The ATR Interviews ~ Wizzkid Walter

[BillyHills]

[BillyHills]

Re: The ATR Interviews ~ Wizzkid Walter Punters Lounge 1. You joined the PL in August 2008, how did you come across the site in the first place? I was introduced by Fintron as he was already a member. We've been mates ever since school and we'd both got into racing and he mentioned it in discussion one day so I thought I'd give it a try. Think I've posted just about every single day since!! 2. Where does the username Wizzkid Walter come from? I used to frequently play online poker and my username was Wizzkid7. Walter is part of my name and I just thought it had a decent ring to it! 3. Do you think the PL differs or offers anything more than the many other betting forums out there? Honestly, I think I only visited one other forum in my whole betting life. It seemed a lot more clicky and negative than Punters Lounge. I remember being a bit overawed at how extensive the posts were on here and thinking 'I know nothing like as much as these guys, they're going to think I'm an idiot'! But it was totally not like that. I had about 5 welcome banners posted by different people after my first post and everyone was so helpful. I was impressed from that moment on. 4. Is there anything that annoys you on the PL or improvements that you would make? I get annoyed when people don't follow the rules of the BBOTD comp. I understand newies making mistakes and there's nothing wrong with that but when people are reminded frequently that they need to state a bookie or give more reasoning but still carry on not doing it, that irritates me. There are also a few members at the moment who seem to just say things to get a rise out of people, but I suppose you're always open to that on an Internet based forum. Other than that, I wouldn't change anything. 5. Are you a member of any other sports forum and if so how does the PL compare? None at all. When PL is as good as it is, I have no need to look elsewhere 6. You have been a long time entrant in the BBOTD competition, do you think comps are an important part of the ATR? Massively, I think they are the bread and butter of the forum. They attract more new members than anything else and give you something to focus on as a member. 7. Do you think there are enough 'discussion' threads on the ATR or is it all about tips and individual threads? I think we could do with more discussion threads but the problem is it always seems to be the same things dragged up. You can guarantee every year you'll get at least one thread about; Barney Curley, Jamie Spencer, Derek Thompson, etc etc. There is such a wide knowledge base held by the members of this forum that I'm sure we could do more to jazz the discussion threads up a bit and get some really constructive discussions going in all sorts of topics. Definitely an area where we could do better. 8. Some accuse the ATR as being a bit 'cliquey', a reason why some lurkers maybe dont join up, do you think this is true? I think it's totally the opposite. Our members often welcome new members really quickly and offer advice and tips on how to formulate betting strategies and making them focus on their strongest areas. It's not cliquey in the least, it just maybe that a lot of our members are so knowledgeable that it may be daunting for people new to the sport. 9. Do you think being part of the ATR has made you look at betting differently or do you do things pretty much the same as before? Absolutely. I am way more disciplined than I ever used to be and that is undoubtedly a result of being a member of this forum. Discipline is something that take years to master and I'm still not there yet, but I look at betting completely differently than I used to. I have learned you don't need to bet on every race on a card to make a profit and also that watching replays frequently is one of the most valuable tools available in betting terms. It gives you so much more info than you get watching a race live. 10. Your Individual thread initially recieved a mixed reaction amongst the members, was the negativity the reason for ending it? It was a combination of that and the fact that I ended up trying too hard on prove the doubters wrong rather than focusing properly on proper bets. I never understood why some people seemed to take great pleasure from my bets losing. If someone doesn't like my methods or has nothing constructive to say, then I don't know why they even bother monitoring my thread. But again these tended to be newer members. Andyjkmak completely disagrees with my methods and he would never back alot of the horses I back, but he can have a constructive discussion with me about my approach and try and point out points in my strategy that are flawed. I have no problem with that because it's constructive and helpful and despite the fact he wouldn't bet that way himself, he respects my approach and still wishes me luck. It's when people just post out to point out your losers that really irritates me as it seems totally pointless!!* All that said, I was disappointed with my threads lack of financial success and wish it had gone better. 11. Have you thought of going to one of the PL meet-ups as I know you have met some of the guys at York races? I definitely will do at some point. I already know Fintron, and as mentioned above I've met Kevshat, Mowgli and RussP all at York and that was great. It'd be good to meet some more of the members to put names to face 12. Do you visit any of the other sections of the Forum? Not really. I probably should but Horse Racing is what I bet on mainly so that's always my first port of call. Plus the Horse Racing section is on my iPhone home screen so I tend to forget there's hundreds of other forums on here too!! Horse Racing & Betting 1. What got you interested in Horse Racing? Weird one really because I don't really know the answer! I was the first out of all my mates to get into it, maybe when I was about 16/17. I think I just flicked channel 4 on one Saturday Afternoon and sat and watched it. I had no idea about a lot of the things the commentators were talking about (like the owners or the types of races etc) but it really interested me so I took it upon myself to just self-teach myself the sport. 2. What type of racing do you enjoy the most and why, flat, NH, Big races, sprints, classics, AW? Group races on the flat. I prefer them to watch because the classiest horses generally produce the best races and I seem to make the most money off them as the form tends to stand up much more frequently as it's more solid than, for example, the form on offer for a Class 6 at Southwell. I would always choose flat over jumps as I just find it easier to work out form, but that said, I book Cheltenham week off work every year because it's just a brilliant week of racing. 3. If you could change one thing in Racing or Betting overnight, what would that be? If anybody is found guilty of corruption within the sport, they'd be banned for life. 4. Can you remember your first bet, how old were you and where did you put it on? One of Ouija Board's races. She was undoubtedly the horse that really got me into racing. I was probably about 17. My dad had been doing football coupons for me for years before that but she was my first horse that I backed 5. Can you reveal your biggest win to date, you dont have to be specific about the amount but what was it on? In terms of greatest overall odds, I placed a 20 quid football acca in December 2010 on the winners of: Premier League, Championship, League 1, League 2, Conference, Bundesliga and La Liga. The season was already 4 months in but all 7 came in and it paid 950 quid! 6. What was the last horse race meeting you attended? York Ebor 2011 7. What aids do you use to follow form, sites, books, software? Sites. Generally Sporting Life and Raing Post. I have a pretty good memory and can recall a lot of recent form pretty easily. Plus I watch tons of replays so that helps too. 8. Where do you start when you begin to look at the days racing, do you have certain types of race you pick to bet in? I scan through briefly and tend to avoid a lot of the handicaps etc as I'm not good enough to work out big runner handicaps, I don't have the patience or the knowledge to do It consistenly to make a profit. 9. What would you say is the most important part of reading form, is it Going, Distance, Track, Jockey, Rating etc... Everything. I tend to like good, recent form and horses under penalties turned out quickly after winning seem to do well for me. Not all of them clearly, but I'd you're selective enough you can make it work. 10. Do you bet online or still visit the high street? Which do you prefer? online always. No value in shops at all with no BOG and they have no need to be as competitive as their own websites do in my opinion. 11. Do you have several betting accounts or just stick to one? I have 3. Betfair for backing and laying, and them Hills and Paddy Power for BOG horse racing betting. The bigger the bet, the more likely I am to use betfair as I'm most likely going to trade it out at a shorter price at some point. 12. Have you ever had a bet refused or an account closed down? Bet365 limited me massively after a while so I had to close my account with them. I'm yet to be successful enough for Hills and/or Paddy to refuse me. That's one of my goals but I'm a long way from it yet!! 13. Do you think the exchanges have made a difference to the way people bet since they were introduced? I like them. They've definitely made a difference to me as I can back something with a long-term plan to lay it as I'm relatively sure it will shorter at some point and leave me with a margin that I'm happy with. Plus is it wasn't for exchanges we probably wouldn't have as much in-running betting available and on Sports that's where i rend to best. 14. Do you think Horse Racing is 'clean' at the moment and does this effect the way you bet? I don't think it will ever be clean because it's just the nature of the beast that it'll always be open to corruption, especially given you can now back horses to lose. But I try to avoid races that are most open to this, eg lower grade racing. That doesn't mean I don't bet on it at all, but it's not particularly frequent that I do. 15. Do you ever bet Ante Post on the big races? Yes, particularly to lay off at some before the event itself. I had Frankel for months before the Guineas last year as I just thought he was a monster of a horse, was so chuffed he produced on the day. 16. Have you a seperate Betting bank and do you keep accounts of your betting and if so does this help your money management? I have a separate bank account just for betting and I log every single deposit and withdrawal that I make. I never used to do this but since I started doing so, it has revolutionised my approach to betting as I make a much more concerted effort to ensure that I never make a deposit without withdrawing at least the equivalent. It helps keep me focused on making money rather than just betting to pass time. 17. Do you bet on other sports aswell as Racing, if so which do you think brings you the most profit? American Football without doubt. In the USA, you can't bet in a team to just win a game outright, you can only bet handicaps. Over here, we can bet on outright winners of games and you tend to find 'bankers' every single week. I just need New England to win the Superbowl!! 18. Have you ever had a bet on a speciality market like BB or XFactor?? Yep! They are few and far between and for very small stakes, but I do sometimes bet on evictions and tend not to get them wrong. I could never wade in heavy though as you get some absolutely shocking results from time to time! Manchester Utd 1. Who is the greatest player ever to wear a United shirt? I'm privileged enough to be a Season Ticket holder in the Stretford End and have been for a number of years now. There are a lot of great players that I was too young to watch live such as Charlton, Best, Law and Robson. I have been blessed in recent years to have seen some great teams made up of some of the greatest of all time, but for me it'd be Paul Scholes. We sit in the Upper Tier and his movement is unbelievable. He always wants the ball and can find a killer pass a the most crucial time. His role has evolved massively over the years but for me he is an absolute legend at United. 2. Which is the best United goal you have seen live? This one really is tough because I've seen some belters. Best goal against us was Craig Bellamy in the 4-3 game against City at home. Best goal for us (and above Rooney's volley against Newcastle and Ronaldo's free kick against Pompey) would have to be Rooney's overhead kick against City. It was outrageous technique and was made all the more sweet due to the gravity of the occasion. 3. What was the best game you have been to? *I have 3 favourites that I find exceptionally hard to split. United 4-3 City United 1-0 Barca (Champs Lge semifinal 2nd leg) United 3-2 Milan (but we went onto to get beat 3-0 in the 2nd leg) 4. What do you think of the present United owners? I've never ever had a problem with them. I think the 09/10 season was overshadowed by the protests against the owners and it probably cost us the title in the end as people concentrated more on that than they did on supporting the team in a crucial run-in. The debt isn't ideal but it's manageable. They've always spent money on players ever since they arrived and we're much better off than just about every other club in the world. I have no problem with them. 5. Who do you think will eventually take over from Fergie? Has to be José. I think he's the only one with an ego big enough to follow Ferguson. No-one can ever follow Ferguson as such as the man is an absolute legend at our club, but I think Mourinho is the only man that is big enough for the job. I'd love for it to be an ex-player such as Bruce or Hughes but there managerial careers haven't gone as planned. The one ex-player that could well manage us one day is Solksjaer, he looks made for it but it may come a bit too soon for him to take over from Fergie. 6. Would you sell Rooney for £40 million? I wouldn't sell him for 80m. He is absolutely pivotal to everything we do and is more important to us than Ronaldo was. Ronaldo was absolutely brilliant for us, he owes us nothing and I'm chuffed he's doing well at Madrid. He used to destroy the smaller teams but Rooney is a rare breed in that he produces his best performances for the big games. That is an invaluable asset and one that would be nigh on impossible to replace. 7. If there was one young English player that Utd could buy who would it be? Daniel Sturridge, I think he has the potential to be exceptional. 8. Whats the best away ground you have visited? Not the best ground I've been to, but the best occasion was the City game in the Cup a couple of weeks ago. We were in dreamland at 3-0 at half time. Needless to say we were sweating a bit at 3-2! 9. What do you think of the rise of Man City in recent times? It's good be because it really has added and edge to the Derbies. It's now a proper Derby and it's one of the first games you look for when the fixtures are released. I sort of hope Liverpool become more competitive again as the Liverpool games have lost a bit of edge over the last 2 or 3 years. They are still massive games but they're made even better when both teams are contending for the title. They'll be back at some point though, I have no doubt about that. 10. Have you heard any racist remarks at Old Trafford towards players? No I haven't. You would hope not too given that it's the 21st Century.* Quick Questions 1. What is your homepage at the moment? BBC Football 2. Name a site on your favourites that may surprise us? Sharkscope, a poker results tracking site 3. Favourite Music, song, band? Coldplay, but I can listen to just about anything to be honest 4. Favourite TV show, not sport related? The Chase 5. What was the last book you read? Alan Sugar - What You See Is What You Get 6. What do you do for a living? Work in banking 7. What Car do you drive or would like to own one day? I'd like to own*an Audi R8 8. Do you have any hobbies away from sport? Not really, practically my whole life revolves around sport! 9. What Football/Sports team do you support? Man Utd and New England Patriots 10. What was the last live sporting event you attended outside of Horse Racing? NFL. I'm mac about the sport and honestly think it's the best spectator sport in the world. I've never been to a Wembley game because I wanted to do it properly. My brother lived in New Jersey last year so when I went to visit him we went to watch Dallas Cowboys @ New York Giants. We got upgraded to a pitch side box next to the team benches through one of my brother's contacts (the tickets would have been $1500 each but we got them for $100 each!). I've been to a lot of sports events but that was head and shoulders above anything I've ever been to. The whole thing was just immense. We're going again at the end of this year too, just working out who to go watch. Likely be New England at home I reckon. 11. What gadgets do you own, Ipad, Mobile, Xbox, PS3, etc. iPhone and iPad. Nothing else really. 12. Favourite game ever played? football manager when I was younger. Don't really play computer games now. 13. Are you on Facebook and Twitter, how many friends/followers do you have? On Facebook, Not Twitter. Have around 250 friends I think 14. Biggest personal achievement so far? Lost 3 stone in weight in around 4 months. Everyone says to me they never thout I was overweight but I felt it. I set myself 2 stones as a target but once I got into it I re-evaluated my target. To achieve it was one of the proudest moments I've ever had. Many thanks to Wizzkid Walter:ok