Inmates staying at 'Her Majesty's pleasure' can often be heard cursing their bad luck: 'Oh, if only I'd not been a little too greedy and spent a bit more time working out a more professional gameplan, I'd be living it up on civvy street'.

Yeah, right. Punters are equally adept at making excuses where accumulators are concerned. How many of you fans of 'accas', as they're known, sit around on a Saturday evening lamenting the bet that got away? How many of you complain that three out of your four bets came in, only for the last one to trip you up and cost you a big night out?