My Specials Relationship
Know what IACGMOOH or SPOTY are? Yes, well you may well be a fan of betting on “Specials” markets. This is a catch all title for anything that is bet on that is not strictly sport. I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here and Sports Personality of the Year if you’re wondering. To this you can add X Factor, SCD (Strictly Come Dancing), Big Brother and a load of other unreal reality shows.
What punters still haven’t realised about these “competitions” is the rules are: there are no rules. This is what the punters who laid Amelia Lily to win the X Factor at 1000 to 1 this year would do well to remember in the future. She was reinstated, after Frankie Cocozza did what all pop stars do and got thrown out of the competition for; she went as low as 3 to 1 favourite and is still in the Little Mix. Reinstatements and new competitors get added all the time in these things so bet at your peril.
Unfortunately for me there were rules (I know what I wrote) in UK Sports Personality of the Year in 2006 when David Walliams was deemed ineligible for his cross channel swim for charidee. I’d backed him to win a fortune, in the end they had to invent a new award for him to win on the night and Zara Phillips won the main event for having a great horse. Luckily I’d backed her at 66/1 the day she won the World title and the bookies didn’t seem to realise.
There are some betting rules though e.g. back the first person out on Big Brother to be female. Seriously there have been 12 series of Big Brother now and the first out has been female in every single one. What does it tell us about society when the girls all bitch fight and nominate each other in the first week whilst the blokes tend to buddy up? Also back those from Ireland, Scotland or Liverpool to do well if there’s a phone vote involved. It is a great advantage (think Jedward, Leon and Ray Quinn in X Factor). The “patriotic” voting in these areas is phenomenal. Also the public love a gallant duffer think Jedward again, John Sargeant (SCD) and Todd Carty (Dancing On Ice) who all went a lot further than their talent could justify. The public love watching a **** up especially in a Bushtucker Trial can you “faintly” remember “Dr” Gillian McKeith last year and Sinitta from this year.
I’d tell myself I’m just watching these things for the punting but not so deep down I love watching them and it’s one of the few things me and the missus can watch together.
