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MAY
07
Professional Gambler & Bookmaker: Freddie Williams
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MAY
07
It's November 2005. The location: Cheltenham racecourse. It's about an hour before the first race - the opening day of the Paddy Power Gold Cup meeting. Under a grey sky, with steadily dropping temperatures, the crowd gathers. In the betting circle bookies are pitching. Barry Dennis shouts prices back and forth. Gregory and John Hughes watch the crowd. Andy Smith and John Christie await the first bets of the day. Mickey 'The Asparagus Kid' Fletcher, his face like a 'Wanted' poster, scowls from the sidelines. But Scotsman Freddie Williams, a famed drama actor, hasn't yet arrived. ''please share this great story with our media buttons'' Miniature in stature he may be, he's known as the biggest bookmaker at Prestbury Park. Freddie delays his entrance, sitting comfortably in his Jaguar a hundred yards away in the members' car park. His daughter Julie, and other members of his on-course team are already in place on the pitch. I bet he was never tempted by pokie
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MAY
27
Pro Gamblers: Proud To Be A Betting Man
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MAY
27
An old story originally published in the Northern Echo, 2002 by Ruth Campbell. A fascinating read about professional gambler Paul Cooper. For most gamblers, having a flutter is more of a bit of fun than a serious attempt to get rich. But Ruth Campbell meets one man for whom a day at the races means earning a living. PAUL Cooper greets me by the gate of his imposing five-bedroom Georgian farmhouse, set in 100 acres, in North Yorkshire. There is a gleaming four wheel drive and an Alexis with the personalised number plate PC2 parked in the courtyard. The former public schoolboy is charming and polite, and surrounded by the trappings of his success. If I were a betting woman and were asked, from first impressions, to guess what he did for a living, I would plump for accountant or stockbroker, or something in the City. I'd be wrong. Paul Cooper is a professional gambler. It is hard to know what a professional gambler is supposed to look like - there are not many working in t
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OCT
17
The Gambler's Gambler...
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OCT
17
Gamblers. A special breed. Those punters who went that step further to take on the bookmakers at their own game. Read this collection of articles which detail individuals which not only won big time but in the process made a name for themselves. Be inspired by these gamblers. Learn what made them tick, gave them an edge and become their specialty. It's intriguing to note how each favourite bets contrasted greatly so they all found their niche. Fascinating reading. John Aspinall Harry Findlay Dave Nevison Alan Woods Barney Curley Freddie Williams J P McManus Paul Cooper Sydney Harris Phill Bull Jack Ramsden Alex Bird The Shadow Clive Holt The Computer Group The Art Of Manliness: I'm A Professional Gambler The Hidden Cost Of Being A Pro Gambler Becoming A Professional Gambler Kid Delicious: Pool Hustler Random Pro Gambler: My Story A Tale Of A Pro Gambler Meet The 9 - 5 Gam
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MAR
19
Christatos Aristad: Pro Gambler
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MAR
19
Today we feature a singularly interesting and unique job, that of the professional gambler. Many a man has gambled in his day, whether with real money or cookies. But Christatos Aristad was able to parlay his talents in gambling into a real profession, a lucrative one at that. While some may see professional gamblers as a bit shady, Mr. Aristad is of an older school of gambler, and is the consummate gentleman. Recently retired, he’ll be penning a series of articles for AoM on the basics and etiquette of a variety of games. 1. Tell us a little about yourself (Where are you from? How old are you? Where did you go to school? Describe your job and how long you’ve been at it, ect). My name is Christatos Aristad. I was born in London, and I am 52 years old. I went to Cambridge entirely as a product of family connections and spent a completely unspectacular 4 years there mostly drinking and gambling with my fellow students. I then made a go at a Medical Degree to complete
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FEB
25
Pro Gambler Series: Paul Cooper
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FEB
25
Paul Cooper had his own unique way of gambling for profit, and he used his knowledge of draw bias at British racecourses coupled with an unusual bet called the Tricast to win over £400,000 on a number of bets at Thirsk racecourse. Cooper noticed before virtually any one else that horses drawn high over the straight sprint course at Thirsk appeared to have a distinct advantage. There are a number of racecourses with distinct draw biases around the country. Chester and Beverley probably being the most prevalent but the difference at Thirsk was that the bias was just as marked on fast ground as it was on soft ground. The reason for this was that the watering system at Thirsk left a lot to be desired, and it left a strip of ground next to the stands rail which was unwatered and therefore significantly faster than the rest of the track. Cooper would perm those 5 or 6 horses drawn highest in tricasts, and therefore the ones who would be running on the favoured f
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FEB
12
Pro Gambler Series: Alan Woods
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FEB
12
Alan Woods, was universally recognised as among the top three punters in the world. Woods, born and raised in New South Wales Australia was the pioneer of computer betting syndicates in Hong Kong and a key man in the development of computer analysis for betting. His fortune at the time of his death was estimated at $670 million. The Woods betting syndicate became a legend in the world of Hong Kong racing, where huge amounts of money are invested into the tote pools. For the 2006-07 racing season, the Hong Kong Jockey Club recorded a betting turnover of $US64billion ($71.46bn). It has been estimated the input to annual turnover by Woods and his syndicate was about 2% of that figure. "I would not think that estimate is an exaggeration," said John Schreck, former chief steward for the Australian Jockey Club in Sydney and later for the HKJC in the late 1990s and into the early years of the new millennium when Woods' syndicate was operating at full ste
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JAN
27
Barney Curley: Pro Gambler
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JAN
27
Who is Barney Curley? Why is he so feared by bookmakers and one of the most is celebrated and respected punters in his field? The reason Barney Curley has been the annoyance of bookmakers and one of the most renowned punters of modern times can be traced back to a night at a Belfast race track over forty years ago. Barney's father, a grocer by trade, decided to take a gamble. He bet and bet big on one of his own dogs. During the race, the dog fell and broke his neck at the first bend. The sight of his dad walking back up the track, cradling the dead dog, has haunted Barney ever since. The consequences were devastating, yet would be the backbone of the driving force in Curley becoming in a league of his own where punters are concerned. Curley's father, Curley senior, took Barney, the oldest of six siblings, out of school and sentenced him to 15 months of working double shifts at the plastics factory in Manchester. The two Curley's stayed in Manchester working until enough was s
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JAN
14
Professional Gamblers: Jack Ramsden
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JAN
14
1 in 5 Visitors Signup to our mailing list - Is That You! FILL OUT YOUR EMAIL TO GET FREE TIPS MICRO BLOG INSIDE INFO FREE BETS COMPETITIONS PRO GAMBLER NEWS E-mail address/press return: Jack Ramsden quit his job as a stockbroker in 1980 and since then has had 13 consequtive winning years as a professional punter. His successful punting like so many other professional punters is based around speed figures and race times. He recently stated I cannot stress too strongly the importance of race times. They bind my whole approach together. There are fewer good times recorded over jumps but everyone seems to know about those horses and they are too short to back. Even cutting out the endless looking up of form books, I still spend two or three hours every day working out my bets. Jack continues, Im constantly on the look out for the 3/1 chance that starts at 8/1. There are 30 or 40 of them a year and they are there to be seen. At t
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NOV
20
Pro Gambler Series: Clive Holt
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NOV
20
Clive Holt is a legendary punter. He talks so much sense that his word should be written in gold. He goes racing at least four times a week and prefers midweek to a Saturday. Clive bets on the racecourse only, not in the shops. Like many of the successful punters, William Hill closed Holts account in 1978. Coral soon followed suit closing his account as well. He admits it is difficult these days for him to place a bet. Clive Holt has come a long way since the day in the past when a friend of his told him The Holt was running at Ally Pally. His friend suggested that he back him. In the more than 30 years that have past since that first day, Clive has made a comfortable living. Holt attributes his interest in betting back to his father. His father kept a couple greyhounds in the 1960's and showed his son that there was money to make in betting on them. The first business principle Clive Holt learned about punting was that betting in singles was a fairly easy way for him to make
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NOV
20
Pro Gambler Series: The Shadow
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NOV
20
I found this old posting from 22nd May, 2008. It gives a fascinating insight about some of the UK's most influential gamblers: their character, speciality, wagers and trials and tribulations. Great racing days stick in the memory usually because great bets were struck and won or lost and that in turn starts me off recalling all the great gamblers I have known over the years. Some of the big pro gamblers I have only known casually but others have been close personal friends. The heaviest gambler I have met is probably J P McManus but I have only known him just enough to be on nodding terms and because so many of his huge punts have been very secret the buzz of seeing him in action scaring the pants off the bookies was not as high profile as most of the others of his kind. Much more high profile was Alec Bird whose speciality was place only betting. His standard bet was two hundred grand place only on a red hot favourite. He would be
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NOV
20
Pro Gambler Series: Alex Bird
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NOV
20
Alex Bird was the original professional gambler who made a fortune after the war at Britain's racecourses. He learned his trade working for his father who was a bookmaker but soon decided that it would be more profitable to be on the other side. He had many different ways of beating the bookmaker, but probably his most famous was his success on betting on the result of photo finishes. Unlike today photo finishes would take about 5 minutes to develop so there was always an active betting market on the outcome. Bird very early on noticed that when horses crossed the line together an optical illusion meant that the horse on the far side invariably looked like he had won. He also discovered a simple technique which meant the illusion didn't occur. He stood at an elevated vantage point as near to the winning post as possible, he would keep very still, close his left eye and create an imaginary line across the track at the finishing line. He used this simple system for the nex
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NOV
01
The Shadow: A Professional Gambler's Story
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NOV
01
I found this old posting from 22nd May, 2008. It gives a fascinating insight about some of the UK's most influential gamblers: their character, speciality, wagers and trials and tribulations. Great racing days stick in the memory usually because great bets were struck and won or lost and that in turn starts me off recalling all the great gamblers I have known over the years. Some of the big pro gamblers I have only known casually but others have been close personal friends. The heaviest gambler I have met is probably J P McManus but I have only known him just enough to be on nodding terms and because so many of his huge punts have been very secret the buzz of seeing him in action scaring the pants off the bookies was not as high profile as most of the others of his kind. Much more high profile was Alec Bird whose speciality was place only betting. His standard bet was two hundred grand place only on a red hot favourite. He would be quite hap
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