It’s not just the players who make big money on snooker – gambler Jamie Hulett turns a tidy profit from it, too. Here are his golden rules for those who want to transform green baize into greenbacks.
In the words of The Verve, ‘I’m a lucky man,’ and I don’t only mean in terms of snooker. As with many thirtysomethings, my earliest memories of snooker revolved around the TV show Pot Black and shot-by-shot coverage of the world championship.
I was hooked. The mesmeric quality of the play, the characters – among them Alex Higgins, Ray Reardon, Ted Wilson (who remembers him?) – all had me in their thrall.
Having followed the sport throughout my teenage years, I struck my first bets aged 18 as a degree student. The 1984 Masters at Wembley – Doug Mountjoy was 100/1. My £10 bet reached the final against Cliff Thorburn. Half the PE students at Avery Hill College in South East London cheered on the Welshman with me – (£1,000 was at least two weeks’ beer money to a poor student then). He lost 9-6… but the snooker betting seeds had been sown.
Many more bets were struck during my four years of learning – Jimmy White winning the Mercantile Credit Classic in 1986 after needing a snooker with only pink and black left to play, was both profi table and a fond memory. By the early 1990s, I could see the benefits – bookmakers were nowhere near as clued-up as I thought, and profits could be made, especially backing the outsider in matches where the favourites were priced too short.
After backing a pony-tailed Peter Ebdon to knock out Steve Davis from the world championship at 6/1, I saw even more potential. He carried my money at 100/1 when he won the 1993 Grand Prix. One of the craziest bets I placed was Fergal O’Brien at 6/1 to beat John Parrot in the 1994 Regal Welsh Open. No doubt 6/1 was a massive price in a two-horse race, but the fact that Coral were ‘no offers’ on John Parrott shows how badly informed they were. O’Brien won 5-4.
My knowledge on snooker betting was well developed and after my first trip to the Crucible I realised attendance at tournaments was a must, both to study form and to enjoy the atmosphere and share gossip with the betting characters on the circuit.
Sadly, guys such as Harry ‘The Dog’ Findlay, ‘Flash’ Bob Harris and ‘The Long Fellow’ no longer frequent the venues. Nevertheless you can still find ‘Big Geoff’, ‘The Machine’ and ‘The Cruncher’. But the halcyon days of the 1980s and 1990s are gone.
I still attend most tournaments and have forged friendships with many players. I watch pre-televised matches to form my own opinions about who is playing well and who is struggling. Making money from snooker is not as easy as it was, but I still believe it’s possible to make substantial profits – if certain rules are followed.
Betting on snooker continues to constitute a proportion of my winnings today, as a professional gambler. Here are some well formed judgements that will hopefully help you to make the game pay:
LEARN AS MUCH AS YOU CAN
You have to put in the hours learning about as many players as possible and how they play. You also need to know who the lesser players are. Keep up to date with qualifying results. At most ranking tournaments players outside the top 32 have to qualify to make the venue. Make sure you’re aware of the latest results. Teletext, worldsnooker.com, Snooker Scene and the Racing Post all carry these qualifying results. If you can spot up-and-coming players with the hunger and talent to succeed, you already have an edge.
By keeping records, you see which players have had good results and which are struggling to win. Snooker is a game played in the mind as well as on the table, and I can’t emphasise enough how much confidence plays a part in winning. It often pays to keep laying on the betting exchanges a player who has hardly won a match during a season, as his confidence is obviously low.
DON’T BET BEFORE YOU PRICE UP
So you’ve kept an eye on the qualifying stages – what next? Make sure you have access to the draw and see the matches that are to be played. You can then price up these matches before you see the bookmakers’ odds. Failure to do this will result in your being swayed by their opinions.
Price up to 100% with no bookmaker’s margins. For example, if you make player A an 8/13 shot, player B is obviously 13/8. Once you have gone through the matches, see what bookmakers are offering on each game. Remember also that your odds will differ depending on the length of the match – you will bet a first-to-nine match closer than a fi rst-to-17 match. Don’t be put off if your price differs considerably from that offered by the bookmakers. They do make mistakes!
ALWAYS FIND VALUE
If you’re to make consistent profits in the long run, you must make sure you secure value. Taking the example in Rule 2 (below): if I fancied player B to beat the favourite, there’s no way I would back him, unless I could secure bigger than the 13/8. Anything less than 13/8 wouldn’t be contemplated – you have no value or edge. If he goes on to win at 5/4, so be it.
You have to be disciplined. Value is not only about betting at odds against. If I priced a game with player A 1/3 and player B 3/1, then should 4/7 be available for player A and there are strong reasons for backing him, I would do so. A word of caution here, though: betting on snooker – especially the best-of-nine frames – is tricky, and betting on long odds-on shots should generally be limited.
FOLLOW YOUR STAKING PLAN
Once you’ve set aside your betting bank, you need a staking plan. Personally I prefer to bet to reasonably level stakes. To me there is no longevity in having four times as much on a 1/3 shot as a 7/4 shot. Back singles as they’re more economically viable. You should occasionally have a double, but certainly no more selections in one bet than that. Picking one winner is hard enough, so be selective.
CHECK OUT ALL FORMS OF BETTING
Areas other than match-betting do exist in snooker, such as correct frame-score betting, backing a player to win the first frame or picking the highest break in a match.
I have had success backing players to win first frames in matches – Ian McCulloch to beat Peter Ebdon at this year’s world championship at 6/4, for example. The reasoning is simple – it’s the fi rst frame in a long match and both players start ‘cold’.
In such circumstances, I only ever back the outsider. I never touch correct frame-score betting, though – in my opinion it’s just too difficult, and the margins are prohibitively high. As for highest-break betting, in my experience too much pot luck is involved to make it worthwhile.
USE EXCHANGES FOR OUTRIGHT MARKETS
If you’re looking to pick the winner of a tournament, many of the rules can still be adhered to. You should still look at the draw before making a selection, for example.
From there you can assess a player’s true price, taking into account the opponents he will have to play. Often there is value to be had in backing a player once the tournament has started, especially if the draw becomes more favourable when top names go out. With the advent of the exchanges you have the choice to lay off your bet if your player makes progress.
This should help you to make a few quid on snooker when the new season begins this month, but expect the unexpected. Snooker is a game played to fine margins – a millimetre here, one missed pot there, can turn a game. The mindset of a player can easily change from feeling confident to being in a state of deepest despair. You can sense he feels destined to lose and ends up doing so.
There’s no fixed pattern, either, between backing favourites and outsiders. Some tournaments have favourites winning, while others produce plenty of shocks. I believe the gap between top and lower-ranked players has narrowed, and that most are capable of upsetting the odds on any given day. It’s not unknown for a player to lose to one opponent one week, then beat the same player the next match. Equally, just because someone is a big price, don’t think they have no chance. But always look for those players who have good records against others. For example, Dave Harold has won nearly half his matches against Stephen Hendry but, to the best of my knowledge, he is still to beat Ronnie O’Sullivan.
After backing a few winners it’s easy to get complacent. But if you adopt the attitude that there’s nothing to it and that you’re invincible – don’t say I didn’t warn you: I’ve backed seven losers in a row! You will have times when fate seems to conspire against you – players cantering to a 4-0 lead only to lose 5-4 in the deciding frame after their opponent required snookers! Be prepared to take the near misses on the chin. Two years ago, I backed Marco Fu each way at 125/1 to win the Welsh Open. Leading 4-2 in the semi final and playing superbly, he lost 6-4. The Mountjoy ghost had resurfaced! But never let it put you off – if you follow the rules correctly, you can be successful.
5 TOP TIPS FOR SNOOKER BETTING
1.) Check out the draw. It is vital to your betting. Check qualifying results and any other statistical information which may be relevant
2.) Price up matches before you see available odds. Look at players who have a favourable draw and work out what price they should be.
3.) Make sure you shop around to get the best prices – why take 50/1 when 66/1 is available?
4.) Keep an eye on reports and action from matches that have been played, other than those you’ve bet on. By doing this you will spot further potential bets.
5.) Is there extra value to be had on the outright market? Check the odds at different stages of the tournament – when they’re at the last 16 or last eight, for example.
