#185390 - 19/10/2003 08:08
Premium Bonds (UK residents)
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pooh-bah
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 2489
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Well bank interest is crap, and my ISAs are dying due to me buying them the day before the September 11th attrocities.
So... um.... Premium Bonds? Better than the bank? Risk free? Opinions?
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#185391 - 20/10/2003 00:08
Re: Premium Bonds (UK residents)
[Re: CrackersMcCheese]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 10/06/1999
Posts: 5916
Loc: Wivenhoe, Essex, UK
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Bank interest might be low, but at least it is higher that the zero percent you get on Premium Bonds.
My mother has had a small amount of premium bonds for 40 years. In that time she has never won a single prize
According to their site if you won the average number of times it would equate to 2.15% (tax free). There are cash ISAs and online savings accounts that pay more than that.
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Remind me to change my signature to something more interesting someday
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#185392 - 20/10/2003 03:49
Re: Premium Bonds (UK residents)
[Re: CrackersMcCheese]
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Pooh-Bah
Registered: 13/04/2001
Posts: 1742
Loc: The land of the pale blue peop...
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premium bond used to be a good investment but then the level of the prize got totally slashed so now they are basically a bunch of poop.
_________________________
P.Allison fixer of big engines
Mk2+Mk2a signed by God / Hacked by the Lord
Aberdeen Scotland
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#185393 - 20/10/2003 05:59
Re: Premium Bonds (UK residents)
[Re: thinfourth2]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 17/01/2002
Posts: 3996
Loc: Manchester UK
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But it's still better than the lottery!
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Cheers,
Andy M
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#185394 - 20/10/2003 06:07
Re: Premium Bonds (UK residents)
[Re: andym]
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Pooh-Bah
Registered: 13/04/2001
Posts: 1742
Loc: The land of the pale blue peop...
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And it has the bouble bonus of no really cheesy telly program
_________________________
P.Allison fixer of big engines
Mk2+Mk2a signed by God / Hacked by the Lord
Aberdeen Scotland
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#185395 - 20/10/2003 06:08
Re: Premium Bonds (UK residents)
[Re: andym]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 09/08/2000
Posts: 2091
Loc: Edinburgh, Scotland
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Yeah - remind me why I occasionally buy a ticket? And why I even bother looking at the results? And why I am surprised when I don't even match one number
_________________________
Rory MkIIa, blue lit buttons, memory upgrade, 1Tb in Subaru Forester STi MkII, 240Gb in Mark Lord dock MkII, 80Gb SSD in dock
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#185396 - 20/10/2003 06:23
Re: Premium Bonds (UK residents)
[Re: frog51]
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old hand
Registered: 14/04/2002
Posts: 1172
Loc: Hants, UK
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My boss's cousin won a hundred grand a couple of weeks back - their syndicate of ten people got the jackpot ticket, which was one of three in a £9m draw. (edit: that doesn't work out - fsck knows, perhaps the jackpot was £3m?)
Oh, the bloke who fitted our stair carpet won £32k on WWTBAM and my mum's friend's sister-in-law is Judith Keppel (who won a million and look like a horse)
Gareth
Edited by g_attrill (20/10/2003 06:24)
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#185397 - 20/10/2003 06:36
Re: Premium Bonds (UK residents)
[Re: g_attrill]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 09/08/2000
Posts: 2091
Loc: Edinburgh, Scotland
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It sucked me in - at the end of the first year I was nearly £100 up. I'm probably £30 down now. My brother's mother-in-law won £80k once, but that's as close as I have come to the big win.
Actually, I won a box of chocolates in a raffle once - but someone gave me their ticket as they were going home.
<sigh>
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Rory MkIIa, blue lit buttons, memory upgrade, 1Tb in Subaru Forester STi MkII, 240Gb in Mark Lord dock MkII, 80Gb SSD in dock
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#185398 - 20/10/2003 07:52
Re: Premium Bonds (UK residents)
[Re: frog51]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 20/01/2002
Posts: 2085
Loc: New Orleans, LA
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The obnly way I'll gamble is if I feel like I have some modicum of control. In other words, no craps, roulette, lottery, or slots. I have been known to play poker and blackjack, however. I'm pretty good at poker, but I suck royally at blackjack. I get too involved with odds that never seem to pan out right.
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#185399 - 20/10/2003 10:35
Re: Premium Bonds (UK residents)
[Re: lectric]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 12/02/2002
Posts: 2298
Loc: Berkeley, California
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I'm sure someone can explain this better than I can, but the only way to have the odds in your favor with blackjack is to count cards, and count them well. This of course gets more and more dificult as they add decks. Then, once you get the technique down, the casinos will start throwing you out.
Matthew
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#185400 - 20/10/2003 12:10
Re: Premium Bonds (UK residents)
[Re: matthew_k]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 20/01/2002
Posts: 2085
Loc: New Orleans, LA
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Counding is easy. You can count up to 31 aces on one hand. And it's VERY difficult for them to notice it. That's 8 decks. Most casinos use a max 6 deck shoe. I just get too emotional in blackjack.
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#185401 - 20/10/2003 12:57
Re: Premium Bonds (UK residents)
[Re: lectric]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31600
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Counting is easy. You can count up to 31 aces on one hand. Card counting is not about just counting the aces. It's about keeping track of the ratio of high-value cards to low value cards in addition to keeping a side count of aces. All while you're trying to remember the basic play strategy for the particular ruleset you're playing. Extreme detail can be found at the Wizard of Odds, one of the best sites on gambling information I know of.
Oh, and to touch on something that was said in the other post... Counting only gets you a house advantage of a tiny percentage, so you can only profit from blackjack in the very long run. To make cardcounting worth your while (i.e., for something more than entertainment value), you need to be a ruthlessly good card counter, you need to play very high stakes games, and you need to have a huge bankroll.
And as was already said, if the camera guy catches you doing anything that looks like counting (i.e., using your fingers to keep track of aces), they can ask you to leave.
(I'm told that In every place but Atlantic City, all businesses have the legal right to refuse service to anyone for any reason. In Atlantic City, there is a law that says games of skill are illegal, and since kicking you out for cardcounting would be tantamount to admitting that blackjack is a game of skill, the AC casinos don't kick you out for cardcounting. I dunno how accurate this information is, but it was in a FAQ that I read a few years ago.)
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#185402 - 20/10/2003 13:23
Re: Premium Bonds (UK residents)
[Re: tfabris]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 20/01/2002
Posts: 2085
Loc: New Orleans, LA
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you need to be a ruthlessly good card counter, you need to play very high stakes games, and you need to have a huge bankroll.
And I have none of the three, which is why I always seem to lose. Always.
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#185403 - 20/10/2003 13:45
Re: Premium Bonds (UK residents)
[Re: lectric]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31600
Loc: Seattle, WA
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I once saw a pit boss shut down a low-stakes table because the deck suddenly got extra-favorable. Someone in the group said "wow, look at all the little cards that just came out". And it was true, nothing over a 5 had been dealt to the entire table, and it was a full table in single-deck play, the first deal right after a shuffle. In that situation, I would have put down a huge bet, bigger than I ever would have in any other situation. Unfortunately, I was only watching over the shoulder of another player, and even if I had been playing, I wouldn't have gotten the chance. The pit boss showed up seconds later and said "all right folks, we're closing down this table...".
I wanted to smack the guy for opening his mouth.
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