Since being able to “reboot”, I’ve missed going into betting shops. A bit like top flight football, betting shops have largely been sanitized. The characters that made going into my local William Hill as a teenager always something of an adventure, seemed to have disappeared. I’m sure the characters are still there, it’s just that they’re subsumed by those infernal slot machines as opposed to passing on “inside information” to their co-bettors, telling anyone who might listen about their latest conquests, or chatting up/winding up the counter staff as appropriate.
Betting shops are now clean, air conditioned (some of them), and “corporate”. They’re the equivalent to all seater stadia with rooves and the like that means you can watch your football and stay dry, compared to the terraces that I used to stand on getting piss wet through whilst in constant worry that at some point in time the away fans will think it a bit of a laugh to mount an attempt at a bloody takeover of enemy territory.
But look, I still like to go to the Emirates to watch the Arsenal, just as I still like to go into the local BetFred to put my bets down using that old fashioned thing called cash. And if I’m really honest with myself, I don’t really miss passively smoking two packs of Marlborough whilst I’m in there, either.
We all know however, that the easiest way to make money from betting is through access to soft, online bookmakers. Which I’ve had, but realise I might very well not have for much longer. So for the past few months, I’ve gone back to mainly betting online, but now it’s important to have a contingency plan and to start transitioning again to shop betting.
The question was where to start?
I’ve previously had great experience of, and success in using the various Bookie Bashing Tools, so moving in this direction makes a lot of sense. And then I started to watch Tom Brownlees’ BB YouTube channel, which has a weekly video of him utilizing the BB Golf Tracker to put down each way doubles on golfers playing across the DPWT Tour and PGA Tour events. A plan was easily hatched.
This is how it’s going to work…
I’ll use the Tracker on my ‘phone to find out what bets to strike. I’ve a BetFred (which produces golf coupons each week) and Ladbrokes (who have their golf markets on their SSBTs) literally opposite each other, less than two miles away. Should I be fortunate to experience a very big win one week, I can easily give that shop a rest for a while as there are at least two other BFs and Laddies within a short drive. It’s the perfect set up.
I started this week, and I’ll report back on results alongside all the others so you can keep track.
As with anything, the first time you do something, you learn. What I learnt this week (assuming this week is typical) is that there is a fair bit of odds movement. With the coupons at BetFred, some had come in a little, but others had gone out, so my feeling is that unless there’s a major move, to just take what’s on offer. At Ladbrokes however, particularly on the DPWT event, there were significant odds cuts.
The answer moving forward is to go into Laddies first, and check the prices. Without striking any bets, I can then nip over to Fred’s place, stick those bets on, and before returning to Ladbrokes look at the Tracker to see if the reduced prices still hold value and to look for some possible alternatives if not. Within a couple of weeks, I reckon I’ll have this running like clockwork!
Watch this space for more detail as the weeks go by. Something tells me this is going to be fun.
August 2025 (stakes normalised)…
Bookie Bashing Golf Tracker/WGV: Staked 0pts, 0pts, ROI 0%, ROC 0%
The Value Machine Exchange Profit: Staked 430pts, -220.92pts, ROI -51.37%, ROC -14.72%
Tilt The Odds: Staked 119.2pts, +255.86pts, ROI 214.64%, ROC 17.05%.
SharpBetting Football: Staked 1,286.5pts, +36.97pts, ROI 2.87%, ROC 2.46%.
WinnerOdds Tennis: Staked 4,093pts, +304.32pts, ROI 7.43%, ROC 15.21%.
TOTAL: Staked 5,738.1pts, +363.23pts, ROI 6.33%, ROC 4.54%