Due in ever increasing time restraints and a rapidly mobile 9 month old daughter, I've decided to stop updating BITB (Betting in the Blood) until the start of next season at the earliest.
It's sad to sign off on a losing month, but I hope everyone who has followed me in the past 6 months has enjoyed the journey. It's not over and I'll continue to bet, but at the moment I just can't justify the time needed to make the blog as good as I'd like.
Goodbye for now readers and stay lucky.
Wednesday, 23 April 2008
Monday, 21 April 2008
Bet 85: £100 DONCASTER to beat Leyton Orient @ Evens
Running balance: £1,780.95
Post script: Not the fairy tale ending I had envisaged. Doncaster only managed a 1-1 draw and I'm back where I started on Friday morning. Shame really, as I had thought this was a standout bet, Orient has seemed to have given up for the season and Doncaster still had a chance for 2nd and automatic promotion.
Remarkably, this was the first ever game I had selected at Evens.
Post script: Not the fairy tale ending I had envisaged. Doncaster only managed a 1-1 draw and I'm back where I started on Friday morning. Shame really, as I had thought this was a standout bet, Orient has seemed to have given up for the season and Doncaster still had a chance for 2nd and automatic promotion.
Remarkably, this was the first ever game I had selected at Evens.
Saturday, 19 April 2008
Bet 84: £100 LEWES to beat Dorchester @ 3/10
Am actually going to this game today (ok, I'll admit this had a small part in the decision..........) and a win today and Lewes will win the Blue Square South and promotion to the Conference proper.
Dorchester also need a win, anything else and they are relegated. This should play into Lewes' hands, and I can see a comfortable win. Gone with Sporting Bet, the only outfit who were better than 1/4.
Going to have one further bet today, but I'll place this via Betfair Mobile after I've read the Racing Post on the train.
Running balance: £1,880.95
Post script: Well, I can tell you that the 2-0 final scoreline was no way as easy as it sounds. The first half was absoletly dreadful, Lewes are no where near the standard of the Blue Square Premier, and it was only because Dorchester was even more dire that they got anything out of the game. So two from two Saturday, now for that third game I discussed.........
Dorchester also need a win, anything else and they are relegated. This should play into Lewes' hands, and I can see a comfortable win. Gone with Sporting Bet, the only outfit who were better than 1/4.
Going to have one further bet today, but I'll place this via Betfair Mobile after I've read the Racing Post on the train.
Running balance: £1,880.95
Post script: Well, I can tell you that the 2-0 final scoreline was no way as easy as it sounds. The first half was absoletly dreadful, Lewes are no where near the standard of the Blue Square Premier, and it was only because Dorchester was even more dire that they got anything out of the game. So two from two Saturday, now for that third game I discussed.........
Bet 83: £100 ARSENAL to beat Reading @ 4/11
Arsenal are due to give someone a real kicking, and I fear it will be Reading this afternoon. Although the title has gone and they are now out of Europe, Arsenal have been playing well and were very unlucky not to beat United last weekend.
Gone with Paddy Power for the first time today, hoping for the luck of the Irish!!
Running balance: £1,850.59
Post script: As expected, Arsenal ran out very comfortable winners. A score line of 4 or 5-nil would probably have been more of a fair reflection.
Gone with Paddy Power for the first time today, hoping for the luck of the Irish!!
Running balance: £1,850.59
Post script: As expected, Arsenal ran out very comfortable winners. A score line of 4 or 5-nil would probably have been more of a fair reflection.
Friday, 18 April 2008
Bet 82: £100 BURTON to draw or beat Stevenage @ 4/11
Running balance: £1,814.59
Post script: Completed the Monolopy challenge in London today, I'm sure we've done it in a record time. Anyway, decided to lay Stevenage in this evenings game as they are hopelessly out of form, yet I wasn't sure of Burton's attacking intent, a draw wouldn't have been a bad result for them.
In the end Burton eased to a 3-0 win, so that's really helped my monthly winning average.
Post script: Completed the Monolopy challenge in London today, I'm sure we've done it in a record time. Anyway, decided to lay Stevenage in this evenings game as they are hopelessly out of form, yet I wasn't sure of Burton's attacking intent, a draw wouldn't have been a bad result for them.
In the end Burton eased to a 3-0 win, so that's really helped my monthly winning average.
Thursday, 17 April 2008
Bet 81: £100 CHELSEA to beat Everton @ 23/20
Firstly, I apologise for again posting a main bet after the event. It's a strange thing but I have no confidence at the moment and it seems everything I put up here before kick-off goes pear shaped. I can guarantee everyone who reads this blog, that integrity for me is key to everything I do. I have and will continue to post losing bets if they happen (I think the last one was way back on Bet 27). Again, I placed this wager with Betfair. I like just asking for the odds in the morning and hoping to get matched at some point during the day.
Running balance: £1,779.44
Post script: A huge bet in terms of the months progress, a win has seen my losses reduce to only a touch over £100, a very recoverable situation. A defeat and I'm over £300 down and buried.
I thought Chelsea controlled the first half and deservedly took the lead just before half time. Second half Chelsea were again content to sit on the 1-0 lead, and in the end I turned off the TV and viewed the game via the fast forward facility on Sky Plus.
Running balance: £1,779.44
Post script: A huge bet in terms of the months progress, a win has seen my losses reduce to only a touch over £100, a very recoverable situation. A defeat and I'm over £300 down and buried.
I thought Chelsea controlled the first half and deservedly took the lead just before half time. Second half Chelsea were again content to sit on the 1-0 lead, and in the end I turned off the TV and viewed the game via the fast forward facility on Sky Plus.
Wednesday, 16 April 2008
Bet 80: £100 WEYMOUTH to beat Droyslden @ 4/7
Running balance: £1,663.54
Post script: Good bounce back from the Chelski disaster, although, as per normal this month, it was very tight at 2-1. This month it seems to be one step forward and then two back, but I'm really hopeful that I can still turn a profit. Although I'm really wanting to back anything at all at the moment, today I found nothing that I could classify as easy, and therefore have passed.
Post script: Good bounce back from the Chelski disaster, although, as per normal this month, it was very tight at 2-1. This month it seems to be one step forward and then two back, but I'm really hopeful that I can still turn a profit. Although I'm really wanting to back anything at all at the moment, today I found nothing that I could classify as easy, and therefore have passed.
Sunday, 13 April 2008
Bet 78: £100 CHELSEA to beat Wigan @ 1/4
I can't see Chelski slipping up here (they may struggle away to Everton on Thursday, but that's another matter), although I've been burnt by Wigan before (Bet 30). Went with Boyle Sports for this one, the only bookie still offering the 1/4 price. I wonder how long that will last? (As I write this I see Boyle Sport have now gone 1/5, so they must have taken enough damage at 1/4).
A good friend of mine is returning to the UK tomorrow from Australia, and I'm off for a curry and a few pints, so I'll have to get score updates via the 'net on my mobile phone me thinks.
Running balance: £1,608.41
Post script: I can take no positives from this game at all, aside from the fact that Manchester United should win the Premier League now and win me back a little money.
A good friend of mine is returning to the UK tomorrow from Australia, and I'm off for a curry and a few pints, so I'll have to get score updates via the 'net on my mobile phone me thinks.
Running balance: £1,608.41
Post script: I can take no positives from this game at all, aside from the fact that Manchester United should win the Premier League now and win me back a little money.
Bet 77: £100 MAN UTD to win Premier League '07/'08 @ 19/50
My first long term (well, there's not really that long left this season, but never mind) wager was placed prior to United's win against Arsenal with Australian firm Centrebet. This price is now available at 2/11.
I'll place this into the monthly P&L of the month in which the bet is settled (more likely to be May).
I'll place this into the monthly P&L of the month in which the bet is settled (more likely to be May).
Weekend review; learning from school boy errors
Running balance: £1,708.41
Right, I never like dissecting a losing session, let alone when it includes my worst ever daily loss. Well, as I write this, I'm feeling slightly lucky. Even though from 5 settled bets this weekend, I won 2 and lost 3 and am down £155.13. That is because Manchester Utd pulled off one of the biggest smash and grab performances I've seen this season against Arsenal, and instead of potentially being down £338.46 over the two days, I'm only down the aforementioned £155 and change. That result also saved me from the embarrassment of losing 3 consecutive £100 bets for the first time. Hat's off Arsenal, you gave a remarkable display despite being cruelly defeated in the week. You have to remember that a lot of the pre-season talk was of Spurs taking Arsenal's "Big 4" spot, and it being the end of an era with Henry departing to Spain. If Arsenal's notoriously tight board can find it in themselves to spend on one or two key players in the summer, I think they can challenge more seriously next year.
The real error of this weekend was obviously selecting 5 games yesterday, and not just the one as I usually do. It's gone against all the success I've had in the last couple of months and I quickly realised this was an error as soon as the games kicked off yesterday. Over the next couple of months, I'm going back to picking the one, strongest bet every day.
Ironically, if I had put this into place yesterday, I would have been ok, as the Palace v Scunthorpe game was the one I had felt most confident with (that's an honest admission, Neil Warnock knows how to get out of this division).
Looking at the three games I lost, there was two distinct errors I made:
1. With the Hull City and Southend selections, I made the mistake of putting too much emphasis on the home teams form only. Both these teams had been on fire of recent and both had moved into the play-offs after being in mid-table for most of the season. However both were playing teams who were showing a good bit of form themselves in QPR and Northampton. But I had dismissed this as they were both also in a position where they had nothing to play for, in regards to either promotion or relegation. Sadly it seems that both the home teams suffered with end of season nerves, whilst the away teams had creative license, as they were free from such pressure.
I realised this twenty minutes into Soccer Saturday, when both Hull and Southend were 0-1 down and struggling. Still, its good to pick this up now, as over the course of the next couple of months, this will be a key ingredient of many of the games I look at.
2. The Cambridge defeat was arguably down to a little bit of the above, with Stafford already down and little to play for. The key difference was that Stafford had lost 5 or 6 in a row and were in no form at all. The main error I made here was I made too much of Stafford's lack of form, and not enough on how Cambridge had been playing. If I had, I would have seen that, aside from their last 2 games, Cambridge had only got 1 point from a previous 12, and had lost recently to the woeful Farsley Celtic.
Having said that, I still think that Cambridge should have comfortably won this, so I wasn't surprised about Cambridge manager Jimmy Quinn stating after the game that he was disgusted with such an abject performance.
So, there we have it. Despite all the above and the three figure loss, I still think I have enough time to turn this around in the remainder of the month, so let's go onwards and upwards. Less greed, more research and focus on one selection a day.
Right, I never like dissecting a losing session, let alone when it includes my worst ever daily loss. Well, as I write this, I'm feeling slightly lucky. Even though from 5 settled bets this weekend, I won 2 and lost 3 and am down £155.13. That is because Manchester Utd pulled off one of the biggest smash and grab performances I've seen this season against Arsenal, and instead of potentially being down £338.46 over the two days, I'm only down the aforementioned £155 and change. That result also saved me from the embarrassment of losing 3 consecutive £100 bets for the first time. Hat's off Arsenal, you gave a remarkable display despite being cruelly defeated in the week. You have to remember that a lot of the pre-season talk was of Spurs taking Arsenal's "Big 4" spot, and it being the end of an era with Henry departing to Spain. If Arsenal's notoriously tight board can find it in themselves to spend on one or two key players in the summer, I think they can challenge more seriously next year.
The real error of this weekend was obviously selecting 5 games yesterday, and not just the one as I usually do. It's gone against all the success I've had in the last couple of months and I quickly realised this was an error as soon as the games kicked off yesterday. Over the next couple of months, I'm going back to picking the one, strongest bet every day.
Ironically, if I had put this into place yesterday, I would have been ok, as the Palace v Scunthorpe game was the one I had felt most confident with (that's an honest admission, Neil Warnock knows how to get out of this division).
Looking at the three games I lost, there was two distinct errors I made:
1. With the Hull City and Southend selections, I made the mistake of putting too much emphasis on the home teams form only. Both these teams had been on fire of recent and both had moved into the play-offs after being in mid-table for most of the season. However both were playing teams who were showing a good bit of form themselves in QPR and Northampton. But I had dismissed this as they were both also in a position where they had nothing to play for, in regards to either promotion or relegation. Sadly it seems that both the home teams suffered with end of season nerves, whilst the away teams had creative license, as they were free from such pressure.
I realised this twenty minutes into Soccer Saturday, when both Hull and Southend were 0-1 down and struggling. Still, its good to pick this up now, as over the course of the next couple of months, this will be a key ingredient of many of the games I look at.
2. The Cambridge defeat was arguably down to a little bit of the above, with Stafford already down and little to play for. The key difference was that Stafford had lost 5 or 6 in a row and were in no form at all. The main error I made here was I made too much of Stafford's lack of form, and not enough on how Cambridge had been playing. If I had, I would have seen that, aside from their last 2 games, Cambridge had only got 1 point from a previous 12, and had lost recently to the woeful Farsley Celtic.
Having said that, I still think that Cambridge should have comfortably won this, so I wasn't surprised about Cambridge manager Jimmy Quinn stating after the game that he was disgusted with such an abject performance.
So, there we have it. Despite all the above and the three figure loss, I still think I have enough time to turn this around in the remainder of the month, so let's go onwards and upwards. Less greed, more research and focus on one selection a day.
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