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,

Expo Bot

Expo Bot – Results Update

/0 Comments/in , , /by

It’s been a tough run over the last month for the Expo Bot, with a loss of 237 points for the Auto Dutch system since our last update.

That puts the Auto Dutch system 284 points down for our trial overall.

You can view full results here.

The big news however – which is hot off the press – is that Expo Bot is moving to the cloud rather than being operated on a desktop.

This in our view will be a big improvement and will mean everything will be fully automatic rather than having to set up a VPS (or have your PC running all day), download a desktop app, install updates to the software, check for bugs if it isn’t working properly etc. All of that will now be handled remotely on the cloud, so a much simpler customer experience.

The Auto Dutch system is also being paused for now and is scheduled to resume running on the cloud in September, which will contain enhanced performance filters. They say they have enough data accumulated now to bring this to final version in the next update.

So in terms of this review, we will call it a day for now and say that this was unfortunately heading for a failed rating based on the results achieved to date. We will commence a new review once the new cloud software with the new parameters launches, which will hopefully not only be really simple to operate but produce better results as well. 

This new version of the Expo Bot is also due to have football trading added to it, so we will include that in our review when it is available later this year.

So that’s it for this review for now but we look forward to seeing the relaunch in September.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Expo Bot – Results Update

8th July 2019

A bit of a recovery for the Expo Bot lately, with a profit of 95 points for the Auto Dutch system since our last update. 

That means the Auto Dutch is now 47 points down for our trial overall. 

You can view full results here.

We missed a couple of days of bets with the bot not working for one reason or another. The problem may well have been at our end with not having downloaded the latest version but we couldn’t be sure. There are still a few teething problems as the bot gets puts through its paces but hopefully over the next couple of months these issues will all be ironed out. 

They have made an adjustment to the Auto Dutch system, removing Mondays from betting days which would have considerably improved the results so far and makes sense given that Mondays are often poor in terms of the quality of racing.

As mentioned last time we stopped proofing the in-play betting system as it is being completely revamped. 

Anyway, good to see the recent recovery for the Auto Dutch and let’s hope it continues. 

 

 

 

 

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Expo Bot – Results Update

11th June 2019

The tough run has continued for the Expo Bot unfortunately, with a further 11 points lost since our last update.

That means the Bot is now 35 points down for our trial overall (or £350 down to £10 stakes). 

You can view full results here

We have stopped monitoring the In-Play Betting System as they are completely overhauling it and pretty much starting from scratch, so there didn’t seem much point continuing following a version of something that isn’t going to be used going forward. 

In terms of the Auto-Dutch system, it has also been a rough spell lately. We are operating it continuously over the evening rather than on a stop-at-a-profit basis. If you had been using the latter you would be 7 points down over the period of our review rather than the 14 points down we are from letting it run. That is to be expected really given that you would be betting in fewer races.

In the grand scheme of things the losses aren’t too bad and represent just 14% of the advised betting bank, but we had been hoping for more from this system so it is a little disappointing.

It is important to remember at the same time that everything is still in beta testing mode at the moment so this is just the beginning for Exponential Bet and they have got a number of promising things in development so let’s see how they progress over the coming weeks and months.

 

 

 

 

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Expo Bot – Results Update

8th May 2019

It’s been a bit of a rough ride lately for the Expo Bot, with 18 points lost since our last update a month ago.

That means they are now 24 points down for our trial overall (or £240 down at the £10 stakes we are using) for the two systems – the In-Play trading and Auto-Dutch systems. 

You can view full results here (please note there are two tabs on the spreadsheet for the two systems).

However, that doesn’t really tell the whole story as it is the In-Play system that has really been struggling, losing 21 points so far, whilst the Auto Dutch has been doing ok.

To be fair the In-Play system is still in beta mode and Ryan who runs the service is working on some changes to the process which should improve results. 

In the meantime we would recommend putting it on hold if you are running this system until the new changes have been introduced and bedded in. We will still record results of course because that is what a live trial is all about, but Ryan has been clear from the outset that this was in beta mode so results could be volatile whilst he finds the optimal parameters for it.

Meanwhile the Auto-Dutch system has been working better, with a small profit made since our last update.

We are also pleased to report that we are now running the bot on a VPS and it has been running much more smoothly on that, although does need occasional checking as I missed a few days whilst away on holiday and the bot didn’t automatically refresh each day – but seems to be doing so now.

Anyway, Ryan has also been working on some new systems which sound very interesting, including some auto-trade software which we are intrigued by. 

So whilst it has been a little bumpy with the Expo Bot lately, there is still plenty of time left in our trial and we are very hopeful about developments for the Exponential Bet service going forward. 

 

 

 

 

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Expo Bot – Results Update

10th April 2019

It’s been a tough start to our trial of the Expo Bot, both in terms of results and getting it to work properly.

In terms of results, we are currently 6 points down (or £60 down to the £10 stakes we are using) combined for the In-Play trading and Auto Dutch systems. 

You can view full results here (please note there are two tabs on the spreadsheet for the two systems).

It should be stressed however that these are not comprehensive results for the Bot because (as alluded to) we have had some problems running it and haven’t been able to place all the trades.

Some of these problems it seems were at our end and some at the developer’s end, as we are now on the fourth version of the bot due to some technical issues.

This is to be expected really with a new piece of software like this which is quite sophisticated and it should be stressed that the Bot is still in beta mode at the moment before being officially released as an “end product” if you like. 

Hopefully most of the teething problems have been ironed out now and it will be smoother sailing from here on in. 

In terms of the results, whilst they have been a little disappointing thus far, the losses haven’t been too bad in the grand scheme of things and they have coincided with the “limbo period” of the jumps season ending and the flat season starting, so that could explain things at least partially. 

Anyway it’s early days and still plenty of time to get into profit so let’s see where we are after our next update.

 

 

 

 

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Expo Bot – New Review

12th March 2019

We have previously reviewed two systems from Exponential Bet – their In-Play Betting System and their Dutch betting strategy – both of which received passed ratings after performing very well during live trials here on the site. 

Today we are starting a trial of a new and exciting piece of kit they have developed, namely their Expo Bot. 

This is a betting bot that enables complete automation of two of their strategies – i.e. the In-Play Betting System we reviewed previously and their relatively newer Automated Dutch betting system. 

Both of these are strategies for betting/trading on horse racing on Betfair that Exponential Bet have developed over time with a good deal of work. 

Just to give an idea of the figures, the Automated Dutch system has so far made £471 profit to just £10 stakes from 65 betting days since going live whilst the In-Play Betting System has made £1012 profit from £10 stakes since going live almost exactly a year ago. 

So combined these strategies have done very well indeed and made substantial profits with pretty low stakes. 

Now the beauty of the situation is that the Expo Bot allows them to be implemented completely automatically on Betfair. You just need to set up the bot, enter your chosen stake and settings and let it do its thing. 

Whilst up until now there was a degree of automation available with the strategies, there was still some manual work that needed doing and the use of an external bot such as the Bet Engine or Fairbot. 

Having it all completely automated from end to end through the Expo Bot is a big improvement in our view though and we are looking forward to testing the bot out.

We have set it up and started the Bot running so are already placing bets and can report it is all working well. 

If results end up being as good as those achieved to date then this will be a great way of making some extra income, all on auto-pilot.

Plus we see the possibility of really growing the bank over time by using progressive staking rather than just flat staking. 

Anyway, let’s see how things go first during our live trial before we get ahead of ourselves. We will record results here during the trial so please watch out for updates on how the review progresses. 

Just a note that if you are not already a member of the Auto Dutch or In-Play Betting services then you will need to sign up to those as well as the Expo Bot. However you can get them all in one package – see the red box with “Expo Bot All in One Promotion” towards the bottom of the sign-up page. 

You can check out the Expo Bot for yourself here. 

 

 

 

 

Best Football Betting Strategies

/0 Comments/in , /by

Betting on football has exploded in recent years to become the most popular sport to gamble on in the world, overtaking even horse racing, with an estimated $500bn wagered on the “beautiful game” each year around the world. 

That is perhaps not surprising when you consider football’s popularity as the world’s favourite sport and how many games are now available to watch on TV and online.

These days you can watch matches from top leagues all over the world – pretty much all day every day if you wish!

To be able to win at football betting is a whole other matter however and is much harder than most people think.

The bookies have vast resources at their disposal and deploy the most sophisticated software and up-to-date info to ensure their odds are accurate.

Once you have taken the bookies’ edge into account (often referred to as the “overround”) then making a consistent profit on football becomes very tough indeed. 

However, we have spent a great deal of time searching the internet and testing out hundreds of systems, strategies, guides, courses, tipsters and just about anything else you can think of to try and find a profitable strategy for betting on football!

Fortunately we have found some very good ones, like Trade on Sports, a stats-based strategy that made over £4,000 profit during our review of it or Predictology that made 38 points profit in our live trial.  

Below we take a look at some of these strategies and how you can apply them to your own betting, but first let’s have a look at why it’s so important to have a strategy in the first place.  

 

Why You Must Have a Strategy in Place

Taking the time to learn and understand a strategy is critical to success in betting and trading.

Before we get onto the strategies themselves, it is important to first establish why it is vital to have a clear strategy in place when you are betting on football.

If you are just gambling “willy-nilly” on hunches and in a whole range of different markets on a whim then your chances of making money are virtually nil. Many people bet based on gut feelings and without any clear strategy behind what they are doing, and then wonder why they lose money!

Those who do manage to make profit do so through a rigorously applied strategy and proper money management and it is not just by luck that they consistently beat the bookies.

Professional gamblers and traders stick to their strategies and don’t deviate from it just because of a couple of bad results. 

Every system, no matter how good it is, will have its ups and down and won’t win every time.

One of the biggest mistakes we see is people hopping from one system to another, jumping ship as soon as a strategy has a few losing bets.

Doing so sadly ensures they will never make a profit from their betting because they don’t stick around long enough for losses to be recouped and for the bank to grow.

They are just consistently losing money and do not have the correct mindset for successful betting.  

It is important to recognise this and to prepare yourself for the inevitable losing runs. Making sure you have a big enough betting bank is crucial, as is not over-staking. 

If you can follow these rules, adopt a long-term mindset and use sensible money-management then you have a chance of being successful at betting.

Of course you still need a successful strategy though. Let’s take a look now at the some potential strategies you could use.

 

Top 5 Best Football Betting Strategies

OK, so let’s take a look at the top five football strategies we have uncovered through our extensive research and testing.

These are the approaches that have demonstrated they can generate a market-beating return and whilst there are no guarantees they will do so forever, using a tried-and-tested strategy is a much better idea than gambling at random or on “gut feelings.”

 

Strategy One – Follow the Stats

Crunching the numbers and studying stats has been shown to work very well in football betting.

One of the most reliable and consistent strategies for betting on football is to use statistics to guide your selections. There are a vast amount of resources out there you can utilise these days, with sites like soccerstats and flashscores offering a wealth of data on everything from goal times to shots on target, completed passes and more. 

You could select stats on specific markets like HT-FT, identifying which sides tend to score more goals in the first or second half, for example. Some teams are notoriously quick starters in games, where as others tend to only really get going in the second half. However, the bookies will normally just price the HT-FT market up on the basis of the match odds. So if you can find teams who stand out in terms of their stats in one half or another, there could be some value in this market.

Another approach which is being used more often these days is looking at “expected goals.” You can ignore what Craig Burley said when asked about expected goals, dismissing it as “an absolute load of nonsense,” commenting: “I expect things at Christmas from Santa Claus, but they don’t come right?”

Expected goals are in fact an established way of understanding in one simple metric how well a team played and how many chances they created in a game.

If a team is consistently creating chances but failing to score as many goals as they should have, the expected goals stat will express that and could present some value for the astute observer. 

One website that has shown it can use stats very effectively is Trade on Sports. Run by a team of professional traders, they use a vast database of stats from leagues around the world, looking for value bets in-play.

During our live trial of their service they made over £4,000 profit with an excellent strike rate of over 70%. 

This was made from following in-play alerts in games where at least one second-half goal was expected. 

They have other alerts in the works too which could be just as effective. As well as receiving their in-play alerts, you can also use their huge stats database to devise your own bets and trades and there are instructional videos on how to use the database.   

All in all the success of Trade on Sports shows the power of utilising stats and why you should consider using them as the basis of your strategies. 

 

Strategy Two: Back Short-Priced Favourites

Like so much in betting, those who find success often do what seems counter-intuitive – or as professional punter Nick Mordin described it, “going against the crowd.” 

Most ordinary punters assume there is no value to be found in backing odds-on shots and doing so is a “mug’s game.” 

However, there is a great deal of evidence that exactly the opposite is true, including academic papers from Nottingham University Business School and the Scottish Journal of Political Economy.

Without wading into all the numbers, basically the higher the odds you bet at, the more money you lose over time – or in other words the worse the value is. 

Various reasons have been postulated for this, but the most plausible is that most punters don’t like backing odds-on shots and therefore bookies are more inclined to offer them value to attract custom, where as at longer odds they don’t have to as people will bet anyway. 

One service that has exploited this bias is Banker Bets, a long-running system that focuses on picking short-priced favourites in football matches. Its original service which we reviewed here made 410% profit if backing accumulators and 145% profit if backing the tips as single bets. Since being relaunched in 2018 it has made 47% profit so far at a very high win rate of 77%. 

Many of the selections are priced in the 1.2 to 1.3 range, which might seem an unlikely way to profit, but as we say there is a great deal of evidence that betting at those prices in fact represents the best value and the results of Banker Bets back that up. 

 

Strategy Three – Back the Draw

Backing closely matched teams to draw can be a very effective strategy.

A lot of column inches have been devoted online to discussing the lay the draw betting strategy over the last few years. However, very little attention has been devoted to doing the opposite – backing the draw. 

As we have mentioned above, doing the opposite of what most other punters are doing can often prove profitable and this certainly seems to be the case with backing the draw. The theory behind it goes something like this – very few people back the draw as they much prefer to bet on one team or the other to win a game. Therefore much as with the favourite-longshot bias, the bookies are often prepared to offer some value on the draw knowing that very few people will back it.

This potential for the draw to hold value was backed up during our trial of JK Diego’s Draw Betting System, which made over $4,300 profit during our six month review. 

JK bets solely on the draw and has been refining his strategy for over eight years, identifying the key factors to look for and who are the best teams to follow are. His results in 2018 were nothing short of spectacular, with over 350 points profit made to 1-point level stakes, or over $35,000 to $100 stakes. 

The service has proved very popular and understandably so given those results, so JK has to charge high subscription fees to keep the membership numbers manageable and protect prices for existing members. 

JK Diego’s results are some of the best we have ever seen from a football system however so backing the draw does appear to have some considerable merit. 

 

Strategy Four – Lay Weak Away Teams

Some teams don’t travel well and backing them to take a thumping can pay dividends.

One of the strongest trends in football is the advantage home teams enjoy over away teams. It is universal in all football leagues around the world.

The reasons are probably various, but the main ones are probably the boost of the crowd and the familiarity of playing on their own turf for the home team and the burden of travelling for the away side. The last one is backed up by stats showing the further teams have to travel (e.g. in the Champions League when teams have to go over to Russia), the worse they tend to do. 

Some teams are particularly bad travellers however, with some notorious examples over the years being Sturm Graz in the Champions League and Fulham in the 2018/19 Premier League, who only won one away game all season.

The bookies normally only price matches up according to the relative strength of the teams, not their respective home/away records which offers the opportunity to find some value.

Two services which have done that over the years are Football Elite, which sadly no longer offers match tips, and Football Advisor Lays, which performed very well during our seven-month trial of it, making 37 points profit – or £3,700 profit to £100 stakes. 

They focus on laying poor away teams and have shown a strong record over a number of years in doing so. 

Finding nuances in teams’ home and away form like Football Advisor do is another good strategy to use in football betting. 

 

Strategy Five – Matched Betting

Matched betting is a tried and tested strategy for those in the UK and Ireland.

This strategy is only available to those in the UK and Ireland unfortunately but it is highly effective in making a profit from football betting. 

Basically it involves using the bookies’ free bets and bonuses to make a guaranteed profit regardless of the outcome of a game. You can do this by laying off a percentage of your bet at the exchanges, using a calculator to work out the exact amounts. 

There are matched betting packages like Profit Maximiser which bring together all the hundreds of the bookies’ free bets and show you exactly how to set them up so they can’t lose.

We made a very nice £2,469 profit during our trial of Profit Maximiser. Some people even do matched betting as a profession and make a very tidy income from it, although it must be stressed a lot of dedication and effort is required if you are going to do that.

It is probably time-limited as well because eventually the bookies will close your accounts, although there are some steps you can take to mitigate that and keep your accounts open much longer. 

For those who have access to it though, matched betting is undoubtedly a sure-fire football betting strategy. 

 

Conclusion – the Best Football Betting Strategies

Making a profit from football is not easy and the bare facts are that over 98% of people lose money when betting on the beautiful game – perhaps not so beautiful for them! 

To join those 2% of people who make a profit from their football investing, you need to have a clear strategy and stick to it over the long term, whilst accepting there will be losing runs along the way.

There are some great football betting strategies out there and we have illustrated five of the best we have found above.

They have all demonstrated a clear profitable edge over the market in the long term and deserve a great deal of respect for that. 

Whether you decide to follow any of the strategies above or to develop your own, please make sure you gamble responsibly and only risk money you can afford to lose. 

 

slot machine

The Biggest Payouts in Slots History

/0 Comments/in , /by

In the 21st century, it has became very hard to keep stress levels under control. Fast living and longer working hours combined with unhealthy fast food is not helping with reducing stress.

While some people have taken up fishing, hiking, watching or playing sports, others have decided to have a go at slot machines. We are not going to discuss if that’s a smart decision or not, but we are going to disclose occasions where the choice has really paid off and what the best payouts are on slot machines in Las Vegas history.

Although most people visit the ‘betting paradise’ of Vegas with the secret hope that they will win enough to turn their life around like the soldier who won £13 million off a 25p bet, there aren’t many who have had enough luck to win a great amount of money.

A 25 year old software engineer from Las Vegas certainly did however. He managed to win $39,710,826 after putting just $100 into a slot machine. The odds of winning the jackpot on the machine he played were 1:1670000. So very low chances, don’t you think?

Another great win happened in 2010. A man from Las Vegas hosted his friend from another country and decided to show him why Las Vegas casinos are so famous around the world. They came to have fun and decided to bet $20 on a Megabucks machine. They played it for 10 minutes and hit a jackpot. It was $14,282,544. They decided to donate most of the money to charity, a nice gesture.

Another interesting story concerns a young man who decided to drop by the Excalibur Casino to play a few slot hands while waiting for a basketball game to start. An hour later he became a millionaire. He won 40 million dollars but decided to receive the amount in small payouts for 25 years. Not a bad way to spend an hour.

There have even been a few multiple winners. The most interesting story is that of World War II veteran Elmer Sherwin, who was 76 years old when he won the jackpot of $4.6 million dollars. Even with the money to travel the world, he continued to play slots once or twice a week to kill some time. Sixteen years later he won $21 million on the same machine where he won the first time! The odds of doing that were so slim as to be almost impossible.

Although there have been some crazy wins, there have been many significant losses too and examples where casinos ruined players’ lives. Please be careful if you decide to swim in these waters. One ideal slot machine for beginners is the Cinderella slots slot machine. This virtual slot gives you the chance to see how real slots machines work.

The best thing about the Cinderella slot machine is the fact that is completely free and made for fun. You just have to download Gambino Free social slots casino app to start playing the game for free or simply play the Gambino game on Facebook.

The game is designed to provide the fun story of finding Cinderella the love of her life. Just as with the fairytale Cinderella, there are all the folks from the book. There is an evil stepsister who is going to try to stop your progress just like Anastasia, the second evil step-sister will try aswell.

The Fairy Godmother is the only relative on her side. With her help, Cinderella will try to reach her high heel shoe and get to the ball by midnight. The Fairy Godmother will use her magic to turn Cinderella’s pumpkin into the Royal Carriage. Wild symbols at the board will help your progress. It replaces every symbol of the board except scatter, but it only appears on lines 2, 3, 4 and 5. Keep playing the game to help the queen reach the ball and to charm the Prince.

There is also a cash version of this game but it is way more fun to play free version at the Gambino free social slots casino and simply have fun. If you decide to play the cash game instead, the online video game will help you to understand the rules and get you ready for the challenges the real game provides.

Be sure to only risk money you can afford to lose. Help Cinderella to find her Prince and have fun, enjoy the game!

 

 

 

Top Horse Trainers

/1 Comment/in , /by

When it comes to horse trainers, we probably all have our favourites. Many of our bets are highly influenced by a horse’s training history.  Here is a short profile of some horse trainers who we think stand out from the rest. If we have missed your favourite, then apologies. Let us know, and we will look to include them next time.

 

Paul Nicholls

 

Of all the British National Hunt trainers, Paul Nicholls is arguably the most outstanding. Born in 1962 and based in Ditcheat, Somerset, he has trained over 3,000 winners. Accolades include four Cheltenham Gold Cups, eleven British jump racing Champion Trainer titles, and a Grand National win. He was quite a reasonable jockey in his time too, lifting the Hennessy Gold Cup twice and the Irish Hennessey Gold Cup.

Nicholls became a trainer in 1991, though it took until 1999 to make his first breakthrough with three wins at the Cheltenham Festival. But what really added icing to his cake was his partnership with stable jockey Ruby Walsh. The pair formed an unstoppable team winning, amongst many other prestigious events, the Queen Mother Champion Chase in 2008 and 2009, the King George VI Chase five times with Kauto Star and with the same horse two Cheltenham Gold Cups.  

Despite his prolific success, Nicholls is a nice guy. Approachable and friendly, he is always willing to give his opinion on any aspect of horse racing. He is currently with his third wife with whom he has two children plus another from his second marriage. 

 

Aidan O’Brien

 

The Irish horse trainer Aidan O’Brien is based at the Ballydoyle Stables in County Tipperary where he has trained many top class horses. He is generally proclaimed as the top flat racing jockey in the country. Just some of the famous horses he trained include Galileo (who he co-trained with one of his sons Joseph then 19)  best known for winning the Derby and the Irish Derby, Rock of Gibraltar part-owned by Sir Alex Ferguson, George Washington, and High Chaparral who won ten of his thirteen races before going to stud.

During the 2017 season, O’Brien trained a record-breaking 26 Group 1 winners. Other career records include training 7 winners are the 2016 Royal Ascot festival. He often works with his wife Anne-Marie with whom he has four children.

As a person, O’Brien is a little cautious and keeps his cards close to his chest and is never very keen to engage with journalists even after a big success. His characteristic dark glasses add to his aura of secrecy.

 

               ————–Check out this top recommended horse racing tipster here————

 

Willie Mullins

Willie Mullins began his career as a trainer in 1988 after previously assisting his father, Paddy. He has a wealth of successes having collected almost all the major prizes in Ireland and many of the major prizes in the UK and France. A small selection of these includes The King George, The Grand National, The Supreme Novice Hurdle English, the Irish and French Champion Hurdles,  along with multiple Cheltenham festival winners. During the 2017/2018 season, out of 797 runners, he had a record-breaking 212 winners making it his all-time most successful season.

In 2015 he achieved the record number of winners at the Cheltenham Festival with eight victories, though that record has now been broken.

In total he has been the Champion National Hunt trainer thirteen times, twelve of which have been in the last twelve years and in 2013 he achieved his 3,000th winner Timi Roli who was ridden by Willie’s nephew, Danny Mullins. Probably Mullins’  most famous horse is Hurricane Fly who won 24 out of his career total of 32 races including a record-breaking 22 Grade 1 wins, three of which were in his final season.

 

John Gosden

 

Currently based at Clarehaven Stables near Newmarket, John Gosden is considered to be one of the most outstanding racehorse trainers in Great Britain. With over 3,000 winners over 100 of which were Group Ones, he has undoubtedly earned his place in the record books.

Before starting his career as a horserace trainer, he attended Cambridge University from which he graduated with a degree in economics in 1974. His first job was in Venezuela where he was involved in developing a science park but returned after a year to become assistant to Vincent O’Brien, the champion trainer and later he worked with trainer Sir Noel Murless.

Next, he moved to the USA where he worked as an assistant to Tommy Dole in California, obtaining his US horse training license in 1979. His first big winner was Bates Motel, who won numerous significant events. Many more followed, but in 1989 he returned to the UK where he became a trainer at Stanley House Stables in Newmarket. Success followed success and the following year he moved to Manton where he achieved many more prestigious wins before moving on to Clarehaven in 2007.  

He lives with his wife Rachel who he met in Cambridge; they have four children. He is one of the sport’s leading communicators and makes frequent media appearances. He loves music and is a keen Bob Dylan fan.

 

Saeed bin Suroor

 

Saeed bin Suroor is one of the UK’s leading trainers. He has been British Trainer Champion four times, the first of which was in his second year as chief trainer. The other occasions were in 1998, 1999, and 2004.

He was born in the United Arab Emirates, where for some time served as a policeman before moving to the UK where he became a trainer at the Newmarket branch of Godolphin, the international thoroughbred racing stable owned by Sheikh Mohammed and headquartered in Dubai. He splits his time between Newmarket and Dubai.

In 2010 Saeed bin Suroor was involved in a major scandal. Mahmood Al Zarooni, a new appointee to the stable whose role it was to share the training surprisingly proved far more successful than predicted. Following an investigation, his success was subsequently attributed to doping 11 horses with anabolic steroids. The horses were withdrawn from racing for six months, and Mahmood Al Zarooni received an eight-year ban.  

Saeed bin Suroor has a reputation of being easy going with a strong work ethic. Despite his colossal success, he considers there is still much to be achieved, including the Grand National, the Kentucky Derby, the Melbourne Cup and the Japan Cup.  

Want to trade the Betfair markets like a pro? Well check out this top system from a professional trader.

 

 

 

 

weight of money

Weight of Money on Betfair – How Important Is It?

/0 Comments/in , /by

The weight of money statistic tends to be ignored by many punters, but doing so is a mistake, as behind those somewhat obscure numbers lies some handy information.

Most of the people who ignore it do so because they don’t fully understand it, so let’s put that right. We will explain what it means and how you can use it to improve your trading strategy.

 

What is the weight of money?

If you were to be pedantic, then a better description of this valuable statistic might be “balance of money” as it indicates the balance between the current back and lay offers. Usually, we shorten the weight of money to WoM.

WoM concerns just the best 3 lay prices and the best 3 back prices on either side of the book. It is the balance between these and provides a real-time view of the amount of money waiting to be matched on both the lay and bet sides of the book.

It is essential to realise that the measure concerns just unmatched money; matched bets are irrelevant to WoM.

 

How is WoM calculated?

The calculation used is:

WoM = (unmatched money on best 3 lay prices) / ((unmatched money on best 3 lay prices) + (unmatched money on best 3 back prices))

Where can you find WoM on Betfair?

WoM indicators are clearly shown on the top of Betfair trading ladders.

Weight of money can be seen by comparing the money on the back side (blue) vs the lay side (pink)

What can you do with WoM?

Before we show how you can use it, we should point out some of its potential problems. The indicator may be manipulated by traders and should not be relied on. It can also be highly volatile and give a false impression of the market. That said, it can be beneficial indeed and can indicate the direction in which the odds are likely to change. For instance:

  • – When the amount of unmatched money placed on back bets is roughly equivalent to the amount of money placed on lay bets the WoM will be in the order of 50% (1/2), We refer to this as a balanced market.
  • – When there is more unmatched money on the lay side so that the WoM is significantly higher than 50%, then the odds on back bets are likely to increase
  • – When there is more unmatched money on the back side so that the WoM is significantly less than 50%, then the odds on back bets are likely to decrease

When you trade on Betfair, keeping close attention on the odds is crucial. Even tiny changes can make a big difference overall to your profit and loss. WoM should provide a clear indication of whether odds are likely to lengthen or shorten.

 

Dangers to be aware of

There are, however, caveats. For instance, there needs to be enough liquidity in the market. If there isn’t, then WoM is likely to be highly volatile. Even small changes to the money supply can make significant changes to the WoM. Never take the WoM in isolation; it is just one of the indicators you can use to hone your marketing strategy,

The other important caveat is the possibility of manipulation by other traders, especially traders equipped with the latest tool sets.  Such practices that are frowned on and illegal in financial markets are still not wholly outlawed in betting markets.

Without going into any details, it is surprisingly easy to manipulate the odds, and one way of doing so is to manipulate the WoM by placing false orders, thus forcing a change in the odds, then removing the orders. Profits are made from the changing odds.

 

Finally

WoM is an important statistic, but don’t rely on it. It is just an indicator, not an absolute predictor. 

Want to trade the Betfair markets like a pro? Well check out this top system from a professional trader.

 

 

 

 

man winning money 2

Tipster Lands 180,000/1 Acca!

/0 Comments/in , /by

Members of horse racing tipster Russell Blair Racing were popping open the champagne over the weekend as he landed a quite astonishing four-timer at combined odds of over 180,000/1. 

Things got off to a promising start on Friday as Russell tipped 14/1 shot Air Raid to win the 7.40 at Hamilton, which netted a nice profit of 26 points on the day – or £260 profit to £10 stakes.

It was on Saturday however that things really took off, with a quite astonishing run of winners the likes of which we have rarely seen before. Here are the winners that Russell landed from 8 bets advised on the day:

  • – 2.10 Market Rasen – GRAPEVINE @ 33/1 2pts WON
  • – 3.20 Market Rasen – CASABLANCA MIX @ 11/1 2pts WON
  • – 4.50 Cartmel – PENA DORADO @ 33/1 2pts WON
  • – 7.45 Doncaster – KAESO @ 12/1 2pts WON

A £1 accumulator on those four would have netted an incredible £180,336!

Now not many people would have put an accumulator on but even just backing them all as singles would have netted 170 points profit on the day to advised prices, or £1,700 to £10 stakes.

And at Betfair SP it would have been even better, with 172 points profit made on the day.

Add that to 26 points profit made on Friday to advised prices (or 12 to BSP), and you would have had quite a weekend if following Russell Blair’s tips with just under £2,000 profit made to £10 stakes.

We have seen some of the messages from Russell’s members and it is clear they are very happy with the weekend’s events!

The great news though is that they are currently offering a 14-day free trial of the service to new members.

This weekend’s huge success was no fluke either. Since starting up in April 2015 Russell has amassed a whopping 2,000 points profit, a quite remarkable feat and one we haven’t seen matched just about anywhere else in the world of tipping. That would be £20,000 to £10 stakes or £50,000 to £25 stakes.

And the return on investment over the last four years has been over 30%, which is quite outstanding over such a long period.

So don’t miss out on grabbing a free trial of the service as we expect places to fill up fast after this weekend’s massive coup.

You can get your 14 day free trial of Russell Blair Racing here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

horse racing

Lay the Field – Explained

/0 Comments/in , /by

Lay the field is becoming an increasingly popular way to improve your winning chances while minimising your risk.

It is only available through betting exchanges such as Betfair, but trading on such exchanges is now the bread and butter of a large proportion of online punters. First, we will explain what lay the field means, and then suggest some tactics around it that have the potential to increase your returns.

Of course, nothing is guaranteed, and there are some downsides too, but it is certainly worth investing some effort in exploring its potential. It doesn’t work for every race; so you need to learn where it is most effective, but effectively you are acting as the bookmaker, and you don’t see many poor bookmakers.

What is lay the field?

Laying involves betting on a horse to lose. It’s much easier to pick losers than winners as there are naturally more of them.  When you lay, and you find a matching bet, then you keep the bettor’s stake if the horse loses. If the horse wins, then you pay out the odds. Effectively, by laying you are going to reduce the frequency of your losses, but when they do occur, they are going to be relatively expensive.

By laying the field, you are betting on every horse to lose, so with a ten-horse race, you will win nine times and lose just once. Say you laid the field at 3.00. If every lay were matched, you would soon be rolling in it. The problem is that usually, you wouldn’t be able to find matching bets. But there is a way.

 

                  ———–Check out this top recommended horse racing tipster ———–

 

In-running

The secret is in-running. You lay the field (at Betfair this is the same as “Lay All”) at your chosen price, say 2.0 and keep the bets through the in-running part of the race. Several things can happen:

  • – None of your bets is matched – in which case you win nothing and lose nothing.
  • – At least three bets are matched – you will always make a profit
  • – Two bets are matched – you will break even
  • – One bet is matched, AND the horse wins, – you will make a small loss.

The reason this works is that in-running prices are likely to change throughout the race. For instance, for a runner starting at 4.00, the odds are likely to shorten if the horse looks like challenging for the lead, passing through your 2.00 lay and thus matching your bet.  

An example

Say you lay the field at 2.00 at £5.00, and four bets were matched in-running. If none of the matched bets won the race, you would have a clear profit of £20. Your worst case scenario is that one of your matched bets won the race. In that case, you would receive £15.00 from the three other bets, and you would pay out £5.00, leaving you with a profit of £10.

The downside is if only one of your lays was matched, and the horse won, you would lose £5. Laying the winner is unfortunate, but not such a huge downside when you consider the potential gains.

Choosing the best races

In our example, we decided to use odds of 2.00, but they might not be high enough to generate enough matched bets to cancel out the downslide of laying the winner. The best strategy is to modify the odds so that you generate enough matched bets. Getting this right isn’t easy, and the best odds will vary significantly between races, so you will need to choose the races carefully.

The best races for laying the field are close-run ones with similar odds on the four or so top entries. On the other hand, races with a clear favourite where the odds are very short, are not suited to laying the field.

Want to know how to trade the horse racing markets before the off? Check out this in-depth guide to scalping on Betfair. 

 

 

 

Four Mad Moments in Tour de France History

/0 Comments/in , /by

The 2019 Tour de France is already underway and this year’s race is certainly more open, with Chris Froome unable to participate due to his horrific injury earlier in the season. But, if you think you can predict who will win the Tour de France bet on the winner now.

Despite being in its early stages, incidents and drama are already unfolding – with Jakob Fuglsang, Dylan Groenewegen and Geraint Thomas all suffering crashes in stage 1, but able to continue the race. Here, we take a look back at some of the craziest moments in Tour de France history, beginning with who else, but four-time winner Froome himself.

2016: Froome forced to foot it

Chaos ensued at the end of stage 12 of the 2016 Tour de France. Race leader Froome was forced to run up the steep incline of Mont Ventoux after his bicycle was so heavily damaged. The route had been revised due to plummeting temperatures and strong winds and as Froome rode to the finish line with Richie Porte and Bauke Mollema in tow, a TV motorbike came to a sudden halt and the trio crashed into the back of it. Froome came off worse, with his bike hit by a second motorbike that was following the three, breaking his seat stay.

His spare bike on the team car was a lot further down the mountain, so he decided to run the route instead – in his cycling shorts and helmet. A service vehicle eventually arrived with a much smaller bike, which he rode for a while, before his spare Pinarello was brought by the team car, allowing him to ride to the finish.

But the chaos wasn’t over. Froome finished sixth, with the yellow jersey awarded to Adam Yates; however, the bike was eventually found and whisked off for checks. It was then announced that Froome would be awarded the same finish time as Mollema, not only retaining his yellow jersey, but extending his lead to 47 seconds.

 

2007: dogged determination from the German

It was a tour to forget for the T-Mobile team in 2007. With Michael Rogers and Mark Cavendish failing to finish stage 8 and Patrik Sinkewitz unable to start stage 9, it seemed as though the team were cursed and stage 9 wasn’t without incident.

As Marcus Burghardt was innocuously cycling through a fairly easy stretch of the course, from Val d’Isere to Briancon, the German found himself flying over the handlebars after colliding with a Labrador that had decided to cross the path. Luckily, neither the dog nor Burghardt were injured, with the bike coming off worst in the collision. He quickly replaced the buckled front wheel and carried on… eventually finishing 127th in the race.

 

1999: Guerini bounces back

Every year, the Tour de France sees plenty of crashes, usually between riders but in the 1999 edition of the race, Giuseppe Guerini was felled in spectacular fashion. It was during stage 10, near the end of the difficult stage, at the Alpe d’Huez.

As Guerini was ascending the Alpe, a kilometre from the summit, a spectator holding a camera jumped in front of him to take his photo, with the Italian riding straight into him. Luckily, he managed to re-mount his bike and carry on (after receiving a pat on the back and slight push from the spectator to urge him on) to win the stage, his first in the Tour de France.

1950: water into wine

One of the strangest stories to have ever unfolded at the Tour de France belongs to French-Algerian, Abdel-Kader Zaaf, riding for North Africa. It was during the 13th stage, from Perpignan to Nîmes that the legendary tale developed – and it took another 30 years for Zaaf to confirm it himself, leaving many people wondering its validity for the years in between.

With scorching temperatures of up to 40C being recorded, there was still a long way to go in the stage (200km in fact) – and despite building up an impressive lead with his teammate Marcel Molinès, here’s where the story takes a twist.

Zaaf accepted a bottle from a spectator and hoping to seek hydration, drank from it. The liquid turned out to be some kind of alcohol and that mixed with the heat, caused Zaaf to zigzag, before he decided to shelter under a tree and fall asleep. He awoke when supporters claimed the peloton was fast-approaching, but Zaaf cycled off in the direction he came from – luckily not colliding with the peloton. But he was forced to dismount and was rushed to hospital. His compatriot Molinès won the stage.

 

 

 

Remembering Venus Williams’ Five Wimbledon Singles Titles

/0 Comments/in , /by

You won’t find Venus Williams in the Wimbledon 2019 women’s competition odds – the 39-year-old suffered a first-round shock defeat to fellow American, Cori Gauff.

The 15-year-old, who is the youngest female to qualify for a Grand Slam tournament, as well as the youngest player ever to qualify for the main draw at Wimbledon, won in straight sets 6-4, 6-4. However, Williams has won the Rosewater Dish on five occasions and is up there as one of the best female tennis players of the Open Era. Let’s take a look back and remember those five special wins.

 

2000: a first Grand Slam title

The 2000 final saw Venus Williams take on defending champion, Lindsay Davenport, with Williams victorious: 6–3, 7–6 (7-3). This was the first of her Grand Slam titles, which marked her domination of the sport.

Williams went into Wimbledon as the fifth-seed and in the early rounds, managed to avoid any of the seeded players, beating all of her opponents in straight sets. She faced the number 1 seed Martina Hingis in the quarter-finals and it was the first – and only – time that year, any of her matches went the distance. Despite losing the second set, Williams won the match: 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 and found herself up against sister Serena in the semi-finals. A straight sets victory: 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) saw Venus progress to her second Grand Slam final, but a first at SW19.

 

2001: successfully defending her title

The number 2 seed this time, Williams successfully defended her Wimbledon ladies’ singles title, beating the eighth-seed Justine Henin in the final: 6-1, 3-6, 6-0. It was the Belgian’s first Grand Slam final.

Much like the previous year, she won all of her early round games in straight sets, before taking on the ninth-seed Nathalie Tauziat in the quarter-finals. The semi-finals saw a repeat of the 2000 final, with Davenport the opponent once again. She provided a sterner test this time, taking the match to the full three sets, but Williams overcame a close second set loss to win: 6-2, 6-7 (1-7), 6-1.

 

2005: Williams v Davenport II

After only winning the Australian Open in 2003 and failing to win a Grand Slam in 2004, Williams went into Wimbledon as the 14th seed, but managed to make the final. The 2005 final will always be remembered as it saw Williams take on her compatriot Davenport again, in what has proved to be the longest women’s final in Wimbledon history.

Straight set victories over lesser-ranked opponents in rounds one to four saw Williams face Mary Pierce in the quarter-finals. It took a second-set tiebreak to hand Williams victory 6-0, 7-6 (12-10) and her opponent in the semi-finals was defending champion, Maria Sharapova. After a close first set, the American triumphed, winning in straight sets: 7-6 (7-2), 6-1 to repeat the 2000 final. The match lasted two hours and 45 minutes, going to three sets, but Williams won her third Wimbledon – and seventh Grand Slam – title to defy the odds.

 

2007: a return to form

Having not won a Grand Slam title since her previous Wimbledon success, Williams went into this year’s tournament as the 23rd seed, and she was ranked 31st in the world at the time. Beating Marion Bartoli in the final: 6-4, 6-1, she was – and still is – the lowest ranked and lowest seeded woman to win Wimbledon. Interestingly that year, she was the first female champion to pocket the same prize money as the male champion (who was Roger Federer).

Williams suffered a scare in her third-round match against unseeded Akiko Morigami, but overcame that and faced Maria Sharapova in the fourth round. A straight sets victory saw her up against the fifth and sixth seeds, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Ana Ivanovic in the subsequent rounds, winning both games in straight sets to set up a final with the 18th seed Bartoli.

 

2008: Venus beats Serena

2008 was Venus’ last win at Wimbledon and she’s only made two finals since, but what a fitting way to win your fifth title at SW19. The two sisters had met in finals previously (2002 and 2003) with Serena the victor on both occasions, so it was certainly third time lucky for Venus, who won: 7-5, 6-4.

Venus had a fairly easy run-in to the semi-finals stage, at least. Four of her opponents were unseeded, while she also faced British wildcard Naomi Cavday and Spanish qualifier MJ Martínez Sánchez. She triumphed in her semi-final against the fifth-seed, Elena Dementieva to set-up a showdown against sister, Serena.

 

 

 

 

Get Your Wimbledon Tips Here!

/0 Comments/in /by

It’s that time of year again. Mountains of strawberries and cream will be eaten, gallons of Pimms consumed and thousands of tennis balls gone through as the world focuses its attention on a sleepy corner of South-West London. Yes it’s Wimbledon time again. 

The biggest tournament on the tennis calendar is always a great watch and this year’s renewal should be more of the same.

On the men’s side, Novak Djokovic is the favourite in the betting at a best price of 2.4 following his triumph at the Australian Open and winning Wimbledon last year. With Nadal having emerged victorious at Rolland Garros, Djokovic will be eager to reestablish his dominance at the top of the game.  

Roger Federer is next in the betting at a best price of 4.33, with French Open champion Rafael Nadal available at 8.5 and both will fancy their chances of going deep into the tournament. Nadal however has admitted he struggles on grass because of his knees and has a very tough draw, whilst it may be asking too much of Roger to win once again at the age of 37. 

Andy Murray makes his return to Wimbledon after career-saving surgery and whilst few will be expecting a big run from him, it will be welcome to see him back on court and playing tennis again. 

On the women’s side, we have become accustomed to open-looking draws these days and we have one again this year, with French Open champion Ash Barty heading the betting at 7.0, closely followed by Eastbourne winner Karolina Pliskova at 8.0. 

If you are looking for some tips for the week, we can recommend some top tipsters for you:

Some top tipsters there for Wimbledon and indeed the whole year of tennis. 

It should be a cracking fortnight of tennis and hopefully the weather will behave for the players and fans as well.  

If you have any bets on Wimbledon over the coming fortnight, good luck and here’s hoping you find a few winners.