Welcome to the Honest Betting Reviews blog. Here you can find the latest updates on betting systems and tipsters currently under review as well as our tips on how to beat the bookies with the best winning betting systems we have profited from,

How to Avoid Bookmaker Scams

If you are using a respectable bookmaker such as Ladbrokes, William Hill, Bwin, Betfred  or one of the many other highly rated bookmakers, there is fundamentally no chance that you are likely to be scammed. These bookmakers’ very existence is based on their good reputation and they would quickly be out of business if they were found to be scamming their clients.

But not all bookmakers fall into this category. In some countries the betting regulations are considerably less strict than in the UK. This can make it much easier for new bookmakers to enter the market and this can attract the kind of bookmaker it is generally better to avoid.

However, this is easier said than done. Today there are so many online bookmakers that it can be difficult to discover exactly who you are dealing with. Often they have attractive offers, better odds and tempting promotions that provides them with a competitive advantage over the more conventional bookmakers.

So should you avoid all of these and ignore their offers and promotions? Of course not – most of them are likely to be genuine; nobody wants to turn down a genuine bargain if it’s real. The adage of not looking a gift horse in the mouth is a real one.

We might follow this with something like “there is no such thing as a free lunch” which is also usually true, but by exercising a reasonable amount of caution there is no reason why you can’t “have your cake and eat it”.

OK, that’s it with the clichés, let’s get down to some fundamentals regarding how to spot and avoid potential bookie-related scams.

Read the small print

Always, always read the small print. For instance if a bookmaker is offering you a bonus for signing up to their website, , what are the rules regarding withdrawing the winnings you make betting with this bonus?

Read the small print on betting websitesWhile most bookmakers do not allow you to withdraw your bonus winnings until you have played them through a minimum number of times, sometimes the rules are so onerous that you have a minimal chance of ever seeing a profit.

The takeaway is study the rules until you are confident you understand them (they can be written in obscure language designed to create ambiguity) and that you are happy with them. How do they compare with similar offers from other bookmakers? Do other websites and forums have anything to say about them? A little research can go a long way in keeping you safe.

Is the offer realistic?

Yes, we said that was enough clichés, but we can’t avoid “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is”. If the offer of a bonus, free bets or anything else seems unrealistically good, then beware because there is likely to be a catch somewhere. But how do you know if it really is unrealistic? Perhaps the bookmaker is making an extravagant offer to attract new customers and you don’t want to miss out. And why should you? Ultimately it is up to you, but fundamentally it is a case of caveat emptor (Let the buyer beware). But at least do some research and, as we have said, read the small print, and then read it again.

Does the bookmaker have a tarnished reputation for withdrawal delays?

Bookmakers don’t like paying you money even when you have won it and it is rightfully yours. Fortunately they have no choice; if your winnings are not subject to playthrough regulations you should be able to withdraw your winnings when you wish. While the bookmaker is likely to prefer that you kept your money in your online account, they must give you access to your own cash.

Betting ScamsIt should take no longer than a couple of working days to process your withdrawal request; at the very most is should take no longer than five. Despite this some bookmakers will attempt to hold on to your cash considerably longer while they claim that your request is “being processed”. If you are trying to withdraw a large amount of money this can be extremely frustrating and costly.

Even some otherwise reputable bookmakers are guilty of holding on to their customers’ money longer than they should. Recently a bookmaker faced legal action for refusing to allow a punter to withdraw £54,000 from her account for over two months.

The Dormant Account Scam

This is another example of paying attention to the small print. Imagine you have £10,000 in your account but you don’t feel like placing any bets at the moment.  Did you know that some bookmakers will charge your account a significant amount of money if you don’t place any bets? These so-called administration fees can be as high as 5% every 28 days, so lay off betting for a couple of months and your £10,000 will have been whittled down to £9,000.

Of course you could withdraw your money, but that assumes the bookmaker will allow you to do so; see our previous comments on withdrawal delays.

Finally

Finally some takeaway advice on avoiding scams:

  • – Ensure that you only use bookmakers who are correctly regulated. It is easy to find out this information. It should be displayed in their “about us” page or you can check it out on the appropriate gambling authority such as the UKGC, the MGA or the GLA.
  • – Do some research – what do other punters on the various forums have to say about your bookmaker – while it isn’t necessarily true it is often the case that where there’s smoke there’s fire (last cliché).
  • – As we have said several times, ensure you acquaint yourself fully with the small print. Yes, it’s boring but it is the best way to avoid disappointment.
  • – Don’t accept excuses for delayed withdrawal of your money. They have no legal right to delay repaying you money that is properly yours. If you believe they are acting unfairly, report them to the appropriate gambling authority.

 

 

 

 

Football Accumulators – How to Crush the Bookies

Football accumulators are among the most popular bets placed by punters these days. The idea of landing a big win is a tempting one if you can manage to pick a number of teams to win on a coupon.

Here we will take a look at the ins and outs of footy accumulators, including how you can absolutely crush the bookies by setting up your accas in a certain way.

In this article we will look at:

  • – What Football Accumulators Are
  • – How to use Perms
  • – Biggest Ever Accumulator Wins
  • – Acca Refund Offers
  • – How to Crush the Bookies Using Accas
  • – Best Accumulator Tips
  • – General Advice when placing Accumulators

With this guide, we hope to give you all the advice you need to make a success out of your footy accas.

 

What are Football Accumulators?

Accumulator bets are where you are backing a number of different selections all to win in the same bet. The odds of each selection are multiplied together so that the odds you get are reflective of the chances of all the selections winning.

Here is an example:

  • – Chelsea to win at 5/4 (or 2.25 in decimal odds)
  • – Man Utd to win at 10/11 (or 1.91 in decimal odds)
  • – Arsenal to win at 5/6 (or 1.83 in decimal odds)
  • – Liverpool to win at 6/4 (or 2.5 in decimal odds)

So, to work out the accumulator odds, you multiply together all of the decimal odds above, i.e. 2.25 x 1.91 x 1.83 x 2.5 = 19.66.

So the odds of Chelsea, Man Utd, Arsenal and Liverpool all winning in the above example are 19.66, or just over 18/1.

In a standard accumulator, you need all selections to be successful in order to win your bet. You can generally include as many selections as you like – 5, 10, 20 or even 50!

Punters tend to love accumulators because there is the chance of a big win and it can often seem like each selection individually has a good chance of winning, so why not put them all together in one bet?

Bookies tend to love accas too, but we will go into the reason for that more a little later…

 

Get Yourself a Perm

One way of placing accumulators is to utilise “perms.” These aren’t curly hairstyles from the 80’s but are in fact permutations where you may want to cover several bases in case one or more teams let you down.

So you might have 7 teams who you think are going to win and want to place an acca on them.

Rather than just placing a straightforward 7-leg acca though, you could cover multiple permutations.

So you could place what is known as a “Super 7” bet as follows:-

  • – One 7-fold acca
  • – Seven 6-fold accas
  • – Twenty-one 5-fold accas

So that would be 29 bets in total. If one or even two of the selections don’t come in, you will still win on one of the five-fold bets. And of course if six or seven of the bets win, you will have multiple lines of successful accas and will be quids in for sure!

 

Biggest Ever Accumulator Wins

Some of the biggest gambling wins ever recorded have been on accumulators. You can read more about these in our article about the biggest accumulator wins, but to pick out some of the best:-

  • – A £223,000 win off just a £5 bet – A punter from Burnley had a 20-team accumulator which was sealed just before Christmas. Included 94th and 95th minute goals to keep things going.
  • – A £585,000 win from an 80p bet – A Maltese punter chanced his arm with a 19-team accumulator at odds of over 680,000/1. Sealed with a 2-1 win for Liverpool over Chelsea.
  • – A £650,000 win from a £100 bet – A bet consisting of one 8-fold acca and eight 7-folds, sealed by a 91st minute goal for Coventry against Leyton Orient.

Wins like this are obviously incredibly rare but go to show just what is possible with accumulators and how they changed these lucky people’s lives. 

 

 

Why the Bookies Love Accas

Each Way BettingAs we mentioned above, although punters may love accumulators because of the potential for a huge win, the bookies love them too, for different reasons.

You may be wondering why this is. Well, basically the bookies have an edge over the punter of generally around 5-10%. This is called the “house edge” or “over-round” and is what enables bookies to make money and stay in business. Essentially they are offering you odds that are 5-10% worse than the true chances of your selection winning.

So on an individual bet, you have to put up with this 5-10% disadvantage, which is bad enough. But with an acca, this edge is multiplied, meaning the bookies have a massive advantage over you. This is why the bookies have so many offers based around accumulators – but more on that below.

 

The Bookies’ Acca Refund Offers

Pencil and Calculator

As we say, the bookies love punters who do lots of accumulators so to encourage more people to do accas, they have a variety of offers based on them.

The most common ones are so-called “Acca Refund” offers. These are basically offers where the bookies refund your stake on a football accumulator up to a certain amount if one leg of your acca lets you down.

So for example if you have a five-team (or five “leg”) acca and four of the teams win but one of them loses, the bookies will refund your stake as a free bet, up to a specified amount, for example £25, or even £50 in some of the more generous cases.

Some of the best offers are as follows:-

  • – Paddy Power – £50 refund – if one leg of your accumulator on UK and top European Football leagues lets you down, they will give you your money back as a free bet on football.
  • – Ladbrokes – £25 refund – Bet on a 5+ fold and get MONEY BACK as a free bet up to £25 if one team lets you down. Available on games in selected competitions.
  • – Jennings Bet – £50 refund – if one leg of your 5+ team acca lets you down, they will refund your stake as a free bet up to £50.
  • – Vernons Bet – £50 refund – if one leg of your 6+ acca doesn’t win, you will receive a free bet equal to your stake, up to a maximum of £50. (Void bets do not count – you must have 5 winners).
  • – William Hill – £20 refund – Place a 5+ footy acca and if one leg fails, Will Hill will give you a refund as a free bet up to £20.

So these are some of the best offers available – please see the individual bookmaker for the terms and conditions of each offer. In fact there are more than 20 bookies offering acca refunds, plus various shop refunds where you can get a similar refund from bookies’ shops.

All in all these acca refund offers can be really useful to boost your gambling winnings, but you have to know how to utilise them…

 

How to Crush the Bookies Using Acca Refund Offers

With all these acca refund offers at your disposal, there is a way you can utilise them to make very low-risk profits on a regular basis. 

In order to do this, you need to find very close matches between the bookie odds and Betfair odds and then offset one against the other, effectively laying off your liability and locking in the free bet refund as profits.

This would be quite complicated to do yourself – in addition to trying to collate the hundreds and hundreds of potential accas to find the best value ones. 

Thankfully there is a package that does this all for you. It is called Accumulator Generator and during our live trial here on the site it made an impressive £618 profit with very little risk.

Accumulator Generator

The package comes with full training videos showing you the exact steps you need to take to turn the accas into very-low risk profit opportunities, plus the software that crunches through the potentially thousands of acca combos to find the best value ones that you can lay off with the exchanges.

Here is an example of the software in action:-

Acca Refund Software

As you can see, it gives you the EV (estimated value) of the acca on the left in red. This is the approximate amount of profit the acca is expected to make. Then you have the time until the acca is completed, the bookie to place it with and the back and lay odds of the accumulator.

Then on the right hand column you can click on the calculator icon and it will take you through to the calculator to work out how much to lay on each leg of the acca to reduce your liability and guarantee a profit.

This is what the calculator looks like:

Acca Calculator

It looks quite complicated at first glance but is actually remarkably simple. You just need to enter the odds at the exchanges, which are generally as they are already shown on the calculator, how much commission you pay and then it will tell you how much to stake.

Once you have done a few of them, it will become much easier and be like second nature really.

The great thing is that you can make around £6-£10 per acca on average with Accumulator Generator, so if you are able to do a couple per day it will quickly add up to an extra few hundred quid per month. 

Can’t say fairer than that really can we?

 

The Path to Affluence

The really great news though is that Accumulator Generator now comes complete with a bonus package called The Affluence System, which shows you the exact blueprint for using the software to turn a £500 bank into £5,000 and to then withdraw £840 per month profit.

Here is the bank-building plan for The Affluence System in table format:

Bank Building Plan

So with Accumulator Generator you will have the tools at your disposal to absolutely crush the bookies using the Acca Refund offers and get yourself some regular low-risk profits. 

Plus at the moment they are offering a very attractive 14 day trial for just £1, so you can test it out for yourself and see how good it is. 

 

Best Accumulator Tips

Whilst using Accumulator Generator to maximise your income from accas is the best way we would recommend to profit from accas, you might be looking for some more traditional accumulator tips.

Here at Honest Betting Reviews we have tested hundreds of tipsters and betting systems to try and find the best ones out there. Quite a few of these have been accumulator-based tipsters, so here are those we would recommend:-

  • – Hat Trick Hero – a mixed-sports tipster focusing mainly on football, who provides a daily treble acca for you. Has made nearly 100 points profit at a strike rate of over 40%.
  • – Footy Doubles – in a similar vein, this tipster provides a daily double on football. Has achieved over £100 monthly average profit and a strike rate of over 45%.
  • – Football Acca Tips – the quintessential footy acca tipster, providing a variety of long and short-odds acca tips. Main focus is on the Premier League. 

So some good options there if you are looking for some football accumulator tips. 

 

General Advice when Placing Accumulators

Accumulators can be fun to place and hold out the possibility of either a massive win like some of those mentioned earlier on or regular steady profits if you use a tool like Accumulator Generator.

If you are going to place your own accas, it is worth bearing in mind some general advice when placing your bets:

 

 

  • – Accumulators tend to involve bets at high odds, so you are less likely to have regular winners than if you are placing single bets, all else being equal. So make sure you use a big enough bank to take this into account.
  • – Be sure that each selection in your acca represents good value. Remember, the bookies have an edge over you in general, so turning this around to your advantage is tough. Finding four or five selections you believe the bookies have got the odds wrong on in one go is rare – although not impossible.
  • – Only risk what you can afford to lose. This is the golden rule of betting and refers to all wagering, not just betting on accas. But because accas can be tougher to win, you can burn through cash quite quickly, so make sure you are not betting beyond your means.
  • – Place the acca and then let it run – don’t watch each leg unfold separately. It can be excruciating to watch them on TV or a live score website, particularly if the first few legs come in and then the last one lets you down. It will only make you mad and likely to go chasing losses. Just place the acca and then come back later to see if it has won.
  • – Spread your bets around the bookies and don’t overdo it – this applies particularly if you are using Accumulator Generator. If the bookies sense you are milking their offers, they are likely to shut down your accounts. Mix around your wagers as much as possible.

Follow this guidance and it should help you to achieve greater success in your footy accas.

 

Conclusion – Football Accumulators

Football Accumulators are one of the most popular forms of betting for punters. The thrill of landing a potentially massive win is enticing and draws many bettors in.

You should be aware though that footy accas are generally poor value for the punter, which is why the bookies tend to love them. 

By using their Acca Refund offers though, you can turn the tables on the bookies and make yourself a lucrative tax-free second income if you use a product like Accumulator Generator. 

If you are going to place some of your own footy accas, please gamble responsibly and only risk what you can afford to lose.

We hope you have found this guide to football accumulators helpful and good luck!

 

 

 

 

Live Casino, Retro Slots and Beyond: Betway Casino Reviewed

Betway was launched in 2006 with the aim of becoming a market leader in first-class online entertainment for consumers who want to experience sports betting, online casino games, and other games like bingo all on the same platform. Since then, the company has earned a 9/10 review from Trustpilot and has firmly established itself as a market leader in the world of online betting whilst building up a comprehensive suite of other iGaming options. The brand has branched out into other technologies, including live casino, and has been at the forefront of one of the upcoming elements of the betting world: eSports.

The brand has been pro-active in pushing itself into the public consciousness, whether through its sponsorship of the ESL Pro League in eSports, or as proud sponsor of former Bundesliga champions Werder Bremen.

Betway may have done well at getting their name out there, but the real question is, of course, whether or not they still offer a broad enough (and good enough) range of games, betting odds, and welcome bonuses to keep consumers loyal. In this review, we’re going to focus on Betway Casino, but will also look at their eSports betting offerings.

Live Casino: A Strong Offering

Live casino is an extremely popular offering from the top online casinos in 2017. This, in part, has helped Playtech, one of the leading gaming software suppliers, to achieve a revenue total of $497.4m during the first half of 2017, a feat in part helped by the launch of the world’s largest live casino studio in Latvia.

Betway offers nine live casino games including the high-definition, immersive Betway Lounge, focusing on traditional favourites such as blackjack and roulette, as well as new, more unusual games like Dream Catcher, offering gamers plenty of choice. The graphics are strong, and the feeling of having your own private table lends the experience an authentic feel. For those who want to experience a land-based casino without leaving their house, this is a great option.

Pick Up and Play: Retro the Name of the Game

For those not tempted by live casino titles, Betway’s range of pick- up-and-play slot games just might. With slot games from recent movies like Jurassic World (with Universal still licensing their products for slots, unlike Marvel and Star Wars, who Disney decided shouldn’t anymore), and games with a retro feel to them from movies like Oceans 7 and Legacy, the Betway slots suite is extensive. Betway’s slots are designed by the folks at Microgaming, so you know that the quality is going to be spot on.

 

Like many of the leading online iGaming operators, Betway casino allows players to get a feel for the slot games on offer by playing for free. This means that you can feel confident you’ll enjoy the theme, can figure out the wilds and scatters and the other mechanics, and have full knowledge of the jackpots before putting your cash into the game.

eSports: Betting on a Big Outcome

Betway has also joined the likes of PlayStation and the BBC in supporting eSports. They have a dedicated page on their website allowing customers to place a wager on the outcome of professional gamers competing against one another.

 

With ESPN carrying an eSports section on their website, talk of eSports being a part of the Olympics in 2024, and revenue of $696 million in 2017, it seems like Betway know what they are getting into by trying to capitalise on this sector of gaming. Betway have a wide range of competitions available for bets to be placed on, including League of Legends and CS:GO, and this does seem to be one area where Betway have edged ahead of their rivals.

What About the Classics?

eSports, retro slots, and live casino games are all well and good, but there’s no denying the fact that a lot of gamers are simply looking to emulate greats like Stanford Wong and Tony Bloom, or simply trying to make the most of the latest horseracing systems they have discovered here at Honest Betting Reviews or elsewhere. In this very modern-looking website, are those with classic tastes still catered for?

With poker, blackjack, roulette, and other traditional casino games offered by Betway, and horseracing, football, cricket, golf (and many other live sports) all available to bet on, the answer is, resoundingly, yes. In fact, as of the 28th of August 2017, there were welcome offers of up to £750 for people looking to set up new poker accounts. How’s that for a bonus!

 

Indeed, with bingo now seen as being bigger in terms of player numbers than the UK’s beloved sport of tennis, even this classic has its own dedicated page, meaning that Betway does provide a one stop shop for pretty much everything except maybe those looking to bet with Bitcoin. For the vast majority of gamers, this site is one that should meet most requirements!

 

 

 

Whatever Happened to Sonny Pike?

Once spoken of in the same breath as stars such as Maradona and George Best, Sonny Pike was an young English footballer who had a prodigious talent at a very early age. By the time he was 14, he could be seen in adverts and had made numerous appearances on television. His story is a cautionary tale, however, for anyone who wants to hit the big time and the pressure that involves.

Born in 1984, Pike’s love of football was obvious from the start. By the age of 12, he had, already appeared on Baddiel and Skinner’s Fantasy Football League Show, the image of a fresh faced kid with designs on playing for some of the biggest clubs in the world. Twenty years later, at the age of 32, Pike is driving a taxi around the East End and professes to not having kicked a football for over a decade.

So what went wrong?

His football career began at Hackney Marshes and he was certainly a prodigious talent, scoring nearly 300 hundred goals in his first three seasons. His career in real terms began at the age of 12 when he was invited to play in a tournament for the best young players in East Anglia. Influenced by top stars like Dennis Bergkamp, Pike only saw himself as a goal scorer and, even at that age, he was pretty good at it.

 

                ——————Get FREE football tips from professional tipsters here——————–

 

That tournament was attended by plenty of scouts and it wasn’t a surprise when the Ajax Academy invited Sonny Pike for a two week trial. It was following this that his fame began to spread unusually quickly. The ex-footballer still has a tape of all his television appearances during this time. Everyone from the BBC to Channel 4 were interested in talking to him and sponsors such as Coca-Cola and McDonald’s wanted to sign him up for ads. All the publicity culminated in Sonny winning the Sky Sports’ Champion of the Year Award which was presented by none other than Ian Wright.

By his side at this time was his father Mickey who seemed naturally protective as well as proud of his son. Ajax invited Sonny out to the Netherlands to play a few games which he admits was fun at the time. But the club wanted him to move there full-time and that was something he could never seriously consider, especially at the age of 13 or 14.

Instead, Sonny Pike went to Leyton Orient, a lesser club but closer to home. Unknown to Sonny, his father and a journalist were working together on a documentary which would prove to be the start of the end of the line for the talented young footballer. Although he was signed at Orient, his father got him to pay a visit to Chelsea that was filmed by a documentary crew. The film, Coaching and Poaching, organised by then FA Chairman Greg Dyke, would air on Channel 4 and cause considerable problems.

Sonny found himself the subject of an FA inquiry that led to him being banned for a year. That he blames his father for this is undeniable – there had always been friction between his mother and estranged father about the merits of pushing Sonny towards a career at the top level of football. On his return to the game, Sonny began having trials again but things were working against him. He was easily recognisable and came in for a substantial amount of abuse, even choosing at one point to clip his long hair to make himself look different.

It was when he went for a trial at Grimsby that things began to unravel. He couldn’t concentrate and decided to pack up after just a couple of days.  It was only a matter of time until he decided to quit altogether. He dropped off the map and a good few urban myths developed about what had happened to Sonny Pike.

In the end, he settled down to a normal life. He hadn’t come away with any great financial benefit from all the TV appearances and notoriety. Instead, he started to train as a carpenter. When his daughter was born, he decided to take the Knowledge, the test for London cabbies. He now drives a cab most days a week.

Sonny’s cut from football was dramatic. He professes to not watching the game much at all nowadays except maybe for internationals. He’s far more interested in boxing. That’s a big change from the fanatical kid who had high hopes of playing for teams such as Ajax and Chelsea. For many, his story is seen as one of football’s biggest problem, the way that it can push pressure onto young players and use them as a commodity rather than treating them as people.

For Sonny, there has been a happy ending – he loves his kids and family and is content with his job as a taxi driver and doesn’t miss football or the fame. For other kids attracted to the top flight, things might not work out so well.

 

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Elite Betting Syndicate – 8 Month Update

Back in May we completed a four month trial of a horse racing tipping service called the Elite Betting Syndicate and gave it a strong PASSED rating based on the 60 points profit it made during our trial.

Well here at Honest Betting Reviews we don’t like to just do a three month trial of a service and then forget about it – we like to continue monitoring results over the long run to see if they hold up.

So have the results of the Elite Betting Syndicate held up since our original review finished back in May?

We are pleased to say they certainly have, racking up yet more very impressive profits.

Here are the monthly totals since May:

May: +29 POINTS PROFIT

June: +30 POINTS PROFIT

July: +17 POINTS PROFIT

August (to date): +32 POINTS PROFIT

So that means since we started proofing the tips at the beginning of the year the service has made 170 points profit – fantastic stuff.

That would be £17,000 profit if you had bet to their recommended £100 stakes, or £4,250 profit if you bet to just £25 stakes.

Here is their profit graph since starting up – pretty much exactly what we like to see, just steady movement upwards!

And their staking is all to 1 point level stakes, with an average of just three bets per day – so a very manageable service to follow.

We have to say we really love this service and it is one of the few we follow with our own money.

It is proving to be one of the best horse racing tipsters we have ever come across.

They send tips out in the evening before racing and you need to get your bets on as soon as possible, preferably that same evening as prices tend to get hit in quite significantly by the next day.

Even at Betfair SP a good profit has still been made though, so there isn’t much not to like about this service.

And the good news is that you can get a 10 day trial of the Elite Betting Syndicate for just £1, which is a very fair offer.

 

 

 

Ladbrokes Goal Crazy – Explained

Ladbrokes offer a wide range of football coupons where they welcome you to make specific types of bets on multiple teams. The games are pre-selected by Ladbrokes. One of the more popular of these coupons is Goal Crazy. Essentially this provides the opportunity to place multiple bets and accumulators on whether or not both teams will score.

The coupon lists the games selected by Ladbrokes in the left hand column and includes useful information such as when the match is scheduled to be played and time of kick off. The next two columns are simply headed Yes and No, with the coupon header being “Will Both Teams Score?”, so it is clear what you are betting on. The coupon includes around 80 different matches from various UK other national leagues listed alphabetically so it’s easy to find any particular match.

The odds are given in each tick box in each column. For instance the odds in the Yes box might be 5/4 and the odds in the No box might be 8/13. It is up to you to consider whether either of these is a good bet, and tick the appropriate box. If you change your mind, then simply click on the box again and the selection will be removed. Your selected bet is shown in the far right hand column where you can add your stake and click a box to indicate whether or not you want to include the selection in the multiples option.

 

             ——————Get FREE tips from professional football gamblers here——————–

 

You can select as many bets as you wish and as you do so you will see the various multiple bet options that are available to you in the far right hand column assuming that you have ticked the various “include in multiples” boxes. So, if you have made two selections, your multiples option will offer you the chance to make a doubles bet along with the odds offered on that bet. Similarly, if you make three selections you will be offered doubles x 3; trebles x 1; Trixie x 4; and a patent x 7. As you further increase your selections you will see accumulator options such as Heinz x 57, lucky 63, goliath x 247 and so forth.

Betting on Goal Crazy is very different from betting on which team will win. You simply have to consider whether or not you think both teams will score at least one goal of whether they won’t. If you bet No and one team scores but the other doesn’t, then you will still win your bet. But if you bet Yes, then with the same result you will lose the bet. Clearly your selections should be based on previous form in terms of goal scoring ability.

 

What is really fun with the Goal crazy coupon is the chance to play around easily with a wide range of accumulators. While all the standard accumulators are included, it is easy to bet on many of the more sophisticated options like those already mentioned. As each accumulator is described on the coupon you can see exactly what you are betting on. For instance if you make eight selections you will be given the chance to bet on a Goliath which is described as 28 doubles, 56 trebles, 70 fourfolds, 56 fivefolds, 28 sixfolds, 8 sevenfolds and an eightfold accumulator.

Ladbrokes Goal Crazy is an easy and fun way to bet. It is intuitive and you will never lose track of exactly what you are doing. The chance to easily select multiples really enhances the entertainment while giving you rapid access to potentially lucrative bets. Just be careful not to bet more than you can afford, it can get a little tempting to do so.

 

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Laying the Correct Score at HT – A Guide

Here we will take a look at the approach of laying the correct score at half time in a football match and how you can potentially profit from this strategy.

First we will go though what it means to lay the correct score at HT and how you can set up a lay bet. 

 

What is Laying the Correct Score at Half-Time?

Laying the correct score at HT involves using a betting exchange like Betfair or Smarkets to place bets such that you are betting against certain scorelines being the final score in a football match.

So you could lay the current score at half-time, expecting that there will be at least one goal scored in the second half.

Or you could lay more than one scoreline in the correct score market at HT, with the belief that the game is going to move in a certain direction.

Example

Here is an example. Newcastle are playing Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.

The score is 0-0 at half-time.

It has been a fairly open game with lots of chances being created, so we think there will be goals in the second half.

We then go to the correct score market on Betfair and see that the odds on the current score of 0-0 are 5.2

So we place a lay bet of £10 and wait to see how the game unfolds.

Betfair Correct Score Sheet - Newcastle vs Tottenham

Thankfully there was a goal in the 61st minute as Spurs broke the deadlock, so the bet has won and we collected £10 of profit (minus commission).

That is a simple illustration of a lay the correct score at HT bet. Below we will look at alternative lay bets you can place. 

 

Best Exchange for Laying the Draw at HT

We recommend the Betfair exchange for laying the draw at half time as it is the most liquid and covers the greatest number of matches. However Smarkets is catching up with Betfair so it is worth checking it out too, especially on the bigger matches as there may not be much difference and Smarkets has lower commission rates. 

 

Laying More than One Score in the Correct Score Market at Half-Time

Another approach to laying the correct score at HT is to lay more than one scoreline if you consider that a game is likely to go a certain way.

So for example you may think that although a game is 0-0 at half-time, it is unlikely to stay that way for the second half. 

One side is dominating the game and seems likely to go on and win it, so you decide to lay 0-0, 0-1 and 0-2.

This is a somewhat risky strategy as you will tend to be laying at quite high odds, but at the same time by laying three separate scores you are reducing your liability compared to just laying one. 

Example

Here is an example. It is a Champions League qualification game between Hoffenheim and Liverpool. 

Liverpool lead 0-1 at HT but it is an open game and both sides are creating chances. We think there will be more goals, but we don’t think Liverpool will run away with the game, so we lay 0-1, 0-3 and also 2-2.

Betfair Correct Score Sheet - Hoffenheim vs Liverpool

The game ends up finishing 1-2 to Liverpool and our lay bets have won. This is a good outcome for us in this match.

This shows how you can lay different scores to come up with a winning outcome.

 

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Advantages of Laying the Correct Score at HT

Laying the correct score at HT can deliver a high percentage of winning bets, as most games will have another goal in the second half.

This can be particularly true if you focus on certain teams and certain matches, which we will look at in more detail below.

It is also the case that there tend to be more goals scored in the latter stages of a football match. This might be because teams tire towards the end, or sides may be prepared to push forward more to grab a winner.

But if you have a look at the stats, they show a strong bias towards late goals.

Here are some example from the website soccerstats, looking firstly at the Premier League:

Statistics from SoccerStat

As you can see, a much higher percentage of goals were scored towards the end of the game than earlier on.

This is the same for other leagues as well, such as Serie A in Italy:

Statistics from Serie A - SoccerStat

And also from Spain’s Primera Liga:

Statistics from SoccerStat - Spain's Primera Liga

As you can see, the numbers are very similar across different leagues, but show that a high proportion of goals are scored late on in games.

This is good news for laying the current score at HT, meaning you have a strong chance of there being a goal.

Another advantage is that it can be fun cheering on another goal, even if you don’t mind who wins the game. 

Liquidity tends to be good on the correct score as well, as it is one of the most popular markets on Betfair after the main match odds and over/under markets.

So all in all there are quite a few advantages to laying the correct score at HT.

 

Disadvantages of Laying the Correct Score at HT

At the same time, there are some disadvantages to laying the correct score at HT.

For one, you are risking quite a bit of liability to make just a small profit. In the above example of Newcastle v Tottenham for instance, we were risking £42 to win just £10. So if one of these lays goes wrong, it can do quite a bit of damage to your bank. 

The other thing is that if you have laid the current score at HT and there is not a goal, it can be very frustrating to watch the game, particularly if lots of chances are being created but not being put away. Perhaps the woodwork is being hit and the keeper is making some spectacular saves. It can be tough to take when this happens.

Our advice is to place the lay and then not to watch the game after that. This way you won’t suffer the emotions of the ups and downs of the game and so are less likely to lose control of your betting. It will help you to stay calmer and focused.

Beware also that different leagues and teams are substantially different to how they approach a game of football. The Greek league, for example, is notoriously low scoring and you may find that there are fewer second half goals than in free-scoring leagues such as the Dutch Eredivisie, the Bundesliga or the English Premier League.

 

Strategies for Laying the Correct Score at HT

If you are looking for a strategy to laying the correct score at HT, a good place to start could be the soccerstats website.

If you select a league and then under the heading for that league where there are certain tabs, select “Timing,” you will be presented with a table with each team’s goals by 15 minute segment and by half.

Below is an example from the English Premier League:

Statistics from SoccerStat - Score at Half Time

This will give you an idea of which teams tend to score and concede lots of goals in the second half of games, making them excellent choices for laying the correct score at half time.

For example, in the table you will see that Arsenal scored an amazing 50 goals in the second half of games compared to 27 in the first half, meaning they had a high number of games where the score at HT was not the score at the end of the game.

Similarly, Hull City conceded a shocking 52 goals in the second half of matches, meaning they would also have been good candidates for the lay bet.

Using statistics like this can help you identify which teams may present value in the correct score market.

 

Using In-Running Tools

Another approach to laying the correct score can be to use tools to help you rather than doing research yourself. 

–In-Play Trading

Alternatively, you may wish to look at In-Play Trading, which is a scanner that follows matches live and tracks how many chances are being created, shots taken, corners gained etc and then awards a rating based on that. 

So those matches with a high rating indicate pressure is being put on and a goal is likely to come soon. These can be good matches to lay the correct score in, as generally goals tend to follow when a lot of pressure is being created. It obviously won’t happen all the time, but at least you have an edge over other punters in being able to use these stats to your advantage.

 

Conclusion

Laying the correct score at HT is an interesting bet to take on and is not without its risks. You are generally laying at quite high odds, so beware that you can lose quite a bit of your bank if the bet goes against you.

However, with some use of stats and betting tools, you can give yourself an edge over other punters and potentially profit from the market.

If you are going to bet on it, make sure you use sensible money management and only risk what you can afford to lose.

Good luck with your laying and we hope you have found this guide useful.

 

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Horse Racing Games – A Guide

Do you have a favourite horse racing game?

Back in the day before we had computer games people would play games such as Escalado, in which eight metal horses would race along a fabric track that was vibrated using a mechanical crank. Only one player would work the crank which was supposed to produce random vibrations so that each horse has an equal opportunity of winning.

You would place bets on your favourite horses generally on a winner collects all basis. Despite that it was introduced originally in 1928, the game is still available today and costs around £100 new, though you can generally find some good bargains on used games. Perhaps it’s not quite as good as it was; the old lead horses have been replaced by plastic ones which don’t move around in quite the same way.

Another great horse racing game that people used to play before computer games and is still going strong is Totopoly. This was first launched in 1938 and today you can buy one for under £20. It uses a two sided board and the movements of horses depend on the throw of a dice. The first side of the board represents the build up to the race and horses collect advantage and disadvantage points while facing the chance of being eliminated. The second side is for the race itself. You can bet on any horse. Horse movements again are controlled by dice throws and advantage and disadvantage cards are played and used for setting odds.

 

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Naturally, to a large extent these horse racing games have given way to computer and online games. Many of these are virtual reality games where you can take on multiple roles. For instance you can own your own race horses, train them, select your best horses for particular races, and race your horses against other owners’ horses. Many of these use some form of league structure that you can climb and win championships.

While you can usually play these games at a basic or introductory level for free, to progress in the game you will usually need to purchase game credits. While some are just for fun, in many you can also opt for play for fun or play for money. Examples of these types of games include:

  • Virtual Owner – one of the more sophisticated virtual reality online horseracing community games
  • VR Horse Race Run & Jump – a horse race simulation game
  • Starters Orders – downloadable offline game for PC or mobile with first person jockey mode. You can train, breed, bet, and even race against build in simulations of  legendary horses from the past.
  • iHorse Racing – train multiple horses and compete in leagues
  • Derby Quest – Create and train champion horse handling every aspect of its life
  • Horse Manager – choose your horse and jockey
  • Horse Racing 3D – select your horse and let the odds guide your choices
  • Virtual Horses – place bets on virtual horse racing games for real money or just for fun

A different kind of horse racing game that is crossing the barriers between horse racing games and real horse racing include developments such as ‘Get in the Race’. This includes a live betting app along with a virtual reality viewer that tracks GPS devices carried by real horses. When you play you are literally in the saddle while you receive information on the horses’ heartrate, race position, distance to run, stride length and so forth. Eventually these type of games will be available with VR headsets.

We’ve come a long way since the launch of Escalado in 1928.

 

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Most Goals Scored in a Football Match

The world record for the most goals ever scored in a football match goes to the game played by AS Adema, a Madagascan team and multiple THB Champion League winner, and Stade Olymique (SO)L’Emyrne. AS Adema scored a monumental 149 goals while SO L’Emyrne scored 0. Although the game is acknowledged in the Guinness Book of Records as having the highest ever number of goals scored, it wasn’t a true representation of the relative skills of the teams.

A Bizarre Form of Protest

In fact  SO L’Emyrne lost the game deliberately as a protest against a series of refereeing decisions that had plagued them during a tournament round robin play-off between four teams. SO L’Emyrne had already been eliminated from the championship following their 2-2 draw against DSA Antananarivo during which a late penalty had been awarded to DSA Antananarivo. SO L’Emyrne disputed the decision, but it was upheld. In protest in the following match they scored 149 own goals while AS Adema looked on bemused. Feeling robbed, many match spectators demanded a refund and several players received a season long suspension.

 

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A Not So “Bon Accord”

If you think justifiably that that game doesn’t really count, prior to it the record the most goals scored goes to Arbroath vs Bon Accord on 12 September 1885 in the Scottish Cup. By half time Arbroath was winning 15-0. In the second half Bon Accord, who had turned up without even a football kit to wear for the match, failed to score while Arbroath increased the final tally to a record breaking 36-0. That record remained unbroken for the next 117 years until the somewhat absurd Madagascan game.

Blatant Match-Fixing in Nigeria

Another blatant infringement of the spirit of the game took place in July 2013 in the Nigerian Nationwide League which resulted in the banning of four teams. Two teams, Plateau United and Police Machine, were on level points for promotion. And they were respectively playing Akurba FC and Bubayaro FC. Following half time, both Akurba FC and Bubayaro FC began frantically scoring own goals in what must be one of the most blatant attempts at match fixing ever. In the end the respective score lines were 79-0 and 67-0 with Plateau United gaining promotion.

Looking at some more realistic games played in recent times in which the final score did to some extent reflect the relative skills of the teams, one famous high scorer was the game between Australia and American Samoa on 11 April 2001. The final score was 31-0 to Australia in this qualifier for the 2002 FIFA World Cup and the highest scoring player was Archie Thompson who put 13 goals in the net which was and still remains a world record for the number of goals scored by any single player in a match.

Closer to Home – Premier League Records

Looking closer to home, the most goals scored in any Premier league game is a relatively modest 11, and so far that has happened on just one occasion. The game took place on 29 September 2007 and the teams were Portsmouth and Reading with a 7-4 score line. There have been several games with 10 goals: December 2007 -Tottenham Hotspur 6, Reading 4; November 2009 – Tottenham Hotspur 9, Wigan Athletic 1; August 2011 – Manchester United 8, Arsenal 2; and May 2013 – West Bromwich Albion 5, Manchester United 5.

 

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Alex Bird – Professional Punter with 500 Winners in a Row

The son of a bookmaker, Alex Bird made a fortune betting on horses against the bookmakers, using the insider knowledge he had learned from working from his father.

In his book “Alex Bird: the Life and Secrets of a Professional Punter” published in 1986 this wily gambler describes some of the tricks he got up to as a professional horse racing gambler between 1946 and 1985. While a fascinating read, many of his tricks have now been made impossible by modern technology, but for anyone interested in the history of betting on the horses and fixing the odds it is certainly worth reading.

500 Winners in a Row – Betting on Photo-Finishes

One of his more profitable betting strategies was betting on photo-finishes.  Today the results of photo-finishes are decided quickly, but back in Alex Bird’s day the process took considerably longer.  Real photographs were recorded and took several minutes to process. During that time considerable betting on the final outcome was usual; after all you had an apparent 50% chance of selecting the winner.

Of course, Alex Bird had much better than a 50% chance; for him the final outcome was almost a certainty. This was because he had noticed that in a typical photo finish an optical illusion caused it to look as through the furthest distance horse from the aspect of viewer was the winner. 

Having noticed this, he would position himself as close to the winning post as possible on an elevated position. This provided him with a much more accurate view and, by closing one eye, he was able to create a mental image of the finishing line which he used to assess the final outcome. He proved to be as accurate as the camera. For over 20 years he used this technique to amass a huge number of wins; reportedly he won 500 successive photo finish bets.

While we can no longer use his method, there is of course a lesson to be learned, and that is only bet on events that have happened already if you are certain of the winner; failing to do this cost the bookmakers a considerable amount of money.

 

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Wily Tactics to Fix the Odds

Bird was also an excellent strategist and tactician when it came to fixing the odds. He reports how he used to create false favourites. If he wanted to lengthen the odds on a horse that he favoured, he would ostentatiously place a seriously large bet of up to £10,000 on another horse and let it be known that he had made the bet. Such was his reputation for choosing winners that this would encourage other punters to follow his lead and as the money flowed in the odds on that horse would shorten and often ended as favourite. Consequently the odds on the horse he really fancied would lengthen.

Of course he couldn’t bet on this horse on the racecourse. But, supported by an extensive group of helpers located throughout England,  he would place bets on that horse totalling £50,000 or more at off-course bookmakers. Given that this was now a big advantage bet, his long term winnings using this technique were huge.

An Eye for the Horses 

He also really did have an eye for horses and following form. He success at picking winners was extraordinary. Probably his biggest single win was on Mill Reef. Between 1970 and 1972 Mill Reef ran 14 races of which he won 12 and was placed second in 2. Following his first defeat in his third race at Prix Robert Papin in France, he was entered in the Gimcrack Stakes at York. However there had been torrential rain the previous night his trainer wanted to scratch him, but they went ahead with the entry.

Alex Bird was not put off by the going. He bet £60,000 on the horse which went on to win by ten lengths.

Such skills are a rare thing in racing and while it would be tough to replicate Bird’s tactics in this day and age of the internet, betting exchanges, live TV coverage of every race and so on, we can marvel at his achievements as a pioneering professional gambler. 

You may not be able to copy Alex Bird’s methods, but if you follow the techniques of this betting system you can make up to £500 per month tax free.