Having a punt this weekend on the football? What betting opportunities are out there? If anyone knows, Jones Knows.
"A lion doesn't concern himself with the opinions of a sheep."
Lionel Messi there. He got me thinking whilst I was strolling around his city Barcelona in the week, you know, lapping up the culture at all the hot-spots.
OK, OK - I was in the casino. You got me.
Roulette and Blackjack are games that interest me little as a betting medium - I'm yet to meet a professional gambler that gets ahead of the 'house' in those establishments. And don't get me started on those FOBT machines.
My advice: don't be a loser - stay away. Go find an edge elsewhere.
I did not yield these words of wisdom though in my attempts to try and double €150. Of course, the casino came out on top in our prolonged two-hour battle.
Like the many others gamblers in there, the defeat felt inevitable from the first bet. Perhaps we all should have just emptied our pockets at the doors on our arrival, shook hands with the dealers, turned around and headed on home to save us all time. We were the sheep. But there was a lion in there, who caught my attention.
Perhaps he was a little high on Barcelona life but unlike us sheep, he sat there with no time to waste unlike the rest of the herd, who were there, bahh-ing away, slowly frittering their stakes away. Then bang! With his first bet, he slammed it all down, €200, on one hand of Blackjack.
Five cards later, he was €200 down. He did not place one more bet. But he could leave the establishment proud. Yes, he was a loser like us, but one with the characteristics of a lion. I was envious.
I'm following his lead this weekend by thinking a bit outside the box by putting up a double that Sky Bet has kindly priced up. Hopefully this lion will be the King Of The Jungle come 5pm on Saturday.
Remember, whatever I tip, I back. We are in this together, comrades. Do check out the Profit & Loss record for full clarity on the results. Current returns are: -6 pts.
Dim the lights, it's time to see if Jones Knows....
2pts double on Brighton to score over 1.5 goals vs West Ham and Leeds to beat Wigan 7/2
Making sweeping assumptions after just 90 minutes of watching a team is dangerous but in Graham Potter we trust.
I like his style and respect greatly the way Brighton make decisions at the top of their football club. These shrewd operators look to have snapped up a manager with a forward-thinking philosophy that has already been taken on by his players judging by their impressive 3-0 win at Watford.
Brighton were comfortable playing out under pressure - a risky strategy against pressing teams but West Ham are not one of those - and they doubled their touches in the opposition box from the Chris Hughton era. Potter wants his players to play aggressively and attack with numbers when the time is right.
The Hammers conceded the fourth amount of shots on target last season - more than Huddersfield and the signs against Manchester City last weekend did not offer much hope that they have tightened things up.
Meanwhile, the other half of the double comes from the Sky Bet Championship. Early season data makes good reading for Leeds United fans. They lead the way for passes played into the box, big chances created and total shots from inside the box - the problem so far has been Patrick Bamford, who has missed three big chances already this season. If they keep hitting those levels and creating those level of chances, the goals will eventually flow, from Bamford or elsewhere. Wigan should feel the force this weekend. A must for all accas.
Correspondence
I was deeply overwhelmed with the responses to my shout out for heartbreaking betting stories after I came within a length of winning £50,000.
"I came down to check the mail this morning and I couldn't open my door...I had lost my key."
Of the 7.53 billion of you out there on Earth, just one person took the time to share their betting misery with me.
Thanks to @jtcooljtlucky15, anyway. His story touched me, turning £2.75 into £1500, yet was left with his chin on the floor after being one selection away from the big time. Keep fighting, brother. We will get them.
Fancy winning £2m?
No, this isn't some wild accumulator I'm tipping up, this is all about the Super 6, which is giving away £2m this weekend for predicting six correct scores.
It is free to play so do not miss out on a free hit at the largest Super 6 jackpot to date. Follow the link below to get involved.