This, I guess, is a little off the forum mainstream; but I would like to hear the suggestions of members:

Shortly I am retiring and moving to a new home where I will have a whole (small) room for my gambling office. What I would like to know is how forumites would outfit this room.

Now, I am not made of money (and my gambling hasn't improved that situation!); but suggestions about monitors, desks, storage, etc., etc. would be appreciated. Have a P.C. and printer, of course; but haven't yet any Foxtel or whatever. Have a waste paper basket (one of the most important pieces of furniture!!); but would like to really set up a cosy "den", for want of a better word, to make my losing a little more comfortable .

Any suggestions? What can't you do without?

Thanks guys.

I am not sure on some of those things but i can say if i was doing this i would get two 19" LCD monitors three if you have the money they are less than $400 now these can be run as an extended desktop you may need a different video card, talk to your local computer store NOT Harvey Norman or any place like that but a real computer store where they know what they are talking about.

I could also say get a flat panel tv but you may not have the room or the cash but you could get a video card that supports tv in and watch your foxtel on there.

I am not sure what type of internet connection you have but make sure it is high speed DSL forget the dialup it will drive you insane.

There's some interesting set-ups here

http://www.realtimesoft.com/multimon/gallery.asp

I like this one

http://www.realtimesoft.com/multimo...n=true&mon=desc

Congrts Merriguy,

Good luck and prosperous health.

from my side, my "bar" where the action takes place has the following.

a:high speed internet with back up "dial up" modem
b:FOXTEL
c:good quality souround sound amp so as to facilitate switching between foxtel audio and racing radio via remote
d:Telephone line seperate to the house line
e:stress ball
f:Good desk light for the night work
g:removable computer storage device for back ups
h:Lock on the door
i: A window with a view to remind you that there is a world outside that you MUST go out and enjoy every now and then.

One thing you might like to look into would be a CABLE internet connection to Optus, i think they are super fast on internet and you can then watch the races via fox or other providers with it. Run both through one computer with the two or three screens mentioned by Shaun with one mouse.

The seperate phone i find is handy as the misses is always on the house phone when you need to call someone or put a bet on via the phone.

Back up onto a hard drive is easy, 30 or 40 dollars and you can carry all your data in your pocket.

Just a few sujestions but good luck

Cheers D

A flagon of plonk and a carton of cigarettes for the "bad " days when nothing goes right.

Cheers.
darky

1. A bar fridge to celebrate good fortune
2. A couch to lay down on when you've had a shocker.



EDITED (darkydog beat me to it - ugh)

Seriously, all the best Merriguy.

You say that space is small and budget is not massive, so I'd keep it simple.

As suggested, I would get a dual monitor setup.
One for odds watching and one for the bet placement page.

I wouldn't get a tv card and run that simultaneously with your other connections, you'll eat into your pc resources too much, I'd get foxtel on a flat panel tv and wall mount it above the twin monitors.

Get yourself a good expensive comfortable chair, it makes all the difference.

Have the top of the monitors at eye level

Have two drives in your pc, and use a cloning program to do a daily clone of your existing hard drive, that way if a failure occurs you can just switch drives.

You don't need 17 monitors or anything silly like that, although it looks impressive, it is a waste of resources and expensive.
There are plenty of racing sites that have programs that will display all the odds everywhere for you to choose from or see fluctuations in one browser. (I use dynamicodds).

Enjoy your retirement.

To answer your question directly I can't do without the internet, Excel, and a Captain Kirk leather chair, the rest is just frills.

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The thing that always annoyed me because I kept forgetting to have it close was a pocket calculator.

Would clock on a FIXED price of say $2.80 then have to PF around working out how much to put on to clear $100.

Got the prices all on a sheet now for easy access ( another good thing to have on hand)

Good luck with your retirement.
Cheers.
darky.

Another thing now that Darky mentioned clock.

I have on my desktop a thing called "atomic clock".

This thing is awsome, it is exactly accurate and is usefull to know when a race is about to jump in the last few seconds, you can find it by typing it into your search engine and download it, alternatively, a good quality plug in the wall electric clock.

Maybe we should submit our own "punting den" photo link for merriguy and all to have a look at, could be a bit of fun,...ill make sure i move the ash tray though.

And im actually thinking of my next punting den purchase,...a dart board,.. at twenty paces i should be able to find a winner that way

Cheers Dingo

Don't forget the imitation foam brick [looks like the real thing] to toss at the TV monitor when your runner gets beaten by a tongue !

I love the setup that had the microwave in the corner, now thats a good ides