Regular readers of this column will know that my main focus from a sports betting perspective is rugby. Aside from the fact that I love the sport it is the area in which I enjoy most of my punting success and over the years I have cut betting on others sports down to a level where I am having a small bet just to have an interest in the game.

Time heals all wounds they say and lately I have been feeling the urge for a strike on the football. I vaguely recall some heartbreaking losses with last minute goals sinking me and denting my wallet but with the details now sketchy I convinced myself that it was time to get back on that bike and have a footy punt.

I waited patiently for the right one ignoring Saturday’s fixtures before settling on the final Premier League clash of the weekend between Man City and Arsenal. I had been following the big spending City with interest and given the Gunners had a long injury list I thought the 15/10 about the home team was excellent value.

With kickoff just minutes away I galloped upstairs and fired up my trusty laptop. Up a few rands on the weekend thanks to the Pumas v Kings rugby game I confidently fired my maximum bet onto Mancini’s men before shutting down the computer to scurry back to the TV.

It took me all of 10 seconds to remember why I don’t bet big on football as no sooner had I hit the red power button than I saw a Man City player making his way disconsolately from the field. The replays that followed confirmed my worst nightmare and Man City were down a man with a full 85 minutes left to play. Comments like “City had made a bright start” and “Arsenal are specialists at putting 10 men away” from the men on the microphone did nothing to cheer me up and rather than watch my money disappear into the bookmakers coffers I went out for a jog instead.

While pounding the streets I scolded myself for having a punt on a sport which for some reason I just can’t catch right – stick to rugby mate!

This article was written for the CitiGaming supplement of the Citizen Newspaper and was first published on the 28th of October 2010.

Brent Graham is a blogger on www.goodforthegame.co.za and presents a sports betting radio show every Thursday night from 22h00 – 22h30 on 1485AM Radio Today or Channel 169 of the DSTV Audio Bouquet and to get on his free weekly e-mail list just send a message to brent@goodforthegame.co.za titled “Best Bets”..

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