Rien ne va plus

Suggestion that schoolchildren should be taught how to "gamble responsibly" - very good idea, although I can't see it sitting comfortably with the churches or Daily Mail readers.  One aspect of betting which can confuse even those experienced in the art is our use in this country of "fractional" odds rather than the method favoured in most of the rest of the world of "decimal" odds.  Decimal odds are quoted to show you how much you will get back if your bet wins.  So if team A are quoted at 2.4 to beat team B and you put £1 on them to win and they do, you will get £2.40 back - a profit of £1.40.  So it's easy enough to compare bets and see which has the potential to win you the most, but which will win you more - a bet quoted at 7/4 or one quoted at 6/5?  To convert fractional odds into decimal, simply divide the first figure by the second and add one.  So 7/4 becomes 7 divided by 4 which is 1.75 and add 1 to make it 2.75, and 6/5 becomes 6 divided by 5 which is 1.2 which with one added is 2.2, so the 7/4 shot will win you more - assuming of course that you do win.  Mind you, whether the odds you are being quoted are value for money is another matter altogether.