Coming Up this weekend

- Football, the Premier League takes an International break, with England playing friendlies in Spain on Friday night and at home to France next Tuesday.

- NFL Week Ten games. Sign up for week Ten coverage here

- Racing, national hunt at Cheltenham (including the Paddy Power Gold Cup see free tip below), Uttoxeter and Wetherby, on the flat at Lingfield and Wolverhampton

- Golf, European Tour: BMW Masters in Shanghai and USPGA Tour: OHL Classic in Mexico.

 -Tennis, the Fed Cup World Group Final: Czech Republic v Russia in Prague.

- Formula One, the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos

- Rugby Union, the opening pool games of the European Rugby Champions Cup

i-Pools

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Free Tip of the Week from Neil Channing

Really great to have proper racing back and the race I'll always think of as the Mackeson (Paddy Power Gold Cup Cheltenham 2.25) is one of my favourites of the year. The fact that it's a 20-runner handicap and some firms pay 5 places makes it even better.

 The secret to this race is often to pick an improving unexposed younger horse and I'm happily ruling out all the eight year olds and above. The other thing that I'm thinking about when I look at this race is that there will be loads of early pace from the likes of Boondooma, Next Sensation and the favourite King's Palace and I think that might be a bad thing for the favourite who has tended to try and dominate small fields. I wouldn't back any of those three each-way as the pace could mean they crack at the 2nd-last and they fade away. The Pipe horses didn't run great on day one of the meeting and I think the other two mentioned are big doubts to be staying on up the hill.

 Taking those three and the older horses out and we are left with ten. It's not too hard to get that down to a shorter list.

Splash of Ginge should be Ok if it rains a lot, comes off the pace and could win but he jumps so poorly and for an each-way bet I really want a solid one that will place more than the prices suggest they will.

Shanpallas has way more miles on the clock than some of these and he didn't really finish in this race on soft ground last year when he finished 6th. Could win but not too solid.

Present View likes it here and he finished 3rd in this race when favourite last year but he's hardly been keeping secrets from the handicapper and he's ran poorly this season.

Annacotty has moved stable to Alan King and that's a huge positive. The horse has winning form over course and distance and he likes the ground but it's a long time off and it might be tough to have him at his best...even that could be a bit short of the standard here.

Oscar Rock has all his form on tracks that are totally different to this so I won't be taking a chance with him.

Cocktails at Dawn ran poorly at the Festival last year and has never run well here. I'd like to see that it can do it here before I'd fancy betting it in this one.

Sound Investment carries a chunk of weight and has no form here. Not for me.

Generous Ransom runs well here and is weighted to beat Irish Cavalier on two pieces of form and if he hadn't had run so poorly here last time I'd have surely been on. I'm going to reluctantly pass though.

Art Mauresque is definitely a young improving horse but there are a few reasons why I couldn't bet him here. Firstly he may be a little too inexperienced, secondly I've seen him jump to the right, thirdly he does tend to run near the front and that may make things tough here and fourthly Paul Nicholls stated before his last race that he needed good ground and that rain was a bad thing.

I'm left with one and that's lucky as it's the one I fancied before I started writing anything. Irish Cavalier is trained by Rebecca Curtis who is definitely in form. The horse is young and improving, he's won over the trip, he won well last time, he comes from off the pace and he doesn't mind a bit of cut. I think this is a horse that could easily improve a lot more this year and it seems so solid here.

 I'm having 12 Points each-way at 10/1 Irish Cavalier 1/4 1,2,3,4,5 William Hill, Ladbrokes or BetVictor

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The 2015-16 European Rugby Champions Cup

The 2015-16 European Rugby Champions Cup (ERCC) begins on the weekend of 14-15 November. The final will take place at Lyon's new Grand Stade de Lyon, which is due to open later this year, on 14 May 2016.

Toulon beat Clermont 24-18 in last year’s final at Twickenham, the second time in three years that Europe’s top club rugby tournament had been contested by two French sides, as well as the third year running that Europe’s flagship side hailed from the Top 14.

The Pool draw for this year’s competition is as follows:

POOL ONE: Saracens, Ulster, Toulouse, Oyonnax

POOL TWO: Clermont Auvergne, Ospreys, Exeter, Bordeaux

POOL THREE: Glasgow, Northampton, Racing 92, Scarlets

POOL FOUR: Stade Francais, Munster, Leicester, Treviso

POOL FIVE: Bath, Toulon, Leinster, Wasps

Pool winners and the best three runners up qualify for the quarter-finals, with the four Pool winners with the best records having home advantage for the first of the kockout stage ties.

Looking ahead to this year’s competition, the structural reasons why French clubs do so well in this competition persist. French rugby is structured to give their clubs maximum advantage, often at the expense of the national side. For English clubs the salary cap is due to rise from £4.3m to £5.5 million next season with the allowance of two marquee players, but it is dwarfed by the £8.6m which clubs can spend in France’s Top 14 competition.

In a domestic game already full of top quality imports, the top 14 has had its biggest influx of southern hemisphere talent following the Rugby World Cup. This was underscored with the announcement that All Black fly-half Dan Carter had signed a record £1.3m a season three-year deal with Racing Metro.

For all of the French sides, budgets are almost twice as big as the English Premiership clubs competing in the European Champions’ Cup and it is nowhere near a level playing field. In England while the salary cap is protecting the lower half of the league, it is restricting the top half from competing against the top teams in Europe

Similar problems exist for Irish, Scottish and Welsh sides of which there are five in this year’s ERCC. The Irish Rugby Union part funds its provinces and places restrictions in terms of players that aren’t qualified to play for Ireland, allowing only three foreign players – plus project players [foreign players that could qualify for Ireland in future] in the squads – which leaves them at a disadvantage to the English and French teams.

The Scottish Rugby Union funds Glasgow and Edinburgh and whilst Glasgow in particular (mirroring the national team’s ascent) are more competitive in recent years, any increases in player costs have to come from central funds which could and should be used for the whole of the Scottish game. The same situation exists in Wales.

The approach by the Irish, Scottish and Welsh unions is probably good news for their national sides long term, domestic players will be exposed to top competition sooner than their French counterparts, but it doesn’t help them towards success in the ERCC.

A handful of French club owners are distorting the whole of world rugby. Just taking one club as an example, ERCC holders Toulon, here are just a few of their new players for this year:

Ma’a Nonu, world cup winner

Samu Manoa, US national captain from Northampton

Quade Cooper, World cup finalist squad member

James O’Connor, 44 Australian caps

Duane Vermeulen, first choice South Africa number 8

And, though currently missing through injury, Paul O’Connell from Munster and Ireland. In addition to these players Toulon can call last season's overseas players such as Matt Giteau, Bryan Habana and Drew Mitchell through the competition and have strength in depth that no non-French side can muster with their constraints.

The impact of these structural issues is seen in the betting market for the event, where 5 of the top 8 at the head of the market are French sides, it is 9-1 bar last year’s finalists Toulon and Clermont and the top non French and English side quoted in the betting is Leinster at 20-1+.

Clermont are 3-1 favourites to win this year's tournament, helped by having a noticeably easier pool than Toulon who are quoted as 4-1 second favourites with Skybet. At BetVictor amongst other outlets you can back Toulon at 7-2 each way getting half odds top two. This strikes me as very attractive given their massive squad strength and the inherent advantages they have relative to their competition from sides in the Four home unions.

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All Brodders bets since January 2014 are currently showing a ROI of +2.37% (over 1600 bets) (at 2nd November 2015)

Betting £10 a point would be showing a profit of +£4787

Subscription to Brodders' write ups, analysis and bets is £50 a month. You can join at any time

Subscribe here

Bookmaker reviews and advice

Getting the best price available is very important for all those who take their betting seriously.

Please open an account with all those bookmakers on the page on this link that you do not already have an account with using the links provided.

 There are literally hundreds of pounds on offer from bookmakers just for signing up through Bettingemporium.com

Betting Emporium results

The detailed results page has been updated as have the spreadsheets with the detailed bets. They can be found by clicking RESULTS

£10 per point on every recommended bet since launch in Feb 2013 would be winning £11,291 (as at 2nd November 2015)

All bets have an ROI +2.48% and Horse Racing has an ROI +6.35%

There is also a Frequently Asked Questions Section

Coming Up this weekend

- Football, the Premier League games include Arsenal v Tottenham on Sunday. A new write up in 'Premier League Over/Under 2.5 Goal Analysis'  will be published. Read it here

- NFL Week Nine games. Sign up for week Nine coverage here

- Racing, on the flat at Doncaster and Chelmsford City, over the jumps at Aintree, Kelso and Wincanton

- Golf, WGC - HSBC Champions in Shanghai.

 -Tennis, ATP BNP Paribas Masters in Paris and WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai, China

- Rugby League, the second test between England and New Zealand on Saturday

i-Pools

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Free Tips of the Week

The Carolina Panthers (7-0) are the NFC’s final undefeated team, and after Monday night’s overtime victory they are home underdogs against the Green Bay Packers (6-1) at 6pm live on SkySports on sunday.

Green Bay had its first loss of the season last weekend when Denver held Aaron Rodgers to 77 passing yards and no touchdowns in the 29-10 loss. Facing the league’s best defense, the former MVP came up with the third-worst passing yardage total of his career and failed to throw a touchdown for just the 10th time in 110 starts.

For this game the Packers have the edge in the receiving corps and Carolina the backfield. Green Bay’s James Jones has 22 receptions for 426 yards and six scores, with Randall Cobb has 36 more catches for 377 yards and four scores in the league’s 10th highest-scoring offense. This is another tough match-up for Rodgers though. Carolina still owns one of the NFL’s more dominant defenses. The Panthers are ninth in total defense, allowing 342.3 total yards per game, and second against the pass with 12 interceptions on the year.

Meanwhile the Panthers passing offense is 21st in the league with a group of receivers that are below average in league-wide terms with the exception of Tight End Greg Olsen. Carolina's run this season to date is mostly about defense, schedule, and quarterback Cam Newton’s ability to carry the offense.

The Panthers have played to their strengths on the ground and lead the NFL with 144 rushing yards per game and eight total touchdowns, led by veteran Jonathan Stewart’s 505 yards and three scores and Newton’s 286 yards and four rushing touchdowns.

Stewart is on form (285 yards and three touchdowns in his last three games, each time with over 20 carries a game) against an opponent which has had difficulty stopping the run throughout the season, and Carolina’s strategy will be to exploit this weakness and keep Rodgers off the field for long stretches. The Packers are tied for 25th in the NFL with 124.4 rushing yards allowed per game, and opposing rushers are gaining 4.7 yards per carry.

To back up my intuitive thoughts that Carolina should be running a lot here, i looked at red zone targets (who does Newton give it to within 20 yards of the goal-line) for the team so far this season. A team like Carolina is essentially conservative because it lacks big play ability, so the vast majority of touchdown scoring is going to come from snaps within the red zone rather than long passing plays. What i found was as follows:

Red zone Targets (passing game, by game): Olsen (1, 5, 2, 0, 0, 1), Ginn (0, 0, 2, 0, 0, 0), Funchess (0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0), Brown (0, 0, 0, 0, 2, 1)

Red zone Carries (running game, by game): Stewart (1, 2, 1, 5, 5, 4), Newton (2, 3, 2, 1, 1, 4), Tolbert (1, 4, 2, 0, 2, 0)

So in the last six games Carolina have had 57 snaps within 20 yards of the goal-line. 41 of the 57 have seen rushes called. Of those 41, 32 have gone to Stewart and Newton.

I do like Stewart in the first touchdown market. We're hoping to get the ball first, and if not we have one of the better defenses in the league to get us get the ball back if we are kicking off

6 points Jonathan Stewart First touchdown scorer 8-1 Skybet, Coral or William Hill

I also like Newton, with 64 rushes this season, in the anytime Touchdown market

10 points Cam Newton anytime touchdown scorer 7/4 William Hill

 

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The NFL and Gambling

The NFL has long opposed sports betting and has more recently declined to invest in, or officially embrace, the daily fantasy sports websites that have caught on with fans in the United States. Fantasy sports have won millions of players and stoked controversy for administratord and legislators.

However in this country the NFL has signed a three-year deal that allows one of the major daily fantasy sports companies, DraftKings ( which has made a marketing push ahead of its plans to open for business in Britain in the near future ), to post advertisements at Wembley Stadium with a caveat. It can post its logo with each replay shown in the second quarter on the big screens at Wembley, but not on signage near the field, so television viewers in the United States cannot see them. Likewise, the NFL required that the sports betting machines at Wembley be turned off during a game. Meanwhile fans happily place bets from their seats on mobile phones or at betting shops near the stadium.

The NFL, whose players and games form the content for Fantasy's virtual contests, has long walked a delicate line, at once trying to tap fantasy fans’ rabid appetite for football while trying to keep an arm’s length between itself and this unregulated industry, which is increasingly under scrutiny. Daily fantasy sports games are not considered gambling in the United States because of an exemption to a federal law. The exemption was pushed for by the NFL, which opposes gambling out of the fear that it could compromise real games. So the league is left with a seemingly contradictory posture that becomes particularly glaring as it tries to expand beyond the United States where sports betting is permitted.

Daily fantasy’s popularity has flourished as millions of people flock to sites in which users pay an entrance fee, draw up their own “roster” of players for virtual contests, and win cash based on the actual performances of athletes on the field. In the United States, federal and state agencies have begun inquiries into the practices of daily fantasy websites, which are valued at more than $2 billion. The agencies want to know if players have been duped by aggressive solicitation or the use of insider information by employees of the sites. At the same time, lawmakers and some states see a resemblance to Internet gambling and are pushing to prohibit the games or regulate them.

The question of whether daily fantasy sports is gambling is settled in Britain: DraftKings had to get a gaming license to operate, a regulatory necessity that critics of the industry have seized upon.

“By maintaining a gambling license in the U.K., DraftKings is directly admitting the obvious: Daily fantasy sports is gambling,” said Representative Frank Pallone Jr., Democrat of New Jersey, who has asked Congress to explore the relationship between fantasy sports and gambling. “The NFL’s acceptance of sports betting — as long as it isn’t in the U.S. — is yet another example of the league engaging blatant hypocrisy by supporting and investing in fantasy sports betting while opposing sports betting at casinos and the tracks.”

Jeffrey Haas, who is spearheading DraftKings’ expansion in Britain said that in the long term he hoped to persuade about 10 percent of the 8.5 million British NFL fans who play season-long fantasy football to try the daily fantasy version.

"Consumers have a lot more choice here than they do in the U.S. and it’s going to be a challenge for us to resonate with sports bettors,” he said. “We need to go through an education process because our category does not exist in any substantial way in the UK yet.”

In the United States, a 2006 federal law aimed at eliminating online gambling exempted fantasy sports after lobbying from the NFL and other sports leagues convinced legislators that the games did not constitute gambling, but required skill and were vital to driving up interest in their games.

In fact, a previous NFL commissioner, Paul Tagliabue, and the current one, Roger Goodell, lobbied lawmakers for the exemption.

“We’re not in favour of legalising sports gambling,” Mr. Goodell said recently. “We think that’s a mistake for sports. The integrity of the game is the most important thing. We want to make sure that our game is above any kind of influence. We do not want to participate in that. That’s something we’ve had a longstanding position — we continue to have that.” Mr. Goodell has been more muted on the NFL’s position on daily fantasy sports, but he seemed to join Robert Manfred, the commissioner of Major League Baseball, and Adam Silver, the commissioner of the N.B.A., in welcoming regulation of the industry.

While nearly every NFL team has a sponsorship deal with DraftKings or FanDuel and two powerful NFL owners — Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys and Robert Kraft of the New England Patriots — have equity stakes in the companies, the league has kept a distance from daily fantasy football operators in America even as Major League Baseball and other leagues have invested in them.

“Whether it’s gambling or not, it’s a decision made by state authorities, attorneys general — they’ve made that determination,” Mr. Goodell said. “We do understand our fans are interested in playing daily fantasy. We just want to protect our fans and make sure there’s proper consumer protection in there for them, and we’ve encouraged that and we think it’s important that our fans have that protection.”

In Britain, fans take such protections for granted because sports betting is heavily regulated.

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All Brodders bets since January 2014 are currently showing a ROI of +2.37% (over 1600 bets) (at 2nd November 2015)

Betting £10 a point would be showing a profit of +£4787

Subscription to Brodders' write ups, analysis and bets is £50 a month. You can join at any time

Subscribe here

Bookmaker reviews and advice

Getting the best price available is very important for all those who take their betting seriously.

Please open an account with all those bookmakers on the page on this link that you do not already have an account with using the links provided.

 There are literally hundreds of pounds on offer from bookmakers just for signing up through Bettingemporium.com

Betting Emporium results

The detailed results page has been updated as have the spreadsheets with the detailed bets. They can be found by clicking RESULTS

£10 per point on every recommended bet since launch in Feb 2013 would be winning £11,291 (as at 2nd November 2015)

All bets have an ROI +2.48% and Horse Racing has an ROI +6.35%

There is also a Frequently Asked Questions Section

Coming Up this weekend

- Football, the Premier League games include Chelsea v Liverpool. A new write up in 'Premier League Over/Under 2.5 Goal Analysis'  has just been published. Read it here

- Rugby World Cup, The final between New Zealand and Australia on Saturday at Twickenham, written up here

- NFL Week Eight games. Sign up for week Seven coverage here

- Racing, Breeders Cup weekend at Keeneland, Kentucky (see below, free tips) on the flat at Newmarket and Wolverhampton, over the jumps at Ayr, Ascot and Wetherby

- Formula One, the Mexican Grand Prix in Mexico City

 - Golf, European Tour: Turkish Airlines Open in Antalya, Turkey and on the USPGA Tour: the CIMB Classic in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

 -Tennis, ATP Valencia Open 500 and the ATP Swiss Indoors in Basel.

- Cricket, the third Test between Pakistan and England in Sharjah begins on Sunday

i-Pools

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Free Tips of the Week (Neil Channing)

One of the best things about the Breeders Cup is that the firms go 1/4 123 on all races even though they are stakes races and many are suited to 1/5th 123. It would be rude to not disappoint them and take advantage and there are basically two bets I like where I think we get really good value on the place while having a reasonable win bet.

 The Juvenile Fillies takes place at 4.05pm our time and it's pretty much a four horse race. The favourite Songbird could easily win and she ought to be close to evens but I'm going to play each-way against her. The first of the two I considered but ruled out were Tap to It, a filly who got a bad ride last time versus Rachel's Valentina and who tempted me at a good price here for a 2nd bet in the race. I decided to keep it simple but it was close. The one I ruled out more easily was Nickname who may take on the favourite for the lead. I hope these two might set it up for a closer, I like my each-way bets to be closers rather than front-runners generally as the ones that blast out can fade very quickly once they lose the lead. The only downside at this track is we are faced with a sharp track and a short run-in. I'm going to bet the bigger-priced of the big two here and take Rachel's Valentina who just seems solid to at least get a place.

 I'm sticking with the females by looking also at the Fillies and Mare's Turf (6.10pm our time). This race has a short-priced and admirable favourite in Legatissimo ridden by Ryan Moore. again I wouldn't be surprised if she won but I'm again calling this a not very deep field, I think only three or four can win. Secret Gesture has done the whole travelling thing and has a great trainer but she may not quite be up to this class. Queen's Jewel was a short-priced favourite for the French Oaks and if Freddy Head has sorted some of the issues she's had this year she'd be a great bet here but there are lots of question marks and that means she isn't a solid each-way bet. Stephanie's Kitten is knocking on a bit and although she has decent form I'd guess she will be slightly outclassed here. Dacita has run and won just one race, it wasn't at this track, over this trip or in this class...I couldn't bet her each-way.

 The one for me is Miss France. The 1000 Guineas winner from 2014 is trained by the master Andre Fabre. She was nowhere near right before the Prix Daniel Wildenstein and there was talk of her being prepared for this. She comes here fresh at the end of what has been a long season for some of these fillies and I think she is just plain solid.

Juvenile Fillies 4.05pm: I'm having 6 points each-way Rachel's Valentina at 4/1 or bigger 1/4 123.

Fillies and Mare's Turf 6.10pm: I'm having 8 points each-way Miss France at 7/1 or bigger 1/4 123

 

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The racing industry bites back

Bookmakers who do not pay levy on their digital operations will be barred from taking out new sponsorship deals on most races and festivals under  new rules to be introduced by British racing.

Jockey Club Racecourses (JRC) and Arena Racing Company (ARC) , which operate half of the racecourses in Britain and almost 60 per cent of fixtures, will not enter new commercial agreements with firms who do not pay the levy or an agreed equivalent on their digital business. Existing deals will be honoured but not renewed. There will be significant negatives for firms that still refuse to contribute, including a ban on new sponsorships at any course run by JCR or ARC.

The tracks in the JCR portfolio includes most of the sport’s most famous venues, such as Cheltenham, Aintree and Epsom. ARC, meanwhile, operates racecourses with more than a third of the racing programme, including racecourses include three of the country’s all-weather tracks.

All racing turnover on offshore internet sites is beyond the reach of the statutory Levy system, which has returned money to the sport from high-street betting shops for half a century. As more betting turnover moves online, the BHA estimates that the sport is currently losing £30m annually as a result of the "haemorrhaging" of levy income, a figure that can be expected to increase in future years.

Simultaneously the BHA, in conjunction with the Racecourse Association and Horsemen's Group, has announced the creation of the designation 'authorised betting partners' for bookmakers who "have a fair and mutually sustainable funding relationship with the sport", a press release said.

Bookmakers who enter into what is deemed a fair and mutually sustainable relationship will receive the official designation 'Authorised Betting Partner' and in time it is hoped this will be visible via a Kitemark in publications.

They will also be privy to a full package of benefits which as well as the right to sponsor could include the likes of racecourse data, wifi, preferential rates for digital streaming and perhaps importantly, the ability to reposition fixtures. The new designation will be introduced on January 1.

Three firms have already attained partner status - 32Red, bet365 and Betfair – as they pay the levy voluntarily on their digital businesses or in Betfair's case have a commercial deal in place.

However, Betfred, Coral, Ladbrokes and William Hill, despite having paid an additional voluntary contribution of £4.5 million between them over the last year, will have to make further commitments to become authorised partners but the sums they pay are well short of the 10.75% paid via Levy on their onshore cash business.

The policy announcement said the levy could fall to a forecasted £53 million by 2017-18, from more than £105 million in 2004-05, if no action is taken.

BHA chief executive Nick Rust said: "British racing offers world-class sport, gives enjoyment to millions of people a year, employs over 85,000 people and contributes £3.4 billion a year to the economy.

"But we are underfunded and loopholes in the horserace betting levy system, allowing the majority of betting operators to make no contribution from profits made on British racing through their digital businesses, continue to play a large part in that."

The large independent racecourses that are not under the Jockey Club or ARC's umbrella which include York, Goodwood, Ascot and Newbury also issued a statement supporting a "collaborative and future-proofed approach to racing's relationship with the betting industry aimed at delivering an appropriate merit-based return for racing."

It went on: "The racecourses concerned remain committed to working with others in racing, betting and Government to find a long term, sustainable and fair system for funding the sport. The Large Independents within the Racecourse Association are open to exploring how commercial relationships with bookmakers might be developed going forwards, including with preferred partner arrangements, and look forward to those discussions."

 

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All Brodders bets since January 2014 are currently showing a ROI of +2.86% (over 1500 bets) (at 21st September 2015)

Betting £10 a point would be showing a profit of +£4806.20

Brodders football analysis is flying this month winning over £1500 (£10 pt) & ROI +17.1%

Subscription to Brodders' write ups, analysis and bets is £50 a month. You can join at any time

Subscribe here

Bookmaker reviews and advice

Getting the best price available is very important for all those who take their betting seriously.

Please open an account with all those bookmakers on the page on this link that you do not already have an account with using the links provided.

 There are literally hundreds of pounds on offer from bookmakers just for signing up through Bettingemporium.com

Betting Emporium results

The detailed results page has been updated as have the spreadsheets with the detailed bets. They can be found by clicking RESULTS

£10 per point on every recommended bet since launch in Feb 2013 would be winning £11,479 (as at 21st September 2015)

All bets have an ROI +2.85% and Horse Racing has an ROI +7.28%

There is also a Frequently Asked Questions Section

Coming Up this weekend

- Football, the Premier League games include the Manchester Derby. A new write up in 'Premier League Over/Under 2.5 Goal Analysis'  has just been published. Read it here

- Rugby World Cup, Two Southern Hemisphere Semi-Finals on Saturday and Sunday. Both written up here

- NFL Week Seven games. Sign up for week Seven coverage here

- Racing, on the flat at Doncaster, Newbury and Chelmsford City. Over the jumps at Cheltenham and Kelso

- Formula One, the US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas

 - Golf, USPGA Tour: Shriners Hospitals For Children Open, TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas and European Tour: Hong Kong Open.

 -Tennis, ATP Erste Bank Open in Vienna, ATP and WTA Kremlin Cup in Moscow and the ATP Stockholm Open.

- Cricket, the second Test between Pakistan and England in Dubai

i-Pools

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Free Tip of the Week

On Sunday afternoon at Wembley Stadium (2.30pm on the BBC) the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Buffalo Bills play the second of the three NFL International Series games this year. The 1-5 Jags are 5 to 6 point underdogs in the game to the 3-3 Bills in a game with an expected points total of only 42.

My main focus on the sub-markets is here is on the Bills, a side being built by combative head coach Rex Ryan as a defense led team and lacks a range of offensive weapons. The offensive co-ordinator Greg Roman is making the most of what he has got. For this game the Bills are missing their starting quarterback, their top two wide receivers, Sammy Watkins and Percy Harvin, whilst impressive rookie running back Karlos Williams is out too. Big free-agent signing LeSean McCoy is in his second game back from a hamstring injury too and has yet to produce consistent performances.

At first glance then a team missing much of its offense and with an expected points total for this game of 23 might not be expected to be fertile betting ground. However the Bills do feature one of the most under-rated tight ends in the league in Charles Clay whom they acquired from the Dolphins in the off-season. Only six tight ends across the league have piled up more yardage than Clay. Clay sits behind only Martellus Bennett of the Bears in receptions among tight ends. Clay leads the Bills in targets and in the five games he has been fit this season averages over 60 yards per game. He is the one of only two players in his position in the league to have multiple games on the season with at least 30 percent of his team's targets (the other, Greg Olsen of the Panthers). With all the offensive skill position injuries, he will be the Bills lead option and this has been seen in the last five weeks where he has been targetted 4 (week 1), 6, 7, 13, 13 (week 6) times. He should be good for 12-15 targets on Sunday and 6-8 receptions. He averages over 10 yards per reception this season.

Against him is a Jaguars defense ranked 27th in the league that stops the run well (ranked 6th) but is poor against the pass (ranked 31st). Delving further into the league wide stats, I note that in fact it ranks 30th of 32 NFL teams in defending passes to tight ends, only ahead of the Seahawks and the Saints.

To summarise we have a consistent player in an offense shorn of weapons against a defense that struggles to defend the pass generally and his position in particular. I am going to split this three ways:

3 points Charles Clay first touchdown 11/1 SkyBet

6 points Charles Clay anytime touchdown 11/8 Skybet

Furthermore, if the prop line is 60 Yards or less, I will have 11 points Charles Clay receiving yards at circa 10/11

edit 9.45am Sunday:

11 points Charles Clay over 58.5 yard yards receiving 20/23 Coral

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Accumulators

You will rarely find a professional bettor incorporating accumulators in their betting strategy. The reasoning behind this is simple, it is difficult enough to find a winner let alone have to find more than one in the same bet, where the chances of success smaller with every added event. For the recreational bettor of course accumulators have an allure, for a modest outlay you can have a chance of a significant return

Most people that bet realise that the odds are stacked heavily in favour of the bookmaker. The question is how much is it stacked in their favour?

Let’s say we have a 2-way event (under / over 2.5 goals) and chances for each outcome to happen are 50%/50%. Bookies will never offer you 2.00 / 2.00 odds for that, you will get mething around 1.83 or so 1.90. 1.90 instead of 2.00 means that bookies took 5% of odds as juice or vig. What if you place a double? You should get 2.00 x 2.00 odds but you will get, for example, 1.90 x 1.90, so instead of 4.00, you are being offered 3.61 This is 9.75% juice Now think about a fourfold and you will understand why most professionals bet on singles. the profit margin increases in the bookmaker’s favour the more selections you add to your multiple bet. Adding games together compounds negative expected value

In the long run the bookmaker will pay out less than it receives in bets as it has a mathematical advantage over the long term. That’s why bookmakers love the Saturday afternoon armchair accumulator punter and its exactly why we should avoid these type of bets as the odds are literally stacked against you.

Bookmakers want you betting in multiples. The vast majority of “bonus offers” are based on multiple bets “Stake refunded if one game lets you down in a fourfold” etc. These promotions dominate bookmakers websites.

Occasionally of course a punter somewhere will win on an accumulator. Funnily enough this is good news for the bookmaker, who then PR the win (paid out of profits built up since the last big win) through their various channels and attract new customers who will place similar bets in the coming weeks and months

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All Brodders bets since January 2014 are currently showing a ROI of +2.86% (over 1500 bets) (at 21st September 2015)

Betting £10 a point would be showing a profit of +£4806.20

Brodders football analysis is flying this month winning over £1500 (£10 pt) & ROI +17.1%

Subscription to Brodders' write ups, analysis and bets is £50 a month. You can join at any time

Subscribe here

Bookmaker reviews and advice

Getting the best price available is very important for all those who take their betting seriously.

Please open an account with all those bookmakers on the page on this link that you do not already have an account with using the links provided.

 There are literally hundreds of pounds on offer from bookmakers just for signing up through Bettingemporium.com

Betting Emporium results

The detailed results page has been updated as have the spreadsheets with the detailed bets. They can be found by clicking RESULTS

£10 per point on every recommended bet since launch in Feb 2013 would be winning £11,479 (as at 21st September 2015)

All bets have an ROI +2.85% and Horse Racing has an ROI +7.28%

There is also a Frequently Asked Questions Section

Coming Up this weekend

- Football, the Premier League returns after the international break including Tottenham v Liverpool and Everton v Manchester United. A new write up in 'Premier League Over/Under 2.5 Goal Analysis'  has just been published. Read it here

- Rugby World Cup, the Quarter finals on Saturday and Sunday. All written up here

- NFL Week Six games. Sign up for week Six coverage here

- Racing, on the flat at Ascot (QIPCO British Champions day), Catterick Bridge and Wolverhampton and over the jumps at Ffos Las, Market Rasen and Stratford-on-avon

 - Golf, European Tour: Portugal Masters in Vilamoura and The 2016 PGA Tour season starts with the Frys.com Open in Napa, California.

 -Tennis, ATP Shanghai Rolex Masters in China and on the WTA Generali Ladies Linz in Austria, the Tianjin Open in China and the Hong Kong Tennis Open.

- Cricket, the conclusion of the first test between Pakistan and England in Abu Dhabi

i-Pools

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Free Tip of the Week from Neil Channing:

The QIPCO Champions Sprint Race Group 1 (1.20 Ascot Saturday) has a nice big field running over six furlongs on good to soft ground. The field is pretty easy to split into those who mostly run in handicaps, who are a little older and mostly exposed and those that have limited but impressive form in this Group 1 level.

  I'm going to focus on the classy improvers and benefit from a decent shape of race for each-way bets at 1/4 123 and an excellent shape for 1/4 1234 which is there with a few firms.

 The favourite Muhaarar seems to have found his ideal trip and appears to be perfectly capable at this level. A solid favourite and hard to beat but there is nothing in the way of an edge at the prices. It wouldn't be certain that he'll like the ground particularly if it gets any softer.

 The Tin Man is definitely improving, the stable of James Fanshawe is having a great run and does well here at Ascot and this animal was really impressive when winning here last time. It hasn't got any Group 1 form though, or indeed any form at all outside of handicaps. It's also never been on soft ground. It's definitely possible the ground dries right up tomorrow but right now I couldn't possibly bet this one at the prices.

 I do sort of like Danzeno who goes well here and will like the ground but who probably doesn't have the class of some of these.

 The two obvious young improvers that I could back are the other Charlie Hills horse Strathburn who ran very well from a bad draw when 2nd at Haydock in a Group 1 won by Twilight Son. This one has a decent chance to be in the frame and can easily win. A must for a saver.

 My main bet will be Twilight Son though. Before he beat Strathburn in that Haydock Group 1 there was a doubt as to whether the horse would be capable of jumping straight into Group 1. I was pretty impressed by the win and Henry Candy's improver can definitely handle the soft ground and this trip. I'm so happy with this four places that I'll have a go.

 I'm having 4 Points each-way Strathburn at 9/1 1/4 1234 with Betfred and Sky Bet.

 I'm having 6 Points each-way Twilight Son at 5/1 with Ladbrokes Betfred and Sky Bet.

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Bookmaker restrictions

One of the most commonly complained about aspects of betting is bookmakers' willingness to put restrictions on punters' betting accounts. Exactly how willing the bookmaker is to restrict accounts varies between firms but for many of us these are an everyday fact of our betting lives.

Why do we get restricted?

We enjoy having lots of accounts as it ensures we can get best price on all their bets so it can be very frustrating to see accounts heavily restricted or even closed down. Although the official reason for restrictions is nearly always 'trading decision', here are some of the most common reasons accounts get shut down.

Arbing

Bookmakers hate arbers. If you've been using an account for "genuine" betting and then you switch to arbing it can be easily flagged. A horse racing punter suddenly having a large bet on a darts match for example will stick out like a sore thumb and that account won't last long after that. If you open an account and start arbing straight away it also won't take long for bookies to spot your patterns and restrict you.

Backing Market Movers

Bookies don't like punters to generally get much better odds than the eventual starting price and if you are doing so regularly you'll often be flagged up as an unprofitable customer or an arber (even though you might not be arbing). Bookies that offer odds on horse racing the evening before can be far more likely to restrict horse racing punters as there is more scope for those bookmakers to have offered 'the wrong prices' on their early bets.

The industry has changed

The large bookmakers increasingly employ mathematicians and risk managers, rather than those knowledgeable about sport, to ensure that they maximise profits – and have no chance of losing money. Firms are run not by the risk takers of old. Even 15 years ago, the boards of most big operators were packed with people who had started out as settlers or shop managers. Now  there has been a distinct change in outlook at the major firms as the internet has eaten into their margins, as it has in so many businesses with firms run by a different type of manager, with a different focus..

Bets the bookmakers like and don't like

Bookies love multiple bets, this is why they offer so many enhancements and money back specials for these. Any type of bet involving more than one outcome gives you less chance of winning. Even if you have a few wins off these bets the bookies will generally cut you some slack as they'll believe they'll win off you in the long run.

On the other hand, singles, bad each way bets (each way bets in races where there is a short priced favourite giving punters a great chance of profiting from the place market) and each way bets on relatively short priced selections are amongst those that bookies don't like, and won't cut you much slack even if you are losing.

Winning

If you are making consistent or large profits eventually your accounts will be restricted and closed whatever your bet types. Different bookies will generally allow you to win different amounts and how quickly your accounts are restricted will often depend more on some of the above factors than the actual amounts you win.

Is it Fair?

It has to remembered that bookmaking is a business so we can see why they want to restrict big winners and their terms and conditions allow them to do so at any time. refusing to strike a bet at their advertised odds may break the spirit of the regulations, but it does not break any law.

However, more and more bookmakers only want to accept bets from “mug punters”: those without discipline who bet far too much almost every day of the week and consistently lose more than they win. 

We are in a time when monitoring customers is very easy for bookies. Technology clearly can benefit our betting, it helps us see where to get best prices for example, but what benefits technology brings are matched by the information it gives the bookmakers and restrictions now simply have to be considered one of the hazards of betting.

Although there has appeared little prospect of bookmaker behaviour changing (the frustrations of the gambler are going to be low down the list of priorities for any regulatory body) there is of course every growing frustration by the firms customers. Bookmakers make the rules, set the odds hugely in their favour and, with all these advantages and having already made healthy profits, they then increasingly refuse to take a bet. Is it any wonder that so many punters feel they are getting a raw deal?

One of these Alex Salmond, the former First Minister of Scotland and a keen punter and race-goer, has said that he intends to raise the issue of bookmakers refusing to take bets from winning punters in his new role as vice-chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Racing & Bloodstock.

“It is not acceptable for bookmakers to refuse to take a reasonable-sized bet because the client has a record of winning,’” he said. “If it is not a breach of advertising standards, then it should be. Bookmakers today simply don’t want to take any risks.

“In my new role, I intend to bring this to the attention of the Gambling Commission [which regulates gambling in the UK] and Ibas [the Independent Betting Adjudication Service, which rules on disputes between punters and bookies]. There is a difference between bookmaking, an entirely respectable profession, and fleecing people, which isn’t.

“Maybe it is time that the distinction was made harder in terms of the law. There is a difference between being risk-averse and being responsible for misleading advertising. An unreasonable refusal to accept bets should, in my estimation, be a reason for disqualification from a bookmaker’s licence.”

A spokeswoman for the Advertising Standards Authority, the advertising watchdog, in response to this said it had received more than 250 complaints so far this year about gambling advertisements, but she did not think any related to punters’ grievance about being restricted from placing bets.

Ibas said its primary role was to adjudicate on bets that have been struck. A spokesman said it would require a change the industry’s regulations, such as forcing bookmakers to accept bets of a specific size on advertised bets, before it could address complaints relating to restrictions on the size of bets.

 

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All Brodders bets since January 2014 are currently showing a ROI of +2.86% (over 1500 bets) (at 21st September 2015)

Betting £10 a point would be showing a profit of +£4806.20

Subscription to Brodders' write ups, analysis and bets is £50 a month. You can join at any time

Subscribe here

Bookmaker reviews and advice

Getting the best price available is very important for all those who take their betting seriously.

Please open an account with all those bookmakers on the page on this link that you do not already have an account with using the links provided.

 There are literally hundreds of pounds on offer from bookmakers just for signing up through Bettingemporium.com

Betting Emporium results

The detailed results page has been updated as have the spreadsheets with the detailed bets. They can be found by clicking RESULTS

£10 per point on every recommended bet since launch in Feb 2013 would be winning £11,479 (as at 21st September 2015)

All bets have an ROI +2.85% and Horse Racing has an ROI +7.28%

There is also a Frequently Asked Questions Section