Betting Podcasts

🎧SBC Podcast #81 – 🎧Pisky On An Infamous (HUGE) Edge With One Bookie & How He Made It Pay🎧

Posted on by Josh P

In the latest SBC Podcast I am joined by Alex Piskopos (AKA ‘Pisky’), a serial betting winner and entrepreneur with some amazing stories to share – including details of the very successful betting operation he was a key part of and one which made him some serious profits!

You can listen to Episode 81 now via Apple / Spotify / YouTube and all other major podcast directories (search Smart Betting Club)

Pisky is a man with many strings to his bow, with extensive industry experience, podcasting and working with some of the sharpest betting groups all being part of his background.

First off though, he walked me through a quite remarkable story about his time at the Ontario Lottery Gaming Corporation (OLG) and how he took serious advantage of an edge he spotted whilst working there.

After leaving OLG, he teamed up with his betting partner ‘The Fulldog’ and scaled up a very impressive betting operation that truly maximised the edge available to him. Its a story that gets to the heart of the logistics involved in running a larger betting operation with a team of runners, handling large sums of cash, arranging deals with shop owners and much more besides!

We also touch upon Pisky’s more current work as he diversifies away from betting 24/7 and grinding away for profit. Part of this relates to continued work with betting groups whilst he also has more experience than most in using cryptocurrencies alongside co-hosting his own podcast – ​Always Betting​.

You can also support the SBC Podcast by visiting our brand new podcast sponsor, Matchbook. You can get 150 days, commission free with them via this link.

 

In this chat, Pisky and I talk about:

  • An introduction to Pisky – where does the name come from?!
  • What Pisky is doing at the moment
  • A revenge story – exploiting a lucrative loop hole!
  • Building the infrastructure to exploit an edge
  • Practical advice for retail punters
  • Networking and its importance
  • Crypto – a growing betting space & a way to move away from traditional banking
  • The issues that come with both winning and losing
  • Diversifying and doing different work around full-time betting
  • Creating content and the ‘Always Betting Podcast’
  • How to find and communicate with Pisky online

To that last bullet point, for those of you who would like to follow Pisky on social media, you can do so on X/Twitter @RiskyPisky_, Instagram @RiskyPisky_ or @Pisky on Linktree and the Always Betting Podcast can be found here.

Enjoy!

🎧SBC Podcast #80 – Zeus O’Dea On Politics Betting: A US Election Special🎧

Posted on by Josh P

In the latest SBC Podcast I am joined by a guest who is perfectly placed to talk about the biggest betting market of all time: the US Election of 2024!

Zeus O’Dea is a professional bettor and trader at the crypto-book Shuffle, one of the newer entrants into the global betting markets (and a relatively big one at that!).

As a guest, Zeus brings plenty to the table as he specialises in several markets and we dig into two of them – politics and cricket.

With November 5th just weeks away, it is the former that makes up the majority of our chat as Zeus talks us through some of the stranger market moves of recent times and how things like polling and commentators like Nate Silver can impact upon odds.

This chat was like no other as alongside our betting talk, crypto deals in Montenegro and evictions from an Oval Test Match both made it into our conversation too!

You can listen to Episode 80 now via Apple / Spotify / YouTube and all other major podcast directories (search Smart Betting Club)

You can also support the SBC Podcast by visiting our brand new podcast sponsor, Matchbook. You can get 150 days, commission free with them via this link.

 

In this chat, Zeus and I talk about:

  • Zeus’s Travels
  • How Zeus got into the betting world
  • Moving into employment with Shuffle
  • Crypto & how it is different from traditional betting
  • Controversial weather betting & pricing up obscure markets
  • Political betting & BIG bets
  • Taking risks as a bookmaker
  • 2024 – different from previous elections?
  • Polling and its impact on odds
  • Submarkets providing betting opportunities and edges
  • Nate Silver & his opinions on betting markets
  • Useful resources to inform betting choices
  • Cricket betting
  • Zeus being forcibly removed from a Test Match
  • Predictions for the US Election 2024
  • How to find Zeus

With the US Election likely to dominate the traditional and betting news in the next few weeks we will be providing further content with expert guests joining me for reactions to market moves and their very best bets. Make sure to follow us on social media @SBCInfo to keep up to date with this!

For those of you who would like to follow Zeus on social media, you can do so on X/Twitter @ZeusODea.

I hope that you enjoy the listen!

🎧SBC Podcast #79 – Thomas Pearson On Punting, Tipping & How To Treat Customers Fairly!🎧

Posted on by Josh P

In the latest SBC Podcast I am joined by a fascinating guest who’s service was the at the centre of the latest SBC Magazine.

Thomas Pearson is the owner/operator of the service that bears his name and he has built up a very impressive record since he started his horse racing tipping at the start of 2023.

Big prices, big winners and 20%+ returns to Betfair SP have made him popular with a wide ranging audience and in this chat we discuss all aspects of his service alongside his journey to get here and his own personal betting.

Thomas’s Fair Odds Policy was also a big part of our chat as we went through what he does, why he does it and how this compares to the rest of the tipster market (of who many have no qualms in taking the best prices before markets have even formed!).

You can listen to Episode 79 now via Apple / Spotify / YouTube and all other major podcast directories (search Smart Betting Club)

You can also support the SBC Podcast by visiting our brand new podcast sponsor, Matchbook. You can get 150 days, commission free with them via this link.

 

In this chat, Thomas and I talk about:

  • An introduction to Thomas Pearson
  • Thomas’s punting – is he a full-time punter?
  • How ‘TP’ got here
  • Switching from being ‘degenerate’ to betting more selectively
  • Horse racing only? What else does TP bet on?
  • Thomas’s favourite types of races for betting & tipping
  • Tissue pricing & other ways to determine price
  • What makes a horse value? How does a race set up help?
  • Thomas’s favourite code & race types
  • TP Racing Tips & what came before
  • Data, drawdowns & tempering expectations
  • Fair odds, attainable prices & bad tipster practices discussed
  • An edge at BSP
  • How Thomas bets his tips
  • A very affordable price point
  • Betting on pool – a possible future service?!

Thomas was a great guest and the way he runs his service is both innovative and refreshing.

One quote that stood out in our chat was ‘One thing I would say is… a tipster’s record…if you’re following them, you should be able to better them.‘ – I wholeheartedly agree!

I hope that you enjoy the listen!

🎧Tipster Follow Up: Matthew Trenhaile On Tipsters🎧

Posted on by Josh P

As a follow up to SBC Podcast #78 (which I have linked up below incase you missed it), today, we were joined by Matthew Trenhaile to talk about all things tipsters.

Matthew has been a long time user of the Smart Betting Club (he even goes back to the Secret Betting Club days!) and he has many views on how to assess tipsters that were as interesting as you would expect!

Click here or on the image below to listen to this chat with Matthew, Pete and Josh – we have nearly 2 and a half hours worth of ‘Trench’ content from this week and you can get stuck into all of it from this page!

In this chat, Josh and I asked questions relating to:

  • Why tipsters do what they do and why ‘not being a millionaire’ is not a reason to ignore them
  • Trench’s favourite tipsters and services he rates highly
  • Matthew’s process for assessing tipsters and ‘bare minimum’ requirements he has
  • Intricacies between data driven selections and more nuanced expertise that tipsters can possess
  • CLV, bookmakers’ responses to bets and edges that can go unnoticed
  • Oddschecker’s ‘Betting Professor’

If you want to listen to the aforementioned SBC Podcast with Trench, you can do so here:

You can listen to Episode 78 via Apple / Spotify / YouTube and all other major podcast directories (search Smart Betting Club)

🎧SBC Podcast #78 – Matthew Trenhaile Answers YOUR Questions In This Special Episode!🎧

Posted on by Josh P

In the latest SBC Podcast I am joined by a guest that I have been chasing and cajoling for for a long, long time!

Matthew Trenhaile (or ‘Trench’) has worked in various roles within the industry for operators such as Mustard Bet and most recently, Pinnacle.

Alongside this, he has compiled odds for several sports, worked at spread firms (in both betting and finance) and developed an insight into the betting ecosystem that few possess.

Trench’s newest venture is a consultancy, Anubis Trading, and with the launch of his own business, he has been on somewhat of a ‘whistlestop tour’ of leading podcasts in Europe, North America and South America.

With that in mind, we did something a bit different for his appearance on the SBC Podcast, with an ‘Ask Me Anything’ special where you, the audience, posed questions.

Those questions and Trench’s answers can be found below with everything from sharp bookmaking, tipsters, moral questions and even ice cream covered. Enjoy!

You can listen to Episode 78 now via Apple / Spotify / YouTube and all other major podcast directories (search Smart Betting Club)

You can also support the SBC Podcast by visiting our brand new podcast sponsor, Matchbook. You can get 150 days, commission free with them via this link.

In this chat, Matthew and I talk about:

  • 97% lose – why do sportsbooks limit winners?
  • Why has Pinnacle not been imitated?
  • Pinnacle never restrict – or do they?
  • What does the future look like for crypto books?
  • Polymarket – what does Trench think?
  • Who is shaping the UK & Irish horse racing markets?
  • Steam Chasing
  • BSP betting – skill or variance? How do we assess this?
  • What are the best edges Trench has ever seen?
  • The best ever bettor in Trench’s opinion?
  • Why isn’t Matthew a pro gambler?
  • Racing punting and sharing picks publicly!
  • Using tipsters
  • The morality of the betting industry
  • Tips for a 20-year-old starting out
  • 5/2 on a coin toss – how much is Trench having on?
  • Ice cream discussion
  • Anubis Trading and where to find Matthew

This will no doubt be one of our most popular ever podcasts and the fact that it went well over an hour (whilst feeling like a lot less!) demonstrates how much we talked about!

Matthew mentions a topic very close to your collective hearts as SBC Members and followers during the chat and a follow up may be a lot sooner than you think. I will let you know when that’s set up – in the meantime, enjoy the show!

🖋️ Mads Kindberg Nielsen: Mastering The Mental Game In Sports Betting 🖋️

Posted on by Josh P

Mads Kindberg Nielsen was a recent guest on SBC Podcast #77 (links for which are below) and at the end of that chat, he talked about betting psychology with some practical tips to improve performance, whatever level of bettor you are! With Mads’ permission, we have translated a post where he writes about this (that he released in Danish at https://monetosbetting.dk/kindbergs-corner-hold-styr-paa-hovedet/)to read here. No edits have been made to the text – here it is:

Mads Kindberg Nielsen, co-owner of Monetos and long-time successful sports bettor, writes blogs on relevant topics within the betting world. The blog only expresses the writer’s opinion. 

You have to master the mental game in sports betting.

If you don’t have your head down, you can’t call yourself a good sports bettor. It’s that simple in my world. With the exception of responsible gambling/bankroll management, it is the most important feature in sports betting.

‘But what about my mathematical skills, my ability to read a football match or my large database of all sorts of statistics,’ you might think.

My answer: It doesn’t really matter if you piss off the entire month’s profit – or MUCH worse all your money – on one bad day, because you have played badly and irresponsibly and not been there in your head!

We sports bettors are constantly practicing to get better. We put an extra column in the spreadsheet with new numbers, so our model is (possibly) 0.3784% more accurate. We see extended highlights instead of just the goals. We read more and more news about each team and its players. Perhaps one more piece of news is just what gives us an advantage in the market?

In other words: We are working on our A-game. We optimize our A-game. All the time. And that’s fine enough.

But we forget our B- and C-game.

Same mechanisms as in poker

I once read a book called The Mental Game of Poker written by American Jared Tendler. It’s about poker, but the same mechanics apply in sports betting, and it helped me see my game and myself in a completely different light.

When we play our A-game, we’re in the zone. We find the right statistics and use them correctly. We don’t get emotional about overtime scores. Instead, we move on to the next analysis, which we can put our A-game into – WITHOUT changing the bet because ‘what is lost must be won back home’ or other stupid things that our emotions can tell us. No, we stick to the overall strategy of bankroll management and responsible play when we play our A-game.

In our B-game, we still make good decisions – for the most part. Maybe we get a little disturbed by a phone, a screaming baby, maybe we do our analysis with one eye while the other watches the football game on television. The analyzes are not quite as thorough. Overtime scores hurt a little, and we feel how the irritation is slowly moving us further and further towards the place we don’t want to go in any way: Our C-game.

In our C-game, we are on tilt. We make bad bets because we are in the throes of emotion. The brain hides under the desk or in the broom closet, while the emotions control the body and our actions. We no longer want to do the analyses, and the pulse is galloping away. The mouse clicks become harder in frustration, maybe we even slam our hand into the wall or the screen. All rational thinking has been flushed down the toilet, and the worst case scenario is that in our C-game we abandon our overall strategy and, in the worst case, play up our entire bankroll – and maybe even more. No thanks, right?

The next time you feel your C-game, STOP. Make something else. Be with family, friends, watch a good film, go for a walk with the dog. For God’s sake stop playing – and never consider playing again if it’s really bad.

When you’ve cut your C-game completely, you only have your A- and B-game left. So far, so good. So what do you do when you find yourself playing your B-game?

The answer should be self-evident: Then you stop, of course, because then you only have your A-game left.

Mads

You can listen to Episode 77 now via ​Apple​ / ​Spotify​ / ​YouTube​ and all other major podcast directories (search Smart Betting Club)

You can also support the SBC Podcast by visiting our brand new sponsor, Matchbook, with whom you can also get ​150 days commission free via this link​.

🎧SBC Podcast #77 – Mads From Monetos On In-Play Football Betting & Betting Psychology🎧

Posted on by Josh P

In the latest SBC Podcast I am joined by Mads from the in-play football tipping service ​Monetos​ and am pleased to welcome for the first time – our brand new podcast sponsor – ​Matchbook​.

In-play betting has exploded in popularity along with the ‘smartphone era’ and for the most part, it is seen as a very difficult nut to crack, with high overrounds, issues around data feeds and a more complex modelling task all providing challenges for serious bettors.

This does have advantages for the sharp eyed bettor and Mads and his fellow experts at Monetos, have found a way to use their expertise to profit in this market for themselves and others.

Alongside his betting, Mads is a former poker player and journalist so in our chat we talk about how this has shaped where he is today. Betting psychology and mentality are also topics that Mads has written extensively about. This was a brilliant chat which I got so much from – I hope you do too!

You can listen to Episode 77 now via ​Apple​ / ​Spotify​ / ​YouTube​ and all other major podcast directories (search Smart Betting Club)

You can also support the SBC Podcast by visiting our brand new sponsor, Matchbook, with whom you can also get ​150 days commission free via this link​.

In this chat, Mads and I talk about:

  • Mads’ varied professional life
  • Poker and getting a ‘proper job’ in journalism
  • Monetos and Mads and his partners’ vision for the business
  • Balancing a business and betting (& how the relate to each other)
  • Working in a team and finding value together
  • Betting In-Play, why Mads like it and why it offers some hidden benefits
  • Timing and the practical issues that come with having 3 ‘betting games’ at a time!
  • Pricing, bookmakers’ efficiency in getting things right (and where they don’t!)
  • Challenges with data, feeds and latency in information arriving
  • Stoppage time and how extended extra minutes have changed the dynamic of games
  • Pre-match vs. In-play and which markets Mads prefers
  • Monetos, its performance and getting on with exchanges
  • Betting psychology – what is the difference between winners and losers?
  • Mentality in life
  • Mads’ future plans
  • Where to find Mads

Learn More

In-play betting is an area that is under-served in the tipping world and having a team of the calibre of Monetos’s means that there is an excellent option if it is something that interests you. If you would like to learn more, full records, FAQs and sign up options are available to ​view here​.

If you would like to follow Mads on social media you can do so on X ​@MadsKNielsen​. The article about betting psychology that we discussed at the end of the podcast can be ​found here​.

Monetos can be followed ​@BettingMonetos​ and their site (which is excellent when using a translation tool!) can be ​found here​.

As ever, if you have any topics or areas of the gambling world that you would like us to discuss, please get in touch!

🎧SBC Podcast #76 – Betting Clever: Smart-Bash, The Gambling Commission & Golf Betting (Variance Cuts Both Ways)🎧

Posted on by Josh P

In the latest SBC Podcast I am joined by SBC’s Josh as the Betting Clever podcast returns to tackle a whole host of important topics in the betting world.

Smart-Bash was hosted at Stamford Bridge a few weeks ago so we start with that – what was it like? What did we get from it? What could be improved? Who should have been there?

The Gambling Commission are on the agenda (again!) and their new survey methodology doesn’t look like it will be good news for punters – we explain why.

In addition, we touch on golf betting, Twitter/X, The Racing Blogger’s Betslips and some SBC services that are suitable for every bettor – especially those looking for options away from ‘soft bookmakers’

You can listen to Episode 76 now via Apple / Spotify / YouTube and all other major podcast directories (search Smart Betting Club)

 

As ever, if you have any topics or areas of the gambling world that you would like us to discuss, please get in touch!

Enjoy!

🎧SBC Podcast #75: Dylan From Pinnacle Odds Dropper On Market Moves, Automated Alerts & Beating Soft Bookmakers!

Posted on by Peter Ling

In the latest SBC Podcast I am joined by Dylan, the co-founder and co-owner of Pinnacle Odds Dropper (or POD for short!) who’s service was the focal point of the major review in our latest magazine!​

‘Chasing steam‘, ‘top down betting‘, ‘market movers‘ and ‘warm money‘ – all of these terms broadly mean the same thing – following in smart money to make a profit.

With sharp bookmakers (like Pinnacle) focusing their resources on keeping their prices up to date and ‘soft bookmakers’ often lagging behind, services like POD help followers to make profit when the former cut prices and the latter are slow to follow them.

Automation drives this kind of service and provides ‘every day bettors’ with the opportunity to beat soft bookmakers with a steady stream of sharp information.

In this podcast, Dylan and I discuss the concept, the software he and his team have built to help execute it and much more besides. The tipping landscape is constantly changing and this type of service is part of a new breed of customisable products that give bettors the edge!

You can listen to Episode 75 now via Apple / Spotify / YouTube and all other major podcast directories (search Smart Betting Club)

AN IN-DEPTH CHAT WITH AN INDUSTRY INNOVATOR

In this episode, Dylan and I discuss:

  • Dylan’s history betting and deciding between punting and starting a business
  • Building betting software from scratch
  • The evolution of POD and improvements that Dylan and his brother have made along the way
  • Using user feedback to improve the service
  • The differences between sharp bookmakers and soft bookmakers
  • Efficiency in markets and how filtering can improve P & L performance
  • The markets and sports that POD focus on
  • Timing, staking and bankroll management
  • Filtering and alert configurations
  • Vig/margin and why beating the odds is not (quite!) enough
  • Which bets to take, which ones to leave and ‘rebounds’
  • CLV and why averages are more important than individual bets
  • Results from POD users
  • The need for patience, even with an extremely consistent service
  • How high turnover and deploying your bankroll is a necessity
  • Future plans for the POD Service
  • Subscription costs and SBC Member discounts

We recently reviewed Pinnacle Odds Dropper in Issue #143 of the SBC Magazine, with detailed proofing and analysis of large data sets that come from real life users.

To read this review in full and access an exclusive discount for the POD service you will need a SBC subscription, options for which can be found here

🎧SBC Podcast #74: An Expert Panel Discuss The Andrew Rhodes Interview & What It Means For Punters

Posted on by Josh P

Following up on last week’s special podcast interview with Andrew Rhodes from the Gambling Commission, we’ve just released a special ‘reaction episode’, which is now available for download.

Joining me were three betting experts – Dan Waugh, Harry Stewart-Moore, and Chris Fawcett – as we delve into the key points discussed and offer insights on both what Andrew did and didn’t say and the work of the under-fire regulator.

We also debated the growth of the black market and what its increased usage tells us about the frustrations felt by so many punters.

So whether it be affordability or stake limits, issues getting bets on and getting paid out by bookmakers OR simply whether they can be trusted or not to oversee the change the regulator wants to implement, this is a podcast for you.

You can listen to Episode 74 now via Apple / Spotify / Google / YouTube and all other major podcast directories (search Smart Betting Club)

Not Yet Heard Episode 73?

If yet to hear Episode 73 and my interview with the UK Gambling Commission CEO Andrew Rhodes – you can find download links and information about it here.

Via that link I also share some of my thoughts on the interview and what I hope might happen next from the Gambling Commission.

Given how infrequently Andrew speaks to those who enjoy betting, this episode has proven to be very popular with lots of interest in it from all across the betting world.

Thanks to all of you who have commented, shared and messaged about this interview. Your support is much appreciated!