Certified Legendary Thread TAB's- Full of "characters" ???

Like many of us,no doubt,I spend the odd hour or two in a variety of TAB's during the week.Usually not pubtabs,cant handle the smoke.

Seems that wherever I go,the clientelle doesnt change much.
Heres what i mean.

50%- Old guys,usually jabbering on in their native tongue,even during the race who will bet on absolutely every race,every code.

25%- What I would call regulars,thrown together due to having nowhere else to go.Permanent fixtures,some in above category too.Treat it like their Tab is a secret club.

20%-Floaters,often guys in their lunchtime or Reps.

5%-Pokie players who only play that video game whatever it is.

Then theres that guy who is forever just missing the Tri at singleton dogs.
Always wants to show you his ticket after the race,not sure why?

Everyone has there own peculiarities especially during a race.We have:

Specialist comments guy:Running commentary about pace of race,riding tactics etc.

Early crow guy- We all know him,declares his at the 500m mark,just pray he hasnt backed yours.

Winning guy?- Always seems to cheer a winner home loudly yet strangely never seems to collect.

Mr unlucky- sometimes linked to Singeton dogs guy,often abusive & always convinced every race is fixed,keeps punting though.

Quiet guy-always seems to be the one who gets singleton dogs trifecta tickets shoved in his face after the race.

Im sure Ive missed some,so what are your experiences & which category fits you? Are pubtabs the same?Does adding alcohol help?

Me?
quiet guy/floater

One day I hope to be a regular,just need to be jobless or retired,

Seth

If sober i'm the quiet guy, if drunk you can fit me into the other 4 categories.
Used to bet on every race but now just the hot tips, probably 5 bets a week.
It just seems that every time you miss putting a bet on, they always get home lol.
If i get Austar i'll study it a bit more, money is there to be made off the harness i believe.
Just have to see which horses get unlucky runs.

Yep.

1. The idiot who frantically tries to get a bet on for each race at every meeting and is a shattered individual if he misses just one race.
2. The old italian/greek guy who swears before during and after each race cos theyve never backed a horse that should have lost.
3. The rough character who tells the whole TAB when he has a collect.
4. The old guy sitting down studying the form who probably has more knowledge than half the people in the joint.

Id put myself in the quiet/regular category, dont tend to converse with others that much. You can get information overload if you talk/look at a race too much and often your first choice was the best choice.

Stumbled across another "character" today,lets call him

Inside Info Guy-Got a mate/colleague/relative who knows the trainer/owner/jockey.Despite this,he wants to tip it to everyone in the place.

Of course,its been dead its last 3,waiting for today.Unbeatable.

Dont have to tell the rest of the story,angry phone call as leaves,never to be seen again,hopefully

Seth

Lockyer24 said:

You can get information overload if you talk/look at a race too much and often your first choice was the best choice.

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Never has a truer word been spoken.

When i bet i use one of three strategies:

1) total in depth analysis of the race taking into account just about everything. It actually was working quite well for the time i tested it but it is time consuming. If your going to go in depth you have to take into account everything you can think of.

But that is really for people who bet hard. When i'm only usually going to be $10-$20 per race it's not worth the time because even if it provides a 20% P.O.T. if your turnover is only $100 per week that's only $20.00 for about 4-5 hours of work.

But i usually use one of these two tactics:

2) Quick glance, go over the form a bit, pick which one you reckon has the goods and go with that. Don't start thinking too much about who could get the run, where the horse could situate. You'll psyche yourself out of picking the eventual winner.

or

3) Have a set group of horses you like to follow. Follow them in the knowledge that you'll eventually come out in front on each of them. I like this one as was seen in my previous blackbook thread from about this time last year. Unfortunately i don't keep that as up to date as i'd like.

sethlad said:

Like many of us,no doubt,I spend the odd hour or two in a variety of TAB's during the week.Usually not pubtabs,cant handle the smoke.

Seems that wherever I go,the clientelle doesnt change much.
Heres what i mean.

50%- Old guys,usually jabbering on in their native tongue,even during the race who will bet on absolutely every race,every code.

25%- What I would call regulars,thrown together due to having nowhere else to go.Permanent fixtures,some in above category too.Treat it like their Tab is a secret club.

20%-Floaters,often guys in their lunchtime or Reps.

5%-Pokie players who only play that video game whatever it is.

Then theres that guy who is forever just missing the Tri at singleton dogs.
Always wants to show you his ticket after the race,not sure why?

Everyone has there own peculiarities especially during a race.We have:

Specialist comments guy:Running commentary about pace of race,riding tactics etc.

Early crow guy- We all know him,declares his at the 500m mark,just pray he hasnt backed yours.

Winning guy?- Always seems to cheer a winner home loudly yet strangely never seems to collect.

Mr unlucky- sometimes linked to Singeton dogs guy,often abusive & always convinced every race is fixed,keeps punting though.

Quiet guy-always seems to be the one who gets singleton dogs trifecta tickets shoved in his face after the race.

Im sure Ive missed some,so what are your experiences & which category fits you? Are pubtabs the same?Does adding alcohol help?

Me?
quiet guy/floater

One day I hope to be a regular,just need to be jobless or retired,

Seth

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You must have visited my local TAB

Its amazing how each TAB seems to have their own "characters" who are really all the same.

If you go into my local TAB any night of the week, there are always the same six blokes in there. They sound like the blokes you mentioned!

Could very well be your local!

I must say,my TAB jaunts are usually in the day although as Im
mainly a trots punter I have been unlucky enough to be in TAB's at night.
Cant get out quickly enough.

Its usually quite eerie,fewer punters,same rules.

Seth.

You missed the guy who is always betting in the last 5 seconds and will push his aged mother out of the way to get the $1 each way bet on.

I never bet at the TAB anymore, we had a very good pubTAB around the corner, but the guys who took it over seem to let any one in, most of who seem to be on day release from the local lock-up.

Leave you wallet on the bar to put a bet on, it's not there anymore, buy a drink, leave it on teh bar to put a bet on it's not there anymore. Back a winner and you have to shut up, it seems you'll have a meeting in the toilet.

90% of people imo belong to a cricket club or footy club and have just played/trained before going there.

sethlad said:

Could very well be your local!

I must say,my TAB jaunts are usually in the day although as Im
mainly a trots punter I have been unlucky enough to be in TAB's at night.
Cant get out quickly enough.

Its usually quite eerie,fewer punters,same rules.

Seth.

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Yes the dark seems to bring out the hidden poverty of their lives and they know it and try and reject it, usually in an angry manner

Great thread guys. Im loving it!!! At my local pub tab i used to go to in my younger days, there used to be a smelly irishman there all day every day. I mean he friggin smelled. He used to try and get everyone to back the horse or dog he backed. used to take alot of tri's and quin's and never shut up, i mean if there was no one else to talk to he would talk to himself. Everytime he didnt collect he would say, ********, i looked at that, why didnt i back it? Or he would simply tip you the whole ********en field and then after the race tell you he tipped it to you.

Oneday he got a big exacta, couple of grand and was paid by cheque. Well i reckon he wouldnt have cashed it for about 2 months as he showed just about every one at the local footy club and around town.

What a funny old fool this bloke was.

If you have ever stumbled into the Waterloo in MArybyrnong / Ascot Vale on a Saturday adfternoon there is one particular bloke who is the biggest nuffy of all TAB punters.

Changes horses down the straight if his horse "at jump" falls through the field.

Have never seen him back a loser at all.

Screams very loudly at every horse race every one, hes obviously screaming casue his horse wins. Worst effort Paratroopers being grabbed on the line by Gods Own last year, screamed the house down with paratroppers 5 in front with 150 or so to go and then ran around jumping around because his horse got it on the line.

Never has any cash, never seen him by any of the touchscreens nor near the manned machines putting a bet on and never seen him collecting at them either.

Has his "mates" buy him ******** because every time they get a win, he jumps around saying "I told you . I told you" im dead sure they buy him ******** to shut him up so as not to ******** them off any more.

Stocky red headed bloke , if youve been there you know him as every body in the place hates him.

I'm pretty sure his name is Brad, if we're thinking of the same bloke fearlessone77. Goes through quite a few TAB's around the Northern suburbs. He's a dope.

Additions:

Blow-In Screw-Up Guy: Usually come in wearing sporting or work clothes. Pull out a Yellow Pages amount of tote tickets from their wallets or pocket, and proceed to screw nearly all of them up one by one checking the days results. Usually takes a quick quaddie at Albion Park that night to try and recoup some damage before they leave.

The Ol' Faithful Punter: These guys place the same bet every single race. At my tote, we have one that does absolutely nothing but take 4 horse quinellas every single race. Another takes 3 horses/5/5 trifectas every race. I've never seen them talked into backing something straight out EVER.

Smoke: Usually seen in Pubtabs only these days, this guy inhales the equivalent of Ash Wednesday during a day on the punt. Not many people talk to him, as he smells like the funnel of an ocean liner, and he doesn't say much as his asthma doesn't allow anything more than two syllable words to exit his mouth.

The Favourite Punter: These guys p*** me off. I don't have any problem with you cheering on your favourite horse, the odds-on anchor in the last leg of the quaddie, the favourite you've just loaded up on etc. But the guys that continually have their $2.50 ew on the shortest price in every race, then cheer like all f*** when it nuts my 25/1 pop right on the line, s*** me up the walls. Even worse at the track than at a TAB.

There must be others as well. Will think of some.

Ever taken your girlfriend into a TAB?
They usually go just the once and then point blank refuse after that.

I laugh at the blokes who bring there little kids in there with em. What is the deal with that. And the guys who come in with no Shoes. There is a guy at Karingal TAB who i see quite often who always seems to get the trifecter in every race. And if he misses a bet he will show you the ticket to prove that we woulda won on it as well.

The opposite to Favourites Man is

Long Odds Man

Backs those at long odds : his rationale is ''when they come in they pay big''

Long odds man doesnt tell you how many he backed to get that 1 winner at 25/1

Very, very good.

What about:

Mr scruffy fat pockets - short, dumpy, smelly old man who wanders around with stuffed pockets, picking up dropped tickets looking for a winner!

CelticCat said:

Very, very good.

What about:

Mr scruffy fat pockets - short, dumpy, smelly old man who wanders around with stuffed pockets, picking up dropped tickets looking for a winner!

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Ah yes,these guys are known as Emus for obvious reasons.
Used to be banned on course,not sure if that changed.

Demon3 said:

I laugh at the blokes who bring there little kids in there with em. What is the deal with that.

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Crown have really tightened up their car park patrols.

Seth.

Want a scary T.A.B? try the Bourke Street T.A.B up near Russell Street.

You get the biggest bunch of dead beats ever in the one place at once time The storys i have heard about that place, thank god i dont work there anymore

Cliche Man - Talks loudly, sprouting all sorts of racing cliches ("any price a winner", "the bigger the field, the bigger the favourite", etc), but rarely collects and clearly knows SFA about racing. No matter what happens, will tell you he's up hundreds at the end of the day.

Punk Kid - Possibly Cliche Man's son, also knows SFA about racing, but will sit there all day betting beyond his means, convinced he can make money after hearing all Cliche Man's bullshyte stories about how much he reckons he wins.

Footy/Cricket Man - drops into the TAB on his way to the game each Saturday morning. Has read the morning paper and written up his bets for the day, but no matter what happens, he will also chuck a fiver on the next race to jump just before he leaves, in addition to his planned bets.

Tracky-Dacks Man - looks like a bum, in his scungy adidas tracky dacks, grubby polo shirt and thongs. However, will unload $500 worth of bets and then walk out. Either spending the entire weeks dole cheque, or is loaded and just doesn't feel the need to dress up to go to the TAB.

Kilmore Harness Man - Busies himself in the corner betting on Race 3 at Kilmore, away from the hustle and bustle of the throng crowded around the Melbourne and Sydney form counters. Doesn't even bother to look up for the Group 1 feature at Caulfield - too busy filling out a million quinella tickets for the trotters.

Doesn't Read The Scratchings Man - Usually in front of you in the queue when your race is a minute from jumping. He has a fistful of betting slips, and every one of them has at least one scratched entry on it. Fumbles round with his form guide figuring out his replacements, while you watch on helplessly as the $20 roughie you were about to back careers away to a three length win.

Long Suffering Wife - Nervously wanders into the TAB with a list of bets for hubby. Usually has to ask a friendly looking stranger (such as Kilmore Harness Man) how to fill out a betting slip. Completely flustered when attendant tells her a selection has been scratched. Long Suffering Wife is becoming a rarity since the advent of internet and phone betting.

Tag Along Man - Dragged into the TAB by friends, has no interest in horse racing. Struck by the realisation that a man in a TAB who doesn't bet can add little to most TAB conversations, tries to fit in by asking inane racing questions. Eventually, the loneliness of being a non-punter takes over, and Tag Along Man will have $10 on some nag with a name that reminds him of a funny anecdote he read on a toilet wall. The nag will duly salute at double figure odds, much to the frustration of Tag Along Man's friends, who haven't found a winner all day.

Problem Gambler Man - Problem Gambler Man sits at the TAB from Race 1 at Auckland Harness through to the last race at Dapto dogs. He scours the form for each and every race, using any number of techniques in the hope of finding a winner to recoup the mortgage repayment he lost the day before. Problem Gambler Man may have in fact started out as Tag Along Man, and been sucked in as a frequent punter from that first memorable win. The look in Problem Gambler Man's eyes as he contemplates his plight is quite sad, and as you leave the TAB, you promise yourself never to become Problem Gambler Man.

Blame The Hoops Man - Loud and vocal spectator, knows very little about horses, and is likely to exclaim "You're a hack, (insert jockey name here)!" at the conclusion of each race, as a means of justifying picking another also-ran. Blame The Hoops Man and Cliche Man are often the same person.

It's quite a zoo we've got going on here.

Be gentle with Kilmore Harness man,at least he sticks to what he knows.

PS: I consider myself to be MV Harness man,still take an interest in the G1 thoroughbreds.

Seth

seth good thread.

i actually never go to tab's, i generally punt when i drink because to me it's just expensive entertainment. my most despised bloke is the one who shows his ticket when he loses or goes close, i really feel like saying fk off i dont want to see your tickets or even talk to you mate. Actually when i go to the pub tab i generally dont say a single word to anyone, i'm too busy unwinding from work.

Deej said:

seth good thread.

i actually never go to tab's, i generally punt when i drink because to me it's just expensive entertainment. my most despised bloke is the one who shows his ticket when he loses or goes close, i really feel like saying fk off i dont want to see your tickets or even talk to you mate. Actually when i go to the pub tab i generally dont say a single word to anyone, i'm too busy unwinding from work.

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But mate look look I had 2 of the tri and the 4th one.

FFS so close ..$3400 IN MY KIT THEY SHOULD PROTEST LOOK 2,3,4TH I had them just not that donkey trhat won

These days with sky and tvn in homes I don't see the point of going in tab's. If you are out going somewhere and want to get the bets on for the day then yes, but on a typical day when you have nothing on and want a great day of betting then give me the comfort of home anyday. If you have a phone tab account of course.