I have always had the feeling that if I plan something, it never comes true. It has happened that way many times. This is not paranoia, I genuinely believe that the universe is out to get me. So with that kind of bad luck, I guess it makes sense that I wanted to try betting.
What better way to mess with the universe's malevolent forces against me than to take them down a rabbit hole of random bets? However, before depositing my hard-earned cash into the betting wheel of fortune, I made a mistake.
Superstition or unrealistic expectations?
I PLANNED FOR THE MONEY. I pictured myself using the money for some of the plans I already have. I wished upon bet money to help me lessen the burden of budgeting.
So I pumped myself up and saw myself winning a decent amount of money, which would afford me a deep breath for like two months because my schedule had time-jumped with a lucky win.
With that image of my financial vacation, I opened the betting slip page.
Perhaps, if I hadn't planned for the money, I would have slipped through the universe's cruel hands.
Placing the bet
The page was basically speaking gibberish to me but I understand football a bit better than any of the other sports. For some reason, I didn't go for the popular leagues. It is not a mystery, I simply think that everyone bets on premier league and such, and that makes them dangerous territory.
I go into the upcoming matches section and looked at some popular teams like AS Roma (a friend had spoken highly about it) and Al-Nassr FC (Cristiano...). But that was as far as I got with that wobbly technique.
I then looked at the bets where the odds with a difference of at least 4. For example, team one: 1.78 and team two: 6.0.
A shot in the dark
So I spiraled from the two familiar teams into betting on the highest odd difference without looking at the teams. I picked the teams with the smallest odds against the team with the highest odds.
It felt safe and I felt humble for picking the small odds. I wasn't greedy in my placements, so the universe was appeased.
I also picked only matches for that day because I am very impatient when it comes to my vacation money. I want it today and now, but I settled for midnight latest.
I closed the tab and refocused on work. But my mind kept shooting into the vast blankness as if asking me to spark that little fire of hope to comfort me until the win came in.
Some part of me is already disappointed that I am going to lose. The bigger part of me was already picturing my cash out!
Waking up to a loss, lesson learned
The three red boxes against the seven green boxes were not a shock. It was, however, non-conclusive if it was my fault for pre-planning for the money or the fate many others face when betting.
It doesn't matter.
I wasn't too keen on doing it again. But at least I walked away unharmed...
Hours before the loss.....
At some point in the evening, after I placed the bets, I had given in and opened the tab. I had 17k. I withdrew the 10k I had deposited. I reinvested the 7k (profits?) using my newly discovered technique on the last matches of that day and the ones in the early hours of the next day. I woke up to three losses and zero balance. I lost 7k that wasn't even mine.
So I'll take the whole experience as a win.