CitizenBlogHaving cleared most of my accounts after the Rugby World Cup, I then proceeded to flitter away what was left and was on the verge of shutting up shop for the year. I had a small balance left in my World Sports Betting Account and decided on a change of approach which, so far, has paid dividends.

CitizenBlogAs 2019 draws to a close I find myself reflecting on what was an up and down sports betting year. The highlight was, without doubt, the Rugby World Cup and I turned a profit on the event thanks to long term positions going low on points and tries and despite being on England to win the tournament.

CitizenBlogAs 2019 draws to a close, rugby punters will be taking close order as the Cape Town 7’s gets underway.

CitizenBlogMy weekend began on a positive note when I cashed in our Poker School’s annual year end Tournament on Friday night. Unfortunately things started going wrong on the Saturday when I got involved in Horse Racing including the Summer Cup. It was one of those days where anything I backed failed to even challenge for the places and only Queen Supreme, who eventually finished 4th, gave me a run for my money in the main race.

CitizenBlogThe Summer Cup is one of four Horse Races I get excited for each year with the others being the Durban July, J & B Met and Queens Plate.

CitizenBlogSports Betting took a back seat for me this past weekend as I was invited to play in one of the WPT Poker tournaments at Emperors Palace. GGGaming were kind enough to sponsor me into the opening event and I lined up alongside 183 poker players, the majority of which play far more poker than me. As much as I love poker I tend to run out of patience and if I was going to go deep in this one I needed plenty of discipline.

CitizenBlogWith the Rugby World Cup something of the past I am looking to take something of a betting sabbatical over the next two months. Of course, strictly speaking it is not a sabbatical at all as I won’t be getting paid and frankly I won’t stop betting all together. The frequency and size of my bets will decrease though.

CitizenBlogCongratulations to the Springboks on being crowned World Champions after a dominant performance against England on Saturday.

CitizenBlogI fancied England to win the Rugby World Cup at the beginning of the Tournament and a few weeks ago finally took the plunge and backed them at 9/2. I knew they would have to beat New Zealand in the semi-final and that would quite likely set up a final against South Africa.

CitizenBlogThis past weekend was unusual in that I didn’t have any school sporting events to watch so I could focus on the Rugby World Cup Quarter-Finals.

CitizenBlogAfter a rather shaky Rugby World Cup to date I enjoyed a great weekend with virtually all of my bets arriving. In fact the only one that went belly up was Scotland to beat Japan, my final play of the weekend.

CitizenBlogI made sure to organize a business meeting with someone who wanted to watch the Rugby last Friday when South Africa took on Italy just after midday SA time.

CitizenBlogThe Springboks play their third World Cup Pool Match against Italy on Friday and if they win this match they will be assured of a second place finish behind New Zealand and a spot in the quarter-finals.

CitizenBlogComing into this Rugby World Cup I had a long term strategy which was to go low on points as I expected conditions in particular to trouble the teams.

CitizenBlogI often find myself saying “where does the time go?” and as a general rule every year seems to fly past quicker and quicker. But for some reason the four years between Rugby World Cups seems like an eternity and I cannot wait for the action to get going on Friday with Japan playing Russia.

CitizenBlogI was in Brits this past Saturday watching my son play a 7’s Tournament for his school and for that reason I never got as financially involved as I usually would have.

CitizenBlogRugby World Cup fever is building and I am getting more and more enquiries from people who are keen to have a bet.

CitizenBlogThere has been some significant moves in the Rugby World Cup markets over the last few weeks. New Zealand’s prices have moved between 12/10 and 16/10 and they are currently sitting around the 13/10 mark after an impressive Bledisloe Cup showing last time out.

CitizenBlogI was invited to watch the South Africa v Argentina Test match at Boktown in the Monte Casino this past weekend. I decided to take my son along and before we arrived at the venue we stopped in to get him a Springbok Rugby jersey. I wasn’t prepared to take a second bond on my house for the top of the range, but we got him a nice World Cup replica and enjoyed some refreshments while we waited for kick-off.

CitizenBlogThere has been some significant movement in the outright World Cup betting markets following the conclusion of the Rugby Championship.

CitizenBlogI am coming off one of those weekends I would rather forget.

CitizenBlogThe Springboks last gasp draw against New Zealand in Wellington have seen them installed as 4/10 favourites to win the Rugby Championship with just one round of games remaining.

CitizenBlogThe Springboks delivered an impressive display against the Wallabies in Johannesburg on Saturday to win by 18 points, comfortably beating the 6 points handicap the bookmakers had given them.

CitizenBlogAfter a temporary lull rugby fans have plenty to look forward to this weekend with three Currie Cup matches and the opening two Rugby Championship tests.

CitizenBlogI usually get very involved with the Durban July hosting a big get together, however this year I had a 50th birthday party to attend so scaled back considerably although that did not apply to my bets.

CitizenBlogThe first Saturday in July is always one of my favourites of the year with the running of the Vodacom Durban July and also the start of the Tour de France.

CitizenBlogBok coach Rassie Erasmus cast his net wide when calling up players to his training camp in Pretoria this week.  South African fans will have taken note of the large contingent of overseas players who have the opportunity to prove themselves.

CitizenBlogIt doesn’t happen often but every now and again a weekend comes along where everything goes your way.

CitizenBlogThe 18th and final week of the Super Rugby regular season takes place this weekend and judging by how much money I have already got down, it is going to be very much a make or break weekend for me. 

CitizenBlogThis past weekend started very well for me and on Friday I landed my opening bet being 44 points or less in the Blues v Bulls game.  I couldn’t watch the match, but was tracking the live scores and was relieved when the final whistle went at 22-22 meaning my bet had just snuck in.

CitizenBlogSports fans and punters have long been waiting for the second half of 2019 as we have both the Cricket and Rugby World Cups to look forward to. 

citizenBrooks Koepka survived a back 9 wobble to go wire to wire in the PGA Championships on the weekend.  I had backed the joint Tournament favourite at 11/1 and my other main bet on the weekend was Dustin Johnson also at 11/1 so I was very relaxed down the stretch, knowing that if Koepka did go belly up, Johnson would be the beneficiary. 

citizenOne of the highlights of this past sporting weekend was the Champions Cup Final between Saracens and Leinster.  This match showcased the very best that European rugby has to offer and the intensity was certainly on a par with that of a test match. 

citizenAs much as I love my rugby and in particularly betting on it there comes a time every year where I feel I need to take a step back and allow myself to enjoy some of the other sports. 

citizenReaders of last week’s column will know that things hadn’t been going my way with a few bad bets followed by a few bad beats. I was certainly not alone though and a good punting mate of mine Brendan has every reason to feel bitter after this past weekend. 

citizenThere have been many times over the years when I have explained to my wife just how close I was to winning a bet only to be robbed in the dying seconds of the game.  She always responds “all that counts is the bottom line”. 

citizenI had always anticipated going to bed in the early hours of Monday morning after watching the back 9 of the Masters, hopefully with a number of players in contention. 

citizenAfter a poor run of form I decided to do what any true punter would and that of course was to bet myself out of trouble this past weekend.

citizenReaders of this column will know that 90% of my bets go down on rugby however at this time of the year I start to get excited about the US Masters Golf which is only a week away.  Little beats the excitement of the first Major of the year and of course betting on the tournament only adds to the excitement.

citizenI was away in the Midlands for a wedding this past weekend and that meant I was going to be more selective than normal with my bets. Aside from the fact that there were plenty of social activities lined up, the cellphone signal was virtually non-existent and getting a bet on was going to be easier said than done.