Sports betting has fast become one of the major trends amongst the Nigerian populace (esp the youths). And almost every corner you turn to in any Nigerian city there is an 80% chance you'll see a bet shop.
As a bet shop manager, I experience a lot on a daily basis and encounter different kinds of people, which I'll be sharing with you in this article.

1. The Wasters.
I call these set of people the wasters because they don't do any form of analysis or planning about the games they bet on. They just walk into the bet shop, pick random games and stake on them.
For me, these set of people have a zero percent chance of winning a bet. In other words, they're just wasting their money.

2. The Large Stakers.
These set of people don't waste their time accumulating for much odds. They just pick very few games that they are 100 percent convinced will play out the way they want and then stake large amount of money on it despite how low the total odd is.

3. The Long Ticket Guys
These guys will never accumulate less than twenty games on their ticket. They make sure their ticket is almost as long as their arm-length.
They rarely identify with winners.

4. The Potential Multi-Millionaires
I call these set of people 'potential multi-millionaires' because they always play 'million Naira' tickets. You can never see them play a ticket with a potential winning of less than a million.
These set of people are always hopeful of a win and sometimes even make plans on how to spend their potential millions, but they also hardly win anything.

5. The Escorts
Now these escorts (as I call them) are the ones that you'll never see them placing a bet at the bet shop. They just accompany their friends to the bet shop, to discuss, watch match, argue and most times give wrong judgements on games.
They claim to know the best game tips but never play for themselves.

6. The Virtual Guys
These set of people are those that have in-a-way made the bet shop their second home.
They are there almost every hour of everyday playing virtual games.
These set of people win, but never as much as they lose.

7. The Old-Timers
These are the mature set of men that have been in the business long enough to know a lot about it.
They know the inside-out of many teams esp from England lower leagues. They can also be known as the experts. Because they can tell you very striking yet most time accurate details about some not very significant teams.
This set of persons mostly have history playing 'pool', and they are pretty good predictors.
They win from time to time.

8. The Guys That Never Want To Win Much
Now these guys are simply the opposite of the 'potential multi-millionaire' guys. This set of people never allow their potential winnings skyrocket more than a certain level. They always want to keep it minimum.
They stake just to win money they can use in 'keeping body and soul together', nothing more; and they do win.
They can also be known as the 'low-risk takers'.

9. The High Risk Takers
Now these are the set of people that believe that it's better to risk high on very few games than to risk low on a lot of games.
These guys are the kind of guys that will stake on Getafe to win over Fc Barcelona; always hoping for a miracle win. And also like the 'potential multi-millionaires', their potential winnings are most times in millions. Because of the large odds they accumulate.

10. The Copy-Cats
Now these guys as their name implies are the copy-cats.
All they do is wait at the betting shop for people to place their bets, and then they make photocopies of people's tickets.
Their winning rate is extremely low.

11. The Winning Guys
And last but not least are the winning guys AKA the wise ones.
Now these guys are the ones that actually analyze and plan out their games even before arriving at the bet shop.
They are the ones that know what they are doing hundred percent. They are very subtle and smart. They do all the necessary research and thorough analysis on any game they want to stake on.
These people are very balanced, they don't risk too much, neither do they risk too less. They don't stake too much, neither do they stake too less. They are moderate and wise, they know their teams well, and you'll normally see them with a notebook or jotter.
They are the winning guys.
* Me I'm one of the winning guys * which group do you belong to? *
Author: Danicole W Daniel

Gambling is evil in mr ibu's voice

I sometimes have a funny look on my face when I see a guy with a sleep aw long as third mainland bridge. Imagine staking #100 with a potential winning of #15,0000,0000.