The Rules of football bettingYes, as a new domestic football season gets ready to kick off it is worth re-capping on some golden rules when betting to ensure it stays fun and, importantly, that doesn't get out of hand.1) A sure-thing does not exist in football betting.By definition, a so-called 'sure-thing' will have a skinny price so ignore it. You are looking for value bets.2) Bet within your means.Put money aside for your betting in the same way you would for a hobby. Bet within your means and with money you have. DO NOT use credit cards to support your gambling. Set a budget and stick to it. When you have set your budget aside give yourself a limit on any given day - so if you have a £250 betting pot your daily limit could be 10% of that, £25.3) Be objective when betting on football.Use your head - there's no room for hunches. Do your research. Do not bet on your favourite team unless you can back the decision with an objective rationale which supports the decision.4) Get the
I was listening to Talksport last night and a PR guy from Coral was doing his usual preamble about that evening's games (all predictable short priced affairs) and he said he thought Chelsea were certainties and the other two games were going to end up as draws.He was asked what the odds were for those outcomes and he confidently quoted Chelsea at 2/5, Liverpool v Middlesbrough draw 3/1 and Blackburn v Watford draw at 5/2.The presenter then asked Mr Coral what the odds would be for that treble. Cue well controlled meltdown, 'Er...umm...I never was very good at maths.' Some nervous laughter then, 'I was always in the bookies instead of school'.In that case surely he should have been able to do a quick calculation in his head to work out the treble came to almost 20/1. (The sum was 1.4 x 4 x 3.5* = 19.6)The 1.4 is derived from 2/5 = 0.4 + 1 which gives you 1.4. Odds against prices, in this case, 5/2 and 3/1 are simpler to work out admittedly. You just divide them by each other, add o
A Yankee consists of 11 bets involving 4 selections from different events:- 6 doubles- 4 trebles- 1 accumulatorNote: A minimum of two of your selections must win in order for you to get a return. A £1 Yankee has a total stake of £11.An each-way Yankee consists of 22 bets involving 4 selections from different events:- 6 win doubles- 6 place doubles- 4 win trebles- 4 place trebles- 1 win accumulator- 1 place accumulatorNote: A minimum of two of your selections must win or place in order for you to get a return. A £1 each-way Yankee has a total stake of £22.A winning £1 Yankee on four selections with the following odds, Evens (2.0), 2/1 (3.0), 5/6 (1.83), 3/1 (4.0) would cost £11 and payout £158.17.A Yankee is a 'fun bet' and not to be used to build your betting bank. It won't!Scott Mowbraytop5bet.com..................................................top5bet.com in the News!top5bet.com commented in the FTs spread betting supplement, 16 March 2007.A savvy client is a better one...
Over-roundA lot of gambling websites and blogs suggest you can make money on Betting Exchanges simply because you can 'lay' a selection. Afterall, that's what bookmakers' do and you never see a poor bookmaker, right?Well, yes they do but a vital element is missing called the over-round.The over-round is the element of underpayment in a set of odds/prices from which a bookmaker makes his profit. In its simplest terms the over-round is the bookmakers in-built profit margin.For example, if we take an imaginary tennis match in which Murray takes on Davydenko.Example 1Murray 4/5Davydenko 4/5What do the above odds mean?- 4/5 as a decimal is 0.8. Now add 1 giving 1.8.- 100/1.8 = 55.6- Both players are 4/5 (1.8) so the sum is as follows: 55.6 + 55.6 =111.1- Now take 111.1 - 100 and you are left with an overround of 11.1- 11.1 is the over-round- Dividing 11.1 by 111.1 = a percentage profit of 10%Given proportionate action on both sides of the book, the bookmaker's profit is £10 per £100
So what was the return on our imaginary L15/31/63?Lucky 15Lens won, Alkmaar lost, PSG won, Osasuna drewLens - Evens, Alkmaar - 11/4, PSG - 13/10, Osasuna - 11/4£1 Lucky 15, 15 bets = £15.00 stake and if all win a £222.37 returnOut of a possible £222.37 your actual winnings would have been £8.90, a loss of £6.20Lucky 31Lens won, Alkmaar lost, PSG won, Osasuna drew, Seville drewLens - Evens, Alkmaar - 11/4, PSG - 13/10, Osasuna - 11/4, Seville - 4/9£1 Lucky 31, 31 bets = £31.00 stake and if all win a £545.01 returnOut of a possible £545.01 your actual winnings would have been £8.90 a loss of £22.01Lucky 63Lens won, Alkmaar lost, PSG won, Osasuna drew, Seville drew and Spurs wonLens - Evens, Alkmaar - 11/4, PSG - 13/10, Osasuna - 11/4, Seville - 4/9, Draw Spurs - 9/4£1 Lucky 63, 63 bets = £63.00 stake and if all win a £2,319.55 returnOut of a possible £2,319.55 your actual winnings would have been £41.08 a loss of £21.20You can argue, the selections were not up too much
