There are a few things in the betting world that make me feel sick to the pit of my stomach…
The recurring nightmare I have featuring John McCririck prouncing around in his underpants on Celebrity Big Brother aside, recently it’s been the pitiful way that bookmakers are trying so hard to be ‘the punters friend’, which is really starting to get my goat.
Whether it be incessant matey tweeting, giving ‘betting tips’ or TV adverts declaring they have the best odds, they are doing their best to hide their real intentions from punters.
The reason? Well quite simply when it comes to betting, the battle lines are clearly drawn. The bookies only make a profit when you lose.
There are a few exceptions, such as the likes of Pinnacle Sports and others mainly based out in Asia. However if we are talking about many of the UK’s best known bookies, then, first and foremost they are only interested in taking your hard earned cash off you (By any means possible!).
And what’s more, they use a number of ways and means to do it, some of which are very subtle. Therefore here at SBC, we want to share these secrets and help you wise up to the bookies tricks, so with that in mind here are my top tips on what to watch out for!
Watch out for races that bookies have sponsored
Now we all know that the bookies will deny it until the cows come home, but watch the odds on a big race when a bookmaker is sponsoring it. Very often the sponsors will have extracted their pound of flesh by getting insider knowledge on all their day’s’ runners and riders (one way or another). Now it isn’t illegal (the conversations may have involved ‘theoretical’ discussions about the sponsors laying specific bets from trainers or connections), but it is certainly unethical.
Don’t bet out of loyalty or because of a ‘brand’
One well known bookie rep is known to tweet about a big staking gambler who bets huge sums of money with them on German football. Now, there is nothing wrong with this per se, but its despite the fact that his companies odds are amongst the very worst for these markets. Think about it – if you were placing £100,000 on a bet, would you take 6/4 or 2/1? The difference in profit if the bet wins is huge. If placing a bet, don’t be like this German punter and make sure you do it with the firm offering the best odds, not out of any loyalty to a bookmaker or a brand. You can be sure if you started taking money off them, they wouldn’t show you any.
Avoid the bets or markets that bookies tempt you with
Bookies love certain types of football bets such as scorecasts where you bet on the correct score/ first goalscorer as they know they vary rarely win and the odds are not value. Many punters are blinded to this fact by the temptation of seemingly large profits if they win. It’s one reason they love to advertise them and a golden rule is to avoid any bet that a bookmaker wants you to take!
Question why the bookies want you to bet with them
Bookmakers love to engender loyalty and reward those punters that stay with them. They do this for one reason and one reason only – because they think you’re going to lose money with them. If your bookie is regularly offering you freebies (from yearly diaries to free cups of tea in a betting shop) question exactly why. Ideally, you want your bookie to hate everything about you and keep a miniature voodoo doll of you under his desk!
Avoid their casinos and games
Many bookmakers these days make little or no money from traditional betting such as horse racing and football. Instead they swell their coffers by incentivising you to play in their casino or on various betting ‘games’. Some of these offers can be very tempting, but remember why they want you to start using them – to lose money. They have been the graveyard for many a punter.
Avoid FOBTs – Fixed Odds Betting Terminals
They are in the news today as the UK government has foolishly decided not to crack down on these addictive machines, where many people can lose hundreds, if not thousands of pounds in a day. It’s one reason there are so many high street bookies these days as they are restricted to 4 per shop, where very often the revenue from these alone ensure they can stay open.
More Help Defeating The Enemy
It pays to remember that the bookmaker is not your friend despite their best intentions to persuade you otherwise. This is why here at the Smart Betting Club we have a whole stack of expert advice to help you ‘defeat the enemy’ including:
- How to protect your betting accounts
- Our guide to the best football bookmakers
- Offshore & Asian bookmaker guide
- Know your enemy: Bookie restriction master class (2 part series)
Gain access to all this content and more the instant you join us at the Smart Betting Club. Click here to join.
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