The Golden Age

As I sit here at my desk writing this post, the rain is absolutely hammering it down outside.  It’s miserable, but at least it’s getting rid of the slush and ice that preceded it.

I bloomin’ hate winter weather.  I hate it more when I know that there’s a great big hairy mutt, currently dozing by the radiator, who is very shortly going to need walking!

The Changing Tipster Landscape

When I recently discovered that the polls were open to SBC members to vote for their best and worst of within the betting world, it caused me to think a little about how good we punters have it these days.  Sure, the bookmakers don’t make things easy, but if it’s one thing I’ve learnt this year it is that with a bit of thought and pre-planning it is possible to maintain accounts for a decent period and retain access to Best Odds Guaranteed.  So even with this (surmountable) obstacle in our way, I’m telling you we’ve never had it so good.

Casting my mind back just a few short years, finding and then following an honourable and profitable tipster was nigh on impossible.  If you did manage to find one, you could count your blessings.

Seriously, the number of tipsters I tried and got ripped off by wasn’t funny!  I was naive, ringing 0898 ‘phone lines (not that type – the betting lines, I mean), paying some ridiculous rate per minute for the call only to listen to some dodgy geezer wittering on and on to make the message as long (and therefore as profitable for him) as possible before concluding with some drivel about how the 1/3 on shot in the 2.40 couldn’t be beaten.  Connections were going in BIG, don’t you know!  Yeah, right. That’s shrewd.

Or there were the guys who stuck small ads in the Racing Post and got you to stick 20 quid on for them and send on the winnings.  All very well and good, but obviously most would give out every horse in the race to the different mugs that would call so that they were guaranteed some form of payment.  It wasn’t until both I and my mate rang the same number by mistake one day and were given different horses in the same race that we twigged it.

So when I first heard of the SBC, I presumed it was a scam and it took me about a year before I actually signed up.

But look at things now.  There are so many tipping services out there now that not only have proved themselves to be profitable, but which are also run on an extremely professional basis.  If a tipster can’t produce a clear, concise and verified record of their bets, they don’t get very far.  If they treat their customers with anything other than courtesy and helpfulness, they don’t get very far.  If they quote unrealistic prices, they don’t get very far.  You get the message.

Telling the truth?

As an example of what I’m saying, read this post: How To Check if a Tipster is Telling the Truth.  Can you imagine, back in the punting dark ages (about ten years or so ago) that we’d have access to folk we can trust to do all the checking to make sure we really can make a profit by following Tipster A or B?

I’m telling you folks, the tipster landscape has changed.  We’ve entered a Golden Age.

Northern Monkey’s excellent Saturday

Overall it’s been a pretty quiet start to the month, as you will see from the figures below.  But that doesn’t mean the betting has been without it’s excitement.

Last Saturday (9th) for example, saw Northern Monkey play a blinder.  First we had Blacklion, backed antepost at 8s and again  at 7/2 win the Becher Chase at Aintree, and then we had Gas Line Boy which had also been supported antepost at 8s and again separately in a double with a 9/4 winner, dot up in the Grand Sefton.  Smashing stuff!

Betting for December

So after 10 days, the portfolio is showing an ROI of 2.51% and bank growth of just 0.44% for the month to date.

AH Edge: Staked 24pts, +1.56pts.

Chasemaster: Staked 7.5pts, +7.05pts.

Football Service 1: Staked 9pts, +1.841pts.

Jason James: Staked 36.5pts, -12.5pts.

MVS (Lite): Staked 22pts, -1.375pts.

Northern Monkey: Staked 23.875pts, +9.407pts.

Pilelist Racing: Staked 10.046pts, -8.61pts.

Racing Service A: Staked 11.75pts, -2.75pts.

Racing Service B: Staked 20.5pts, +5pts.