Sports Then and Now

While there were no surprises in the men’s singles at Roland Garros this year, the women’s game threw up a number of shocks. First, there were the absentees, citing safety concerns amidst the coronavirus pandemic – big name players such as last year’s champion Ash Barty, as well as previous US Open winners Naomi Osaka and Bianca Andreescu.

Then we saw many of the seeded stars exit the tournament in its early stages – Serena Williams was forced to withdraw through injury in round two, while there were shock defeats for Angelique Kerber (round one), Karolína Plíšková (round two), and Simona Halep (round four) to the eventual winner Iga Świątek. In the quarter-finals, there were just three seeds, two qualifiers and three unseeded players, with Świątek coming out on top.

While the women’s game has been unpredictable for some time, with Świątek becoming the ninth woman to win a maiden Grand Slam title in the past 14 major tournaments, the Pole’s name certainly wasn’t on anybody’s lips as a possible contender. Previously placed 54^th in the world, she wasn’t considered in the pre-tournament tennis odds from Betfair, but her triumph on clay sees her climb into the top-20 – and a career high position of 17^th. In winning her first ever WTA singles title and in a Grand Slam tournament too, it’s not just her ranking, but her profile has risen too.

Betting is equal parts fun and equal parts risk. So, it can be said that it’s a game for the bold. Take the presidential odds, for example. There is so much anticipation behind it. It’s not just the Americans that are crazed about it, but also people from all parts of the world. 

It is such a grand event, after all. People can’t wait to be placing wagers on this election. If you are one of those fun-loving few, we have a little something to help you with. Here are the betting mistakes you should be avoiding.

Don’t bet out of your budget 

You will find a lot of people to give you this piece of advice. It’s easy to ignore it because you have already heard it a hundred times. We don’t suggest you take it lightly, though. Don’t bet out of your budget, regardless of how optimistic and enthusiastic you feel. 

Betting is a fun activity, and you must keep it that way. You must cause no harm to your bank balance. Set aside a budget for gambling and don’t cross it. You might have to pay a hefty price for it later on. 

Don’t bet while you’re intoxicated

Like cinema shows us, gambling and alcohol go hand in hand. However, ask yourself if that seems at all logical to you. A clear answer should be no. While you might feel alcohol and drugs can amplify your gambling experience, it’s all just an illusion. 

Since women were allowed to the Olympic Games for the first time in 1990, Paris, the situation with sexism and discrimination in the world of sports has not significantly changed, though. If we follow the history of professional sports, we will realize tons of episodes with women athletes that can not be regarded but as chauvinism. They include all kinds of discrimination from obvious lack of respect, restrictions in terms of participating at different kinds of sports or separate tournaments to the revolting acts of harassment, like it was with Kathrine Switzer in 1967, for instance.

She has entered the Boston Marathon despite the fact the women were not actually allowed to participate. The reasons seemed quite strange for Kathrine: some experts claimed that sports, particularly running, could be harmful for women’s health in some way, including impact on fertility. Such social injustice was something Kathrine could not move on with and she registered for the Marathon, having pretended she was a man. When the truth was revealed, Kathrine was almost finishing — but the official seized her and tried to take her away from the race. However, he was not successful and Kathrine Switzer became the first woman to have finished the race in the Boston Marathon. This was humiliating, from the one hand — and productive, from the other, as a couple of years later, women were officially allowed to the Marathon.

How and what for do athlete women protest

It would be strange to deny that this current state of a woman position in amateur and professional sports is rather dismaying — the lack of equality is still unfortunately obvious, if one looks into this subject a little deeper. However, this, surprisingly, gives women athletes more power — as their votes become louder when it comes to a protest.

This makes the history of women protesting in sports divide into two ways. There is a history of protesting for simply being in sports for women — like the previously mentioned story about Kathrine Switzer. However, the subject appears to be much wider when sports happens to mix with politics and when society needs the voices of minorities to draw as much attention as possible to different issues.

The World Series of Poker is the biggest and most prestigious poker tournament in the world, attracting almost 10,000 entrants to the main event each year. It’s broadcasted to poker fans around the world through a combination of TV rights deals and online streaming, just like most other professional sports.

In the US alone, more than half a million people watch the World Series of Poker on TV. The event has had a symbiotic relationship with the game of poker as a whole. They have both benefited from growth in each other’s popularity, both becoming mainstream from relative obscurity in the space of around 30 years.

Today, poker is a major sport enjoyed by millions of people around the world. The World Series of Poker helps to generate interest in the game at an amateur level, with players going online to practice. It is far easier to start playing there, as online poker sites publish useful guides to help new players learn the rules of poker and develop their strategies.

The World Series of Poker didn’t always enjoy such popularity though. Both the competition, and the game itself, have grown significantly since the first, relatively obscure competition was held in 1970.

Casino entertainment has a long and rich history. The first brick and mortar establishment opened in Italy in 1638, but its roots can be traced to antiquity. The first dice came from ancient Egypt, and the Chinese gambling houses are dated back to 200 BC. It’s safe to say that casino games have changed a lot over the years.

Reinventing the wheel

Interestingly, the key principle behind most of the games remained pretty much the same. After all, how much can you change about the way the roulette wheel is spun? This particular game has been played in its present form since the late 18^th century. The same goes for card games like poker. However, that specific game does have many variations, with the most popular being Texas Hold’em.

Additionally, the industry does not sleep, so companies and software developers are continually improving. The casino offer keeps getting more diverse, new features and solutions such as live casino are being implemented. It goes to show you that even the most straightforward concepts can be altered for the better.

A sign of the times

The world does not like stagnation, so it keeps changing. The primary reason for that surely is technological development. The internet is a real game-changer for many industries. Nowadays, with a high-speed connection, you can do a lot. Poker and casino games are not an exception. Mobile devices allow you to play almost anywhere you go. Online action reaches a broader audience and demographics.

Not every bettor has the same level of ambition. Still, it’s rare to find someone that gambles without a desire to profit.

However, in reality, most people won’t get rich from gambling. Even generous bonuses like the 200 free spins by WooCasino can’t take you far alone. You’ll need a lot of luck to become one of the people who makes a killing playing casino games.

Today, our expert, whose profile you can overview here, Jacek Michałski, will examine how to make money gambling and suggest some helpful strategies. He lets us in on ways to maximize your chances, though.

Skip the Slots

The design of slot machines in land-based and online casinos serves to draw your attention, bombarding your senses. They’re exceptionally alluring, promoting megabucks and jackpots. 

It’s mostly a facade, though. In general, slots have the worst odds for the player of all casino games.

While the safest titles can fail you, the odds for winning a jackpot while spinning the reels are too low to rely on.

It’s completely okay to enjoy a bit of spinning action now and then. Realistically, though, depending on slots to grant you a massive profit is a recipe for disaster. Instead, focus on consistent, small wins, which brings us to our next point.