Editorial
Pages
June
2002
The
wisdom of Uncle Freddy.
This
statement may come as a surprise to some of you, but
there are still a few smart gamblers out there who have
learned something from the wisdom of others. I was reminded
of this recently by an endearing posting on our Pro-Punter
forum, from a person using the handle OneBet.
"Hi
Everyone.
I'd
like to share with you a little insight into punting's
big picture - or how to view betting performances. When
I was a young teenager, my Uncle Freddy would take me
to Caulfield races at a time when Scotch And Dry (the
horse, not the drink) was exciting the crowd with its
front-running tearaway style and Sobar was impressing
with its class. Uncle Freddy was a hard-nosed punter
but a generous philosopher who would give free advice
to anyone who'd care to listen (or anyone he could corner!)
His
"proverbs" were many but the ones I can remember
include: "A bet is not a bet, kiddo. A hundred
bets is a bet!"
That
was his way of saying you should look at the much longer
term to gain a useful idea of how you're tipping or
progressing in the racing game.
He
would also say: "It's only half a sentence. It's
not the whole flamin' book!"
I
think that meant the same thing.
One
of his most memorable sayings, that has always held
me in good stead - whether in punting or in business
or in life - was this one:
"Never
get discouraged and never get misled over anything that's
instant. There's a heck of a lot of instants in anything
worthwhile."
Uncle
Freddy also had a great understanding of human conflict
and how futile it is. He often said to folk:
"Horses
win races. Nobody wins arguments!"
My
Uncle Freddy is no longer with us, but his legacy is
a wealth of understanding. He was a punter with passion.
And he was a punter with perspective. I reckon that's
what it's all about really.
I
write this little message in his honour, as I'm sure
he would have loved to contribute those thoughts to
his fellow punters here.
Thanks
for reading this and cheers to all.
OneBet."
Not
at all, our thanks go to you OneBet, for sharing the
common sense of an old timer whose wisdom and personality
certainly shines through in the warmth of your retelling.
It's a shame that obviously in this country that loses
around $11 billion dollars a year to gambling, there
just aren't enough Uncle Freddy's to go around.
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