Is a win in your lucky stars?

If you win a prize and someone says, “Aren’t you lucky?” I expect you want to reply, “It isn’t luck, it’s skill!” Yet most compers have lucky charms or rituals, and lots of us read our horoscopes and try to interpret them as meaning that the biggie is on its way.
So here is a tongue in cheek guide to how those born under different signs might approach their comping.

Aries (Mar 21 – Apr 20) You are an enthusiastic character, rushing into comping headlong and entering everything in site. You want to enter every competition, sign up to every coming website, join every club, win every prize… and here is your downfall because you can be a little bit selfish. You may well be the person who takes every entry form out of the holder in the supermarket, or who lurks on forums and doesn’t tell your comping friends about the latest comp you have found. One day you may find them doing the same to you! Try to be a bit more sharing and you will soon find your enthusiasm will start to pay off.

Taurus (Apr 21 – May 21) Even if you have had no success with comping, you will keep on stubbornly entering the same type of competition and writing the same style of tiebreakers – you are convinced that your patience will be rewarded. But you may not be doing the most you can to improve your chances. Don’t forget to keep your eyes open for the new ideas and opportunities that you will find every month in Grape Vine.

Gemini (May 22 – Jun 22) You can be witty and communicative – so if you haven’t tried writing tiebreakers or Tweeting to win you really ought to! Some people may call you scheming, so turn that to good use and start scheming out how to win a great prize.

Cancer (Jun 23 – Jul 23) You like to look after other people – you will buy qualifiers for friends, get them entry forms, send them links to the latest competitions and help with answers. A true, caring friend, and many people are likely to be grateful for it. But a few will use you – watch out for them. And don’t spend so long helping other people that you don’t leave yourself time for your own entries.

Leo (Jul 24 – Aug 23) You are confident – so confident that you think every tiebreaker you write is a winner, and if the judges don’t choose it they are wrong. But in fact your tiebreakers may have a tendency to sound pompous and pretentious so try to lighten up a little.

Virgo (Aug 24 – Sep 23) Oh, what an organised comper you are! Your entry forms are carefully filed with the qualifiers neatly clipped to them, you cross reference winning tiebreakers from other comps run by the same company against other companies comps for the product , you write lists and make charts, your computer files are organised in chronological order so you know exactly when to enter each competition……. but how many competitions did you actually ENTER last month? You may have spent so long filing and cataloguing that you missed most of the closing dates. It is possible to relax and enjoy yourself without degenerating into chaos – try it and see!

Libra (Sep 24 – Oct 23) When a comping friend reads out a dreadful tiebreaker, you always find something kind to say about it – tact could be your middle name. You never complain to the judges or stir up trouble. But your easy-going attitude can slip into complacency and sometimes you don’t make much effort with your entries – try to be a bit less apathetic and put a bit of zing into them.

Scorpio (Oct 24 – Nov 22) You are passionate about your hobby – some would say obsessed. Your cat is fed on dog food, your family endure breakfast cereal they hate (if they ever see anything but the back of your head, while you are hunched over the computer) – anything goes if it means you can enter a competition. And if someone else wins, you are very, very jealous. Remember, comping is supposed to be fun!

Sagittarius (Nov 23 – Dec 22) You just love to chat about comping, with anyone and everyone. Your enthusiasm is infectious and some of your friends may have decided to try comping after listening to you. When they read you their first efforts at tiebreaker writing, please try not to be too blunt with them – you are well known for your honesty but sometimes it has to be handled carefully.

Capricorn (Dec 23 – Jan 19) You would never pay for a qualifier if you can get it for nothing. Was it you we saw picking up the till receipts from the floor of the supermarket car park? And slipping the neck collars off the bottles in the wine department? Yet you will never do anything dishonest or unfair – and would never be the person to take the last entry form from a display. Just be careful your economies don’t turn into outright meanness.

Aquarius (Jan 20 – Feb 19) You take a very scientific, analytical approach to competitions. You would probably good at estimating how many tins of beans would fit into a car boot or a similar task. Look out for puzzles, estimates and spot the ball games where you can apply your objectivity.

Pisces (Feb 20 – Mar 20) When you come up with a tiebreaker it will be a brilliant one – but you refuse to work hard at it. If your intuition doesn’t come up with a blinding flash of wit, the comp gets left unentered. In fact you probably throw away more comps than you enter, because you simply can’t be bothered working on them. Try to adopt a slow and steady attitude to comping and you will see that you don’t always have to wait for the flash of inspiration.

Well, did you recognise yourself there? Under your own sign or another? Whatever your star sign, relax, be honest and fair and enjoy your comping – and let’s hope the prizes will come rolling in.

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