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Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Wednesday night football crackers

There are five English Premier League games on tonight - and I've written previews for all five of them on the main site.

(see the English Football Betting page for the links to the detailed previews or click on the individual matchlinks below)

But here is a summary of the bets I like the look of tonight.

Manchester United vs Everton.
20 points on Man United on -1.25 AH at PinnacleSports at 1.84

Liverpool vs Portsmouth
20 points on Liverpool clean sheet at BetDirect at 2.00

Fulham v Arsenal
20 points on Theirry Henry score anytime at Eurobet at 2.10

Aston Villa v Man City
17 points on Aston Villa -0.5 AH at VCBet at 2.00
3 points on 1-1 correct score at VCBet at 6.50

Bolton v Chelsea
10 points on Draw/Chelsea HT/FT bet at Ladbrokes at 4.50

Ok - that gives you action for all five games - and I'm looking for 3-4 winners for a nice little profit for the night.

Remember - you don't have to take any or all of these bets - it's your money and your decision.

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Midweek football coming up

After a few days AWOL from the Blog, it's good to get back online to have a few punts ...

And the midweek schedule may have a few games worth a punt in midweek with 6 games in the English Premier League, 16 games in the UEFA Cup, and a round of the Coppa Italia too.

More soon.

Friday, November 24, 2006

Moneybookers Phishing Scam

Just a warning to all internet punters out there - don't trust your emails to be genuine - and make sure that you take extra care with all sites that need ID's and passwords.

A new round of emails being sent out by scamsters pretending to be from Moneybookers. It's supposed to be from service@moneybookers.com but of course it is NOT.

Here is a graphic of the scam email .



(click to see fullsize version)

None of this is real - it is a scam to get your id and password.

If you have fallen for it - then please immediately go and change your password at Moneybookers.com.

Remember do not click on email links to go to bank accounts or payments site ...

Monday, November 20, 2006

UEFA CL Spreadsheet


(click to see full sheet)

Here is the spreadsheet for the midweek UEFA Champions League games - and as usual there are a fair number of selections to consider.

PREVIOUS PERFORMANCE :
So far this season the spreadsheet has had a very good run in the Champions League going 20-2 for home matches and 6-1 for away picks.

However - many games have been bankers with low prices - so the yield per bet is +33% - which respectable but not mind blowing.

TUESDAY PICKS
The sheet takes 4 games on Tuesday - 3 of them at home :
- Arsenal (72%) to beat Hamburg at 1.25 (BetFred)
- Benfica (80%) to beat Copenhagen at 1.50 (Interwetten)
- Lille (80%) to beat Anderlecht at 1.62 (BetFred)

And we also have an away choice with :
- AC Milan (85%) likely to win in Athens at 1.77 (Gamebookers)

I certainly like the three home bets - but I'm not too sure about AC Milan winning away on the road as they're looked somewhat average in Serie A this season and had to accept another 0-0 draw on the weekend.

Good luck with your punts.

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Aussies to Win First Cricket Test

AUSSIES 4/9 FOR REPEAT FIRST TEST VICTORY

Will The Lively Gabba Wicket Play Into Their Hands?

The Australians got off to a flyer in the First Test at Lords last year and are 4/9 with bet365 to go 1-0 up this time around. There’s been plenty of support for the hosts while England have been friendless at 13/2. The Draw is priced at 3/1 for those who think the teams will cancel each other out.

Australia are also 4/9 to command a 1st Innings lead (England 13/8), while bet365 have Top Batsman markets available for both teams in the Gabba Test Match. Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Strauss are joint favourites at 3/1 for England, while Paul Collingwood could be a spot of value at 13/2 to get the most runs.

It’s a close call for Top Australia Bat with bet365 making Ricky Ponting the marginal 10/3 favourite ahead of 4/1 shots Langer and Hayden, while Martyn and Hussey are 5/1.

bet365 are also offering a range of exciting Batsman Matches, including Strauss (5/6) v Langer (5/6), Cook (5/6) v Bell (5/6) and Ponting (8/11) v Pietersen (EVS).

Finally, remember that there are a wide range of In-Play opportunities available. The bet365 In-Play console will show the odds as they update in real-time.

Apologies

Apologies for the lack of action on the weekend - but we had a storm here that put out the phone lines for a while and also hit a few homes quite badly.

I was tied up with a few REAL world issues - helpng out the neighbours - and had to put the online betting to one side.

We should be back in action in midweek in the Champions League.

Saturday, November 18, 2006

The Sheet - Italian Serie A - 18th/19th Nov


(Click the image to see the sheet in full size)

And I've also run the sheet for the Italian Serie A fixtures this weekend - and again it suggests four games indicated as likely winning results :
- AC Milan (60%) to win at Empoli on Saturday
- Inter Milan (79%) to beat Reggina
- Livorno (64%) to beat Parma
- AS Roma (59%) to beat Catania

The sheet also suggests that the best "value" on Sunday may be to get on Ascoli to surprise Fiorentina at a huge price of 6.25 at Betsson.

I'm not hugely convinced about that - after all Ascoli are 2nd to last with a 0-4-7 record - but it is true that Fiorentina are just 2-0-3 on the road and so perhaps the price on a home win is a little bit big.

Good luck with your punts.

The Sheet - English Premier League - 18th/19 Nov


(Click the image to see the sheet in fullsize)

Here is the weekend sheet for the English Premeier League with four games indicated as likely winning results :
- Arsenal (80%) to beat Newcastle
- Chelsea (73%) to beat West Ham
- Portsmouth (66%) to beat Watford
- Manchester United (70%) to win at Sheffield

Some of the matches (ManUtd and Chelsea) have only a small number of data observations of previous matches with similar rankings as so those estimations should be treated with more caution.

Elsewhere there does look to be a little bit of value around the other games with Man_City, Bolton, Middlesbro and Blackburn all available at better than 110% value - well according to the sheet anyway.

Good luck with your punts.

Friday, November 17, 2006

Irish Legend Ray Houghton Picks

Today we have links to audio (MP3) previews from a tipster at one of our leading UK and European bookmakers - Paddy Power.com.

Razor Ray Houghton shares his football insights into this weekend's Premiership talking about five games this weekend including Arsneal, Spurs and Liverpool.

Check out the page and have a listen & see what you think!

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

International football

Nothing really grabs my fancy tonight in the limited international calendar.

England are playing in the Netherlands of course - but English friendly games are littered with mass substitutions and the games rarely tend to flow well.

Although I try to banish the Sven era from my memories I have I've got a faint recollection of a large number of 1-1 draws under Sven - with England starting well and then tailing off.

I do NOT expect England's stars to play 90 minutes (or else McClaren will be in trouble with Fergie, Benitez and Mourinho) ...

so 1-1 again ?

Elsewhere - Chris does have a couple of previews and a bit of advice on a two competitive games in the international football section now.

Poker Freeroll at 32Red

I like the 32Red Poker Room (we rated it at 90% - see our review) it's clean simple graphics make it easy to play and being a PRIMA skin you know that you've got a reasonable RNG generator and access to a network of tournaments.

But the other good thing about 32Red Poker is that they also run several of their own tournaments and free rolls each month that are exclusive to their site.

On Wednesday night (at 9:45pm) they're running a Euro2008 free roll, with a minimum of $1000 in prizes (down to 50th place) and they'll bump the prize pool up by $100 for every Irish goal and by $500 for every goal by San Marino.

There are no hooks to this - simply download the 32Red Poker Room register for the free roll and you're in ...

See you in the poker room.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Gooner Reserve Makes England Squad !!

Matthew Connolly - an almost unknown 19-year-old - was given his chance to train with the England team yesterday ...

... by virtue of being in the right place at the right time.

Manager Steve McClaren has had to deal with eight withdrawals from his squad to face Holland at the Amsterdam ArenA tomorrow evening, so the England head coach did not have enough players to stage an eight-a-side practice match as his players assembled at Arsenal's training ground in London Colney.

Young Connolly happened to be on the site to train with Arsenal's reserves but ended up with three lions on his chest and with the chance to train with Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney as a "ringer".

Monday, November 13, 2006

Cracker Summary

Stuttgart came back from conceding the first goal to beat Hanover 2-1 and go to the top of the table - and also enabling us to collect.

Our performance has been less than stellar so far with a 17-11 record over the first 28 bets, which has allowed us to grow the bank from an initial 100 units to 114.65

The target of 500 units still seems a long way away - but we will see what we can do over the next fortnight to bring us closer.

Catch us back here soon for more ... and good luck with your punts.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Sunday Cracker Bets

Lets take in a Bundesliga game first up where high flying Stuttgart travel to face Hannover.

VfB Stuttgart have good last 10 form at 6-3-1 and a good away record of 3-2-0 as well, and a win today would move them to the top of the table.

Hannover are bottom of the league, just 0-2-3 at home, but did surprise massively in midweek by winning at Bayern Munich.

So do you think that Hannover are likely to build on that result and win again??!

Bollocks! They are bottom of the table for a reason - and they are far more likely to throw up a shocking result in my opinion.

There is a risk of the draw though - so we will take Bet365's Draw no Bet option at 1.66.

Take Stuttgart for 25 units @ 1.67 (DNB) at SportingOdds

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Recommended Arsenal Book

I just got this book through the post today.

Thoroughly recommended for any Gooner that is missing the old stadium, or that likes to read a decent club history.

It's the official illustrated History of Highbury Stadium, and it also covers the period earlier as well as talking about the clubs' formation and struggling early seasons at some pretty manky fields in South London.

Plenty of old photos and stories, Brian Glanville has done a good job of bringing it to life, and plenty of new information (to me) and I'm sure for other Gooners too.

Xmas is just around the corner - so get it for yourself - or get your significant "other" to buy it for you (instead of a pair of socks).

Arsenal Stadium History: The Official Illustrated History of Highbury Stadium - 93 Years of Innovation, Passion and Pride

(oh ... Get the Hardback version - it costs a few quid more - but it's well worth it for a book that you'll read plenty of times over - and keeps it in good nick.)

Friday, November 10, 2006

Saturday Crackers

With 83 units in the bank, I think that we will probably try 5-6 bets, making it a standard bet of 15 units per play.

The first one is to take Man City to beat Newcastle in the lunchtime kickoff - I make it slightly over 50% - so a price of 2.20+ is worth a shot.

Take Man City for 15 units @ 2.25 at Betsson Sportsbook
(not the lower exchange price)

---

Another game where i think that the home side is over priced is at the Riverside where Middlesbro take on West Ham.

I know that West Ham have won two on the trot - but both were at home - and the Hammers are typically poor when playing away.

Boro are not world beaters but they've beaten both Everton and Newcastle here recently - and again I was expecting prices at about evens.

The 2.34 price at Mansion Exchange is too tempting especially as it's commission free.
Take Middlesbro for 15 units @ 2.34 at Mansion Exchange

---

Let's also take a wee trip to Tuscany and back Fiorentina to beat Atalanta on Saturday evening.

Both teams are in the top 7, so it'll be a good clash but I think that the home side have the ability to win this match.

They're 3-0-2 at home, with wins of Reggina, Catania and Parma ... and before losing 1-3 against Roma last weekend they'd won 5 games in a row.

Take Fiorentina for 15 units @ 1.69 at Mansion Exchange

That's three bets for Saturday now ... with more to follow

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Top Managers Betting on Football ?

The Football Association is to investigate allegations that several Premiership managers have laid bets on top-flight matches. FA rules forbid managers and players betting on competitions they are involved in.

"We will see if there has been any breach of our regulations and we would welcome any information that would help our inquiries," said an FA spokesman.

The claims were made by a former employee of bookmakers Victor Chandler but the bookmaker has obtained a High Court injunction prohibiting the naming of the managers accused.

"He wants to maintain his clients' right to privacy," said PR guru Max Clifford, who has been representing Gibraltar-based Chandler.

-------

Gooner says :

You might well think that HARRY REDKNAPP would be at the top of that list ... but I cannot possibly comment ...


But we can recommend VCBet as a good place to have a punt ... eh Harry ??
;-)

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Cracker Bet POLL-Axed

FT : EVERTON 0-1 ARSENAL
Referee Graham Poll did his best to chop down our bet by sending off James McFadden for dissent after just 18 minutes at Goodison tonight.

McFadden said something to the referee as he ran past him after a penalty appeal for a challenge on Andrew Johnson had been waved away.

Everton then had to hang on with 10-men and defend fiercely, and fora long time it did look as if our draw angle would pay off ...

But with extra-time looking imminent, Adebayor found space to head home Mathieu Flamini's 85th-minute corner.

That's 50 units down the drain.

Wednesday's Cracker

There was just 1 win and 2 draws in Tuesday's DNB treble - but that's the beauty of the bet - as it stayed alive to add an extra 10 units into the bank which now stands at 132.50.

CARLING CUP - EVERTON v ARSENAL
On Wednesday we are going to Goodison Park to oppose "young" Arsenal in the Carling Cup.

Arsenal are taking a second string side to this cup match, needing to rest players before two important games coming up (see full Everton v Arsenal match preview here), and so I do not see why Arsenal have anything but a small chance (about 15% in my view) of winning in normal time at Goodison Park.

So I'm recommending that we take a 50 unit 1X bet on Everton.

The standard double chance offers at the bookmakers are poor at just 30%, but we can construct a 42% payout at Mansion Exchange with a liitle bit of work - which is what we are going to do.

So ...

Take 30 units on Everton @ 2.44 at Mansion Exchange
Take 20 units on the Draw @ 3.56 at Mansion Exchange


That's 50 units staked and we will return 73.20 units if Everton win, and 71.20 units on the Draw.

That's a nice profit of between 42%-46% for a game that I feel has just a 15% downside risk.

---

And of course as a Gooner, I can always hope for Arsenal to draw during normal time and win in extra time too ...

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Tuesday's Cracker

A little bit of a diversion today - as I've gone for a treble - but it's not a risky one as it's a Draw-No-Bet (DNB) option that gives ocverage in the event of draws.

Taken directly from Michu's DNB forum thread and this one also leverages off PaulR's German match previews too.

A draw-no-Bet Treble for 30 units :
Dortmund v Aachen ...... Dortmund @ 1.20
Stuttgart v Hamburg .... Stuttgart @ 1.33
Chesterfield v Charlton . Charlton @ 1.36

Place it at Bet365 and potentially get a return of 2.17 if all three sides win.

There should be some profit in there for us.
:beer:

Monday, November 06, 2006

Sunday Summary

Not so good as we just went 2-2, with Ajax and Frankfurt doing the business for us.

Arsenal slipped to a 0-1 loss after a late West Ham goal, while the All Blacks thumped England 41-20 (inflicting England's biggest ever home loss) and covered the 14.5 point margin.

So that means around a 20 point loss to the bank.

Sunday, November 05, 2006

Sunday's Cracker Selections

A little late today (sorry) but you still should have plenty of time to get these on.

RUGBY INTERNATIONAL.
We will start with the rugby where the bookies are going overboard and offering England with a huge start at nearly even money.

Sure the All Blacks are the best side in the world, but this is NOT the strongest All Black selection (that is being saved for the games against France) and on Saturday Wales showed us that the gap between the hemispheres closes markedly when playing games in Europe.

The All Blacks will probably win - but the Twickenham factor will mean that England keep it close and certinaly well within the 14.5 points we are being offered.

20 Units on England +14.5 pts @ 1.96 @ PinnacleSports

FOOTBALL
There are two very good games in prospect in Germany today - but although the Schalke v Bayern Munich game is undoubtedly the match of the round it too tough for me to comfortably take the home side.

Instead I'll go to Frankfurt where the home side take on Monchengladbach who have an awful 0-0-4 away record. It's a little bit complicated by the fact that Frankfurt played in the UEFA Cup on Thursday though so I'll take the Draw-No-Bet option at 1.57.

20 Units on Frankfurt Draw-No-Bet @ 1.57 @ SportingOdds

I'll also dip into the action in Holland and take Dutch powerhouse side Ajax to ease past Heracles Almelo. Ajax are 9-0-1 this season winning their last six in a row. A slight concern about Heracles artifical pitch. But I'll take that risk.

20 Units on Ajax to win @ 1.44 @ Ladbrokes

Finally to England where there are three possible options.

I'll sidestep the Spurs v Chelsea game - even though Chelsea are 6-2-0 in their last 8 visits to White Hart Lane - because I think that Spurs will have a surprise in store for the Blues this this time.

I'll also avoid Villa v Blackburn too. Blackburn have had a very tough fixture list with games on Sunday (League) , Thursday (UEFA Cup) and Sunday again. Too many injuries and fatigue as well to back the visitors and Aston Villa have gone cold after a good start to the season.

Instead I'll go to Upton Park where Arsenal will face a West Ham side who will have been relieved to finally get a win (over Blackburn) last time.

But for West Ham to get something here they're probably gonig to have to play negatively - and that's just something that West Ham do not do often at home in front of their own fans. The Hammers will try to play good football - and I think that Arsenal will take up the challenge.

20 Units on Arsenal to win @ 1.62 @ PremierBet

So that's it - 4 bets for 80 units in total - and we are going to need three winners to turn a profit today. I think we will get that - and let's hope for our first clean sweep eh?

Saturday, November 04, 2006

Saturday Summary

So that was Saturday.

It was not the best of performances as the bets went just 2-3, but due to the staking and odds that was enough to ease out a small profit of +8.80 points and take the bank to 142.35

I'll take a look at the card for Sunday and see if we can find a couple of bets to build the bank.

Football Betting Crackers (Sat 4 Nov )

Starting bank : 133.5 Units (+33.5)

Remember we have already placed the 40 unit double on
ManYoo and Liverpool - 1.82 @ Interwetten

Additional Saturday crackers :

Werder Bremen v Energie Cottbus
Take 20 units on OVER 2.5 GOALS - 1.50 @ SportingOdds

Auxerre v Le Mans
Take 20 units on Auxerre - 1.90 @ Eurobet

Bolton v Wigan
Take 20 units on Bolton - 1.99 @ Mansion Ex.

Fulham v Everton
Take 20 units on Fulham - 2.80 @ Bet365

I make that a total of 120 units placed - I did warn you that we'd have to be aggressive ... so that leaves us with just 13.5 units in the bank.

We'd better get some payoffs tonight - or it will be a short campaign.

Friday, November 03, 2006

The Sheet - EPL - 4/5 Nov

The sheet for the English Premier League is out now - and there are no real surprises with Liverpool, Newcastle and Man United favoured at home while Arsenal are picked to win at Upton Park.

EURO TRAVELS TAKE THEIR TOLL?
I'm not sure how Newcastle will back up after their efforts in Italy - playing Thursday / Saturday has got to be a tough task - especially if Newcastle don't get players back off the injury list.

So that's probably a game I'll leave alone.

VALUE HUNTING ??
The sheet suggests that the prices on both Tottenham (5.50) and West Ham (6.50) are worth a look as they take on London rivals at very favourable prices.

Of course they're both derby games - so perhaps the home advantage is over stated on the sheet - and certainly Chelsea seem to enjoy playing at White Hart Lane with a 6-2-0 record in their last 8 visits.

Arsenal have more trouble at Upton Park - they're just 2-3-1 in their last six visits - including draws in each of their last three trips. But then West Ham have been AWFUL recently - a trend which the sheet jumps on.

FULHAM VALUE AT HOME?
Oh - and a wee word on Fulham v Everton.

Fulham have won more games than they've lost at home in each of the last six seasons going 50-21-29 over in those 100 games.

Fulham have also beaten Everton here in each of the last five seasons ... so that 2.80 price on the home side is a bit tempting.

--

good luck with your punts.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Saturday Bet Alert - EPL

It's just a quick blog in order to take the pair of good early prices.

Liverpool to beat Reading @ 1.37
Manchester United to beat Portsmouth @ 1.33


All bets will be for 20 units this Saturday - except this looks so good that we will make it double strength.

Take 40 units @ 1.82 at Interwetten

... more to follow ...

UEFA Cup - slim pickings.

Palermo and Newcastle appear to be trying to outdo each other in seeing who can leave out more first team players - so I'm not interested there.

Perhaps I'll be tempted into putting a tenner on Nancy to beat Polish side Wisla Krakow 1-0 - see the site preview - the correct score price is 7.00 which seems good considering that Nancy have won 1-0 three times at home already this season.

Nothing for the Cracker scheme though - we will wait until the weekend data sheets come out and plan our attack them.

Good luck if your punting on the UEFA Cup tonight.

Small Steps

Wednesdays "Christmas Cracker" bets showed a small profit (again), as we had a 2-1 record with that Handicap bet on Lyon being the lossmaker.

I knew I wasn't happy with the bet and should have stuck to the basic profit making schemes instead of trying to get fancy.

Still - a profit is a profit - and that's three winning days in a row which can't be too bad.

I'm not sure if there will be a Thursday Cracker bet yet ... every man and his dog seems to be on Serie A surprise package Palermo to beat Newcastle in the UEFA Cup (at around 1.70 to 1.75) but I'm not so sure.

I'll post again later on (here and on the forum) if we're taking anything.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Wednesday's Crackers.

Things are not so easy on Wednesday.

Sure - there are three very likely winners in AC Milan, Lyon and Real Madrid - but the bookeis are protecting those games with very low prices and there is not that much value.

Ideally I like at least 3 bets - and the aim is to land a majority of winners for a profit. We've done this so far going 4-2 and 3-1 on the first two days.

But it's a bit of a struggle tonight - as I don't usually like taking AH at over 1 - and the likely winners are very short prices.

So today we will not risk the full bank - as I've got a feeling that I'm pushing too hard.

1-Nov Bets :

Benfica v Celtic
... Take Benfica -1/2 AH for 25.00 at 2.00 odds at Bet365

Real Madrid v Steaua and AC Milan v Anderlecht
... Take Madrid/Milan (double) 25.00 at 1.37 odds at Eurobet

Ol. Lyon v Dynamo Kiev
... Take Lyon -1.75 AH for 25.00 at 1.80 odds at Bet365

I feel Lyon are the strongest of the home sides on Wednesday, and are most likely to complete a 2/3 goal win.

Choosing your first bookie

We get plenty of requests on the forum for recommendations on the "best bookie".

Now we do a lot of work in testing and ranking our favourite bookmakers and also in finding the best free bet offers but it's still a bit of work to match them up to each punter.

This depends a lot on what the person is looking for - and some of the criteria could be things like :

What is your Favourite Sports
European Football, American Football (NFL / NCAA), Tennis, Other sports.

What is your Preferred Competitions
Main Leagues Only = English Premier, Italian Serie A, Spanish La Liga (etc)
Minor Leagues as well = Turkish leagues, Australian league, Jpanese leagues, Lower divisions.

Which markets do you prefer ?
1x2 Betting, Handicaps and AH betting, Over/under or special bets.

Are other features important?
Ease of use, Money transfer options, Joining bonuses.

All these factors will go into finding the best bookmaker for your betting sport, style and league type and it does take a while to find the best bookie that matches to your type.

For most UK punters who are just start out betting online - we recommend four places that are safe, reliable, cover a lot of local games and styles and off a nice free joining bonus.

1) Bet365 = 92% (see Bet365 Review)
2) BetFred = 85% (see BetFred Review)
3) SportingOdds = 80% (see SportingOdds Review)
4) PaddyPower = 75% (see PaddyPower Review)

Depositing GBP 30-50 in each of these four bookies and playing it through will see you earn a series of bonuses (which is always nice) - and you'll get a feel of which of these bookies suits you best.

American and European punters will have slightly different tastes and requirements and will almost certainly prefer different books.

US punters seem to be happiest at :
1) PinnacleSports = 91% (see PinnacleSports Review)
2) CanBet = 77% (see CanBet Review)

And all US players are welcome at both these books - no state restrictions.

While European punters seem to prefer :
1) Bet365 = 92% (see Bet365 Review)
2) EuroBet = 78% (see Eurobet review)
3) Interwetten = 60% (see our Interwetten review)

So get in there and choose your first couple of bookies (it's always recomemnded to try at least 2-3 in order to compare what's best) and see how you find them with a small deposit.

Then you can continue on with your favourites - or come back and check the reviews in more detail - as you'll probably have a much better idea of what you're looking for in a bookie.

Good luck with your punting.