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

rank and file

Norm Smith Medallist
Jun 9, 2013
6,125
6,715
michael mitchell country
AFL Club
Richmond
Other Teams
bell park
Not quite the TAB characters,but have a couple of mates that spend 51 weeks of the year bagging the s**t out of horse racing/gambling and then ring up cup day
"Who's gunna win the cup?"
I just give them a random number that never salutes and the cycle continues.
Going to mix it up this year and give them "It starts with the letter (insert random letter)"
 
Most people don't. Most people are oblivious or don't care in the slightest. I have come so close to throwing someone off the machine. The agencies should do something about it. I mean you have some old codger placing $1 trifectas on every dog race with 10 selections taking 5 minutes to do it, or people like me putting $20-$50 on in 10 seconds... those idiots must cost them a lot of money because I have stormed out a lot of times before, they do my head in.

I don't go near the machine unless I know exactly what I want to bet on or exactly what I want to check a price on. It's bad manners to go to a machine in a busy period and not know what you want to do and sit there scratching your chin while there is a queue behind you. It's not McDonald's. It also shows you have little idea what you are doing. Some idiots even take 5 minutes to place their $1 trifecta and then try to stand and watch the race in front of the machine! They won't move, you nearly have to push them away....
my local set up a machine for next race and another on the opposite side for the multi men
 
Found a new one.
The pay everything by debit card.
As the TAB still has an antiquated eftpos system, the number of times that queues formed because one person was paying by card was very annoying.
 
Apr 22, 2007
42,066
50,207
Bentleigh
AFL Club
Geelong
Not quite the TAB characters,but have a couple of mates that spend 51 weeks of the year bagging the s**t out of horse racing/gambling and then ring up cup day
"Who's gunna win the cup?"
I just give them a random number that never salutes and the cycle continues.
Going to mix it up this year and give them "It starts with the letter (insert random letter)"
Tell them all to f off
 
Worked at a TAB agency for over 8 years:

The guys that tell you how much they won but not how much they spent.
The "i had _____ legs in the treble, quaddie or straight six and got dudded by (insert horse name here)" bloke
The guy who bets on his football team they win but not by the margin he wanted and is upset and brooding all arvo afterwards.
The older gentlemen with their little black book notepads with their systems for their exotics they keep in their shirt pockets or jackets.
The guys that ask you can you find out the score in "X game" be it a local footy match or something else as if we haven't got better things to do.
On Melbourne Cup day sitting at a desk out front and filling out 4000-6000 tickets for those once a year punters so they don't hold up the terminals.
People trying to get to the front of the desk on MC Day and expect your help as they are on their "break". No - go to the back of the line!!!!!
People asking you to turn the volume up (use your phone and headphones then as it's deafening behind the counter)
People asking you for air/con or heating up or down (it's permanently fixed settings).
You have 15 bins for people to put their losing tickets in and they still throw them on the floor.
People who bring their kids in and they trash the joint by running around or throwing tickets everywhere.
Explaining deductions. "Why isn't fixed FIXED?"
People complaining when you can't open at 9am weekdays (petition your government then to change legislation)
The people who sit in the same spot every day or Saturday.
The people who try to steal your form guides for themselves or ask for the paper (buy your bloody own)
The older folk who bring their thermos flasks and sandwiches and sit in the seats at the front with their radio headphones on.
The partners/wives/girlfriend who come in and say "my ______ needs a bet on this horse/team/match/event can you help me?"
 
May 20, 2014
20,822
26,444
AFL Club
Geelong
The partners/wives/girlfriend who come in and say "my ______ needs a bet on this horse/team/match/event can you help me?"

Women coming in to bet and betting in the 100s was a great way of sussing winners where I used to work. Had one that obviously had Freedman mail and another that had Smerdon mail. Rich area though so probably owners network and wouldn't apply out in the burbs.
 

Lebbo73

Brownlow Medallist
Oct 20, 2014
18,274
19,359
AFL Club
Hawthorn
Other Teams
Liverpool
Worked at a TAB agency for over 8 years:

The guys that tell you how much they won but not how much they spent.
The "i had _____ legs in the treble, quaddie or straight six and got dudded by (insert horse name here)" bloke
The guy who bets on his football team they win but not by the margin he wanted and is upset and brooding all arvo afterwards.
The older gentlemen with their little black book notepads with their systems for their exotics they keep in their shirt pockets or jackets.
The guys that ask you can you find out the score in "X game" be it a local footy match or something else as if we haven't got better things to do.
On Melbourne Cup day sitting at a desk out front and filling out 4000-6000 tickets for those once a year punters so they don't hold up the terminals.
People trying to get to the front of the desk on MC Day and expect your help as they are on their "break". No - go to the back of the line!!!!!
People asking you to turn the volume up (use your phone and headphones then as it's deafening behind the counter)
People asking you for air/con or heating up or down (it's permanently fixed settings).
You have 15 bins for people to put their losing tickets in and they still throw them on the floor.
People who bring their kids in and they trash the joint by running around or throwing tickets everywhere.
Explaining deductions. "Why isn't fixed FIXED?"
People complaining when you can't open at 9am weekdays (petition your government then to change legislation)
The people who sit in the same spot every day or Saturday.
The people who try to steal your form guides for themselves or ask for the paper (buy your bloody own)
The older folk who bring their thermos flasks and sandwiches and sit in the seats at the front with their radio headphones on.
The partners/wives/girlfriend who come in and say "my ______ needs a bet on this horse/team/match/event can you help me?"
You shouldn't work with the public. It is obvious you are ****ed with customer service. ;)
 
Women coming in to bet and betting in the 100s was a great way of sussing winners where I used to work. Had one that obviously had Freedman mail and another that had Smerdon mail. Rich area though so probably owners network and wouldn't apply out in the burbs.

I had one down Torquay way when Mark Bairstiw was still based in Victoria. Very good mail
 
Sep 17, 2007
13,606
10,559
Melbourne
AFL Club
Collingwood
Women coming in to bet and betting in the 100s was a great way of sussing winners where I used to work. Had one that obviously had Freedman mail and another that had Smerdon mail. Rich area though so probably owners network and wouldn't apply out in the burbs.

I would say that is a very, very definite indicator lol and if I seen that happen I would be betting on the same thing for sure haha.
 

Watts4Dinner

Club Legend
Mar 20, 2012
2,200
2,858
Licking Vince’s Date.
AFL Club
Geelong
For me the campaigners who jag a $1 mystery bet trifecta in the cup and tell you what a punter they are.
Had one of these years ago that i just about head butted. faarking Zazzman ran 3rd ruined my trifecta.
Makybe, Vinnie Roe and Elvstroem (4th)

My wife bets once a year and she got the Shocking F4 in...2009? I still grind my teeth at night thinking about it.
 

Watts4Dinner

Club Legend
Mar 20, 2012
2,200
2,858
Licking Vince’s Date.
AFL Club
Geelong
the person who lands a massive mystery f4 that guy is a campaigner

Worse is the mate that has never read a form guide, yet never backs a loser. I gave him Almandin on the weekend, "oh had 100ew @$22 cos I won $2500 on the Quaddie last week...OF COURSE YOU DID. Infuriating. Then you ask for a slice for the tip (jokingly) and he's nearly in tears saying 'BBBUT you put it on Facebook and Dan and John backed it as well, you should ask them for a percentage...*!
 

Sabbathen

Club Legend
Aug 17, 2016
1,009
1,022
AFL Club
West Coast
from the bell tower times... classic
9695A775-17F6-4A1E-8EAA-2BCF90259E22.jpeg
 
Apr 30, 2007
16,502
2,521
Drouin
AFL Club
Richmond
Other Teams
Steelers
I am a variation of cricket/footy man - I am Mr puts $50 in his TAB account each Saturday morning. My wife drops me off at the TAB in the shopping centre & goes off to Safeway. Somehow before I leave I always manage to put a nonsense omen bet on some nag in New Zealand, or a 50c trifecta. Just to pass the time of course:)

Then it's off to the footy, or back home to Sport 927 and my own little TAB on the PC. Thus I can avoid the crazies. My local outlets at Deer Park or Sunshine are full of them. Theres a few punters in Sunshine who have been known to throw chairs, wail and scream when their nag gets beaten.

My favourite times at the TAB are when you're watching a big race and something comes home at 60/1, like Roman Arch last week. Usually, nobody's backed it and everyone turns to the person next to them and asks 'How the bloody hell did that get home?' A moment of camaraderie in defeat.

Boom Time in the Caulfield Cup sums this up perfectly. The whole joint was silent.
 
Jul 29, 2009
2,329
4,507
Melbourne
AFL Club
Brisbane Lions
Miracle Man:
It doesn't matter how long a price the winner is, he's backed it. Hasn't said a word about backing before the race and changes which one he is loudly barracking for during the race numerous times.
Always one of the only ones who will have got the tri " in the entire ××××ing pool" but seems to have a superstition about collecting the winning tickets (or able to show anyone the tickets) as never seems to cash one in and uses the nearby ATM numerous times after these "wins".
 
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