"Frames"

As the big names chalk up for the world titles, we asked one of the leading lights in the snooker forum, Frames, about what makes him tick.

If you could have a ticket to any one single sporting event in the world what would it be?
The Masters. I don`t think it is possible to appreciate how difficult the greens are from T.V.

Whose opinion in the forum do you respect?
These days I mainly concentrate on two sports, golf and snooker, which happen to be two of the best forums (slightly biased I know). There are too many respected judges on the golf forum to single anyone out but generally those that have been on the site for a fair few years obviously know the time of day and are well worth listening to. On the snooker forum Sittingchilly does write ups for every tournament and also his views for each match as the tournament progresses. They are very good and for anyone looking to have an interest in the snooker well worth a read.

Is there one memorable match of snooker you wish you could experience again?
There are two and probably fairly obvious. Higgins v White in the World Championship semi-final where Alex produced the greatest clearance ever to take the match into a decider and eventually won the title. From a Betfair side of the things the final between Davis and Taylor where Dennis came from 8-0 down to win on the final black, that would have been special.

Which betting school of thought do you consider yourself to be; layer, backer, trader?
Golf I`m 90% layer, Snooker I trade individual matches when they go in-play.

Has sport ever cost you a girlfriend?
No, happily married for 18 years (the wife might not agree though) with two teenage sons.

Snooker on Betfair - could you improve it and how?
Yes, up until recently we had a 3 second time delay which everyone on the snooker forum appeared happy with. For some reason (and I think we know why) it was increased to 5 seconds and I know most would like to see it revert to 3 seconds especially with the Worlds starting this week. There is a thread on the snooker forum about this at the moment.

Do you live by any betting principles and if so what are they?
You pay to learn as I found out a few years back. I suffered a massive loss (for me) in the days when I tried trading football.

It was a Monday night game and the price on Blackburn suddenly went against me, I carried on laying and still the price shortened. Before I knew it I was in far too deep as the match started. I was thinking give it 10 minutes and you will be out level, inevitably Blackburn scored very early and went on to win 2-1.Everton had a depleted team due to flu if I remember correctly hence the price change. I had no chance to escape the loss (it went 2-0 before half time) but it taught me to always accept a loss and bail out when a price goes against you, at the time it hurt badly but looking back it made me much more disciplined.

When and why did you join Betfair and what do like/dislike about the site?
I joined in 2002 as I fancied trying laying horses for a profit (I knew how hard it was and still is to find winners). I failed but luckily stumbled across the golf. The main thing I like is the massive choice available to everyone and I do think it is possible for many to find markets they can make pay.

You have a bit of a following in the forum, why do you think that is?
I am confident I don`t have a following on the forum but I enjoy the banter and the occasional wind-up/discussion which can get a bit out of hand but the regulars on the golf know what I`m like and most ignore me. I can`t help it sometimes, stupid really but it helps pass the time away.

Do you celebrate individual wins or look at the bigger picture?
I generally look at the bigger picture (monthly/yearly with no targets).

If so, what's your most memorable win and how did you celebrate?
One of my best wins came recently in the China Open (snooker) and was down to seeing a thread on the forum. I had traded the snooker all week but decided to give it a miss on the Thursday and concentrate on the golf, I fortunately stumbled across a thread titled "Murphy". Murphy had started the match around 1.75 fav and yet he could still be laid at that price even though he was 1-0 down (best of 9) and trailing in the second. I managed to get the last of the 1.75 and Cope duly went 2-0 up. Then a wedge appeared to back Murphy at 2.26 even though he was 2-0 down and by now Cope was scoring in the third. I managed to take a decent amount of the 2.26 and by now everyone on the thread was on Cope. Cope won the third in one scoring visit and eventually won 5-0. No one knows for sure what was going on but a big thanks to ITFC for starting the thread.

What's the one tip you'd offer someone posting on the forum for the first time?
There is no point trying to show off and don`t ask about the dead heat rules in the top 5 golf betting.

Which three famous sportsmen would you have around for dinner?
Tiger Woods, Seb Coe and Steve Ovett.

If you could re-live one sporting day which one would it be?
Frankie’s magnificent 7 at Ascot just for the mayhem on here.

What’s your most memorable mistake made on Betfair ?
I have made plenty but one on the darts sticks out. I had been trading a match all day, Taylor 1.03/04 v Dennis Smith. The match was about to go in-play and I needed to back Taylor to secure a small profit. To my horror I backed Smith at all rates down to 1.04, not sure what price I averaged but I was staring at an awful position and feeling fairly sick. Although Taylor won the match luckily for me Smith made it a close match and I managed to limit the loss. Another lesson learned.