Phil Smith: How a Professional Bettor Made Over 100% ROI

Posted on August 26, 2026 by Peter Ling

What does it actually take to make a living from betting?

Not simply finding the occasional winner, but identifying a genuine edge, exploiting it consistently and – perhaps most importantly a adapting when things stop working.

That’s the subject of our latest How I Bet For Profit video interview, available exclusively to Smart Betting Club members.

My guest is Phil Smith, a professional bettor and antepost specialist with an outstanding long-term record – including an extraordinary 2025/26 season that ultimately produced around 100% ROI.

Exclusive Video Interview Now Available For SBC Members.

Inside the Mind of a Professional Bettor

Phil’s route into antepost betting actually began almost by accident.

Having initially concentrated on trading, he started exploring football antepost markets as something of a side interest. After turning an initial bankroll of around £3,000 into £12,000, and importantly tracking the bets along the way, he realised there appeared to be a significant edge worth pursuing.

That edge has since developed into his full-time profession.

In this exclusive interview, Phil explains:

How he identifies antepost markets where bookmaker prices haven’t caught up with changing circumstances.
Why predicting where a price is going can be as important as predicting the eventual winner.
How he researches teams, leagues and goalscorer markets.
Why knowing which markets not to bet is crucial.
How he constructs and manages a portfolio containing thousands of bets.
The role of hedging, staking and risk management in his approach

It’s a fascinating look at the work that goes on behind the headline profits.

From a Challenging Season to Over 100% ROI

Perhaps the most interesting part of Phil’s story, however, is what happened when things didn’t quite go according to plan.

Following a more challenging 2024/25 season, Phil analysed his performance and identified where he could improve in his choice of markets, staking and where he was placing his bets.

The changes were substantial – and what followed was an exceptional 2025/26 campaign that ultimately produced over 100% ROI.

Even more revealingly, Phil can still identify mistakes he made during that hugely profitable season and areas he believes can be improved further.

It’s a great example of something we repeatedly emphasise at SBC: long-term profitable betting isn’t just about finding an edge. It’s about continually testing, refining and adapting it.

SBC Members Can Also Join Phil Smith Select

There’s another reason why this interview is particularly timely.

We’ve recently teamed up with Phil to launch Phil Smith Select, a separate betting service available exclusively to SBC members, giving subscribers the opportunity to follow a more accessible version of his antepost approach throughout the season.

Note – Phil Smith Select requires its own subscription in addition to SBC membership. The full How I Bet For Profit video interview with Phil is included as part of your standard SBC membership.

The emphasis is particularly on goalscorer bets and accumulators, with modest stakes allowing followers to gradually build a portfolio across the football season.

As a member, you’ll also receive access to our independent, in-depth betting service reviews, exclusive interviews with successful bettors, strategy and educational content, practical betting advice, the monthly SBC Magazine and a growing range of member-only offers.

Join the Smart Betting Club today and you’ll gain immediate access to the full Phil Smith How I Bet For Profit interview, along with our latest SBC Magazine, independent betting service reviews, exclusive member content and offers.

You’ll also have the option to join Phil Smith Select and follow Phil’s bets throughout the season.

Phil Smith Select, New Football Antepost Betting Service

Posted on August 10, 2026 by Peter Ling

Today we’re pleased to introduce the newest addition to our SBC Premium range: Phil Smith Select.

It’s a new football antepost betting service we’ve developed with full time professional bettor Phil Smith, designed to provide a more accessible way to benefit from his specialist approach to betting on long term football markets.

If you enjoy football betting but want to look beyond the usual match markets, we think this is a particularly interesting service to consider for the season ahead.

Phil Smith Select is now live and available for £150 for the entire season.

Discover more and subscribe now via https://smartbettingclub.com/pss/

Who Is Phil?

Many of you may already know Phil from Episode 101 of the SBC Podcast, where he joined me to discuss his career as a professional bettor and his specialism in football antepost markets and exchange trading.

Phil’s route into professional betting was far from instant.

He spent years learning from early losses, refining his approach and building his bankroll before eventually becoming a full time bettor in 2020.

Betfair trading initially formed an important part of that journey, but in recent years Phil has increasingly focused on football antepost betting.

His approach centres on identifying value well before markets are settled, building a portfolio across numerous positions and actively managing those bets as prices and circumstances change throughout the season.

As Phil explained to me on the podcast:

“Why did they bet now and not later, that’s the question you should be asking.”

That thinking is at the heart of how Phil approaches antepost betting.

The Results That Caught Our Attention

We’ve been following Phil’s betting for some time and first reviewed his Antepost service back in May 2024.

We returned to it again this summer, and the results were exceptional.

*At the time of our latest SBC review in mid May, Phil’s full Antepost service had advised 1,799 bets, generating £62,096.74 profit from £85,051.88 staked, an ROI of 72.99%.

And the season wasn’t finished.

By the time the final positions were settled in June, Phil’s eventual ROI had risen beyond 100%.

Those numbers naturally caught our attention, but just as important was the structured process behind them.

Phil combines detailed research and value identification with diversification, disciplined staking and active management of his positions throughout the season.

That led us to consider whether we could create a version of his approach that would be practical for a wider group of bettors to follow.

Discover more and subscribe now via Phil Smith Select

Introducing Phil Smith Select

The biggest challenge with Phil’s full Antepost service is simply the commitment required to follow it properly.

There are a lot of bets, significant capital requirements and plenty of ongoing portfolio management.

Phil Smith Select has been created as a more streamlined alternative.

Rather than following every position from the full service, Select advises approximately 50 to 60% of the betting volume, with a greater emphasis on specialist goalscorer markets alongside selected long term football positions.

The same underlying approach remains.

The difference is that Select should require considerably less time, fewer bookmaker accounts and a smaller betting bank.

Members receive:

Football antepost bets throughout the season
Approximately 50 to 60% of the volume of Phil’s full service
A greater focus on specialist goalscorer markets
Access required to just four or five major bookmakers
A recommended betting bank starting from approximately £1,500
Active portfolio management, including cash out advice where appropriate
Two dedicated Telegram channels, one for official bets and another for discussion, updates and portfolio management

The cost is £150 for the entire season.

A Different Addition To Your Betting Portfolio

One reason we’re particularly interested in Phil’s approach is how different it is from most football betting services.

Rather than concentrating exclusively on matches taking place today or this weekend, Phil is looking much further ahead.

That might mean identifying value in a goalscorer market before a player’s prospects are fully reflected in the price, or taking a season long position that Phil believes could become considerably more valuable as the campaign develops.

There is also an active management element.

Positions can be traded, cashed out or adjusted as circumstances change.

For bettors accustomed to traditional match betting, it provides exposure to a very different type of football betting.

Specialist betting approaches from people whose methods and results we have researched closely, giving serious bettors access to opportunities they might otherwise struggle to find.

Phil Smith Select is now open for the new football season at £150.

You can read everything about the service and join below:

Join Phil Smith Select Now

We hope many of you will join us for what promises to be another fascinating football season.

Sample ScreenShots

The screenshots below provide just a flavour of the type of long-term antepost portfolios Phil constructs, combining goalscorer and season-long football markets into carefully balanced multiples.

Real life winners case study: The bookmaker trader turned professional sports bettor

Posted on April 26, 2021 by Peter Ling

I’ve recently been talking to one long-term Smart Betting Club member, Markus, about his journey since he joined the SBC service.

Over time, he and I have exchanged a fair few emails on his betting success and as such I asked him if he would mind filling in a ‘case study‘ to help illustrate more on all of this.

Now Markus is a bit different in that he juggles his betting with his work as a bookmaker trader, so he does represent someone already experienced in what it takes to make a profit.

Yet, the key point is the difference SBC’s ratings, reviews and reports have made to him – especially now that sports betting is his main income and he is aiming for a six-figure profit figure this year.

Below is what Markus had to say in response to some of my questions on his time so far with SBC!

It’s fair to say that if bookmaker traders are joining SBC – we know a thing or two about what it takes to make betting pay!

Me: Why did you join the Smart Betting Club?

Markus: I can’t remember exactly how I found SBC, but I think it was by chance when I was searching for some horse racing related content. I joined because the magazines and articles were very interesting and it was clearly the best tipster proofing website that I know.

How has the Smart Betting Club helped you?

SBC has helped me especially in finding new tipsters for my portfolio with the detailed reviews and helped me a lot to get more into racing, which is not very popular in my country.

What do you like most about the Smart Betting Club service?

What I like the most at SBC is the honesty, independence and that you know the guys behind it are just doing the same like you!

What are your betting plans for the future?

I’m at a point now where I do this really like full time and look only for stuff which I can scale up in the long term and try to make as much turnover as I can.

How much have you made betting since you joined the Smart Betting Club?

I think I am in a pretty unique position, because I work as bookmaker/trader in my country as my ‘normal job’ for a regular income and also doing betting more or less full-time (which is my investment capital). So basically I work from both sides in this business and my bookmaking-job gives me the opportunity to combine both things. I also was running a tipster service myself a couple of years ago. So sports-betting is anyway my main income for a few years now, but from a punter’s perspective I am looking to get to six-digits this year.

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