Rule Number One

Rule one in the Unwritten Rule of Betting is you must never change your bet.

One example I have of someone who should have stuck with their pick is way back in 2002. I was at a casino celebrating my friend's birthday. I was seated at the roulette table beside a group of lads on a night out. One of the men thought it would be funny to move all his friend's chips onto number thirty-five. Before the croupier called last bets, the chips owner realised what his mate had done and moved the load of chips back from the board and into his possession.

I don't really need to tell you what happened, do I? The ball landed on the number and the reckless bet would have paid out in the thousands.

I faced a similar dilemma this evening. I decided I would have a flutter on the Euro Millions lottery. I asked the lady behind the counter for a ticket and then she asked me for three pounds.

'Three pounds!?' I asked. She explained that the Euro Millions was one pound fifty for a ticket as I fished my pockets for my wallet to pay the extra. I didn't know whether I had subconsciously asked for two tickets or I had been misheard. The fact of the matter remained - there was a ticket there with two lines of numbers on and I couldn't change my bet.

I know it's a long shot but I have doubled my chances of winning by simply sticking to rule number one.