Favor Bet

Gambling: The Other Side of Betting

Greyhound racing is a sport which depends almost entirely on gambling. It is popular, though declining, in Britain.

Its image is very different to that of horse-racing; it is a cloth-capped version of the sport of kings. There are usually eight races at a meeting, with six dogs running in each.

The dogs start in traps, each dog wearing a vest showing its trap color and number. An electric hare circles the track on a rail, and as it passes the traps, the doors fly open and the dogs chase the hare to the winning post.

Few dogs inspire affection like great racehorses do, many bettors in fact not even bothering with their names but backing their trap numbers.

Betting is through bookmakers or the track's tote, and dogs are backed to win or be placed, e.g. To be first or second.

The tote runs a forecast pool on each race, where punters are required to pick the first two dogs in the correct order. Tote betting is based on trap numbers, not the greyhounds' names.

Betting on national and local elections has recently caught on in Britain, and the bookmaking firm of Ladbrokes, who did much pioneering work in election betting, took 1,600,000 pounds in bets on the 1966 General Election.

In Italy, betting on the election of a new pope attracts a lot of business. Papal form is evidently reliable, as Cardinal Montini was favorite before his election in 1963.

Britons are not to be outdone in betting on their superiors--- many wagers were struck on the names the Queen would choose for her younger children.

A gamble which is found around race courses and in side streets is the Three-card trick, also known as the Three-card Monte and Find the lady.

It is not really a gamble at all, but a swindle, and is illegal everywhere. An operator shows three cards, one of which is usually a Queen (hence 'Find the Lady'), deals them face down in a line onto a makeshift table, punter has to watch closely and bet on where he thinks the Queen has been placed.

He thinks he has merely to watch the rapid moving around of the cards, but in fact there are several tricks, including palming, which the operator uses to ensure the mug doesn't win.

Sometimes the Queen appears to be marked with a bent corner, but when the mug pounces, he finds another card has just acquired a bent corner.

In fact, the Three-card Trick is operated by a mob. One at least will be a lookout. Two or three may be accomplices, allowed to 'win' in order to lure the mugs on.

There is often a 'dip', or pickpocket, in the gang, whose job is to remove wallets while everybody is watching the action.

When the gang have made a sufficient killing, the lookout will pretend to spot the law, and the gang will melt away to meet later at a rendezvous to divide the spoils.

Properly executed, it is a very slick operation indeed.