I'm not going to talk about the World Cup too much here if I can help it because I know some of you don't like it and also it could get a little repetitive, but today was only ever going to be about England's opening match against Paraguay and so it turned out to be.
The Royal Court are doing a wonderful thing whereby everyone pays £5 in, then all that money is put down the bookies on England to win, and if they do then the money goes behind the bar. Free drinks. So it was the Royal Court I went this afternoon to watch the events in Frankfurt but I'd arrogantly underestimated the appeal of this event and it was entirely sold old. 450 odd people. So that's... £2250 on England to win? Think so. Good bet. Even though I'm special I still couldn't get in and so I went to The Lion to watch it instead, which was strangely quiet. I hope people aren't planning on watching matches at home, just because they're all being shown on terrestrial tele? You watch the World Cup in the pub, and you most certainly watch England games in the pub. That has been a law for many a long year.
England won 1-0 by virtue of an own goal and any positives displayed in the first half were eradicated by a dreadful and negative second half. But a win's a win and we must remember that England always start tournaments poorly. It's how we operate. We huff and puff out a couple of narrow wins and a draw early on, then we start to play, and that takes us on a glorious tide of brilliance all the way to the quarter finals. That's our style.
This year people have been discussing England's chances of winning the World Cup. It's hard to discuss this because although we've been earmarked as second favourites, I just can't see it, no matter how good our team is on paper. Do we have the mentality to jump the final two hurdles when the best we've managed in the past forty years is a semi final? I don't know. There's Brazil, who everyone assumes will win, and then there's teams like Holland, France and Argentina who have a winning mentality and could do it. Then there's teams like South Korea and Italy who are dangerous. England....? Well you can't take anything from today's performance because, as I say, we're always a bit rubbish at first, and there is the promise of Rooney being introduced sooner rather than later, but I just don't know if we're a winning nation. It's a crazy thought but I do think it might be mentality (and Sven's useless substitutions) that denies us. In England, we cheer the boys home as heroes if they get knocked out in a semi-final. That's not the attitude of winners.
I know this sounds a bit airy-fairy but this year I'm just going to enjoy the football. I do want England to win, I'd probably agree to have a year shaved off my life if it guaranteed England winning the World Cup this year (I don't know how I'd arrange that - with a witch doctor probably) but I'm just going to enjoy all the matches, not just England's, and try and learn some more about unheard of players. Look at Trinidad And Tobago! They were amazing today and in theory they could qualify with England from our group, even if we beat them on Thursday which I hope we do. They're the first heroes of the World Cup having draw with Sweden and therefore I hope they progress and I'll support them jointly with England.
What odds of Trinidad winning the World Cup? 1000/1? Worth a tenner isn't it.
I've already made some bets which look pretty good. I've not made them with an official bookie but with Paul, a regular at the Lion. He was a bit drunk when he made these with me but so what? They're all written on paper and a bet's a bet.
They are;
1. Wayne Rooney to feature (as a substitute even) in the game against Trinidad. £5 at 20/1. That's a potential £100 win and I think this could well happen. Ha-Ha.
2. Wayne Rooney to feature (again, as a sub even) in the game against Sweden. £10 at 12/1. That's a potential £120 and I think it's a definite.
3. Theo Walcott to score in any of England's three group matches. £20 at 23/2. That's a potential £230, even though I don't think it will happen.
But a £35 possible loss for a potential profit of £450 is fine by me. I'll be sure to take a photograph of Paul's tearful face when he pays out of any of these bets and post it up here for you all to enjoy.
Gambling's great. I took Katie, a barmaid at The Lion, to the casino tonight and was amazed at her luck on the roulette table. She turned £10 into £90 very quickly. It's a curious thing, beginner's luck, isn't it? It definitely exists and is a potentially powerful force. They should use it in the military to win wars. Instead of sending in experienced and well trained troops on dangerous raids, just send someone who's never done it before and doesn't even know how a gun works. Beginners luck will see them through.
I did okay on the roulette, turning £100 into £210, but that was nothing like the profit margin that Katie managed. The trouble was, I was simply using luck, which is great but not a potent as beginner's luck. Beginner's luck is a much purer strand of luck. It's like delicious, pure honey out of a hive, compared with rubbish honey in a cheap supermarket. Both are sweet, but only one is truly delicious.
Roulette's the best game in the casino because it makes you look good whilst requiring absolutely no skill. It's a game of pure luck and therefore if you're a beginner you can be very good at, using your powerful beginners luck. When I first started playing roulette I couldn't loose, my beginner's luck saw me though every time. Then I began to play more regularly and was therefore not a beginner, and my luck changed to standard luck, which is unreliable and stupid.
I'd love to be a professional gambler. I'm aware of the dangers though, and do worry slightly that Katie now thinks she'll go to the casino once a week to supplement her income by £100 a time. I've told her it doesn't always work like that but she seems convinced that's what will happen. Oh dear. Don't worry, when she's destitute I'll post a picture of her tearful face up here for us all to laugh at. I mean as a deterrent for people who think that gambling's cool and easy. Which it is, but don't go thinking that, it will lead you to ruin.
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