Snooker / Jack Houghton / 07 January 2010 /

Mr Houghton enters the snooker betting as he attempts to keep his profitable punting on track

Contrary to popular belief, Ronnie O'Sullivan did not gain his snooker nom de guerre of "rocket" because of his explosive style of play. No, it was his love of a certain peppery salad ingredient that marked him thus. Other players are following his leafy lead, and when the Masters begins Sunday, Ronnie will be joined by the elite of world snooker: John "Watercress" Higgins; Stephen "Bok Choi" Hendry; and Jimmy "The Cabbage" White.

Which reminds me of a joke. Man goes to the doctor's. Clearly in some discomfort, he pulls down his trousers to reveal a lettuce leaf sticking out of his backside. He turns to the doctor and says... "That's just the tip of the iceberg".

In receipt of a controversial wildcard entry, world-ranked-62 Jimmy White has drawn a winnable preliminary-round match against Mark King. Although losing to King in their last three meetings, White has been playing well of late - albeit in non-ranking, or alternative format, events - and will draw a huge partisan crowd for the first evening session of the tournament. That will put huge pressure on King and, at [2.74], White looks the value. The now-profitable-again Betting Challenge is having £20 on at the price.

Unfortunately for dear old Jimmy, a match against Stephen Maguire awaits. It is unlikely he will progress beyond that, so we'll need to look elsewhere for our tournament winner.

Ding Junhui is the best value in the outright market. An opening match against Mark Selby is no gimme - after all, Selby won this in 2008 and is a previous World Championship runner-up - but Junhui has been the form player of the season, reaching the final of the Grand Prix and winning the UK Championship. Selby, in contrast, has had a woeful start to the season, winning only one match in major tournaments.

So Junhui should progress to the quarters, where a likely match-up with John Higgins awaits. On recent form I make that contest even-money-each-of-two but, inexplicably, Junhui is double the price of Higgins in the outright market. The Betting Challenge is having £20 on at [13.0].

In the easier top-half of the draw, it is hard to see beyond O'Sullivan. In the headline clash of the opening round, he needs to dispense of up-and-coming and in-form Neil Robertson but - given the Australian's poor Masters' record - that will likely be an easier task than the match odds suggest. O'Sullivan is currently [1.5] to beat Robertson, and I wouldn't put anyone off at the price. However, the real O'Sullivan value is in the outright market.

Shaun Murphy aside, there is little to stop Ronnie ambling through to the final and, unlike in recent years, there seems less danger of him throwing a wobbly now that Barry Hearn is at the helm of the World Snooker. At [4.0] the Betting Challenge is having £20 on.

In other Betting Challenge news, Sri Lanka's ODI win over India maintained my 100 per cent cricket betting record and, despite overnight Cabinet murmurings, Brown still looks to be secure to help deliver our two outstanding (in both senses of the word) political bets. Manchester United are doing fine in the league and our Cheltenham ante-post portfolio will roll inexorably on towards crowning glory in March. Yes, we're set fair for a Betfair profitable New Yair.

Until next time. Jack "Swiss Chard" Houghton.

This week's bets:
£20 BACK of Jimmy White at [2.74] against Mark King in Masters' First Round.
£20 BACK of Ding Junhui at [13.0] to win the Masters.
£20 BACK of Ronnie O'Sullivan at [4.0] to win the Masters.

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