Tic Tac help

In the north, it is fingers on the right hand onto the top of your right shoulder ( which is five to one ) and continue to touch the middle of your left elbow in the same movement which adds the half, making it five and a half.

Down South, right hand to the right shoulder, then a cutting movement of the right hand extended through the palm of the left hand!

ON exchanges it's right hand to right shoulder then right fingers to tip of nose ;)

lol

I show it as both hands onto chest.Ie.both hands under chin 7/2,both hands on shoulders 9/2,then 11/2 as explained.Then after this I show 13/2 as a 6 plus right hand onto outstreched left hand.

then you do the hokey cokey and you turn around........................

That’s what it’s all about!

At least no other firm will know what you are up to when you just make it up,then again i poke myself in the eye when the bogey gets up on the line ;

doneitthere

Mickey Stewart the famous Southern tic tac worked till he was 90 and died a few years ago. His firm was known as 'Hokey' because his family once had a business in the East End selling ice lollies with the name 'Hokey Pokey'

Interesting post argosy - can anyone else come up with some posts regarding any tic tacs they remember?

always like banter in the shop, a punter shouts out what price is the 2 horse Ronnie, I say bottle they reply 2/1 great, next one shouts what price the 4 horse I say carpet, he says ill have £10 on at 3/1, next one asks what price the 7 horse I reply box of chocs they all look blank, one says wtf is that I reply 9/1 cause its after 8 followed by groans from the punters.

THE DOC

GOING BACK A  FAIR FEW YEARS AGO ,NOBBY FROM LEICESTER HAD A PAL CALLED B....K CHARLIE ACTUALLY HE WAS ASIAN ...TOOK HIM TO EPSOM PUT HIM ON THE RAILS NEXT TO THE SOUTHERN LADS TIC-TACKING ..........WEARING A TURBAN

I've heard you called a TOPPER Johnny - beats a TURBAN I suppose !

it's the fashion in Leicester I'm told

WERE IN THE MINORITY 52-48% THEY PUT UP A STATUE OF GHANDI DOWN THE GOLDEN MILE ..THERES NOT MANY DOGS LAGG UP IT THERE VERY SCARCE DOWN THERE

You chaps remember John Pegley, king of the knockouts?

Of course we do!

Strange to read the posts but they are most enjoyable,when I worked as a tic tac many moons ago ,in my area the numbers 1,2,3,4,5,were all parts of the head.

Brassneck,just after the war Little Frankie Powell from Birmingham worked in that show.After the war I remember the Whitenob firm down south must have had five or six workmen ,Chuffer Allen,Bob Cotton Johnnie Mack,Jim Berry Billy Phillipson,Willie Joffi and Leslie Spencer before he joined Hills.The Parfitt firm that Gold Tooth Des and Freddie Deverson took over,then there was the Hokey firm and Micky Fingers.Pasha and Dennis Mack followed by Cunningham up north.Loyddie was in the Midlands,his boy took over from him,Johnnie Mack took over Whitenob firm,Rocky worked for him ,Billy Brown followed on from Fingers.

Wood Lane,

Great times, great characters, when the only people working for a racecourse bookmaker ie Tic-tac man, clerk, floorman all understood the mathematics of race course bookmaking!

Theirs plenty of bookies standing on course today that don't understand the mathematics of it! Was talking to someone at towcester who was trying to explain to a midlands bookie the other day the perils of  putting 104% with 8 runners  holding 300 quid  went straight over his head!

Why am I not surprised!

Thanks Wood that was exactly the type of post I was seeking. The inter working of tic tacs throughout the ring at Royal Ascot before their demise was a sight to behold and admired regarding the skill of those involved. Those who never witnessed this vital part of how the Ring operated do not know what they have missed !

THE FIRST TIME I WENT RACING WITH ME DAD WAS THE 60S AT NOTTINGHAM ...THERE WAS ABIG BIG FELLA THAT USED TO PUT ALL THESE WORN OUT PHOTS ON THE FLOOR OF HIM SELF AND WELL KNOWN RACING FOLK THEN HE GO IN TO HIS SPEEL THEN SELL HIS TIPS....WAS HE CALLED TINY?

Remember him johnny though not his name - thick wavy hair, brown suit, very tall.

I started on-course in 1974 and worked in most silver rings in the South of England.I worked for Fred Honour (R.I.P.)who taught me every aspect of the business.
We used 2 'Cards',Johnnie Mack(JM) & Dessie and Fred(D&F).One was Pink, the other was White.
The cards were TWIST CARDS ie the race-card number of each horse was changed to stop 'clever'punters from identifying which horses were being traded.Both firms had different numbers to avoid mix-ups.
To carry out a 'trade'each Bookmakers Tic Tac used an individual 'Call Sign'to call up (get the attention of)either JM or D&f.Our sign for JM was (I think)nine.Outstretched left arm,fingers of outstretched right arm looping back to right shoulder to form a horizontal 9.
Another Tic Tac I remember was Alfie Stride who operated in front of the Rails Books with Mickey Fingers and others.The registration number of his merc was AS3! He was a good friend of Brian West(Rails Bookmaker)I sometimes wonder what happened to AS.
Our Tic Tac was' Johnny Cash'(I know!)formally a 'TOP MAN'at White City Dogs.He stood in the main ring and hedged bets from the minor ring(s).
Another greyhound' TOP MAN'was JOE (didn't know his surname)who worked at SLOUGH dogs.He may also have worked at WEMBLEY.The cheap ring at Slough in the seventies had some heavy hitters and Joe was kept very busy.
There you are Ian P-I'm going back into hibernation now!(probably at any rate.)