Rowan currently reports back on the performance of several tipsters as part of his Bet Diary blog, details on each you can find below.
Please note – full details on the identify of all the tipsters is available with a Smart Betting Club membership.
RACING TIPSTERS
Bet Alchemist: 100 point bank – followed using online bookmakers. Originally an independent service that made into the SBC’s ‘Hall of Fame’, RS1 is now an SBC Premium service, with a special discounted deal for SBC members. The methodology hasn’t changed at all, targeting as it has done since inception, the larger race meetings. This means that I’m placing the sort of bets that don’t attract quite so much attention from the bookmaker’s trading teams, ie. betting in strong and popular markets. Odds hold up well too, for the same reason, and even betting the night before racing is possible – doing so in a Heritage Handicap at Ascot isn’t quite the same as if jumping on the best overnight price available in a tiny novice hurdle at Plumpton.
Northern Monkey Punter: 100 point bank – online bookmakers. NMP has been proofing to the SBC since 2010, becoming one of the true long-termers of the tipster world. Bets are released between 8.30 and 9.00 every morning. Although all weather racing and, to a lesser extent, National Hunt racing is covered through the winter months (and Cheltenham Festival week in March has been a great source of profit over the years), the service’s main strength is flat turf racing with the summer months often proving to be when NMP really hits its straps. Superb customer service, an incredibly fair odds-quoting policy, an attractive subscription rate and long term results mean there is a huge amount to like.
Precision Value: 200 point bank – online bookmakers/exchanges. A derivative of the long-running Morning Value Service this concentrates exclusively on horses identified as holding value and priced between 7/4 and 5/1. This is a ‘bookmaker friendly’ service with many selections being at the head of the market and never at prices that are likely to grab the attention of the bookmakers. The bets are released at a time when markets have had time to mature some, and sticking your money on a favourite or near-favourite mid-morning or mid/late afternoon when the bets are released really shouldn’t attract too much scrutiny.
Racing Service 1: 50 point bank – online bookmakers. A service as much for the jump racing enthusiast as the serious investor, RS2 sadly operates only between the months of November and April, each season ending with the Grand National meeting at Aintree. This is such a shame as the write-ups are informative and educational and I’d love it to run all year round. Still, if by taking a break things remain fresh (not least the tipster himself) then so be it. As soon as the nights start to draw in at the end of summer, I know it’s not too long for the start of the next RS2 season, and all is well with the world.
SPORTS TIPSTERS
Golf Insider: 400 point bank – followed using the exchanges and online bookmakers. No better viewing than the PGA on a Sunday night with your guy in contention and backed pre-tournament at a big price. Bottle of wine, no thoughts of work in the morning, and absorbed by the action, the rewards can be exhilarating too. With a track record of knocking winners in at huge odds, we have to accept that there may well be (and often are) long waits between triumphs, but that the winners are very much worth waiting for.
PGA Profit: 100 point bank – online bookmakers/exchanges. This is currently a free service available from the SBC, and one which has shown considerable promise and potential. Providing bets in the Outright Win, Top 10 and Top 20 markets, there is hope that this won’t be quite the boom or bust environment that most golf betting services operate within with a healthy 35-40% strike rate with the Top 20 bets.
Weekly Golf Value: 1,000 point bank – online bookmakers only. A third golf service which uses Bookie Bashing’s unique Golf Tracker tool to find win and place value on a number of golfers contesting the week’s European and PGA Tour events.
Scottish Football Income Booster: 100 point bank – online bookmakers/exchanges. An SBC Premium offering that historically – and into it’s fifth season – has produced an ROI in excess of 13% by identifying value in 1×2 and Over/Under markets across the Scottish football leagues. It is not at all uncommon for the exchanges to be offering better odds than the bookies on these selections. With a relatively low workload and high return, there’s a lot to like.
The Poacher: 40 point bank – betting exchanges only. The Poacher is a European football expert who concentrates primarily on the Asian Handicap and Goal Lines markets. Quoting prices available on Betfair, this is a tipster who should be of particular interest to those who are heavily restricted by bookmakers. With a relatively low workload and a real ease in getting on at the advised prices, there is a huge amount to like.
Sports Service 1: 30 point bank – online bookmakers. Watching a darts match when the money is down is often a real emotional rollercoaster! Fine margins often make the difference in professional sport and betting, but never is this demonstrated more than in darts where it is often the width of a metal wire that separates success from failure. Fortunately, this darts service is run by an expert who has a proven track record of producing a profit over many years and who over time, by consistently finding value, will ultimately come out on the right side of those close calls.
Sports Service 2: 100 point bank – online bookmakers. And finally the noble art of boxing to provide some sporting diversification amongst the services in the portfolio. A fine track record – a long term roi in the region of 15% – provides confidence that we’ll stay one step ahead of the bookmaker.