Bank Building Challenge
With other projects taking up my time lately, namely getting the race car prepared for the upcoming racing season, betting has taken a bit of a back step. As a result, I've come up with a two-minutes-a-day challenge. Turn a starting bank of £10 into a higher figure by backing very short odds selections, on Betfair. I'm writing this as the current sequence of bets is up to seven consecutive correct predictions and £10 has been turned into £16.68.
There's a certain degree of thought going into each bet - so far they have just been "total goals to be one or more", in football markets where a 0-0 scoreline is statistically unlikely. Where opportunites arise, I will include a variety of other sports, but for the initial bank building, these football markets are readily available with enough liquidity.
Bets so far have been:
Bet 1: £10 one or more goals Liverpool vs Sp Prague @ 1.09 WON new bank £10.85
Bet 2: £10.85 one or more goals Notts Co v Charlton @ 1.08 WON new bank £11.68
Bet 3: £11.68, One or more goals, Swansea v Leeds @ 1.08 WON new bank £12.56
Bet 4: £12.56 one or more goals Wigan v Man Utd @ 1.07 WON new bank £13.39
Bet 5: £13.39 one or more goals Motherwell v Celtic @ 1.05 WON new bank £14.04
Bet 6: £14.04 one or more goals Sampdoria v Inter @ 1.10 WON new bank £15.37
Bet 7: £15.37 one or more goals Milan v Napoli @ 1.09 WON new bank £16.68
I will provide regular updates each week on the progress. When the bank gets to £20, I will withdraw my original £10 stake and continue with risk-free betting, maybe increasing the odds of selections slightly. The aim will then be to turn £10 into £100. If I fail before the £20 target, it's only a tenner for a bit of fun.
If you are a Punter's Lounge forum member, you can keep up to date daily on my thread.
Fulham v Chelsea
Chelsea are playing awfully at the moment. Neither team score many goals at home or away and the fact that it's a derby will tighten the game up. Chelsea should really win the game, but current form and non-belief is apparent and Fulham have enough players to neutralise any Chelsea pressure.
Selections for tonight:
1 pt - Fulham+1 @ 11/10
1 pt - Under 2.5 goals @ 4/5
Huddersfield v Carlisle
Huddersfield and Carlisle have met three times already in 2011, sharing a win a piece, Carlisle's more convincing and a draw. The first leg of this match ended 4-0 to Carlisle, last year's beaten JPT finalists.
Carlisle arrive at the Galpharm on the back of two league defeats in February one to tonight's opponents and the other to struggling Walsall. Huddersfield have faired better and won both league matches against Carlisle and recent losing semi-finalists Exeter.
The 4-0 headstart that Carlisle receive should see them progress safely to face Brentford at Wembley. If they manage a goal at any point in the match, Huddersfield would require six to win.
I think we'll see a victory for Huddersfield on the night, with a fairly early first goal. I've picked out some inviting looking bets below.
Selection 1: 1pt win - Huddersfield to be winning at Half-Time @ 2.3 - 888sport
Selection 2: 1pt win Time of first goal 0-15 min @ 3.25 - 888sport
Exeter vs Brentford
After picking the wrong team in last night's 50:50 Superbowl XLV, I'm looking at rescuing the 7th of February with a correct result in tonight's Johnstone's Paint Trophy area final between Exeter and Brentford. Both teams languishing in the middle of League One, having miserable starts to 2011, Exeter taking one unconvincing 2-1 victory from seven against relegation candidates Walsall. Brentford managed double the amount of wins, against bottom side Dagenham & Redbridge and fellow mid-tablers Plymouth.
The table doesn't lie - both teams sit on exactly the same number of points, with only goal difference seperating them. Brentford score less, but concede less. This has all the signs of a 50:50. The first leg was a 1-1 draw.
On the basis of this and the odds available, I've decided to back Brentford at odds of 3.4 - which is too big. Their away form hasn't been fantastic, but they are guaranteed to raise their game for a cup match and a possibilty of setting up a Wembley appearance later in the season. Exeter don't seem to have enough in the tank, even with the return of Jamie Cureton, to put up too much of a fight.
Selection: Brentford @ 3.4.