Knowing that a horse is mentally disturbed or isn’t quite up to par in terms of fitness can lead the shrewd operators into a position where they can exploit this to their best advantage in horse racing. Once again we have a clear problem in so much as irrespective how good the trainer is, he cannot properly communicate with the horse in the same way that he could with another human being.

In athletics then if the athlete felt some little niggling injury then he would mention this to his trainer. But in horse racing the trainer and stable staff are left to their own devices to try and assess how the horse is feeling. But even though the horse may be fit and well both physically and mentally prior to setting out for the meeting, travelling inside the horse box for perhaps several hundred miles could and does have some effect in some cases.

So for a horse to have a good run then it needs to be at its best both physically and mentally and this is where these professional gamblers come in because they try and assess the fitness of the horse in question. This usually involves the favourites or horse very high up in the betting. The fact of the matter is that in most races, the quality difference between the favourite and the rest of the field or several other contenders is so close that anything that affects the form of the favourite even if only slightly is hugely significant.

If you had a horse that was 4/1 favourite in a very competitive field with several others at 10/1 or less and the 4/1 favourite had some slight problems then this could be a clear indication that opposing the horse could be a good strategy. To see why then we only have to look at what 4/1 actually means. What 4/1 means is that this horse is expected to win one race in five so in other words…..20% of the time. Now if a mental or physical condition led to the horses chances of winning the race being reduced by a mere 10% then suddenly the horse only has a 10% chance of winning.

When equated to odds then 10% is 9/1 so if you think that 9/1 is a better indication of this horses chances of winning this race then the horse at 4/1 then becomes a clear lay and value can be found in laying it.

With the World Cup fast approaching we England fans are watching the sport news closely to see how Wayne Rooney’s groin is recovering, whether Gareth Barry will recover in time for the tournament and hoping that Lampard does not get injured in the FA Cup final next weekend. It is a stressful time for football fans! When the football matches eventually start the bookmakers have estimated more money will be bet on the world cup than ever before, even in the aftermath of a deep global recession! So what is so good about sports betting?

Betting on sports help us to feel part of the game and it also satisfies many parts of human nature. The idea of risking money and taking risks appeals to people, as does making money and feeling the euphoria of winning. Some players even enjoy losing, although I would never recommend becoming hooked on that emotion. As emotional beings humans enjoy feeling euphoric. You will have heard the phrase “the bookmaker always wins”. The feeling of taking money from bookmakers and bucking the trend of bookmakers coming out on top keeps many sports bettors returning for another attempt to win money.

We are all gamblers at heart. Business people risk thousands of pounds everyday betting that their business model will continue to work today as it did yesterday. Financial traders risk the money in your bank playing the world markets to make their banks profits. Property investors are betting on the market increasing the value of their homes. Sports betting is a recreational version of the reality we all live in; risk. We are trained to take risks in life so it is natural we gravitate towards creating similar conditions in our spare time. (Sports bettors are therefore similar to other adrenalin junkies like surfers or rock climbers)

Placing a bet on bwin.com for my favourite Pool player to win their match and watching the live streaming via bwin.com causes a strange thing to happen. I suddenly really care about the result. Each ball means something; each rack is a step closer to not only the player’s goal in winning the match but in my goal in winning my bet. My heart is pumping and I feel nervous, but in a good way. I know that my bankroll management means I am not feeling nervous because I am risking too much, I am just enjoying that feeling of being involved and trying to win some money. Sport becomes much more meaningful to me during the bet and gives me a reason to cheer for the outcome I want because there is something at the end of it.

The amazing thing about sports betting is that you do not need to bet large amounts of money to feel this enjoyment. A bet of £1 feels good when you win and you collect winnings. Thankfully bwin.com has a lot of variety and plenty of sports to bet on so you will always have a match, game or event to research and bet on. That is another part of sports betting that is fun; working out the likely outcome, spotting value and claiming your reward for this knowledge when your well thought out sports bet wins for you.

When the World Cup starts, make sure bwin.com adds that extra spice to the excitement. I cannot wait!

By Malcolm Clarke

So who will win the World Cup in South Africa? As usual there will be upsets, heartache, penalty shoot-outs, key injuries and teams getting lucky. But that just reflects any cup competition. A team needs an element of luck to win it. Look at Italy four years ago, they had a relatively easy group and did not really play anyone of note until Germany in the semi-final. That was a huge slice of luck and then Zidane gets sent off in the final and they win the penalty shoot-out.

It was exactly the same in 2002 when Germany had a very fortunate series of games to go all the way to the final where they came close to winning it with a very mediocre side. So it is clear that the “luck of the draw” will play a great part. England and Spain have relatively straight forward groups which hopefully should allow them to progress and be able to rest players if England get themselves into that situation.

But the team that wins the tournament is also going to need a very strong squad because to win the World Cup means playing seven games in a month. Bookings will be inevitable and this will lead to suspensions and players will also pick up injuries. When players are already at the end of a long gruelling season then injuries may be lurking just around the corner.

Often it is impossible to identify some types of injuries and some players could be on the verge of picking up injuries that are impossible to detect at this time. So a team will need a strong squad but it definitely helps to have softer games in the earlier stages. This certainly takes the burden off a team at the later stages of the competition.

Many people are quoting Spain as the potential winners and they certainly are the best team in the tournament. But once again the question is, will they be lucky? They are already having problems with players like Torres and Xavi having injuries and should they lose these two players then that would be a major blow for them.

So the World Cup countdown starts here and the luck also starts here and that will continue into the World Cup groups. We already saw how David Beckham will miss the tournament and while he would not have been in the starting eleven, he would have easily been in the squad and he would have certainly been a vital squad member.

Carl “The Dean” Sampson

These days with in play markets and live betting then there is simply no need to throw entire matches by losing them or fixing match scores. These days there is so much in play action that simply throwing one single frame can mean huge swings in profit or loss for bookmakers. In play betting now is very big business and probably will only get bigger. But there is simply no way that you can ever prove this type of cheating in actual play.

If a top player wanted to throw a frame of Snooker at a key moment then it would be ridiculously easy to do so. The standard of Snooker is so high now that any slight error would lead to at least a break of between 40-70 and these are often frame winning scores. It simply isn’t possible to detect that a player missed a ball on purpose. The thing is that at the start of the frame, the player does not put himself into the situation where he has to miss a simple shot.

But then again you don’t even have to miss a ball for a break to come to an end. Simply losing position on the next shot could be all it takes but if a player is looking to throw a frame then there is every chance that his opponent might just win that frame on merit and this means that his opponent didn’t even have to do anything at all to win that frame. The closer it gets to the end of the match then the more violent will be the fluctuations with regards to the price movements in play.

We are now entering a whole new world of cheating and when WPBSA chairman Barry Hearn stated that he had every intention of wiping out this “disease” then I really do wish him the best of luck because he is going to need it. There is literally no chance that he could ever hope to eliminate all forms of cheating. Players even have the opportunity to lay themselves in play with the use of an accomplice at key stages of matches without even getting a third party like a bookmaker involved at all.

So the chances of finding every single cheating player are simply too high to contemplate. It is simply not possible to keep the world of gambling and bookmaking and the actual playing of the sport or game apart indefinitely. This is the way of the world and it is here to stay and the advancement of the online betting world has made this so. As a stop press, I cannot wait for the Champions League final and my money is certainly on Inter Milan and Champions League football betting will probably not be as high this season with regards to English people seeing as there is no British interest in the final for the first time since 2004…….But Mourinho should provide some interest.

Carl “The Dean” Sampson

Because I regularly write articles that give online betting tips for punters I try and focus on bets that have a decent chance of winning and offer a good return. My selections tend to focus on looking for bets around 1/1 that would return double the amount staked. If you know a lot about a particular sport, you can find these little nuggets of profit.

My strategy is based around my belief that you should stick to what you know. I follow Football, Pool, Snooker, Boxing, Tennis, and Politics the closest. Most of my betting selections and betting tips are given in relation to these sports as these are the markets that I can look at and form educated opinions based upon my knowledge whether or not it is a good selection to bet on. If you know nothing about a sport you are not wisely betting, you are gambling and a good sports bettor will seek to reduce the gamble as much as possible. You reduce that risk through knowledge and research.

So after selecting a sport I know about, I set about looking for a value bet to get a decent return. Backing Nadal to beat a lower ranked Tennis player at 1.03 will probably win, but do I really want to bet £100 to get a total return of £103? Certainly not and if I lost it would take a long time to regain that money back each time risking another large amount for a very small return. So I am looking for 1/1 chances that should be odds on, or other good value bets. By betting on sports I am familiar with, these opportunities jump out at me when I look through the betting cards.

The amount I wager depends on how strongly I feel about the selection. I will back a maximum of 5 points if I strongly believe in the selection out of my 100 point betting bank. Do not get carried away, however, only once have I ever had a 5 point bet, the majority of my bets are 2 point wagers. This sort of restriction means you always know you are betting within your limits and rather than worry about losing you can just watch the bet and the action. A win still feels good. I admit my betting bank strategy is conservative, you may prefer a slightly more risky route and providing you are comfortable with the risks involved there is nothing wrong with this.

Here is a free sports betting tip for you as a thanks for reading this article, which I believe is a 3 or 4 pointer in terms of betting bank value. Carl Froch, unbeaten in his career so far and hungry for respect and success, is fighting Mikkel Kessler in the Super Six boxing tournament. Kessler did not look at his best at the last fight losing to Andre Ward, who whilst undefeated in his career so far has not fought any world class fighters before. Father time can quickly catch up to a fighter and in this fight I believe Froch will win. At odds of 29/20 I think this is a worthwhile wager due to Froch’s record and the fact he is always in superb fighting shape when the bell rings.

This is what sports betting is all about; making an informed decision then backing your judgement. If you are good at spotting opportunities, you can make a bit of extra money over time by this method.

By Malcolm Clarke

Voting Percentage Turnout

60.00 or less – 9/4
60.01 – 65.00 – 37/20
65.01 – 70.00 – 13/4
70.01 – 75.00 – 4/1
75.01 – 80.00 – 12/1

In the 2005 general election voter turn-out was 61.4%. Considering there has been the expenses scandal and numerous other political scandals it is up to you to judge whether this will drive people away from the ballot box because of distrust of politicians or bring people back to the ballot box to vote for a change or have their say in who leads us into 2011 and beyond.

Unfortunately in this country many people are apathetic towards politics so I do not think there will be a massive drop in the voting turnout. I must, however, assume that as it is usually the older generation who vote, many of whom will have died since 2005; the younger generation not being motivated to vote suggests to me that the sensible bet here would be the 9/4 on less than 60% of the voting population actually voting.

I do not think there will be a major change in turn-out, but if there is a change I believe it will be downwards.

Party with the most Seats

Conservative Party – 3/25
Labour Party – 9/2
Liberal Democrats – 100/1

You can remove the Lib Dems from the market as they will probably do slightly better than in 2005 but they will not win the most seats. Labour currently has 356 seats to the Conservatives 198, but every newspaper report and commentators view suggests that there is likely to be a big vote for change at this election. The sensible bet is on the Conservatives getting the most seats and the polls suggest that they will be very close to getting an overall majority. The election is certainly still in the balance, however, so watch the news closely for developments, especially in regards to the support for David Cameron.

Overall Majority

Yes – 1/2
No – 7/5

The Conservatives need the biggest swing since 1945 in order to gain even the smallest full majority. The jury is still out on the leadership team of David Cameron and George Osborne as to whether they can lead the UK out of the biggest recession in living memory. Labour, however, whilst pointing this out has had thirteen years in power and it is hard for them to promise change when they have had so long to deliver change already. Labour still believes they can get a majority and the country has a history of defying the polls. In my view, a hung Parliament at 7/5 seems a good bet as this election is so finely in the balance. Every vote counts, so make sure you make yours on May 6th!

The newspapers and TV cover the election campaign extensively so you have plenty of daily news to read about to work out your best bets. Bear in mind that the newspapers will usually have an allegiance to one party or the other so you will need to make up your mind what the objective reports are. Get your bets on early just in case the result starts to look obvious.

Please note the odds are correct as of April 12th 2010 and are subject to change at anytime by bwin.com.

By Malcolm Clarke

So are we to be disappointed or relieved that it turns out he is as flawed as the rest of us? Are we to be disappointed that this multi-millionaire so many times over used his position in the world of sport to have affairs with lots of beautiful woman whilst married? Nothing has changed regarding Tiger Wood’s golf, but certainly the view of the man from the world as a person has changed.

Tiger is still as talented as he was remaining the biggest star of Golf and some would argue a more convincing man as his flaws have been laid bare. Carrying these secrets around with him in his life could not have been easy and perhaps this was why his exterior was so hard, there was just so much emotional turmoil going on that any kind of emotional release was impossible. Perhaps letting everything go in such a traumatic way will be the catalyst to simply playing golf without distractions and letting his devastating talent do the talking, starting with Augusta and the US Masters this week. That is a scary proposition for the rest of the players.

Can he win it? The golf odds from bwin place him as 4/1 favourite for the tournament. Tiger Woods’ odds for winning a golf tournament, particularly a major one, are always skewed because of the amazing interest in him and bookmakers like bwin cannot afford to offer long odds or they are over-exposed by a deluge of bets. It is a testament to the betting public’s belief in his game that even with a potential marriage breakdown, public and private life humiliation on a global scale and an extended break from competitive golf he is still the favourite to win the tournament in most people’s eyes.

Tiger Woods was criticised by fellow professionals for making this major tournament where he makes his comeback but winning a major is probably all that drives him now in Golfing terms. Why would he make his comeback on a tour event that means nothing to him? He knows it would be impossible to slip back into playing without anyone noticing. He wanted to meet the publicity furore head-on and it is a big statement to make a high profile return. That said I would not back him to win this week. He always plays to win but he will want to rediscover his form rather and see what happens. I think a better bet is to back the breakthrough tournament for Rory McIlroy at 40/1 or the ever reliable Padraig Harrington at 16/1.

It is great that Tiger is back playing golf and great that rival Phil Mickleson is also playing after caring for his wife who has cancer. You can never write Tiger Woods off and it would be just like him to win this event despite everything that he has gone through in the last few months. Regardless of your feelings towards him and whoever you bet on you must concede that millions of fans are tuning into the tournament simply because he is playing in it.

Enjoy the golf betting action.

By Malcolm Clarke

Is it because they are so rich at such a young age they start to believe their own hype that they must be amazing if they are rated and paid so highly? If somebody paid me massive money to be a footballer I could not possibly live my life the same way and feel about the game in the same way once all of my financial aspirations had been met and surpassed. Young players trying to break through play the game with a hunger; some would argue desperation, to make the grade. Once that desire is fulfilled can they really muster a genuine hunger for the game from that point? Of course they are talented, but it is not a matter of life or death anymore. This must affect their psyche and will in relation to the sport from then on, even in a small way.

Reading the sport news pages we see there is just as much discussion about players private lives as well as their sporting achievements. They make the news regardless of what they do, but in 2010 there has been a spate of news stories surrounding our young sports stars for all of the wrong reasons.

First there was John Terry, the England captain. He had an affair with the attractive ex-girlfriend of Wayne Bridge who is also the mother to his Bridge’s child. This resulted in the withdrawal of Bridge from international availability at his own request and John Terry losing the captains armband for the international team. This caused sports bettors to analyse the effects of this fall-out and how it affects any bets they were thinking of placing or had placed already on England at this summers World Cup tournament. It seems ridiculous that the antics of one player could upset such an important sporting occasion.

Since then we have had Andy Carroll breaking the jaw of Steven Taylor, which probably does not affect the promotion race now that Newcastle are so far clear in the Championship but many effect next season if Taylor or Carroll is sold or Carroll faces criminal charges (he is already on bail for another assault). Lewis Hamilton was blasted by Australian government officials for irresponsible use of a car and Joe Calzaghe (admittedly retired from boxing) has been forced to admit cocaine use over the weekend and criticised the UK boxers like Amir Khan and Ricky Hatton during an interview that was, he thought, off the record.

For us as sports betting fans, when we consider the odds offered by sports betting websites like bwin.com we must take into account the players personalities. Are they hungry for the game? Do they believe their own hype? Are they worth wagering on in good faith or will they let you as a punter down? These questions are all new ones that must be considered by sports betting fans in an age where young sportsmen are rich long before they are successful.

Perhaps it is the sportsmen themselves who should take a look in the mirror and start acting like the role models they believe themselves to be.

By Malcolm Clarke

Many people will no doubt look at teams like CSKA Moscow, Bordeaux and Lyon and think that they are merely making up the numbers……but are they? At the end of the day, we are looking at a cup competition after all so every team has a chance. Arsenal have a chance to overcome the heartache of 2006 and get revenge on Barcelona.

They will have their work cut-out because Barcelona are a better team than 2006 while Arsenal don’t seem as strong to me. But over two legs then anything can happen. The worrying thing for Arsenal is that they play a style that suits Barcelona. Also Arsenal have a strong tendency to buckle against the top sides which has been proven time and time again against Chelsea and Manchester United and in Europe over the past two seasons.

So I expect Arsenal to get beaten against Barcelona even though as an Englishman, I hope that I am wrong. Manchester United against Bayern Munich will be a wonderfully balanced tie. I give Manchester United the edge simply because of Wayne Rooney. Bayern struggled in the group and almost didn’t qualify as both they and Juventus suffered at the hands of Bordeaux.

Barcelona do not seem to have the same intimidation factor in La Liga as they do in Europe which is why they are in serious danger of not winning the title. They are currently neck and neck with Real Madrid and equal on points so it will be interesting to see how that transpires. I did say at the start of the season that I didn’t feel that any English club was strong enough to win the trophy this season.

With Liverpool going out in the group stages and Chelsea in the last 16 then that prediction is looking strong. Bayern Munich certainly have enough in their locker to beat Manchester United and go all the way to the final and their coach Louis Van Gaal is a master tactician.

Looking at how the draw has transpired then I do predict a Manchester United and Barcelona repeat final but then again, that is the final that all of Europe are predicting. Can Inter Milan upset Barcelona……yes! Even though they have let a huge lead slip in Serie A this year in the race for the title, Jose Mourinho will be plotting his game plan to beat Barcelona as soon as the CSKA Moscow tie is over.

My predictions are Manchester United against Bordeaux and Barcelona against Inter Milan in the last four but I don’t say that with too much conviction.

For the lastest Champions League betting then go to bwin.com

I admit I watch more sport than the average viewer. I have an astonishingly high frequency of correct answers across a myriad of sports when I watch the UK TV show “Eggheads”. Unfortunately History, Geography and Arts and Books expose my gaps in other areas of quizzing. But we do not bet on History, we bet on sports! In terms of making money from Sports betting, my knowledge of Sports (apart from Rugby League and Cricket which I know little about), is more than adequate and surely I am all set to make a fortune from using that knowledge to make amazing sports bets.

Sports betting systems aim to take advantage of betting on a Sport or sports in such a way where statistically a certain outcome can be expected a certain amount of the time. By using a staking plan that allows you to profit providing these stats remain constant in the future you then have a “winning system”. The first problem is that “past performance is not a guarantee, nor should it be used as a predication of, future results” and staking plans demand good bankroll management which is something that cannot be taught through a system and many gamblers, by nature, either ignore or struggle with the concept of financial and risk management. This is a reason to tread carefully.

You also must be careful of the sales pages as they are full of subliminal trigger words. For example, the following hypothetical promotional sentence is filled with marketing buzz words. “Explode your income and watch the cash flow into your account with this killer Sports betting system so fast it your bank account will almost burst”. Have you ever read a sentence like this? Many sports betting systems use exciting phrases like this to entice the buyer. These types of phrases are proven to grab the interest and make the chances of an impulse buy higher.

These buzz words play on the fact the reader would love an account bursting with money, they hope the system is a killer system (killer being an Internet buzz word for great) they desire accounts full of money, we all want these things. The sentence reminds us of what we desire and implies the system can deliver this huge wealth. All this for $47! Did you know that a price ending in seven is proven to be the best price for a product to sell? This is why you see more products online selling for $19.97 than $20 or $19.99. It is only three cents difference, but it is psychologically proven to have more pulling power for those impulse buys. Unfortunately all systems must push for the sale, so all sales pages employ the same language and sales techniques making it even harder for the buyer to separate the good sports betting systems from the bad ones. You must remember that Sports betting system may work, but first and foremost they have a sale to grab.

Before you part with your money, check out the bwin.com user interface and you will see there are plenty of bets to make and odds on offer for different events. There is a massive amount of information online to make up your own mind and test your own systems. You can increase your chances of picking a winner and have fun doing it.

Rather than throw mud against the wall and hope it sticks by risking your money buying a Sports betting system from a slick sales page learn to work things out for yourself! The very best system you have may turn out to be one you develop yourself through diligent study and your own expertise.

By Malcolm Clarke