Football World Cup 2010

[MarkBastable]

If this were Hold 'Em, I'd bide my time. If this were money, I'd play a tight-aggressive game. But it's only pretend - though real enough, admittedly, to trigger my competitive instincts - so....


My entire roll on Spain. And if I come out of that with 200, put it all on Uruguay.


Paul - seriously. 5? 10? 5? Do you play poker at all? Because I'm in the Midlands from time to time.

[Scheherazade]

I think next time we should have another rule:

- You can bet only up to 50% of your existing "wealth".

[MarkBastable]

I think next time we should have another rule:

- You can bet only up to 50% of your existing "wealth".

Why? It's all about risk. Bill risked early and went out - and that's the downside to a bet that would have put him at a huge advantage had he won. Seems fair to me.

[Paulclem]

If this were Hold 'Em, I'd bide my time. If this were money, I'd play a tight-aggressive game. But it's only pretend - though real enough, admittedly, to trigger my competitive instincts - so....


My entire roll on Spain. And if I come out of that with 200, put it all on Uruguay.


Paul - seriously. 5? 10? 5? Do you play poker at all? Because I'm in the Midlands from time to time.

You're right - I don't have much idea. I'm also torn between head and heart - I want the underdogs to win, though I bet on the likelies.

England though are a special case where head and heart unite before rending painfully... usually.

[Virgil]

N Korea did well! Pity they didn't pull another back. We're having a sweep at work tomorrow too. It's been very enjoyable so far.

We used to use football and soccer interchangeably when I was a lad Virgil.

Oh really? I didn't know that is was used in Britain as well. I shold look upo the etymology of it. Ok, I just did and it's fascinating. Here:

“Soccer’s etymology is not American but British,” explains Partha Mazumdar of the U.S. Embassy in London. “It comes from an abbreviation for Association Football, the official name of the sport (for those of you who have never heard the team “Association Football” before, it was named after the Football Association, which still governs English soccer, to differentiate itself from the other major type of football, Rugby Football, which was named after the Rugby School. FIFA, the world governing body of soccer, is French for the International Federation of Association Football… F-I-F-A).”

He continues, “For obvious reasons, in the 1880s and 1890s, English newspapers couldn’t use the first three letters of Association as an abbreviation in their pages, so they took the next syllable, S-O-C. With the British penchant for adding “-er” at the end of words: punter, footballer, copper, and, of course, nicknaming rugby, “rugger,” the word “soccer” was soon born, over a hundred years ago, here in England, the home of soccer. We adopted it and kept using it because we have our own indigenous sport that we call football.”

Still don’t like the word soccer? Blame the British, not us Yanks.

http://usasoccerstud.com/why-we-call-it-soccer/

Blame the Brits!!!

Ok, my bets for today:

Chile to win ~ 6 pesos

Spain to win ~ 20 pesos

S. Africa/Uraguay ~ Draw 10 pesos

[Snowqueen]

I think I should start betting too, but I don’t want to lose.

[prendrelemick]

That Korean number 9 was fantastic, we were jumping up and down when they scored.


40 reales on spain please.-Will I never learn?

You're right - I don't have much idea. I'm also torn between head and heart - I want the underdogs to win, though I bet on the likelies.

England though are a special case where head and heart unite before rending painfully... usually.

I know what you mean Paul. Because there are no odds there is no point risking anything on an underdog, even though you would like them to win.

[Virgil]

I think I should start betting too, but I don’t want to lose.

It's not real money Snowqueen. We're just playing.

[prendrelemick]

Oh really? I didn't know that is was used in Britain as well. I shold look upo the etymology of it. Ok, I just did and it's fascinating. Here:


http://usasoccerstud.com/why-we-call-it-soccer/

Blame the Brits!!!

Ok, my bets for today:

Chile to win ~ 6 pesos

Spain to win ~ 20 pesos

S. Africa/Uraguay ~ Draw 10 pesos

I don't mind the word Soccer at all. BUT why do you Americans call a game of throw and catch, football?

[Virgil]

I don't mind the word Soccer at all. BUT why do you Americans call a game of throw and catch, football?

That's a good question. The game has evolved to where it's predominantly a throw, catch, and run sport, but the original play involved more kicking than it does today. There's kicking in the game (kick offs, punts, field goal, extra points), but not as much as say a hundred years ago.

This gives you a little history but it doesn't say how kicking was more integral to the earlier game: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_football.

I guess this may explain the "football" aspect better: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_is_Ame..._'football'

[billl]

Virgil's wiki-answers link looks like a pretty rational explanation--I had never thought about it before...

this link might put the role of "passing" into historical perspective--it had been, originally, an illegal play (or at least, one not addressed by the rules or something...). The game was just about running before that, with the occasional kick (I believe)--something like rugby, I imagine, but with stopping and planning about how to achieve a score, as well as how to reach an intermediary (and ongoing) sub-aim of advancing the ball 10 yards or more in four 'plays' or less.

EDIT further research reveals that, originally, the numbers were a bit different for those things. But who cares? We aren't here to discuss football--this thread is about SOCCER! Sorry!

[Lulim]

Honduras vs Chile: Draw, 5 Hardys
Spain vs Switzerland: Spain, 5 Hardys
South Africa vs Uruguay: South Africa, 5 Hardys

[papayahed]

ahhhhh I was a high roller for about 2 days.

[Niamh]

10 on Chile
20 on Spain
10 on a Draw between SA and Uru although i'm more leaning toward Uru.

[kilted exile]

ok -20 on Chile
15 on spain (but think the swiss will be stiffer competition than spain will anticipate)
10 on South Africa