It was the US Masters last week, my favouritest (sic) ever golf tournament.  I love it!  Stunningly beautiful course, generally speaking a clear blue sky and hot sun, the noise of birds caught on the mics…I can lie on the sofa and pretend that it’s not still -1 degree in what is supposed to be Spring and that it’s hail stoning outside, and just enjoy some top quality golf.

It’s even better of course, when you’ve backed a golfer in with a shout, and although Weekly Golf Value had Tommy Fleetwood who ultimately finished in a tie for 3rd, he was never in with a shout of winning.  I ended up a sliver below break even with WGV for the week, being dragged below the P&L line by the fact I couldn’t get all of my stake on Cameron Young with the ideal 10 places for the place part.  So I had to split the stake, and the second part of it went on at a bookmaker paying Top7 only.  Young finished in a tie for 9th.

Mind you, that was a much better tournament than for Golf Betting Club, for whom not much went right.

All the figures, etc., in a post later in the week.

In other news, have you listened to the latest The Barstewards Enquiry podcast.  If not, why not?  It is always a good listen; funny, informative, interesting.  Anyway, this week they had on Rishi Persad, the broadcaster often on our screens for ITV Racing (although he’s covered a multitude of other sports for the likes of the BBC, too).  Rishi comes across as being a really decent bloke who has his head screwed on.  Not a luvvy-entertainment type at all.  In fact, I would go so far to say that Rishi appears to be a thoroughly good chap!

It was interesting to listen to Rishi talk about the nonsense of affordability checks and the ever nefarious ways our “great” bookmaking industry use to generally mistreat their customers.  I also found it a little reassuring that the awareness of these issues is perhaps, even just an incy wincy bit, growing.

I appreciate I am (very) naive, but I live in hope that the situation with the bookmaking industry will sink to such a low, dire level, that there will eventually be forced upon it a full root and branch review, a proper regulating body formed, and some sort of return to the “good old days” when a bookmaker will take a bet. I can dream, eh?

One of the nefarious methods used by BetFred was to “palp” it’s 6/4 pre tournament price on there to be no hole in one in The Masters.  There wasn’t, and clearly the firm had been hit by those who, perhaps after seeing Bookie Bashing’s Tom Brownlee’s video, had taken advantage of the value on offer.  To make their actions even worse, if that is possible, BetFred had actually cut the price to 6/4 from 9/5.  What was the discussion at BetFred HQ?

“Woops, that 9/5 was waaaay too big.  Let’s palp it.”

“But, Boss.  We got stung at the 6/4 we cut it to, an’ all.”

“Well, we’ll just say that was a clear and obvious error, too.  Works for VAR”

Finally for today, the Aintree Festival was a far from lucrative one for me this year – more on that later in the week – but I have to admit that the Grand National knocked me back a bit.  I watched it this year, for the first time in many, and it is unrecognisable from the race it was when I was growing up!  And l0ok, I’m not one for animal cruelty, and perhaps the race as it was might be considered a little bit too much of a test for the horses, but what I witnessed on Saturday was just “another” long distance steeplechase.  It just lacked any sort of real jeopardy, or drama.  A sad shadow of the event it was.

And on that cheery note I shall leave you.

PS. If you think that’s miserable, wait until you see the betting figures for last week!  Ouch.

Golf Betting Club’s fine 60/1 win on Sunday got me thinking about the psychology in play in top level sport.  Don’t get me wrong, I reckon to be a top pro in any sport takes a great deal of mental fortitude, but to my mind, golf is a sport that really examines the mental toughness of those who compete at the highest level.

Akhsay Bhatia was GBC’s winner, and to be honest, looked almost a cert for victory from Day 1, finishing the first round shots in front of second place.  That lead was more or less maintained through Rounds two and three, and even halfway through the final round was clear of second placed Denny McCarthy.  But in a glorious run, McCarthy managed eight (EIGHT) birdies from the closing nine holes, forcing poor old Bhatia into a play off for a tournament victory that he must surely thought was his.

Put yourself in the shoes of Bhatia.  How would you react?  You’d have to be disappointed, to say the least.  Down, wondering what you’d done to deserve such a thing, demoralized.  I didn’t watch as had gone to bed, but for Bhatia to then emerge the winner of the play off, in those circumstances, when all momentum had been with his opponent…well, I take my hat off.  Chapeau, Mr. Bhatia!

What all this means is that Golf Betting Club is showing some red hot form going into this week’s Masters, and has contributed massively to what has been a rather splendid start to the new month.

The Bookie Bashing Early Pay Out Tracker is really firing at present, with three or four notable winning Lucky 15s last week which resulted in 22% bank growth across just the seven days.  There were a number of teams that ultimately lost their match but because they had gone two goals up they counted as a winner.  I hadn’t had that happen at all for a while, and it was this happening that meant I could properly cash in.  Who knows how long I’m going to be able to carry this strategy on for, but at the moment it’s very much about making hay whilst the sun has been shining.

I’m going to write a separate post about the “Value Bets”, as I’ve added a couple of approaches, using the Bookie Bashing Bet Tracker but also other methods of using their tools to find my own bets.  In that post I’ll provide a breakdown of what those methods are, but suffice to say last week produced an exceptional 96% ROI and over 10% bank growth from just a handful of bets.  Those figures aren’t the norm of course (I wish!), but nice to see things going so well there.

Sys Analyst also had a fine week with a 50% ROI and just shy of 10% bank growth, despite my missing a winner due to not having the price I wanted matched on the Exchange.  I tend to leave these bets until the last five minutes before off time as much as I can, and this is going to happen at times.  But, losers are avoided too for the same reason, so I’m not complaining.

Figures for April 2024 to date…

DD/HH Strategy: Staked 160pts, -160pts, roi -100%, High: 0pts, DD: -160pts, Max DD: -160pts

Bookie Bashing Early Price Tracker (Lucky 15s): Staked 570pts, +336.83pts, roi 59.09%, High: 336.83pts, DD: -0pts, Max DD: -0pts

Golf Betting Club: Staked 89pts, +299pts, roi 335.95%, High: 299pts, DD: -0pts, Max DD: -0pts

Weekly Golf Value: Staked 170pts, -6.66pts, roi -3.91%, High: 0pts, DD: -6.66pts, Max DD: -6.66pts

Bookie Bashing Racing Tracker (Lucky 15s): Staked 405pts, -82.08pts, roi -20.26%, High: 0pts, DD: -82.08pts, Max DD: -82.08pts

Sys Analyst. Staked 275pts, +140.19pts, roi 50.97%, High: 140.19pts, DD: -0pts, Max DD: -0pts

Value Bets: Staked 167.5pts, +161.18pts, roi 96.22%, High: 161.18pts, DD: -0pts, Max DD: -0pts

TOTAL ROI: 63.85%

If you’ve read the most recent Bet Diary posts you would be aware that the previous couple of weeks had seen solid returns and an upward curve in the profit and loss line, meaning that some momentum had been found after a largely frustrating first couple of months of the year.  As betting is wont to do however, those couple of steps forward were followed last week by a step back, leaving the overall ROI for the year at 6.6%.  The target is 10%.

Having brought all the figures up to date to the end of March, it was interesting to see where we are in terms of being on target for annual growth and returns.  In a nutshell, I aim to double the overall betting bank over a 12 month period using the services and strategies I follow now, and an ROI of 10% on the level of turnover I anticipate, should mean that double your money target is one within reach.

Keep this in mind when I say then, that after Quarter 1 of 2024 the ROI is at 66%of where I would hope it would be across the long term.  The profit made to date is now at 15% of the annual target, ie. 15% bank growth towards an overall target of 100%.  15% x four quarters = 60%.  So, behind target (although one quarter is no real length of time at all to use to judge) but a remarkably close (I think, anyway) correlation between ROI and ROC – ROI at 66% v target, ROC at 60%.

As for turnover, I’m at just over 80% of what I would have liked it to have been at this stage, and this is something I feel I need to be aware of and prepared to make some slight adjustments for moving forward.  A contributory factor to this falling short has been the relative dearth of DD/HH opportunities.  We knew this was going to happen when BetFred went from offering the concession in shops on all English Premier League matches and all Champions’ League games, to a selected few.  So take this evening for example.  There are three EPL matches being played, but pre-match DD/HH available on only one of them.  Last season, all three would have DD/HH on offer.

This is just one example.  There are others that have had an impact on turnover.  The number of Lucky 15s I’ve been able to place has dropped a little from last year’s levels.  I don’t think this is a trend, just a reflection of the ebb and flow we experience, but it does explain why turnover has been down a bit through the early months of the year.  We just need to keep an eye on things through the next three months and then take a view for the second half of 2024.

Betting 2024

Account Angel: Staked 1,490pts, -52.02pts. ROI -3.49%

Bookie Bashing Early Pay Out Tracker: Staked 4,665pts, +642pts, ROI 13.76%, ROC 42.8%

Bookie Bashing Golf Tracker/Weekly Golf Value: Staked 2,315pts, -10.49pts, ROI: -0.45%, ROC: -0.69%

Golf (Win Only): Staked 217pts, -217pts, ROI -100%, ROC -21.7%

Bookie Bashing Racing Tracker (Lucky 15s): Staked 3,780pts, -221.18pts, ROI: -5.85%, ROC: -14.74%.

Bookie Bashing Value Bets Tracker: Staked 2,134pts, +410.23pts, ROI: 19.22%, ROC: 41.02%

DD/HH: Staked 540.5pts, -169.5pts, ROI: -31.35%, ROC: -16.95%.

Golf Betting Club: Staked 879pts, +204.12pts, ROI 23.22%, ROC 14.58%

NFL strategy: Staked 94.5pts, +95.45pts, ROI: 101%, ROC: 9.54%

Sys Analyst: Staked 1,487.55pts, +417.20pts, ROI: 28.04%, ROC: 41.72%

Touchdown Profit: Staked 120pts, +75.44pts, ROI: 62.86%, ROC: 7.54%

TOTAL ROI: 6.62%

For the first time this year, a strong week’s betting has been immediately followed by another, and it was almost entirely down to a nice winner on the golf in 50/1 shot Jesper Svensson for Weekly Golf Value.  That really though, is only half the story.

I woke, as usual, at around 7.00 on Sunday morning (why is it the older I get the harder I find it to enjoy a lie in?).  made some coffee (why is it that as I get older, although I can’t enjoy a lie in I do need a strong dose of caffeine before feeling moderately human?) and switched on the telly to see what my golfers were doing in the latter stages of the tournament in Singapore.  And there was Svensson at the top by two shots, with Golf Betting Club’s wonderfully-named Kiradech Aphibarnrat (80/1) behind in second.  The first shot I saw was the latter eagling the 18th to force a play-off!

It’s a nice position to be in as a bettor.  A two-horse race when you’re on each at 50/1 and 80/1.  Although my selfish slight preference was for Jenssen, bearing in mind I had twice as big a stake on him, albeit at the shorter odds, it was lovely to just be able to enjoy my coffee and see what panned out.  What did pan out was an incredibly tense play-off and have to admit, I think I’d have had to have turned it off if I was only on one of them!

So, as it worked out, with the win and another three placers in the US event that Sunday evening, it was an excellent all round week for Weekly Golf Value, and despite the disappointment of Aphibarnrat’s ultimate defeat, Golf Betting Club were able to enjoy another profitable few days.

Away from the gold and it was, as had been noted in my previous Bet Diary post, a very quiet week.  The Bookie Bashing Early Pay Out Tracker usually generates most turnover, but due to the lack of domestic football as a consequence of the infernal and completely superfluous international break, only  managed to get five Lucky 15s down all week.  Only three Value Bets from the same outfit’s Bet Tracker too, no DD/HH strategy bet….you can see the impact.

Sys Analyst was able to carry on as normal of course, and generated a bit more profit to keep pushing forward, but sadly the horses was the main drain on resources last week with the Lucky 15s from Bookie Bashing Racing Tracker enduring a horrible few days.  I thought we were about to get a major boost from these just yesterday when the first horse in a Lucky 15 came in at 20/1, as did the second at 9/2.  Here we go!  Pants were being removed (Josh!) and about to be placed on head, but that would have proved to be premature with how the two remaining horses ran.  Oh well, that big win will arrive some day.

Before it does, here are the figures…

Betting 2024

Account Angel: Staked 1,370pts, -34.22pts. ROI -2.49%

Bookie Bashing Early Pay Out Tracker: Staked 4,245pts, +628.98pts, ROI 14.81%, ROC 41.93%

Bookie Bashing Golf Tracker/Weekly Golf Value: Staked 2,047.5pts, +167.51pts, ROI: 8.18%, ROC: 11.16%

Golf (Win Only): Staked 150pts, -150pts, ROI -100%, ROC -15%

Bookie Bashing Racing Tracker (Lucky 15s): Staked 3,375pts, -312.06pts, ROI: -9.24%, ROC: -20.8%.

Bookie Bashing Value Bets Tracker: Staked 2,094pts, +450.23pts, ROI: 21.5%, ROC: 45.02%

DD/HH: Staked 474.5pts, -103.5pts, ROI: -21.81%, ROC: -10.35%.

Golf Betting Club: Staked 805pts, +239.12pts, ROI 29.7%, ROC 17.08%

NFL strategy: Staked 94.5pts, +95.45pts, ROI: 101%, ROC: 9.54%

Sys Analyst: Staked 1,266.05pts, +461.81pts, ROI: 36.47%, ROC: 46.1%

Touchdown Profit: Staked 120pts, +75.44pts, ROI: 62.86%, ROC: 7.54%

TOTAL ROI: 9.46%

What sort of percentage of those who take an interest in top level football do you think, believe this latest break for international friendlies to be a good idea?  I’m aware some countries are playing qualifiers, but which muppets are responsible for this current schedule?

We’re in the midst of what is the most exciting Title race for years, Manchester City are due to play Real Madrid and Arsenal Bayern Munich in the Champions’ League quarter finals – two hugely glamorous and exciting matches – and yet we have to stop so Gareth Southgate can take a look at how Jordan Henderson might fit into his midfield and Harry Maguire the defence.  Perleeeease!

Another impact that this international break is having is on my betting output.  I’ve barely struck a bet this week.  We have the golf, but other than that there’s been one (unusual) Monday tip from Sys Analyst and today, Thursday, I’ve placed my first Lucky 15 of the week.  The Bookiebashing Early Pay Out Tracker has been rendered almost redundant by the lack of football, and there have been no Bet Tracker Value Bets to speak of.  Seriously, this betting week has been a wash out.

Fingers crossed things will pick up a bit over the weekend.

Talking of things being quiet, and I promise this will be my last word on this year’s Cheltenham Festival, but I was a little surprised by how quiet the bookies was when I went in last week.  I tend to get to the local shop between 12.30 and 1.00 most days, so about half an hour or so before the first race each day at Cheltenham.  There were a couple of the old regulars in, but no-one else really.  I remember when shops were heaving during Cheltenham week.

Talking to the chap behind the counter though, and he was saying that early mornings had been busy with some sizeable bets being taken.  When I asked what sizeable meant, he said £500 or £600 quid.  Got to be honest, I’ve not seen anyone in the shops I go to putting down that kind of stake on anything.  Just goes to show that people are still invested in racing and Cheltenham, despite what the doomsayers (including me) say.

Flat season starts this weekend.  A sure sign of spring, although I wish the weather would recognise it’s nearly here!  I bet Wayne at Northern Monkey is gearing up for it, and I wish him all the best for this season’s Flat Turf wars against the bookmakers.  Before we know it, it will be Royal Ascot and Glorious Goodwood.  Think it will have warmed up by then!?!

‘The vibe coming into the meeting was as muted as I can recall and I’ve never experienced a flatter two days at the meeting than the first two days of it this year.”

This was a tweet from Declan Meagher, the extraordinary tipster behind the Learn Bet Win service.  I hadn’t thought I’d misread the room in last week’s post, but it was good to see someone as esteemed as Declan back up my thoughts on the feeling going into Cheltenham.  To be honest, I saw the pundits on ITV Racing debating the issue of Cheltenham losing its bling/charm (delete as you feel appropriate) so at least there is some recognition that there is at least, an issue.

From a personal point of view it felt at least, that things were more like you would expect the Festival to be, on the Thursday and Friday when more competitive racing kicked in.   From a punting point of view, the meeting was a fairly successful one.

The Lucky 15s from the Bookie Bashing Racing Tracker had been seriously underwhelming, but a couple of decent winning tickets took a good chunk out of the year to date losses, and ensured the week in isolation was a good one.  No spectacular winning bet, but a couple with two winners and another with a win and three placed netted circa 10 points profit on each, and that soon adds up.  The Lucky 15s are still in the red for 2024, but a good step has been taken towards the promised land of profit.

Sys Analyst ran a free trial over Cheltenham and those dabbling weren’t let down.  There were some good winners and overall a decent profit made.  I think I said this last week, but if you get the opportunity to join this long term winning service, I would recommend you do so.  If you look at my figures for 2024, I’m currently running at 35% ROI and have achieved 40% bank growth, which is obviously excellent.  The main thing here though, is that 90% of the bets I place for Sys Analyst I do so on the Exchanges.  Because of Allan’s desire for everyone to be able to get on, I’m betting into liquid markets and getting the prices I need.

It was also a week when after a couple of “sideways” weeks, the Lucky 15s from the Bookie Bashing Early Pay Out Tracker took another step forward.  This is now running at a 15% ROI and a wee bit under 40% bank growth since the turn of the year, so another going along swimmingly.  Managed to get all four up in one bet, although the prices on three of the teams were relatively short, but a couple of L15s that carried three winners at odds between 2.0 and 4.0 meant returns from those tickets were solid.  Just a case of plugging away with these.

The only thing to suffer a poor week was the Double Delight/Hat Trick Heaven strategy with more bets to place than has been the recent norm, but none of the beggars winning.  It will change.

Figures for 2024:

Account Angel: Staked 1,370pts, -34.22pts. ROI -2.49%

Bookie Bashing Early Pay Out Tracker: Staked 4,170pts, +562.98pts, ROI 13.5%, ROC 37.53%

Bookie Bashing Golf Tracker/Weekly Golf Value: Staked 1,843.5pts, -318.49pts, ROI: -17.27%, ROC: -21.23%

Golf (Win Only): Staked 150pts, -150pts, ROI -100%, ROC -15%

Bookie Bashing Racing Tracker (Lucky 15s): Staked 3,015pts, -151.93pts, ROI: -5.13%, ROC: -10.12%.

Bookie Bashing Value Bets Tracker: Staked 2,044pts, +455.23pts, ROI: 22.27%, ROC: 45.52%

DD/HH: Staked 474.5pts, -103.5pts, ROI: -21.81%, ROC: -10.35%.

Golf Betting Club: Staked 723pts, 218.12pts, ROI 30.16%, ROC 15.58%

NFL strategy: Staked 94.5pts, +95.45pts, ROI: 101%, ROC: 9.54%

Sys Analyst: Staked 1,141.05pts, +407.04pts, ROI: 35.67%, ROC: 40.7%

Touchdown Profit: Staked 120pts, +75.44pts, ROI: 62.86%, ROC: 7.54%

TOTAL ROI: 3.19%

There’s only one place to start with this week’s round up, and that’s with Matteo Manassero’s wonderful win at 175/1 in the DP World Tour event in South Africa at the weekend.  Tipped up pre-tournament by Golf Betting Club, this was the first big win since I added the Campbell brother’s service to the portfolio.  The Italian managed to hold on despite a wee wobble in the final round, but with this and a couple of placed finishes across the golfing board (there were four tournaments last week), it was a great week for GBC.  More please!

Elsewhere and it’s all been a bit uninspiring.  My Lucky 15s from the Bookie Bashing Racing Tracker continue to struggle, and Weekly Golf Value couldn’t avoid a loss this week.  Sys Analyst had a bit of an underwhelming pre-Cheltenham week, and a tiny profit from the Bookie Bashing Early Pay Out Tracker which counterbalanced the previous week’s tiny loss.

There was a winner for the Double Delight/Hat Trick Heaven strategy, but not a huge profit once a couple of losers too.

So away from the fun and games in South Africa, it’s all been a bit mundane.  The first two days of Cheltenham haven’t changed that either, but more on that in the next post, when I’ll stick up all the figures.  Just need to get down to a couple of the bookies to pick up some returns, and I’ll be able to reckon up.

I’ve seen a lot on social media recently, about how the 2024 version of the Cheltenham Festival, which takes place next week, represents a “tipping point”.  From what I can gather, what seems like interminable dithering from a number of high profile trainers about the races their high profile horses will contest is one big reason, as punters are left in the dark.  Exacerbating this problem is the fact that with the addition of a number of races over recent year, horses those invested in horse racing as a sport and as a betting medium would love to see take each other on, don’t.  Which of course dilutes the excitement, reduces the competitiveness of a number of the races, and makes those races of less interest from a betting perspective.

Certainly in terms of what I see are the prices for entry and food and drink, I can understand why a tipping point may easily have been reached for many who simply can’t afford the exorbitant prices of tickets, food and drink.  I can imagine that a lot of families who might once have gone, wouldn’t now.  You’d have to take out a second mortgage to take a family of four it seems, and all whilst still in the midst of a cost of living crisis.  It’s fine for ex-footballers who are now retired but were able to cash in on Premier League riches in terms of wages to advertise the fact they’re going.  Coming from a sport once maligned as pandering to the “prawn sandwich brigade”, it appears that to be able to afford a prawn sandwich at Cheltenham you’d need to be on and enjoying the level of salary these ex-footballers were once on!

From a personal point of view, I have to admit that Cheltenham isn’t to me what it once was, but I think that is more down to personal circumstance than anything.  Most of my fondest betting memories have Cheltenham at their core.

I remember being on a train to the Festival back in 1996 with my best friend and his Dad, convincing anyone that would listen (that wasn’t many) that hot thing One Man couldn’t perform to his best on an undulating track and that Imperial Call would win the Gold Cup that afternoon.  Having just read Nick  Mordin’s book, I had spent hours scouring the form book and had formulated  this theory.  Still don’t know if I was right or wrong, but when Imperial Call stormed up the hill with One Man trailing in way back, I can think I was pretty unbearable company.

The Kauto Star/Denman rivalry feel like halcyon days now, but were so absorbing at the time.  I remember a 50/1 winner (can’t remember the name of the horse) tipped up by a service called On The Nose that went off in front in its race, and simply stayed there all the way around Prestbury Park.

Another year (2011?), I was taking a bit of a hammering, but on Gold Cup day the PCB service based around the Racing Post and Pricewise tips (which is still going strong) had Zarkander in the opening Triumph Hurdle win thrillingly, and then Long Run for the Gold Cup.  The latter beat both Kauto Star and Denman in what to me, has been the most singularly thrilling horse race I’ve ever seen.  Come the end of the day, I was up on a high, emotionally  and financially.

Happy days.

However, as my own betting has been forced largely away from online betting and following the tipsters that made Cheltenham so easy to invest in as a spectacle in itself – the likes of The Value Bettor, Northern Monkey, On The Nose and others – my interest has dwindled a little.  I’ll still keep an eye on things, but more from afar, and not the total immersion I used to relish.  No doubt I’ll have a few Lucky 15s involving Cheltenham runners gleaned from the Bookie Bashing Racing Tracker, and Allan from Sys Analyst enjoys a fine record at Cheltenham and I’ll be backing his bets on the exchanges, so it’s not as if it will pass me by completely.  But Cheltenham isn’t what it once was for me, and I feel a bit sad about that.  Or maybe nostalgic, is a better way to frame it.

Those of you who do still follow the best tipsters out there and who can take advantage of their acumen and insight at the Festival…embrace it and enjoy it!  I envy you.

NOT…a good week.  One of those that feels like everything you bet on, loses.  Having started to creep up and more or less hit my profit target for the year to date after the completion of two months, a lot of that good work was undone and although still in the black, the ROI has dropped right back again.  Frustrating.

No service covered itself in glory with no big profit contribution from any.  A few had a bit of a shocker though.

Worst culprit was the Bookie Bashing Racing Tracker Lucky 15s, especially on Sunday.  I drove around a few bookies and got a fair few Lucky 15s down, and I really wish I hadn’t bothered.  I got a fraction back from a fair amount put down, and the odd horse placing had their returns decimated by the impact of Rule 4s.  What a load of old tosh!

The golf was a big disappointment too, after having a winner the week before.  Three tournaments and only two golfers placing for the Weekly Golf Tracker/Weekly Golf Value.  Golf Betting Club got a couple of returns but not enough to avoid a loss overall, although not to the same extent as the bets from the Tracker.

Even the stars of 2024 so far, the Bookie Bashing Bet Tracker Value Bets couldn’t bale me out.  Only four bets struck, but all of them unsuccessful.  Just one  of those weeks, I guess.

A quick note that I’ve started betting the Sys Analyst Exchange Bets (as distinct from the “main” bets I’ve been reporting on thus far).  Allan has been sending these out to subscribers on what has been a bit of a trial basis, but I believe is now going to start charging for them.  Profitability has been good through the trial, and if anyone gets the chance to jump on board, I couldn’t recommend Allan’s offerings more strongly.  A proper pro’.

Account Angel: Staked 1,235pts, -17.42pts. ROI -1.41%

Bookie Bashing Early Pay Out Tracker: Staked 3,210pts, +443.1pts, ROI 13.8%, ROC 29.54%

Bookie Bashing Golf Tracker/Weekly Golf Value: Staked 1,432.5pts, -263.37pts, ROI: -18.38%, ROC: -17.55%

Golf (Win Only): Staked 150pts, -150pts, ROI -100%, ROC -15%

Bookie Bashing Racing Tracker (Lucky 15s): Staked 2,400pts, -304.43pts, ROI: -12.68%, ROC: -20.29%.

Bookie Bashing Value Bets Tracker: Staked 1,779pts, +439.9pts, ROI: 24.72%, ROC: 29.32%

DD/HH: Staked 271.5pts, -25.5pts, ROI: -9.39%, ROC: -2.55%.

Golf Betting Club: Staked 467pts, -137.88pts, ROI -29.52%, ROC -9.19%

NFL strategy: Staked 94.5pts, +95.45pts, ROI: 101%, ROC: 9.54%

Sys Analyst: Staked 816.15pts, +348.21pts, ROI: 42.66%, ROC: 23.21%

Sys Analyst (Exchange): Staked 158.72pts, -45.8pts, ROI -28.85%, ROC 3.05%

Touchdown Profit: Staked 120pts, +75.44pts, ROI: 62.86%, ROC: 7.54%

TOTAL ROI: 3.77%

So it’s the end of Month 2 of 2024, and where are we standing?

Well, it could be a lot, lot worse, but the ROI remains a little under the long term 10% target, although a strong second half to February has brought it up considerably.  The figures aren’t quite completely up to date as I’ve a couple of slips to take to the shops to pick up the returns, but they’re as near as dammit.  We’re likely talking a 0.1% difference in overall ROI, either for the good or bad.

I’ve been using the freebie SBC Account Angel service for a few weeks now and have racked up a fair few bets.  I don’t expect to make any money with this service over the long term.  It’s not geared towards being a tipster service, but more a method to utilize in the endless quest to maximize the lifespan of our online bookmaker accounts, so I see the 3.87% ROI I’m currently sitting on as something of a bonus.  I’ll give some more thoughts on the experience of following in a post soon.

The Bookie Bashing Early Pay Out Tracker and the Lucky 15 football bets derived from it have hit another profit high, and (clearly) it’s all going swimmingly at the moment.  Like the previous week, there hasn’t been one outstanding, big win, which I’m hopeful will happen sooner or later.  Rather a nice nine point return on one Lucky 15 and a series of smaller wins that all mounted up.  Obviously a fair number of losing Lucky 15s too, but right now this is proving to be something of a gold mine.  I think there’s something in the offing in the not too distant future from the SBC, delving deeper into this strategy.

By contrast, the horse racing Lucky 15s from the BB Racing Tracker remain in deficit, but encouragingly over 60% of the losses incurred on the way to hitting a drawdown lowpoint, have now been clawed back.  Of course it could dip again, but equally we might hit that big winning ticket that nets 50-100 points in one fell swoop and suddenly we’re admiring a really high ROI.  That will happen, it’s just a matter of when.  This is probably the longest period of drawdown I’ve experienced with these since starting to place the Lucky 15s two years ago.  My faith in them has not been eroded one tiny bit.

The bets taken from the Bookie Bashing Bet Tracker/Combo Tracker and those I find myself (mainly Any Time Goalscorer bets) continue to confound, and in a very good way!  So far through 2024 these have just shaded the Early Pay Out Tracker bets, and in fact this strategy is the most prolific so far in 2024, based on ROI and bank growth.  I keep telling myself they can’t continue in this vein and I’m living in a metaphorical brace position mentality, waiting for the “correction”.  Perhaps I should stop worrying.  But whatever way I look at it, a 30%+ ROI just cannot be sustainable, can it.  I mean…Can it?!?

A small, but steady profit again this weekend from Sys Analyst keeps things ticking over and pushed the profit to a new ytd high again.  Bring on Cheltenham!

And final comment reserved for Golf Betting Club.  No profit as yet, and last week was a fairly poor one by their own admission.  But I really am liking what I’m seeing here, especially the in-form angle that has brought something new to the party.  Needs time, as do all golf tipsters.  This one feels like it will reward patience.

Account Angel: Staked 1,025pts, +39.73pts. ROI 3.87%

Bookie Bashing Early Pay Out Tracker: Staked 2,655pts, +471.39pts, ROI 17.75%, ROC 31.42%

Bookie Bashing Golf Tracker/Weekly Golf Value: Staked 1,142.5pts, -118.37pts, ROI: -12.2%, ROC: -7.89%

Golf (Win Only): Staked 150pts, -150pts, ROI -100%, ROC -15%

Bookie Bashing Racing Tracker (Lucky 15s): Staked 2,100pts, -152pts, ROI: -7.23%, ROC: -10.13%.

Bookie Bashing Value Bets Tracker: Staked 1,709pts, +509.9pts, ROI: 29.83%, ROC: 33.99%

DD/HH: Staked 226.5pts, +19.5pts, ROI: 8.6%, ROC: 1.95%.

Golf Betting Club: Staked 440.5pts, -127.38pts, ROI -28.91%, ROC -8.49%

NFL strategy: Staked 94.5pts, +95.45pts, ROI: 101%, ROC: 9.54%

Sys Analyst: Staked 598.4pts, +276.81pts, ROI: 46.25%, ROC: 18.45%

Touchdown Profit: Staked 120pts, +75.44pts, ROI: 62.86%, ROC: 7.54%

TOTAL ROI: 8.27%