OK, this is getting a wee bit silly now.  If you’ve read my last post – a review of October’s betting – and I tell you that the biggest contribution to a strong weekend’s profit came from the actions of one man, you’d know who I’m referring to, right?

Yup.  Erling Haaland.

His brace yesterday landed the Delight bit of the only Double Delight/Hat Trick Heaven bet I’d struck across Saturday and Sunday.  Furthermore, I got a nice surprise when despite being lauded as 111% +EV on the relevant Bookie Bashing Tracker at a price of 2/1 to score the first goal, he was actually 5/2.  I ended up winning more than I thought I would.

Two things have got to happen moving forward.

One: surely, surely (?), Haaland’s price to be First Goalscorer will contract further.  We’ve got to be looking at 6/4 or 7/4, no?  The fact that I believe City’s second leading scorer this season is Burnley’s Max Esteve with two own goals, kinda tells you the score when it comes to the chances of it being Haaland opening the scoring for his team.

Two: Haaland’s rate of scoring will slow.  His current rate HAS to be unsustainable, doesn’t it?  I appreciate my feelings on this are compromised courtesy of desperately wanting to see City lose ground in the title race, but even appraising the situation with a dose of cold, hard logic, the numbers the big lad is posting are ridiculously good.  Too good.

Do I believe that?  You know what?  I’m not too sure I do.  I never want to wish injury on a professional sportsperson, but I wish someone would injure him!  But then, I think of the cash he’s won me these last few weeks, and….and….oh, I’m so conflicted.  When will these voices in my head stop!?!

Great weekend for Touchdown Profit with five winners from six bets with one match/bet to play.  Would have been six from seven but unfortunately I missed the line on one of the Total Points picks which ended up an easy win.  I ain’t complaining, though.  This was a fine weekend for the NFL expert, and well done to them!

Good start to November too for The Transfer Flow who continues to build the profit at a rate that is about as sustainable as Haaland’s scoring (I think).  These bets are on the Asian Handicaps, so to be running at an ROI from the start of September of 19.3% is a bit daft.  A weekend ROI of 28.8% though, is…..appreciated.

Final point around the weekend’s football.  Since when has it been lawful to take a man out a split second after getting the faintest touch on the ball?  As an Arsenal fan and seeing two penalties (correctly given, in my opinion) overturned by VAR this season because the offender had got a slight touch on the ball, I appreciate I may be sensitive to the issue.

But yesterday, as a neutral, seeing West Ham’s penalty award being overturned for the same reason, and then less than five minutes later see Freddie Potts clearly win the ball first before sliding into the man and although not booked, see a free kick awarded against him and given a stern talking to by the ref…I mean, what?!?  So that’s a foul, unless it’s in the penalty area, and then it isn’t?  There’s no rule that states getting the ball before the man is legal, so VAR getting the decision right “to the letter of the law” as one pundit said, is, err, bollocks.

Feels at the moment if you’re in the penalty area, a defender can get a little toe to the ball before karate chopping the attacker in the nuts and administering a quick blow to the windpipe, and it still wouldn’t be a penalty.  Or at least it would, until VAR does what VAR does.

I say I was neutral.  I had West Ham scoring two goals or more on a football coupon and at that point they hadn’t scored any.  Still, all’s well that ends well, eh?

November 2025 figures (stakes normalized):

Bookie Bashing Racing Tracker (L15s): Staked 135pts, +4.95pts, ROI 3.6%, DD 0pts, Max DD -5.16pts.

BB EW Golf Doubles: Staked 0pts, 0pts, ROI 0%, DD 0pts, Max DD 0pts.

DD/HH: Staked 50pts, +250pts, ROI 500%, DD: -0pts, Max DD -0pts.

BB Football Coupons: Staked 0pts, 0pts, ROI 0%, DD -0pts, Max DD -0pts.

Sharp Betting Football: Staked 900pts, +63.72pts, ROI 7.1%, DD -0pts, Max DD -0pts.

The Transfer Flow: Staked 160pts, +46.22pts, ROI 28.8%, DD: -0pts, Max DD -0pts.

Touchdown Profit: Staked 121pts, +76.31pts, ROI 63%, DD -0pts. Max DD -0pts

Weekly Golf Value: Staked 80pts, -12.5pts, ROI -15.6%, DD -12.5pts, Max DD -12.5pts

Total: Staked 1,446pts, +428.7pts, ROI 29.6%, DD -0pts, Max DD -0pts, Bank Growth 6.3%

After a frustrating September, came an October long to be remembered.   If ever there were two consecutive months that illustrate just how important it is to grind through the bad times, these were they.

Three things:

Weekly Golf Value putting up 200/1 winner Junghwan Lee.

A Lucky15 taken from the Bookie Bashing Racing Tracker containing three double-digit priced winners.

Erling Haaland.

Combined, these three things were the dominant contributors to a month that coughed up near 30% total bank growth and an ROI of almost 16.5%, way above my target.  Happy days indeed.

Funnily enough, I wrote a couple of weeks ago that October was something of an experimental month for me.  The transition – for the second time in my betting career – away from using online books and more and more towards the shops meant feeling the water.  What can I follow, which strategies can I use, that best fit around other commitments?  Which can I follow consistently?  And yes, which do I enjoy using most?

I’m going to break down thoughts in the next few posts, but for now, the only thing I should be asking myself is should I experiment more often!?!

Anyway, moving into November and I feel clear and settled on what I can and can’t do.  It genuinely feels as if some fog has cleared, and at the risk of sounding like Johnny Nash, I can see clearly now.

Despite the 200/1 WGV winner, it was actually the BB Racing Tracker Lucky 15s that provided the greatest profit on the month.  Yes, there was that one big bet, but there were three or four others that kept it all ticking over throughout the month.  If I remember correctly, my ROI was hovering around the 15% mark before I hit that big win.  Around 30% of the profit was actually from all bets other than that one.

Weekly Golf Value has obviously had a stormer, and whilst I can still get my bets on online, I’ll continue to follow.  There will come a point soon where I’m going to have to use the Tracker myself and get down to BetFred, Ladbrokes and William Hill and stick down cold, hard cash.  Talking of which, we’ve not yet seen the returns we expect from using the Each Way Golf Doubles strategy but it’s only a matter of time.

It really pains me to give credit to Erling Haaland but the fact is he’s been a fine contributor to the profit this month.  Perhaps I should rather look at it as other City players being unable to score much, but whatever, the Double Delight/Hat Trick Heaven strategy has been very kind.  I know from past experience however, that it can go a long time in a state of drawdown and I’m not going to get carried away.  That the largest drawdown I experienced following this September reached just -35 points tells us everything we need to know about the heat of the hot streak its been on!

Finally, I’ve really enjoyed The Transfer Flow.  If you don’t want to get the bets but have an interest in football and statistics, and would appreciate reading material that doesn’t fall for the constant false narratives perpetuated by so called expert pundits, the daily email is well worth subscribing to for free.

I’ll not dig into detail on the disappointments on the month right now.  The figures are below and after a month like this one, why dwell on the negative?

Let’s see what November brings.

October 2025 figures (stakes normalized):

Bookie Bashing Racing Tracker (L15s): Staked 1,510pts, +1,153.64pts, ROI 76.4%, DD -0pts, Max DD -244.62pts.

BB EW Golf Doubles: Staked 231pts, -96.65pts, ROI -41.83%, DD -121pts, Max DD -121pts.

BB Darts Tool: Staked 240pts, +48.49pts, ROI 20.2%, DD: -16.78pts, Max DD: -38.05pts.

DD/HH: Staked 345pts, +427.5pts, ROI 123.91%, DD: -0pts, Max DD -35pts.

BB Football Coupons: Staked 385pts, -93.84pts, ROI 24.37%, DD -198.79pts, Max DD -198.79pts.

Value Bets/Enhanced Specials (Exchange): Staked 315.4pts, -112.87pts, ROI -35.78%, DD -112.28pts, Max DD -112.28pts.

Sharp Betting Football: Staked 8,406.11pts, -131.79pts, ROI -1.56%, DD -436.6pts, Max DD -436.6pts.

The Transfer Flow (Trial): Staked 860pts, +174.56pts, ROI 20.29%, DD: -0pts, Max DD -34.51pts.

Touchdown Profit: Staked 380pts, -159.42pts, ROI -41.95%, DD -159.42pts. Max DD -159.42pts

Weekly Golf Value: Staked 684pts, +993.62pts, ROI 145.26%, DD -0pts, Max DD -218.8pts

Total: Staked 13,356.51pts, +2,203.24pts, ROI 16.49%, DD -0pts, Max DD -427.92pts, Bank Growth 28.99%

My last post was headlined, “56% bank growth…in one bet!!!”.

What’s it going to be in my next post?  “1,000% bank growth…in one bet!!!”, as a Lucky 15 is landed with four double digit winners?

A man can dream.

But, what is no dream, is that following on from a 3 out of 4 winning Lucky 15 using the Bookie Bashing Racing Tracker last week, Weekly Golf Value – taking value priced players from the Bookie Bashing Golf Tracker – put up 200/1 winner of the Genesis Championship in South Korea, Junghwan Lee!  I woke up to the news that a final round 64 had shot Lee to the head of the leader board, and there he had stayed.  Wow!

If memory serves me correctly, and sadly I’ve reached an age where perhaps my memory is not quite as sharp as it was, that’s the biggest winner I’ve ever had on the golf.  I recall a 175/1 winner a couple of years ago, with one bookmaker refusing to pay out claiming palpable error, until Bookie Bashing’s Tom Brownlee and our own Pete got on the case.  That secured the pay out, but funnily enough, I wasn’t able to ever place another meaningful bet with that firm.

Still, this is a time to celebrate, and not the time to start whingeing about bookmakers!

I thought I had a good week, and then I remembered Tom’s video that he posts each week on the Bookie Bashing YouTube channel, that essentially diarises his golf betting.  I knew he had Lee, not only as a single bet but also in some doubles.  If you haven’t seen these videos, I strongly recommend them.  You’ve heard me say before that I really enjoy Tom’s BashCasts and the videos he posts on YT are always an interesting watch.  Try this link.

Without giving too much away other than the headlines, Tom’s Golf Doubles: Week 17 video will be detailing an ROI in excess of 125% since implementing the strategy, err…17 weeks ago.  A figure given something of a boost by his huge win on Sunday.

Hopefully, if you’re an SBC member (and if not, why the bloomin’ heck not!?!) you’ll have seen the Each Way Golf Doubles video posted last week that was recorded by Pete, Tom and myself.  It’s worth watching for one of the most torturous analogies I’ve ever made, and much more for gaining an insight into this very fun betting strategy.

If you watch that, and then watch Tom’s video very closely, you’ll understand why it might be that Tuesday is the day I need to get my ar*e down to Fred’s and Laddies, and not the Wednesday.  It was a bit of a strange week and value on the Tracker was unusually scarce in the shops on Wednesday afternoon, hence why I didn’t put any Doubles down.  Not so scarce on the Tuesday though, eh?  Lesson learnt.

As a footnote, another WGV tip, David Ford, reached the frame for a full place pay out in the Utah Championship PGA event.  His price?  Why, 200/1, naturally.

Everything else that happened over the weekend feels a little overshadowed by golfing events.  But an honourable mention should go to The Transfer Flow which bumped its profit up to a new high after another decent weekend.

On the negative side, I had something of a horror day on Saturday with SharpBetting Football, but a comeback on Sunday meant the weekend’s loss was tiny.  It remains on a fairly significantly sized drawdown, however.  And my Bookie Bashing Football Coupons came a cropper too.  The more important point here though, is that the prices on the Coupon I concentrate on are staying strong.  It’s unusual for me to have a team’s price cut, and I know that if I keep putting down +EV slips, the rewards will come.

Next week I’ll tell you a story about getting into a drug dealer’s car by mistake in one of the less salubrious areas of South Manchester as I came out of William Hill somewhat absentmindedly.  But this week, it’s all about the golf, baby!

October 2025 figures (stakes normalized):

Bookie Bashing Racing Tracker (L15s): Staked 1,510pts, +1,153.64pts, ROI 76.4%, DD -0pts, Max DD -244.62pts.

BB EW Golf Doubles: Staked 231pts, -96.65pts, ROI -41.83%, DD -121pts, Max DD -121pts.

BB Darts Tool: Staked 240pts, +48.49pts, ROI 20.2%, DD: -16.78pts, Max DD: -38.05pts.

DD/HH: Staked 345pts, +427.5pts, ROI 123.91%, DD: -0pts, Max DD -35pts.

BB Football Coupons: Staked 385pts, -93.84pts, ROI 24.37%, DD -198.79pts, Max DD -198.79pts.

Value Bets/Enhanced Specials (Exchange): Staked 315.4pts, -112.87pts, ROI -35.78%, DD -112.28pts, Max DD -112.28pts.

Sharp Betting Football: Staked 8,406.11pts, -131.79pts, ROI -1.56%, DD -436.6pts, Max DD -436.6pts.

The Transfer Flow (Trial): Staked 860pts, +174.56pts, ROI 20.29%, DD: -0pts, Max DD -34.51pts.

Touchdown Profit: Staked 380pts, -159.42pts, ROI -41.95%, DD -159.42pts. Max DD -159.42pts

Weekly Golf Value: Staked 684pts, +993.62pts, ROI 145.26%, DD -0pts, Max DD -218.8pts

Total: Staked 13,356.51pts, +2,203.24pts, ROI 16.49%, DD -0pts, Max DD -427.92pts, Bank Growth 28.99%

In the previous Bet Diary post I mentioned that I felt as if October has become something of a transitional month, largely necessitated by dwindling access to online accounts involving effective closures and restrictions of varying degrees.  A couple of bookmakers still allow bets to be placed, although only to pennies, rendering them essentially redundant.  Others on specific sports, allowing me freedom to continue betting as I choose on different sports (eg. one book won’t take a bet more than £2.50 on football or tennis, but I can still stake reasonably on horse racing and unfettered on golf).  And there are still a couple of firms that are yet to impose restrictions at all.

But here’s the thing.  They know, and I know, that those limitations of staking or even total account closures, are coming.  What I’ve seen over the past few weeks is merely the start of the slippery slope.  And so things have had to change.

That change is, as has happened before, betting much more with cash in shops.  Which is fine.  I enjoy it.  But it does require an adjustment in terms of timing and planning how you can bet and when.  I work full time.  I coach cricket.  I have a wife.  I have two kids, although with both at Uni now the time demand from them is not what it was when they were children.  The point is though, is that life is for living, and not just betting.

When I wrote on Monday that I see October as an experimental month, it isn’t a case of seeing what strategies and betting services I want to follow, but an exercise in finding out which I can follow.  How can I structure my days in a way that allows me to do what I need and want to do, and in a way that still allows me to bet?  That is the question that October has been all about finding an answer to.

I’ll write more on this next week, but for now, two things need mentioning, each of which has had a hugely positive impact on my bottom line this month.

The first of these is a Lucky 15 bet I had sourced from the Bookie Bashing Racing Tracker.  Three winners at 12/1, 11/1 and 7/1 netted a very substantial 852 points of profit.  That’s the equivalent of 56.8% growth of the 1,500 point bank…in one bet!  Happy days!

And the second mention has to be – and this isn’t easy to type, trust me! – for Erling Haaland, who yet again scored first in City’s Champion’s League game and by doing so, delivered another DD/HH winner.  That’s the third this month.  Can’t help thinking Fred really needs to shorten his odds!

Anyway, all told, a very decent week.  Here’s hoping for a follow up from this weekend’s betting.

Have a good one.

October 2025 figures (stakes normalized):

Bookie Bashing Racing Tracker (L15s): Staked 1,225pts, +1,050.11pts, ROI 85.72%, DD -0pts, Max DD -244.62pts.

BB EW Golf Doubles: Staked 231pts, -96.65pts, ROI -41.83%, DD -121pts, Max DD -121pts.

BB Darts Tool: Staked 160pts, +43.49pts, ROI 27.18%, DD: -21.78pts, Max DD: -38.05pts.

DD/HH: Staked 345pts, +427.5pts, ROI 123.91%, DD: -0pts, Max DD -35pts.

BB Football Coupons: Staked 175pts, +43.75pts, ROI 25%, DD -61.2pts, Max DD -61.2pts.

Value Bets/Enhanced Specials (Exchange): Staked 315.4pts, -112.87pts, ROI -35.78%, DD -112.28pts, Max DD -112.28pts.

Sharp Betting Football: Staked 7,211.36pts, +97.9pts, ROI 1.35%, DD -206.91pts, Max DD -248.46pts.

The Transfer Flow (Trial): Staked 680pts, +127.22pts, ROI 18.7%, DD: -0pts, Max DD -34.51pts.

Touchdown Profit: Staked 340pts, -119.42pts, ROI -35.12%, DD -119.42pts. Max DD -119.42pts

Weekly Golf Value: Staked 558pts, -163.8pts, ROI -29.35%, DD -163.8pts, Max DD -218.8pts

Total: Staked 11,240.76pts, +1,297.23pts, ROI 11.54%, DD -0pts, Max DD -427.92pts, Bank Growth 17.06%

It was a fairly quiet weekend’s betting, truth be told.  Only one DD/HH bet (backing someone playing for Nottingham Forest to score at all, let alone first, did feel a triumph for optimism over reality, tbh), only one golf tournament (so no each way golf doubles), and not that much value by way of racing for Bookie Bashing driven Lucky 15s.

That said, one slip did look like it could pay a bumper return after a 33/1 winner and a placed at 16s, but it wasn’t to be.  The return was nothing to sniff at, but it wasn’t huge.  Not even big enough to push me to a new high profit point for the month.

One service who did run hot was The Transfer Flow, which is now racing along at an ROI of 24%, way, way higher than long term expectation.  Saturday was a stormer as six of seven Championship bets returned a profit.

My plan was to trial this service for a month, but I’ve extended the trial period to two months after the recent snooze fest of an international break brought tipping to a halt for a couple of weeks.  So far, I’m managing to match the official prices on the vast majority of picks, beat the price of one or two, and perhaps have to accept a tick or two lower on the odd three of four.  Still playing to low stakes and one thing I would say is that the Exchange markets are more than liquid enough to facilitate a significant raising of the stakes if I so choose.  We’re betting on the Asian Handicaps in the Premier League, Championship and Champions’ League.  You don’t really get markets more liquid than those.

I briefly thought that Weekly Golf Value was going to enjoy a good win when Daniel Hillier led halfway through the final round.  But a double-bogey/bogey/bogey sequence across the back nine did for those fanciful notions.  There was a profit on the week as two places were landed, although Hillier wasn’t one of them.  Muppet!

Talking of golf, I was fortunate enough to record a video outlining the Each Way Golf Doubles with SBC Pete and Tom Brownlee on Friday.  Look out for that.  Tom and Pete talk a lot of sense, although singling out golfers to lambast for their inability to land returns I thought was a bit harsh!  I opted out.  I mean, you never know who might just watch/listen…

A poor few days for SharpBetting Football but we were due them.

It all feels like October is an experimental month.  Trying a few things here, a few things there.  It is all beginning to fall into place though and I think I’m more or less clear on how things will move forward from 1st November.  As I’ve suggested in recent posts, a lot more betting will be done in shop than has previously been the case this year.  So let’s hope that the Chancellor doesn’t end up raising the taxes on gambling firms as threatened, with large scale closures of offices up and down the country!  That simply wouldn’t do.

October 2025 figures (stakes normalized):

Bookie Bashing Racing Tracker (L15s): Staked 1,015pts, +171.49pts, ROI 16.89%, DD -180.17pts, Max DD -244.62pts.

BB EW Golf Doubles: Staked 231pts, -96.65pts, ROI -41.83%, DD -121pts, Max DD -121pts.

BB Darts Tool: Staked 160pts, +43.49pts, ROI 27.18%, DD: -21.78pts, Max DD: -38.05pts.

DD/HH: Staked 305pts, +340pts, ROI 111.47%, DD: -20pts, Max DD -35pts.

BB Football Coupons: Staked 140pts, +78.75pts, ROI 56.25%, DD -26.2pts, Max DD -26.2pts.

Value Bets/Enhanced Specials (Exchange): Staked 315.4pts, -112.87pts, ROI -35.78%, DD -112.28pts, Max DD -112.28pts.

Sharp Betting Football: Staked 6,118.36pts, +108.45pts, ROI 1.77%, DD -196.36pts, Max DD -248.46pts.

The Transfer Flow (Trial): Staked 440pts, +105.63pts, ROI 24%, DD: -0pts, Max DD -17.89pts.

Touchdown Profit: Staked 340pts, -119.42pts, ROI -35.12%, DD -119.42pts. Max DD -119.42pts

Weekly Golf Value: Staked 558pts, -163.8pts, ROI -29.35%, DD -163.8pts, Max DD -218.8pts

Total: Staked 9,622.76pts, +355.07pts, ROI 3.68%, DD -184.54pts, Max DD -427.92pts, Bank Growth 5.07%

A loss on the weekend, but not a disastrous one.

Leading the way at present is SharpBetting Football with roughly another 80 points of profit to add to the tally.  Not much to say here other than currently, it’s fitting its role as the portfolio’s steady eddie very well.  I keep putting on the bets, enough of them keep winning, and consequently we see steady growth.  I know from past experience that variance can, inevitably, swing from one extreme to the other though so to be honest, I’m quietly enjoying this satisfying if unspectacular consistency.

Not far behind SBF is the Double Delight/Hat Trick Heaven strategy that saw another first goalscorer land yesterday with Che Adams at 3/1.  I’m not complaining as this win raised the P&L to a new profit high for the month, but Cristiano Ronaldo missing a penalty to open the scoring for Portugal on Saturday grates a touch, I don’t mind telling you.  Muppet!  I always did prefer Messi.

A nice start to life betting the Football Coupons, placing trebles from team’s identified as value by the Bookie Bashing Coupons Tracker.  I’ve started pretty conservatively with my staking as from previous experience, the issue has been getting the prices quoted.  However, there’s one coupon – sure there are more – where the odds and value stand up remarkably well.  I picked it up from an almost throwaway line from Tom in the latest BashCast, so if you want to know which coupon it is, give it a listen!  Anyway, the prices do hold up nicely, and after two break even coupons, managed to hit a 5/7 trebles for a nice return.  I’ll probably look to up the stakes from next month if things don’t change.

Nice ROI from the World Grand Prix Darts tournament, via the BB Darts Tool and betting the Total 180s line.

The only duds last week were the Enhanced Specials/Value Bets and the Gold Each Way Doubles.  Needed Grant Forrest to do better than the Par round he presented us with to land what would have been a couple of placed bets and a much smaller loss.  As it was, a blank week. No Doubles bets this week coming either as the PGA is on a break.

Here are the numbers.

October 2025 figures (stakes normalized):

Bookie Bashing Racing Tracker (L15s): Staked 640pts, +152.41pts, ROI 23.81%, DD -199.25pts, Max DD -199.25pts.

BB EW Golf Doubles: Staked 231pts, -96.65pts, ROI -41.83%, DD -121pts, Max DD -121pts.

BB Darts Tool: Staked 160pts, +43.49pts, ROI 27.18%, DD: -21.78pts, Max DD: -38.05pts.

DD/HH: Staked 260pts, +260pts, ROI 100%, DD: -0pts, Max DD -35pts.

BB Football Coupons: Staked 70pts, +104.95pts, ROI 149.92%, DD -0pts, Max DD -0pts.

Value Bets/Enhanced Specials (Exchange): Staked 315.4pts, -112.87pts, ROI -35.78%, DD -112.28pts, Max DD -112.28pts.

Sharp Betting Football: Staked 4,025.36pts, +285.4pts, ROI 7.09%, DD -0pts, Max DD -248.46pts.

The Transfer Flow (Trial): Staked 220pts, +1.51pts, ROI 0.68%, DD: -17.89pts, Max DD -17.89pts.

Touchdown Profit: Staked 280pts, -98.62pts, ROI -35.22%, DD -98.62pts. Max DD -98.62pts

Weekly Golf Value: Staked 454pts, -218.8pts, ROI -48.19%, DD -218.8pts, Max DD -218.8pts

Total: Staked 6,626.25pts, +340.8pts, ROI 5.14%, DD -210.53pts, Max DD -427.92pts, Bank Growth 4.86%

A successful week so far, but being totally honest, with not too much of significance or of note to report back on.

There have been two exceptions to the mundane.  First, SharpBetting Football has really hit its straps for me this week, producing a healthy profit to push up to a new profit high for both the month, and all time.  It has felt like a betting methodology that runs to short term extremes of variance.  I think though that this is pure psychology talking.

It just feels like I get runs of lots of winners or lots of losers.  In reality, there are plenty of days when I see a rough 50% strike rate, but the losses and gains really have come in spurts.  Perhaps the sense of feast or famine comes from the fact that presently, it is the one high turnover service or strategy I’m following.  When I think back to when I was able to bet the eSports Football which was prolific in its pick release, it didn’t feel quite the same way as it does now.  It’s interesting how different context can impact the psychology.

The other strategy to come up roses this week has been the Bookie Bashing Darts Tool.  I don’t get much opportunity to watch the darts any more, which may not be a bad thing for the heart.  I’m telling you, there’s no more acute sport to watch when you have money riding on it in terms of tension.  You’re frequently winning a lot or losing a substantial amount on the basis of millimetres and which side of a wire the dart lands.  Never has talk of “small margins” been more apt.

Anyway, without watching the World Grand Prix this week, four winning bets from six on the Total 180s line has generated a near 40% ROI, so I guess those arrers have mainly landed on the right side of the wire.

One final point heading into the weekend…

BRING BACK PROPER FOOTBALL!!!!!

Have a good one, folks.

October 2025 figures (stakes normalized):

Bookie Bashing Racing Tracker (L15s): Staked 390pts, +272.45pts, ROI 69.85%, DD -85.39pts, Max DD -85.39pts.

BB EW Golf Doubles: Staked 110pts, +24.35pts, ROI 22.13%, DD -0pts, Max DD -0pts.

BB Darts Tool: Staked 120pts, +47.22pts, ROI 39.95%, DD: -18.05pts, Max DD: -18.05pts.

DD/HH: Staked 160pts, +211.25pts, ROI 132.03%, DD: -0pts, Max DD -35pts.

Value Bets/Enhanced Specials (Exchange): Staked 84.4pts, -25pts, ROI -38.81%, DD -25pts, Max DD -35pts.

Sharp Betting Football: Staked 2,834.86pts, +211.03pts, ROI 7.44%, DD -0pts, Max DD -114.56pts.

The Transfer Flow (Trial): Staked 220pts, +1.51pts, ROI 0.68%, DD: -17.89pts, Max DD -17.89pts.

Touchdown Profit: Staked 120pts, -98.44pts, ROI -70.31%, DD -78.44pts. Max DD -78.44pts

Weekly Golf Value: Staked 246pts, -174pts, ROI -70.73%, DD -174pts, Max DD -174pts

Total: Staked 4,332.26pts, +442.12pts, ROI 10.1%, DD -109.21pts, Max DD -427.92pts, Bank Growth 6.31%

Last week was Erling Haaland week, with the Norwegian with the freak physical attributes twice delivering on a Double Delight/Hat Trick Heaven bet.  That City still won yesterday at Brentford after he scored the game’s only goal was slightly irritating.  I prefer it when, as in the Champions’ League game against Monaco midweek, he scored first, and again, and City still didn’t win.  That’s far more enjoyable.  But to be honest, a half decent return on a bet didn’t go amiss because the weekend’s betting as a whole was a bit disappointing.

There were no notable gains other than for that DD/HH bet, and Weekly Golf Value, SharpBetting Football, and Bookie Bashing Racing Tracker L15s had an underwhelming time of it.

One service that broke even for me was The Transfer Flow, which may well be unfamiliar to many (most?) of you but is a service I’ve mentioned in passing before now.  It’s run by Ted Knutson, who played a big part in introducing the use of data analytics to FC Midtjylland, worked in a similar capacity at Brentford FC under renowned gambler Matthew Benham, was for a number of years a pro-gambler himself and played the leading role in Pinnacle Sports’ rise to the top of the global bookmaking charts.  Quite the cv!

I really like his stuff.  His podcast on football, paying attention to tactics and data is always an interesting listen, and his cheap betting service is “interesting”.  During our winter, all concentration is on the Premier League and Championship, plus the Champions’ League.  I won’t go into why he’s set up a tipping service to run alongside his free, daily email offering, but all that info is easily found at The Transfer Flow website.

To be honest, I’m not sure if what is currently a trial will last.  During the last midweek I wasn’t able to get a few of the prices on the Exchanges for the Championship picks.  It was better this weekend, missing only one bet that had steamed in before I’d been able to get on it, but let’s just say the “trial” remains a “trial” and we’ll see where it goes.

Here are the figures.

October 2025 figures (stakes normalized):

Bookie Bashing Racing Tracker (L15s): Staked 210pts, +266.27pts, ROI 126.79%, DD -85.39pts, Max DD -85.39pts.

BB EW Golf Doubles: Staked 110pts, +24.35pts, ROI 22.13%, DD -0pts, Max DD -0pts.

DD/HH: Staked 160pts, +211.25pts, ROI 132.03%, DD: -0pts, Max DD -35pts.

Value Bets/Enhanced Specials (Exchange): Staked 84.4pts, -25pts, ROI -38.81%, DD -25pts, Max DD -35pts.

Sharp Betting Football: Staked 1,560.86pts, +1.42pts, ROI 0.09%, DD -114.56pts, Max DD -114.56pts.

The Transfer Flow (Trial): Staked 220pts, +1.51pts, ROI 0.68%, DD: -17.89pts, Max DD -17.89pts.

Touchdown Profit: Staked 100pts, -58.44pts, ROI -58.44%, DD -58.44pts. Max DD -58.44pts

Weekly Golf Value: Staked 246pts, -174pts, ROI -70.73%, DD -174pts, Max DD -174pts

Total: Staked 2,681.26pts, +247.36pts, ROI 9.22%, DD -303.97pts, Max DD -303.97pts, Bank Growth 3.53%

So, all change from the 1st October as I seek to address the issues I’ve written about recently, namely being again squeezed by bookmaker restrictions and the time practicalities of betting through the day, which with my son back at his studies means not being able to check for bets every ten minutes.

Instead, I’ve put into place more shop betting, but executed at times that suit me and that I can plan around my work.  Lunch times and early evening are easy for me to get to my local BetFred, Ladbrokes and/or William Hill (the furthest away of those is a ten minute drive), and an hour on Wednesday afternoon to get Each Way Golf Doubles sorted is easy to plan around.  One advantage I have over many I appreciate, is that I work for myself.  So slipping out of the “office” on a Wednesday is easy to do.  I simply do the conscientious thing and start work an hour earlier than I usually do on a Wednesday morning to compensate.

With things having gone largely wrong most recently (whilst keeping in mind that 2025 overall has been kind thus far) it has been really pleasing to have got the “new” format off to a flier on Wednesday and Thursday this week.

I used to have great success with the Bookie Bashing First Goalscorer input for the BetFred Double Delight/Hat Trick Heaven concession.  I remember many a Saturday afternoon dog walk, listening to Radio 5 Live commentary on the Airpods, seeing a discreet fist pump as one of the players I’d backed scored the first goal.  I remember one time almost being tempted to jump into the lake I was walking by when Haaland scored a hat trick when I was on him (before remembering that really, anything connected to Manchester City doing well wasn’t something to be celebrated, and duly having a harsh word with myself).  Last year though, Fred cut back from offering DD/HH on every Premier League match plus others, to only games that were being shown live on TV.  This reduced the number of opportunities, and with betting more online again, I kinda just let it go.

Something I’d noted though, is Sky’s pre-season advertising which boasted of the significantly higher number of matches they were covering live this year.  More live matches = more DD/HH opportunities!

First bet back on Wednesday night…Erling Haaland (yup, him again) vs Monaco.  This time, the almost perfect scenario.  Haaland scores the first, and then again, and still City didn’t win.  Happy days!

And then yesterday, back to the Bookie Bashing Racing Tracker and each way Lucky 15s.  One nice bet – Place 12/1, Place 11/1, Win 18/1, Place 25/1 – paid a nice return of 25 times the stake.  Welcome back, my old friend.

An up and down start to October for last month’s star, SharpBetting Football.  Great day on Wednesday, not such a good day yesterday.  But nicely up overall.

I don’t know how long it will last for but the online firm where I can no longer bet on horse racing, tennis or football (or at least, not meaningfully due to the size of the stake restrictions) is still not blinking an eye at my golf betting, which means getting on the Weekly Golf Value bets remains relatively straightforward.  I don’t want to read too much into this, and nor do I wish to tempt fate, but the three online books I use predominantly for these bets are still letting me get the money down that I want.  Probably helps that one of the winners this year came from outside of this triumvirate of bookmakers.  Let’s see how long it lasts for.

Talking of golf, a fairly busy week this week for the EW Golf Doubles and it would be lovely for that to add to the momentum found over the first two days of the month.  We’ve not really had much joy yet with these, but it’s only a matter of time.

Got to say, I’ve really enjoyed getting back into the shops again.  Betting online can be a lonely process at times.  I enjoy the human interaction in the shops.  Well, some of the shops anyway (the Hills staff aren’t the friendliest, if I’m being brutally honest).  The staff in my nearest BetFred have always been great and it’s by far my favourite shop to go to.  Bit of banter about the football – big City fans in there, and they know my Arsenal allegiances – and having not been for a while until starting up with the Golf Doubles last month, they welcomed me back like old we were all old friends.  Probably remember the odd tip I’d given after picking up a nice win.

And finally…looking forward to Sunday evening.  Another reintroduction into the portfolio is Touchdown Profit, and I really enjoy watching the NFL games on a Sunday evening.  Glass of wine, full up after Sunday dinner…a nice way to wind down and calm yourself before the chaos of the working week begins again.  Bring it on.

Finally, there are services/strategies you’ll see below which I haven’t explained yet.  I will.  I’ve also reintroduced current drawdown (DD) and maximum drawdown (Max DD) figures, as a point of interest.

Have a great weekend!

October 2025 figures (stakes normalized):

Bookie Bashing Racing Tracker (L15s): Staked 90pts, +351.66pts, ROI 390.7%, DD -0pts, Max DD -5.78pts.

BB EW Golf Doubles: n/a

DD/HH: Staked 95pts, +145pts, ROI 152.63%, DD: -35pts, Max DD -35pts.

Value Bets/Enhanced Specials (Exchange): Staked 35pts, -35pts, ROI -100%, DD -35pts, Max DD -35pts.

Sharp Betting Football: Staked 596pts, +70.27pts, ROI 11.79%, DD -45.71pts, Max DD -45.71pts.

The Transfer Flow (Trial): Staked 20pts, +19.4pts, ROI 97%, DD: -0pts, Max DD -0pts.

Touchdown Profit: n/a

Weekly Golf Value: n/a

Total: Staked 836pts, +551.33pts, ROI 65.94%, DD -0pts, Max DD -0pts, Bank Growth 7.87%

I just delayed posting until now so I could get the final figures in for the month.

September has been a particularly underwhelming month, and several issues have arisen that frankly, have been a little tiresome to deal with.  I’ve recognised the problems, because I’ve been through these situations before.  More to the point, I knew they would arrive again, and have therefore had plenty of time to think ahead.

In a nutshell, the time has arrived again to start to look towards betting predominantly in shops and on the exchanges.

Look at the Staked figures for David’s Daily and SharpBetting Football, the two services to emerge from September with real credit.  Those decimal points tell us something.  That getting on bets online has become increasingly difficult.  Those decimals reflect restricted stakes, and to be honest the stakes I was using weren’t huge.

The other news is that sadly, the drawdown The Value Machine Exchange Profit has experienced for me, has over the weekend reached the size of bank allocated to it.  I wrote about this last week, and it’s sad.  There is a service from a thoroughbred team designed to work on the exchanges, which is what I need.

One other aspect to my betting that changed in the last couple of weeks, and soon became clear that I would have to react to, is that my lad resumed his Uni studies.  I know this sounds a bit strange when we’re talking about students, but that has meant that time is not all of a sudden, his greatest resource and whereas some betting could be done, not with the consistency that is required.

So, changes are coming for October.

I’ll go through these in my next post, but my betting now has to be designed largely around work, and being able to get to bookmaker shops.  I’m fortunate in that I have a number of BetFreds, William Hills and Ladbrokes all within a very short drive.  I’ve been here before, and I’ve been able to make it work.

Where will I still be able to use online bookmakers?

Well, the two firms I use predominantly for golf betting via Weekly Golf Value are, surprisingly, still viable.  One of those firms has completely closed my ability to bet on football and tennis, but golf so far – touch wood – remains unfettered.  I say that, but with the Ryder Cup taking place last week, I’ve not actually tried to place a golfing bet for a couple of weeks.  Perhaps I’ll get a nasty shock later today, we’ll see.

So for the moment, it’s going to be shops and exchanges.  But, there may be options.  There are some soft books that I need to explore, and there are other avenues to explore and I fully intend to.  But for now, this is the direction I need to head in, as much due to personal circumstances as anything else.

I guess that’s one of the things about this column.  It does reflect real life.  I’m not a professional gambler who can designate all my time to betting.  It does need to fit around personal circumstance, which is, I’m guessing, the case for almost everyone.

Below are the figures for September.  Not much to say, really, other than bring on October.  What I should add for context is that for the year to date, we’re sitting on overall bank growth of almost 60%.  That’s not at all shabby, and we’ll see what the last quarter of 2025 brings.

September 2025 (stakes normalised)…

Bookie Bashing Golf Tracker/WGV: Staked 664pts, -93pts, ROI -14%, ROC -6.53%

BB Tracker Each Way Golf Doubles: Staked 304pts, -186.79pts, ROI -61.44%, ROC -9.33%.

David’s Daily: Staked 1,430.16pts, +359.6pts, ROI 25.14%, ROC 35.96%

The Value Machine Exchange Profit: Staked 960pts, -294.65pts, ROI -30.69%, ROC -23.57%

Tilt The Odds: Staked 629.6pts, -174.844pts, ROI -18.8%, ROC -11.65%.

SharpBetting Football Model: Staked 6,311.64pts, +399.44pts, ROI 6.32%, ROC 26.62%.

WinnerOdds Tennis: Staked 7,219pts, -276.09pts, ROI -3.82%, ROC -13.8%.

TOTAL: Staked 17,518.4pts, -266.33pts, ROI -1.52%, ROC -3.8%