.
The lonely summer without footy is over and Punt Club is excited to bring punters the latest tips from this week’s first round of matches.
Round 4 Quick Look: Punt Club has a Semi Radradra over last week’s performance from the Parramatta Eels. Move over the ‘Hayne Plane,’ the Fijian flyer is here to stay. This week South Sydney host Canterbury without their star Sam Burges. The Bulldogs will be hoping for some Good Friday redemption after a poor performance last week.
It started out as great idea. A few mates. A few bucks each week. Alot of banter. And in reality, it is a great idea. But trying to implement and manage a punters club is nothing but grief and hair pulling for those that put their hand up when it comes to running them. There are plenty of blokes who love to get involved, but trying to pin them down and have a shred of responsibility will make you feel John Buchanan trying to get Shane Warne to do a pre-tour fitness regime.
Horse ownership. For some of us, it brings back memories of a past girlfriend who did dressage, and would win $50 in a horseshow on a wintery Sunday, but put $200 of diesel in the truck to get there. Thank god those events had bars. For others, it conjures up thoughts of well dressed punters on sun covered lawns make it seem like a bucket list item. Either way, there is drinking involved. The fun. The thrill. The thought that you might actually be involved with something that can win! One of the best ways to achieve the dream, without taking a lump sum out of your bank account that will render you unable to pay your mortgage for the next 3 months is to start a punters club.
Enjoy a bit of back and forth between Punt Club's customer service team and a disgruntled customer... ;)
Australia has a strong history of being a nation of gamblers. Hell, if you asked most overseas people, they assume we are taking a punt just by stepping out the door in the morning given how many things that live here can kill you in the blink of an eye!
The thought of a punters club can generate different feelings in different people. Everyone can enjoy the fun and fancy of following the horse or their favourite football side. But who tames the head of the beast, and look after all the administration and grief that comes with managing multiple people and their idiosyncrasies
So you have made it through the summer with some dead boring test match cricket, and can’t wait to put your teams colours on, and head down to the local to wear the bars and jibes of the ever knowing bar flies. What with the ever constant supply of horse and dogs racing, it’s a perfect time to up the social ante and get involved in a Punters Club.
Punters clubs have been around since Moses first laced on his footy boots and cheered an Egyptian thoroughbred down the banks of the Nile. Ever since then people have been coming up with weird and wacky rules, and equally wacky penalties, for club members seen to be bringing their own pastime into disrepute. Punt Club shares some of the less common rules their members have insisted on putting in place.
5. Vegas – Or any other ‘The Hangover’ location
There are more than a few casinos in this world, and for those of us who think that too much punting is never enough they are destinations in themselves. Then we have those special places found on the bucket list of any respectable punter like Las Vegas, Monte Carlo and Macau. And the reason we all love The Hangover is we can relate, even aspire (if not to some of the ‘same time’ extremes) to the madness of a mates weekend gone mad. So insert whatever city you think this weekend should take place in, and set your punters club sights on the flights.
How many times have we all been there? You’re watching a world class event on the flat screen with a bunch of mates and one of them comes out with the inevitable “Why don’t we go and get amongst it next year?”. Sure enough, thanks in no small part to the generous portions of alcohol consumed, a chorus of excited agreement begins to sound throughout the room. Of course, life gets in the way, no-one can organize a root in a brothel and you all find yourselves in the same situation twelve months later. We all know that a trip like that really would be the experience of a lifetime, especially with all our mates in tow, so why do we remain wannabes? The truth is, we’re all too busy. Our individual lives and the logistics of group travel, especially the co-ordination of finances, make success virtually impossible.
