Keeping wolf from the door

Ihave been betting on sport for many years and one of the things I always enjoyed was treating myself and the family to a nice meal, or even a trip to the coast, after a good win.

This year has been a pretty good year, despite the fact that my form took a dip a few weeks ago, and I have drawn more money from the bookmakers than I have deposited.

Going back a decade or so, this would have meant treats for the family but these days when I draw the money out it gets swallowed up into a black hole of expenses. The money hits my bank account and before I can think of any exciting plans for it, it disappears.

As I have got older, I have had more responsibilities and a couple of teenagers means plenty of expenses, so the general cost of living and the fact that in real terms, like many South Africans, I am earning less each year is certainly one of the reasons why any profits are used to keep the wolves at bay before anything else.

The other thing which I have given thought to over recent weeks is the fact that my betting stake is not much bigger than it was 10, or perhaps even 20 years, ago. I recall having a solid bet on Sergio Garcia to win the Nedbank Challenge back in 2001 and this year, I was on the Spaniard again al- though my stake was actually half of what I placed that year.

The fact that I haven’t increased my stake significantly over the years is probably another reason why my wins have not been as significant.

But I guess I have to look at the positive side in that I am taking care of expenses first and I am only betting with what could be considered disposable income.

I suspect my wife would argue that last one, though.

As we wind down to the end of the year, I will be reflecting not only on my 2018 punting performance but also to the year that lies ahead and what goals I am going to set myself from a betting perspective.

It is, of course, a double world cup year with the cricket and my personal highlight, the rugby, in Japan.

With a bit of luck, perhaps I can take the family out to KFC at the end of 2019.

Brent Graham is a sports betting blogger at

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