🎧SBC Podcast #66: Chris Poole On His Career in the Betting Industry, ‘After Timing’ and Tales from the Inside!

In the latest SBC Podcast I am joined by Chris Poole, the Head Of Trading for Bet Victor and an essential X (Twitter) follow as he has a quite unique account, calling out the worst betting related boasting!

Chris has a wealth of experience, working his way up the bookmaking industry career ladder via multiple firms before settling into his current role with Bet Victor in Gibraltar.

Despite initially specialising on horse racing trading, Chris now oversees all of Bet Victor’s sports business, with over people 60 working in his team.

Alongside this, Chris has recently started a weekly Twitter ‘Spaces’ chat with the professional punter (and former SBC Podcast guest!), Johnny Dineen.

It was brilliant to get Chris onto the show to provide different perspectives from many of our previous guests as his job relates to stopping winners rather than finding them! I really enjoyed this chat and I am sure that you will too!

You can listen to Episode 66 now via Apple / Spotify / Google / YouTube and all other major podcast directories (search Smart Betting Club)

An In-Depth Chat with an Experienced Industry Insider!

In this episode, Chris and I discuss:

  • The birth of ‘After timing Ansell’ on Twitter, the issues that it caused and Chris’s current social media activity
  • 26 years working in the industry, being a ‘dinosaur’ and starting out cashiering for an independent bookmaker
  • Progressing through the ranks to work for Boylesports, Paddy Power and Bet Victor
  • Moving to Gibraltar and adapting into a trading role
  • Chris’s early wins and how his grandparents influenced his love for ‘the game’
  • Early bookmaking experiences laying bets (and trying to arb!) on ‘The Crazy Gang’, sports days and Frank Bruno!
  • How Chris never has a ‘typical’ day in his current role
  • Personal betting in trading rooms
  • Football, horse racing and which sports make up the majority of Bet Victor’s trading each day
  • Surprising growth markets
  • Affordability Checks, proposed legislation and Chris’s reflections on how we have moved from the ‘wild west’ to the current day
  • Sorting the ‘shrewd’ bets from guesses, Twitter tipsters or other ‘momentum’ gambles
  • A scary multiple bet with three double figure selections that nearly cost Chris’s firm dearly
  • Minimum Bet Liability, Bet Victor’s attempt to launch their version of it and why it didn’t work when the big syndicates started to pick off prices
  • Best Odds Guaranteed and the issues it causes for traders
  • Chris’s foray into broadcasting alongside Johnny Dineen in their weekly X (Twitter) spaces horse racing chat, ‘The Morning Line’
  • The lessons that gambling can teach you and how it can help you in all areas of your life

Chris was a funny, engaging and knowledgeable guest and it was great to pick the brains of somebody with such a different perspective on the industry.

If you would like to hear more from Chris then you can follow him on social media @ChrisPoole___ and this is the perfect place to find ‘The Morning Line’ every Saturday morning.

Enjoy!

My top 5 betting podcasts

These days there is a wealth of sports betting content out there for aspiring sports bettors to expand their knowledge and improve their betting game. 

Blogs, YouTube channels, books, twitter and podcasts all are great sources of information and some of my favourite ways to consume content on betting.

In this article I wanted to share my top 5 betting podcasts that have helped me further my sports betting knowledge and improved my betting over the past few months. 

As a semi-professional bettor myself, it’s hugely important to keep on top of news, strategies, services and more in the industry and these 5 podcasts are some of the best at doing exactly that.

Trademate Sports

Trademate Sports is probably the first betting podcast I started listening to regularly when I first got into value betting. 

The podcast is hosted by Alex Vella who must be one of the most hardworking content creators in the space as he churns out multiple betting videos per week on the Trademate YouTube channel.

The Trademate podcast covers a few different angles to betting all centered around ‘helping you to beat the bookmaker.’ 

They regularly have betting experts on the podcast previewing major sporting events. This is often a gold mine for betting angles and gives listeners a real insight into how professional bettors find their edges. It’s certainly an aspect of the Trademate podcast that is a must-listen, especially for UK footy followers.

Episode 125 is a great example of this as the show previews the new English Football League season ahead. Nigel Seeley is the guest betting professional (a regular on the show) and he gives his expert opinion on who he thinks will do well and not so well in the coming campaigns.

The section where Nigel previews the new Championship season and talks about getting his team ratings in place for the start of the season is especially interesting. He usually finds an edge by doing his research, getting his team ratings in place and then betting accordingly in the first few weeks of the season whilst the opinions on the various teams are not fully formed yet. As long as his ratings are correct he’s onto a winner.

A really interesting angle then which gives you an idea about the mindset of professional bettors.

Expect: Expert opinion on UK footy and UFC, professional sport betting guests and tips!

Listen to Trademate Sports on Apple Podcasts

Smart Betting Club

I may be biased but the Smart Betting Club podcast is now a must-have resource for me when keeping on top of all things betting.

Hosted by SBC owner and founder Peter Ling, the show regularly interviews betting experts, normally those running tipster or betting services (such as Episode 20). This means you can often discover betting personalities or services that will be worth your consideration when adding to your betting portfolio. 

SBC pride themselves on independently reviewing betting services and tipsters so when a tipster is on the podcast and is recommended, you can be sure it’s a service that comes with a seal of quality.

My favourite SBC Podcast episode and one of my favourite betting podcasts ever was Episode 19 with special guest and professional bettor Anthony Kaminskas. 

Why? 

Anthony was a fantastic guest and gave open and honest insight to his life as professional bettor. He talks about his journey from bookmaker employee to full time bettor and what it takes to beat the bookmaker on a large scale. This means betting in multiple territories, having access to multiple accounts and generally being able to get a lot of money down on his edges

Pete expertly guided the interview to ask the right questions and extract the answers we all wanted to hear; as much as Anthony was prepared to give away of course 🙂

Although AK is clearly further down the road than many, I urge anyone wanting to improve their betting to listen to this pod for a touch of inspiration.

Big fan of horse racing? Horse Racing betting and tipping plays a big part in SBC’s offering so expect plenty of great horse racing content on the pod.

Expect: tipster reviews, betting professionals, bookmaker industry expertise, horse racing 

Listen to the Smart Betting Club on Apple Podcasts

The BashCast

The BashCast is run by Bookie Bashing founder and owner Tom Brownlee. Tom is a character and is great value on his pods. He naturally combines comedic storytelling with his deep knowledge of numbers and betting. As the founder of the world class Bookie Bashing service it’s clear Tom is an innovator in the value betting space.

A favourite show of mine was Episode 175 due to the fact its content was different from anything I’d heard before and come across since. In the episode Tom reveals a recent court case he went through against William Hill after the company had refused a large payout on the grounds of a palpable error. It’s a fascinating look into a side of betting that you may not think  exists but can very much be a part of the battle against the bookmaker. 

Tom’s attitude towards the whole thing is admirable and it’s certainly worth a listen to hear how things turned out.

On other shows you’re likely to hear about topics that you won’t come across on any other betting podcasts.

Want to know about what it takes to avoid national service in South Korea and why that was a factor in the recent Olympic golf tournament? Check out Episode 176

Expect: compelling stories from Tom covering his betting, Bookie Bashing tools and random dramatic events that seem to frequent his life.

Listen to the Bashcast on Apple Podcasts

Business of Betting

The most established of my top 5 podcasts is the Business of Betting podcast, which as the name suggests, takes more of a look at the business side of the betting industry. This is from the angle of a bookmaker but also from the angle of those that are looking to profit from the bookies, again with a business twist to it. 

The podcast’s ‘about section’ says it ‘delves into the business side of the wagering, betting, investing, bitcoin, poker, bookmaking, and gambling industries’ – which gives you an idea of the diversity of the subjects the pod will cover.

Valuable betting websites and tools such as Smart Betting Club and Betstamp are featured so there are plenty of useful topics to help the aspiring profitable sports bettor.

A favourite episode of mine features the already mentioned Tom Brownlee from Bookie Bashing (Tom is great value on these pods whether he’s hosting or appearing as a guest!). I love this line from Tom where he shares his 4 ‘dark arts’ of professional gambling. These are 4 key areas that focus on the ‘art’ of betting rather than the science: the maths, EV, models etc. It’s a great listen and there’s an entertaining story thrown in there about one guy getting 6 figures down on a horse race using a team of 20 people to place wagers at various betting shops.

What to expect: Betting business CEOs, investors, entrepreneurs plus betting professionals 

Listen to the Business of Betting on Apple Podcasts

Circles Off

The Circles Off podcast is hosted by CEO of betting tracking software Betstamp and professional bettor Rob Pizzola. As both hosts are Canadians, there is a focus on the American betting markets which is a great way to expand your knowledge of how this game works over the other side of the pond.

Both speak eloquently about how to bet profitably and cover various topics with a strong focus on how they find edges, both themselves and the guests that they host.

A personal favourite episode of mine was Episode 18. As an England fan, it’s testament to the quality of the podcast that I still enjoyed them reminiscing about the Italy Euro penalty shootout win as both are Italy fans!

A key takeaway from the show for me was the discussion on what Johnny believed was the most pivotal personality or character trait to becoming a higher earning full time bettor. He believes that a person’s business sense is the most important factor in getting to the point of a higher earner. It’s something that resonated with me as I’m seeing this more and more the further I get into my betting journey. Building networks of bettors to help get money down, building relationships to share knowledge and edges, overcoming challenges that are part of beating the bookmakers are all key skills that are transferable between business and betting.

Expect: A focus on US betting markets/industry, a focus on finding your own edges, a natural podcast chemistry between the two.

Listen to Circles Off on Apple Podcasts

Consume, consume, consume. It’s so easy to go down the rabbit hole with betting content as I’ve found out when refreshing my memory for writing this article. 

There is a ton of great content out there and this of course only brushes the service. 

Feel free to contact me on alex@smartbettingclub.co.uk about any content that you think is worth highlighting.

Alex Lyons – SBC Writer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Discover more on these 2 SBC reviews in the latest episodes of the Smart Betting Club Podcast

If you missed the release of the latest SBC Magazine: Issue 120 (see below), then you can discover more on two of the reviews inside it by listening to the Smart Betting Club podcast.

The very latest episode (#5) of the SBC podcast features an interview with the vastly experienced bettor, tipster and former odds compiler, Nigel Seeley from the newly reviewed Premier Sports Plays service. We discuss Nigel’s extensive background in the betting world, his work as an odds compiler and how that has helped shape the bets he places today.

In Episode 4 you can also listen to my chat with the CEO of Betmarkets, Afonso Vieira as we explore his ‘gamechanger’ platform connecting profitable tipsters with bettors. Betmarkets was also a major feature review in SBC 120, where you can also learn about a special SBC member sign-up offer for their service.

How You Can Listen

The SBC Podcast is free to download and you can listen via all the main podcast directories including the following:

Spotify

Google

Apple

Tune-in

You can also find all 5 episodes online via this special podcast page. Alternatively simply search ‘Smart Betting Club’ wherever you get your pods!

SBC Issue 120: Nigel Seeley’s Premier Sports Plays reviewed, Betmarkets & how to get better prices on Betfair

The very latest SBC Magazine (Issue 120) is now available for immediate download to all Smart Betting Club members.

It’s a jam-packed issue containing 3 key articles that can help make a massive difference to your betting as follows:

  1. Our detailed exploration of the new Betmarkets.io platform making a huge splash in the tipster world. Connecting tipsters with punters with automatic bet placement, as an SBC member you can enjoy a 2% deposit bonus
  2. An in-depth review of the Premier Sports Plays tipping service from renowned bettor and former odds compiler, Nigel Seeley. He has built up quite the following over the past couple of years and we explore all aspects of his football tipping output. Also includes a 25% discount on the cost of his service – exclusive to SBC members.
  3. The latest SBC Insight article exploring betting sequences and just how you can get better prices by timing your horse racing bet placement on Betfair. It outlines a simple strategy based on the odds of any horse you want to take, which can ensure you get better odds either in the live Betfair market or at Betfair SP.

Access to this latest SBC Magazine and our entire back catalogue (119 issues strong!) is available NOW with a Smart Betting Club membership. Sign-up now to gain instant access

See you on the inside!

Peter Ling
Smart Betting Club Editor

If you have any questions on this article or a Smart Betting Club membership in general, you can contact me directly via pete@smartbettingclub.com. I respond to all emails as quickly as I can!