A New Home for Golf Betting- www.golfbettinghq.com !

As sad as I am to say, I have decided to stop posting on lewispuntingyear.blogspot.com...

That's because I have set up a fully fledged golf betting tips website, and will be filling it with great content from now on!

I know that there's countless golf tips websites all over the internet, many of whom are far better than me at picking winners and therefore instead of trying to compete with them, I am going to focus the new site on providing great information for you to use to make your own informed decisions on who you want to back- as well as continuing with posts along the same lines as my Monday Lessons.

The plan is to write similar previews to before, with a focus on information rather than specific tips, although I will post who I back so you can all see how well (or badly!) I'm doing!

I also plan to add in some features and reviews on as many great resources I can find, and then any other features I can think of along the way!

Hopefully anybody that reads this blog will find it an even better place to head for all your golf betting needs!

The first week's focus is on the Masters (doesn't get much better than that!) for which I have taken the scientific approach and hopefully that will find us some winners!

I hope to see you there at www.golfbettinghq.com !

Valero Texas Open 2013 Betting Preview

Before the massive excitement of next week hits us, the PGA Tour heads to San Antonio for the Valero Texas Open. It's the last chance to see some form before deciding on those Masters picks- although I'm sure most people out there already have a pretty good idea of who they are going to back, and good performances this week will likely bring prices in and ruin any value the player had anyway!

The course this week is 7,522 yards, and after averaging a brutal 74 strokes last year, has seen some changes: some of the greens have been flattened out, run-off areas around the greens have been made smaller and also the rough is going to be an inch shorter. This should mean that we see more birdies this year, however it looks like a great test still and there will be an emphasis on finding fairways and greens.

Rory McIlroy has made a late change to his playing schedule to be here this week in order to get some extra competitive golf under his belt before Augusta, although I am going to ignore the top 3 in the betting as they are real contenders for next week and I can see this being more of a warm-up / practice for them rather than really worrying about the win.

My first pick this week is Freddie Jacobson- he has been having a really solid year so far and has results of 18th, 5th and 2nd in the last 3 years here, which shows he knows how to play the course. With slightly less depth in this field than the last few weeks, he has the chance to go well here. He's relatively short at 27/1, but  I feel the risk is worth it with an each-way placing certainly on the cards.

I was going to avoid players that I thought had any chance at the Masters, but with relatively few wins on the PGA Tour, and as a player who thrives off there being a buzz around him, I can't see Ian Poulter holding back this week. He's a great driver of the ball, and due to the fact he thrives off confidence and what his former coach called the 'peackock effect' I don't think he'll be worried about going into Augusta having won here. He's been playing well this year and is straight off the tee, so could do well this week.

Joining the crowd with the obvious choice this week, I'm going to back Brendan Steele at 50/1. He won this in 2011 and came 4th last year, so clearly loves it here- and with a win possibly propelling him to the heights of Augusta he's certainly going to have plenty of motivation.

My next two picks are horses for courses and I will be backing Charley Hoffman and Charlie Wi. Hoffman has carded results of 13th, 2nd and 6th in the previous 3 years as well as picking up a 20th last week, so he is clearly playing OK. He also picked up T-2 in GIR last year, which will be key to a good performance this week. Charlie Wi has also shown good form here and likes the course- so at 100/1 a repeat performance of 4th last year would definitely be welcome.

My picks for the week:

• 1.75pt ew Freddie Jacobson at 26.0
• 1.75pt ew Ian Poulter at 29.0
• 1pt ew Brendan Steele at 51.0
• 1pt ew Charley Hoffman at 41.0
• 0.5pt ew Charlie Wi at 101.0

All at Coral- paying 5 places.

Good luck everyone!

Maybank Malaysia Open 2013

After a week off due to getting a bit obsessed with the Cheltenham festival it's back to the golf this week with the Malaysia Open. Thanks to Champagne Fever, Sprinter Sacre and Bobs Worth plus a few bookie bonuses thrown in, the betting bank is now well and truly set for the year and can now be focussed back on getting some golf winners!

This week we head to Malaysia, with Luke Donald and Charl Schwartzel heading the field- both at pretty short prices- but it's interesting that they've decided to fly all the way out here when they could have played at Bay Hill and then had a week off before the Masters without the rigours of international travel and jet-lag that comes with it. It's not like they need the money and therefore they must fancy it this week. They will definitely be a danger this week, but I think I'm going to look for some value further down the field where an e/w place will still pay out.

My first pick this week is going to be Chris Wood. It looks like he's set for a good year this season, and has grabbed his first win as well as the chance to play in some World Golf Championships and in an interview on the Euro Tour podcast he sounded as though it had really given him some confidence. He came 4th in Thailand last week, even after arriving late and not even managing a practice round which shows his game is in good nick, and he will be really motivated to perform in order to qualify for the masters.

Next up is Ricardo Santos who as been playing so well this year, and I'm happy to take the missed cut last week as an anomaly- especially as it's pushed his price out to 60/1, which I think offers great value at 15/1 for a top-5 when he's been so consistent this year.

Another player having a good year is Thonghai Jaidee, who has also posted top-20s in 3 of the last 4 times he's played this tournament including a 2nd in 2006. In an interview he has said that playing in Malaysia feels like playing at home, and with this season showing what an advantage that can be in South Africa and India- I think 40/1 is a good price.

Off piste....

My final pick this week is going to be in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and is based purely on a very basic odds calculation- but for me sums up the point of value betting, and goes to show that it's not always big prices that offer value.

Tiger Woods has won at Bay Hill for 7 out of 12 times the tournament has been played since 2000. That means that his price would have needed to be only 1.58 in each of these in order to break even. Given that he's available at  3/1, and has already won twice this year- that for me is value, and I will be getting on some of that. Given that lately he has won so many of his titles on courses he loves I really think he is a value bet this week.

My picks this week:

• 1pt e/w Chris Wood at 36.0 (Various)
• 1pt e/w Ricardo Santos at 61.0 (Totesport)
• 1pt e/w Thongchai Jaidee at 41.0 (Various)
• 4 pts win Tiger Woods at 4.0 (Various)

WGC Cadillac Championship Tips

It's the second WGC event of the year this week as we head to the Blue Monster at Doral for the Cadillac Championship- won last year by Justin Rose. With a top class field of 60 players there is plenty of quality to choose from and hopefully with some big names it will also mean there is some value a bit further down the field.

The course isn't the hardest on tour apart from the treacherous 18th, and if the wind doesn't get up we can expect to see some low scores. We are now fairly well into the season and this coupled with the fact that Doral has been a long standing venue on the PGA Tour we have plenty of form to go on.

My first pick this week is going to be Matt Kuchar. Although he won the last WGC, I don't really consider this to be going for back to back wins due to the matchplay format and also having a two week break since that win. He has always been a really solid player who often finishes well, and has now started to turn those high finishes into some top class wins. Along similar lines to Darren Fichardt last week, I feel he should be up there with the favourites and the fact that he's available at 21 represents good value in my eyes.

Next up is on the list is Steve Stricker who is now playing a very limited schedule and will therefore will have chosen events he thinks he'll play well in and work towards them. He played well in the matchplay and gained a 2nd in his previous outing before that, as well as posting top-20s here for the last 5 years on the trot. We can trust him to hole plenty of putts which will be key if scoring goes low, and at 46 I think those odds are huge for a proven winner.

I also like Jason Day this week and will be backing him at the 51 available with BetVictor. He played really well in the matchplay, and if he holes a few more putts this week he should score well. He is a really promising young player and a big win such as this would not be a surprise to anybody. Two top-10s on his previous 3 strokeplay starts combined with a solid driving game means his price definitely represents good value to me.

I'll also take Robert Garrigus at the 51 available across the board. He has no previous experience of this course, but has shown some promising form so far this season and could easily grab himself a win this year. He will be on a confidence high after a good performance at the matchplay and could be a dark horse this week.

Finally, a bit of a longshot on a player who hasn't shown much form this season. Francesco Molinari has been a bit lacking of late, but he is a really quality player and has the kind of solid game required to do well here. He has also recorded top-15s in all three of his starts here including 3rd in 2011. I am willing to risk a small stake on him at 91 with BetVictor.

My picks this week:

• 2pts e/w Matt Kuchar at 21 (General)
• 1pts e/w Steve Stricker at 46 (SkyBet & BetVictor)
• 0.75pts e/w Jason Day at 51 (BetVictor)
• 0.75pts e/w Robert Garrigus at 51 (General)
• 0.5pts e/w Francesco Molinari at 91 (BetVictor) 

Monday thoughts...

It was another painfully close week at the Tshwane Open with Darren Fichardt being beaten into second by Dawie Van Der Walt- a player backed just 3 weeks ago! Can't complain too much as we all know how hard it is to pick winners and good to get an e/w place, but really feel Darren could have tried to put the pressure on a bit more against an unproven winner- he just seemed to play so safe!

We were also looking good with David Howell and Keith Horne at some points but they just didn't get birdies rolling in. Then there was Jeev... giving it large on Twitter how much he loved playing in South Africa and what a great 67 it was. Needless to say there have been no tweets from him since the second round! I do however think he's still one to look at in India in a couple of weeks, as it was just 3 bad holes that stunted his progress.

I'd also had a bit of a personal punt in the Honda Classic on Westwood as well as in an e/w double with Fichardt- I could have cried when seeing that ball plop in the water on 18, how selfish of him not knowing I only needed a safe par there! Oh, and I also had YE Yang!

On a serious note though, I can't see how Lee is going to be backable for a while now. As great a player as he is- he just doesn't seem to win often enough for the prices available and his short game is becoming a self fulfilling prophecy.

On the note of these disappointments, I was delighted to read birdieclubtipster's post today- suffering the same frustrations as me, and I think it sums up the emotions perfectly. Read it here: http://www.birdieclubtipster.blogspot.co.uk/p/19th-hole.html. He also talks about the frustration of missing out on the e/w places, but that keeping them in there is vital to keep the bank roll ticking over. This is something I have actually been thinking about this week...

What I've been learning this week:

A few weeks ago I stumbled across Mike Miller's (@SmartGolfBets) amazing(!) spreadsheets that show recent and course form and are my absolute bread and butter at the moment for pre tourney research. He also puts his own prices in there to show value bets. Would love to know the basics of creating these prices- but that's one for another post at a less busy time!

What I did notice this week is that he has also written some really good editorials- one of which is about the 'back-to-lay' (trading) approach on Betfair and it got me thinking about whether this could be a better strategy for profiting on the golf.

See Mike's site here: https://sites.google.com/site/smartgolfbets/editorials/back-to-lay---a-beginners-guide

A number of the players that let us down this week- if backed on the exchange- would have been available to trade out at a profit at some point. The thing is, if they had won, we'd have lost a big chunk of our potential profit by trading out- but it would have been guaranteed profit. There is also the risk that one bad round means no trade will come and the stake is gone forever. Or that a player finishes in the top 5, but never threatens to win, which would mean e/w would have paid out but no trade would ever become available.

There are just so many factors, but I guess that is the point of trying to come up with a winning strategy- trying to find the right combination of these factors that creates profit. After experimenting with laying the favourites / leaders a bit, I am definitely going to look a bit more into trading over the next few weeks, and compare results to backing the same players e/w.

Would love to here any readers' thoughts on this- do you have a great trading strategy- or swear by the e/w approach?! Please let me know!

Tshwane Open 2013

After the lottery of the World Matchplay, we are back to the familiar surroundings of 72 hole stokeplay this week with the Tshwane Open hosting players from the European and Sunshine Tours. There is a distinct lack of any big names in the field due to the Honda Open in America and therefore this should hopefully offer us the chance to find some value.

The venue is the Ernie Els designed Copperleaf Golf and Country Estate, on which there is no top level form to go on- therefore a mixture of stats and current form are goign to be needed. It is a really long track and with showers forecast all weekend length off the key is going to a good performance here.

My first pick this week is going to be Darren Fichardt, who won on his last time out in the European Tour and also picked up a top-10 on the Sunshine Tour last week. It's not rare for players to do well when near their home town and currently living in Centurion, he'll have all his home comforts available to him. He showed some real class when winning the Africa Open, and I'm surprised to see him available at 26 behind Van Zyl, Aiken and Mulroy in the betting. I think he should be a similar price to these guys.

My next pick is going to be Jeev Milkha Singh. He played well in Dubai when I last backed him and I think he'll have been working hard leading into the Avantha Masters in his home country in a couple of weeks. I believe the 41 available on him against this field under-estimates his chances.

My third pick is going to be David Howell- available at 41 along with Singh. He has showed some signs that he might return to the winners circle this year, and with a weak field- the fact that he's chosen to play shows that he must have a good feeling about the course.

My last pick in a week that has been really tough is going to be another South African as they have dominated these events this year.  I'm going to go with Keith Horne at 56- he's higher priced than a number of his compatriots even though many of them haven't shown much more form than him, and he has a steady season so far- with his best results coming in South Africa.

My picks this week:

• 2 pts e/w Darren Fichardt at 26 (Various)
• 1 pts e/w Jeev Milkha Singh at 41 (Various)
• 1 pts e/w David Howell at 41 (Various)
• 1 pts e/w Keith Horne at 56 (Various)

Accenture World Matchplay Betting Picks

It was so close to a great week! The blog picks had a pretty average week- with Ricardo Santos missing a short putt that would have at least given an each way payout, but over 72 holes we can't put blame on just one of those!

My good week nearly came from the e/w double that I had placed on Jaco Van Zyl and Bill Haas who both lead going into the final round and had equally shocking days. It would have paid out 435/1 which would have been very welcome indeed- thankfully Bill Haas rallied and got me the e/w payout! I like to place a few very small staked e/w doubles each week as they pay great odds for really small stakes and I have found it's pretty surprising how often they get close.

I would love to know people's thoughts on these doubles- do you think they're a good way to get that big win- or just a waste of money that would be better placed elsewhere? I'm always looking to learn and I'm sure there's some better punters out there who have some good experience of these.

Accenture World Matchplay:

This week is the first of the genuinely big-time events of the year, and a rarity in the fact that it is matchplay- so is bound to offer some exciting golf and definitely some upsets if anyone strings a bad few holes together at the wrong time.

Due to their rarity I don't actually have much experience betting on these style of events- although last year I managed to win a bit backing Nicolas Colsaerts in the European Tour equivalent. I have therefore broken my attempt of not looking at other tipsters before making my tips and have been doing a bit of research. It appears that most people (pretty logically I have to say!) are recommending backing players from across the brackets, which means that there's the chance of getting 4 people into the semis or at least your picks not knocking each other out early on. One approach I really like is from NicsPicks, which is looking to back on the exchanges and then try and trade out (read it here), and I think it's a great idea.

Bobby Jones Bracket

I found this bracket the hardest to make my pick from. I have therefore decided on 2 picks from this bracket- one as a specific attempt to get a trade- and the other as somebody I think has a chance to win. Firstly the trade, and I think at 190 Alex Noren looks good. He has a really tough match against Dustin Johnson, but DJ has not been great since his win in Hawaii and has three 1st round exits in four starts. He would then face Harrington or McDowell who also have bad records here, and if he gets through this it means we can hopefully trade out. My main pick is Jason Day at 75, who should hopefully get past an off-form Zach Johnson and then will have a great match set up against Charl Schwartzel, but 18 holes is certainly not 72 and that means the favourites are very vulnerable.

(I didn't write these subheadings in order and have just noticed how stupid the next paragraph will look after writing that last bit..!)

Gary Player Bracket

I am sure I will be the only blogger backing him this week as 13 is ridiculously short, but I'm going to put it out there that I think Tiger Woods will be extremely difficult to beat this week. Although he hasn't performed here in recent years, he has won once already this year on a course he loves- and this is another that he has had great success at. 'Tiger Woods: How I Play Golf' was my bible growing up, and in it he talks about how much he loves matchplay- and the gamesmanship that goes with it. He has a quite frankly shocking Ryder Cup record, but this week he will be playing for the United States of Tiger Woods and I think that is something he much prefers.

Sam Snead Bracket

In the Sam Snead bracket I am going to go with Tim Clark at 170. He faces a tough opponent in Adam Scott in the first round, but the Australian has not had a great record here in the last few years- and who I think is massively under priced. He has gotten through to the 3rd round in his last couple of attempts, and also had a good showing in the Sony Open. If he does get past Scott he then faces a debutant in either Olesen or Donaldson- neither of whom have much big tournament experience and if he gets past these we should have a good opportunity to trade.

Ben Hogan Bracket

Since getting knocked out in the first round here last year, Nicolas Colsaerts has won the Volvo World Matchplay Championship and played in a Ryder Cup, meaning he is going to be far more confident this year. The tournament is normally won by somebody who is known for specialising in the format and therefore the Belgian Bomber can't be ignored at 65. I think this is the weaker of the brackets, and he faces Bill Haas who may be feeling fragile after his implosion last week, and then I feel he now has what it takes to face up to face up to Rose in the next round if needed.

My picks for the week:

• 1pt Alex Noren at 190
• 1pt Jason Day at 75
• 2pt Tiger Woods at 13
• 1pt Tim Clark at 170
• 1pt Nicolas Colsaerts at 65

All at Betfair so that any trading opportunities can be taken.

Good Luck all!!

Africa Open 2013 Betting Tips

With the Accenture World Matchplay looming next week, the Africa Open, which is normally the inaugural event of the year has a much weaker field teeing off this week. Without the big guns here, that hopefully means that it will give some of those a bit further down the field the chance to grab a win at what is normally a very prestigious event.

The course this week is pretty short at a shade over 6,700 yards and looking at the stats from last year it looks like those that putted the best came out on top here. Another interest statistic posted by @Golf_Stats on Twitter today is that since this event has been co-sanctioned by the European Tour, Q-School graduates have finished 4th, 2nd and 2nd, so I will certainly be looking at them this week.

My first pick this week is Ricardo Santos, and although relatively short priced at 16/1, he has been banging on the door all year. With a few less proven winners in the field this week, and the kind of golf he is playing at the moment I feel that the fact he is so much of a bigger price than favourite Thomas Aiken, definitely makes him good value. Hopefully my first week being on him can bring his first win of the year.

The second player I am going to back this week is Trevor Fisher Jnr, who had a very good tournament until the closing stages last week, however he was up against the likes of Richard Sterne, Charl Schwartzel and George Coetzee- which he will not face this week. From his interview on the European Tour website it looks like he has certainly taken the positives from the experience, and feels it has given him the confidence to believe he can compete at the top. 

Next on the list is the Scotsman, David Drysdale at 35/1. I very nearly backed him last week, and was starting to get worried when he was playing well. He's a good ball striker who holes plenty of putts, and with the shorter track this week, his 280 yard average driving distance shouldn't hinder him. He's long been fancied for a win, and this week is as good a chance as any.

My final choice is based on the fact that Q-School graduates have tended to well here recently, and at 125/1 I am going to have a small punt on Bjorn Akesson. He's made a good start to his European Tour career with 3 made cuts- two of which are top-25s. This could be his chance to really stamp his name and get his career off to the perfect start. Of course motivation will be very high for him and this is another factor that makes me believe he can have a good week.

This weeks picks:

• 2pts e/w Ricardo Santos at 17.0 (Various)
• 1pt e/w Trevor Fisher Jnr at 36.0 (Various)
• 1pt e/w David Drysdale at 36.0 (Various)
• 0.5pt e/w Bjorn Akesson at 126.0 (Coral)

Sporting Bet are offering 6 places e/w this week!

Good Luck everyone!

Joburg Open 2013 Betting Tips

This week we fly to South Africa for the Joburg Open- normally the second event of the year, but taking place a bit later in 2013 and therefore meaning current form will have some more influence on picks for the week.

It appears again that we're looking for somebody who hits plenty of greens this week as the rough around the greens can be really punishing here, and with wet weather forecast somebody who can get it a long way off the tee is going to have an advantage with the limited roll on the fairways.

Heading the betting is Charl Schwartzel at a very short general 3/1 across the board, and the combination of the weather forecast, 6 weeks off and a missed cut last year I certainly think he is far to short to back at this price. The European Tour website news states that he has said he will only be looking to build a base for the rest of the season suggests that he possibly feels he has bigger fish to fry this year, and possibly could be worth a lay if you like your trading.

Having had a sneaky read of Steve Palmer's write up in Sainsburys while I bought my lunch today, I saw the stat that every time the Joburg Open has been played there has been somebody priced at 3 figures in the each way places and therefore it will definitely be worth looking a bit further down the field.

My first pick is somebody that has not had a previous try at the Joburg Open, but has been in really good form of late and hit a massive 84% of GIR so far in 2013. Having had top-10s in his last two outings and also at the end of last year, Steve Webster is obviously playing well at the moment and with a weaker field this week I'm going to back him at 30/1.

For the same reason as last week I am going to choose Danny Willet- also at 30/1. Even though he missed the cut he has been playing pretty well so far this year and has two top-5s here in the last 4 years so obviously feels confident at the course. Laying 17th in GIR and able to bomb it a good distance the course should suit, and he will be motivated to try and get a good result with this weaker field.

Following on from last week where Stephen Gallacher won at a course he has done well at but with pretty poor recent form, I fancy Marc Warren to have a decent week. He came 3rd here last year without showing much form and as he clearly enjoys this course I would not be surprised to see him do well here this week. Along similar lines to this bet I also feel that Jamie Elson cannot be ignored after top-5 placings in the previous two years and at 110/1 there is no way I can ignore a speculative punt on him recreating that form.

My last pick is a big longshot on Dawie Van Der Walt at a massive 291/1 with Pinnacle. He came 3rd here last year and gained a top-25 in his last Sunshine Tour outing and has had a solid amateur and college career in America. With course confidence, home support and the massive motivation to set his career on track with a good performance it could be a real opportunity for him.

My Betting Tips for the Week:

• 1pt e/w Steve Webster at 31.0 (Various)
• 1pt e/w Danny Willet at 31.0 (Stan James)
• 1pt e/w Marc Warren at 56.0 (Various)
• 1/2pt e/w Jamie Elson at 111.0 (Stan James)
• 1/2pt e/w Dawie Van Der Walt at 292 (Pinnacle)

Thanks for reading and good luck!

Desert Classic review and my Monday Lesson

Stephen Gallacher showed the importance of course form this week with a 3 shot victory from Richard Sterne in Dubai. He has not had the best start to 2013 with 59th and MC, but had shown some signs of form at the end of last year. He had also been 2nd here in 2012 with a top-10 in 2011, making it seem like a missed opportunity for not picking him up... but then if we had such hindsight there would be no bookies left, and we wouldn't be able to beat them even occasionally!

My picks were looking relatively good until they trailed off over the weekend, and I was left particularly frustrated with Paul Casey who had a really good start but just didn't keep up with the scoring as the week went on. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to justify him again for a while unless there's some major increases in his price. Watch him go and win now!

We were also so close with Jeev Milkha Singh, who was in the each-way places if it wasn't for a double bogey at the 5th which derailed him a bit. I still think it was a good call though, and he was well worthy of his price.

What I've been learning this week...

This week I've been doing some research into bank roll management, which is a pretty fundamental aspect of being a successful bettor along with being able to recognise value.

There are many theories as to how much of your bankroll should be staked on each bet, and to be honest I haven't gotten a full grasp of these myself yet. Therefore it will be an ongoing learning project and once I have gotten in down will write up how I've gotten on.

What I have been realising over the weeks however, is that it is just not possible to be successful if you're not keeping proper tabs on money being used for betting, and trying to manage it from your bank account along with the weekly food shop or electricity bills. What is needed is a separate account which is purely for betting and can be managed as such. This also means that losses are limited and discipline is improved as you are not going to want to risk this bank roll on any 'dead certs' whereas just depositing straight from the current account sometimes doesn't feel like real money- until you lose!

I have started using Moneybookers, which is an online wallet (similar to Paypal) specifically designed for betting. It is accepted universally by bookmakers, and offers a great way to keep that all important bankroll in one place- and to keep tabs on it. It also offers much quicker withdrawals, which mitigates that temptation to leave money in accounts and fritter it on Jeff Stelling Saturday afternoons.

Building this bankroll can be hard, and normally requires a pretty decent capital investment if you are wanting to be serious and make it survive a few losing weeks but there is one excellent way to do this, and one which  I have used to amazing success... sign up bonuses.

Last year, I have to admit that I bought into a few betting systems- and I have learned the hard way that they are a pretty big waste of money! However on the review sites and also after a bit of research I came across the  Bonus Bagging Service. I know with a bit of research you can learn how to make money with matched betting but at the end of the day, it's a bit of a mission!

I paid about £30 for this service, but I had made it back within a few hours and a year later I am still completing the many 'bonus bags'. The service is run by a guy called Mike, and basically you click that you want a new bet, he sends exactly what to put on and when the bonus is paid in he then emails you the bet to withdraw the bonus. Easy! He is really helpful and replies to any questions really quickly, as well as sending through emails pretty regularly of reloads and how to bag these. It's always totally risk free and is guaranteed profits.

I honestly have no connection with this at all, and this is not advertising- I'm just trying to offer some genuine value with my blog! I want you to check it out because I love beating the bookies!

Thanks for reading, and let me know your thoughts! Any great tips on managing / building a bank roll? 

Dubai Desert Classic Betting Tips

It's the final leg of the desert swing- and that means the European Tour is off to the Dubai Desert Classic. This is a tournament that used to attract a stellar field, but recently seems to have been overtaken by the Abu Dhabi Championship and therefore this is probably the weakest field of the swing.

Lee Westwood is set to make his season début and has done pretty well here in the past, but it's Sergio Garcia after a fine performance last week who heads the betting at 6/1. This is a price that's just a bit too short for my liking and I also think I'm going to leave Westwood alone this week having recently changed coaches and not having the match sharpness a few others in the field will have this week.

I also really fancied Henrik Stenson before the prices were released- he has looked liked getting close to form lately and likes it here- but at around 14/1 I don't think his form justifies that price.

This week I have decided to take a more scientific (more than normal anyway!) approach and have done some research into the stats of players that have done well here in the past, and have found that it's really important to hit lots of greens here to be successful. Even players that have not putted so great have been up there in previous years. Driving accuracy also doesn't look so important here, however we need someone who can get it a fair way off the tee.

My first pick of the week is Paul Casey. He has let me down a couple of times so far this season, but has actually been hitting it pretty well and has been hitting plenty of greens only to be let down by his putting. Combine the fact that he has played a good deal of golf over the last few weeks and therefore should be pretty warm with the fact that he has had some good performances here in previous years I think his price should be slightly lower than the 25/1 with 6 places each way available at Stan James.

Next on the list is Thongchai Jaidee who has been playing some sublime golf of late but has also been slightly let down by a cold putter. With a 3rd place here in 2010 and top 10 finishes in his last 3 outings he cannot be far away from adding his 6th European Tour win to his tally. He has been hitting plenty of GIR so far this year and is available at 30/1 with Bet365 or again at 25/1 for 6 places with Stan James. Compare his recent form to that of those above him in the betting and this is another good value opportunity.

After a win last week and top-20 performances the last 3 times he teed it up here in Dubai Chris Wood is going to be brimming with confidence in his game. Many people feel that he was long overdue his maiden win, and I see no reason why he won't be wanting to add to that tally as soon as possible. Could he be the Branden Grace of 2013?! He's available at a price of 33/1 across the board and I feel he is well worth a punt again this week.

I am also going to add Danny Willet to the roster, a player that could potentially have a very good season. He has had some decent results of late but has been fairly under the radar. He is 17th in the GIR stats so far this season and a good showing this week would certainly not be a surprise to most people.

My final two punts this week are going to be on a couple of longer odds shots. Anthony Wall has long been regarded as one of the most talented ball strikers on the European Tour, came 6th last week and has posted a top 10 results in Dubai previously. With a slightly weaker field I feel that the 90/1 available on him underestimates his ball striking ability at a course that should suit. Jeev Milha Singh has not had the greatest time in the last fortnight, but has not missed a cut here in his last 6 outings and had a half decent performance in Durban. He's a really streaky player and can regularly chuck in a top-5 between missed cuts so I don't mind risking a small stake on him at the 125/1 available at Bet365.

My Betting Tips for the Week:

• 1.5pt e/w Paul Casey at 29.0 (Various) or 26.0 (Stan James w/ 6 places e/w)
• 1pt e/w Thongchai Jaidee at 31.0 (Bet365) or 26.0 (Stan James w/ 6 places e/w)
• 1pt e/w Chris Wood at 34.0 (Stan James)
• 1pt e/w Danny Willet at 51.0 (Ladbrokes) or or 41.0 (Stan James w/ 6 places e/w)
• 0.5pt e/w Anthony Wall at 91.0 (Bet365)
• 0.5pt e/w Jeev Milkha Singh at 126.0 (Bet365)

Where stated I have taken the 6 places at Stan James.

Qatar Review and My Lesson for the Week...

For somebody that has gotten themselves a name as a bit of a choker, Chris Wood played the final hole in a fashion that would be more expected by his (almost) namesake. After a shaky double bogey on the 3rd he rallied to hole some great putts throughout the round, and his gutsy eagle at the last pipped Sergio Garcia and George Coetzee by one shot.

What I've learned this week:

After a second losing week I have done a lot of research into the concept of value, and also put some further thought into my staking plan.

The very nature of golf betting means that there are going to be a number of losing weeks, but as we are generally betting at quite high odds, with huge fields, it has to be accepted that the probability of winning is lower. That means that to profit over the year we can only bet on players whose odds are greater than what we believe to be their probability of winning.

I've found that over the last few weeks I've been trying to pick players based purely on whether I think they will play well and generally not focussed on the odds. I'd fallen into the trap of thinking that value was just betting at high odds, when in fact I need to look for the odds to be over what I believe they should be.

If this is done consistently then in theory a profit should be made on the basis of simple maths e.g.:

If odds of winning were 1/52 (one win in the year), and we managed to have £1 on each week at 60/1 then over a large number of years we should expect to make an average of £8 per year. It would also mean backing only one winner from 52 per year- so it goes to show that it's not too bad to have a few losing weeks!

For some great explanations of this concept visit the OLBG Betting School, which goes into a bit more detail. They also have a great tipping comp- you get £1,000 a month of play money and there's loads in cash prizes for those who do the best- visit the tipping comp at http://www.olbg.com/?tx253777 to sign up.

I have also decided that it is very difficult to have a consistent staking plan each week while combining both my outright tips and spread betting ideas and therefore I am going to do these separately. It's just too hard to control the amount of bank that is being risked and with only two e/w picks last week I really didn't give myself chance to get the high return wins needed to be successful in golf betting.

This week I am going to look at the Dubai Desert Classic and try to come up with at least an idea of what I feel the betting will look like before any prices are released, and then if there are any outside my expectations jump right on them!

A winner!

Back in early January I posted a tip on Rylan Clark to win Celebrity Big Brother at 2.22- which as the weeks went on just kept coming in and was eventually available to trade off at 1.13 so I hope a few people followed me on that!

Qatar Masters 2013 Betting Preview

The next stop in the Desert Swing brings us to the Qatar Masters- won last year by Paul Lawrie. The course this week is not a massively dissimilar challenge from last week. Winds are not forecast to be as strong as in previous years here- although the rough has been grown out a bit to compensate. At 7400+ yards, this puts a premium on driving once again this week.

Going to look to pull on prior course form and current form and hopefully make some money this week!

First on the list is one of last weeks picks, who has been steadily playing pretty well of late and won here in 2010, so obviously knows how to get round Doha. Thomas Bjorn is available at 55/1 and I think this is still a bit too high for somebody playing half decent golf and knows how to win. HE has been threatening to have a good tournament of late and hopefully it can be this week.

I am also going to have a pop this week on David Howell- he has had 5 top tens here in the past and after such a good showing last week, I think that 80/1 is a great opportunity and underestimates his chances- perhaps he has lost that winning edge- but 20/1 for a top 6 with Stan James is still pretty good.

As there seems like so many people that can win here I have decided to take a bit of a different approach for my next pick. A market that gave some success in my first week of putting my bets out there was the 72 hole match market on Sporting Index. In a huge risk of trying to tempt fate I am going to oppose a player I have backed for the last two weeks- but who really hasn't looked like getting back to his old self quite yet. Couple this with the fact that he has missed the cut 4 out of the 5 times he has played here and this being his 3rd straight week of tournament golf after a fairly serious injury Paul Casey certainly doesn't inspire me with confidence this week. To oppose him I am going with the ready made match against Henrik Stenson- a man who has done really well here in the past, is coming back to some form and can boom his driver. All of which should lead to him being ahead of Casey come Sunday.

Another Sporting Index market is finishing positions. Paying out on where a player has finished and therefore not needing that top 5 place for an each way bet to make money. This one is a bit of a risk- but Andrew Dodt would have made us a profit in his past 5 tournaments as well as in Doha last year. I am going to sell his finishing position at 52- meaning a pretty big 17 per pt loss if he misses the cut, but any performance in line with his form for this week should bring a profit.

This week's picks:

• 1pt e/w Thomas Bjorn at 56.0 (Bet365) (Available at 41.0 for 6 places e/w at Stan James)
• 1/2pt e/w David Howell at 81.0 (Stan James)
• Sell Andrew Dodt for 1/2pt at 52 (Sporting Index)
• Buy Henrik Stenson for 1pt at 2 (Sporting Index)

Good Luck!

My betting lesson for the week...

Last Week

In last week's Monday lesson I talked about players who are leading going into Sunday being odds on, and the potential trading opportunity it offers after Scott Jamieson gave up a 5 shot lead in Durban.

This weekend Justin Rose led by two going into Sunday and was priced at around 1.65. Two holes in and I managed to lay him at 1.53- which I think is pretty short odds for a two horse race such as a football game, let alone one man against probably 8 or more others in contention, and when one mistake can throw the whole lead away. After a few holes and with his lead firmly eroded I decided to be risk averse and trade out when he was available to be backed at 3.25- locking in a nice profit.

The same situation has occurred across the pond where Scott Stallings carried a 5 shot lead going into the final round of the ridiculously low scoring Humana Challenge. Once again he was available at an odds on price- 1.69 and went on to lose!

Even if all of these players went on to win there was always a chance to trade out for a profit... definitely a strategy I am going to be using in the future.

This week's lesson

I spent ages last week researching form, course experience etc etc last week in order to write my preview for Abu Dhabi and come up with some tips without copying the other more experienced tipsters out there. I then carefully made my picks and looked for the best price.

I then read some other blogs / tips sites and saw what people were thinking for the PGA Tour's Humana Challenge. Not really knowing much about the tournament- or the people playing I decided to pretty blindly follow a sort of aggregated version of these tips- all of which went on to lose by a pretty tasty margin.

Now I'm not for one minute saying the tips I read weren't good- but each player I backed was an individual part of different staking plans- one piece of the jigsaw. There may have been a long shot there, but this was probably backed up with a shorter priced player more likely to gain some sort of return to cover that long shot- which I would have obviously missed. Plus, not knowing about the tournament or the players means I cannot judge whether I really agree with the logic of that pick- we all have different reasons for backing players and inevitably people disagree now and again!

This week I will not be backing anybody unless I really understand the reasons they have been chosen and whether I agree with those reasons.

For a great explanation of a staking plan- and one that I am trying to learn to put in practice can be see at http://www.nics-value-picks.com/2013/01/ew-golf-staking-plan.html- this really shows what I'm trying to say above.

Hope this is a familiar situation for others out there, would be great to hear any views on this!

Abu Dhabi Review

With all the hype surrounding the new Nike brothers and the great expectations behind them there will be a few at the company feeling very disappointed that their exposure was cut down by two days after both players missed the cut. At least Rory got to put his feet up at the weekend and watch Caroline though....

Justin Rose led for the majority of the week but failed to show a killer instinct today to finish the job off- something that I feel has probably lacked throughout his career. Still, a great start to the campaign at a new course and clearly one to watch out for this season. I'm already fancying him a bit for the US Masters- could be a great shout for 1st round leader. 

Another player who reared their head today after a long time in the doldrums with back problems was David Howell. Judging by the sentiment on Twitter there wouldn't have been anybody who wasn't happy to see him win today regardless of who they'd backed. He's not your typical icon but I am still using a 31" putter that was inspired by the Howeller back in the day- I can see where that bad back must stem from now....

The tournament was finally won by Jamie Donaldson who tee'd it up at 60/1 and is a popular winner with those on tour. Well done to birdieclubtipster.blogspot.com for tipping him this week- great start to the season.

Bit of an annoying week for my picks. Jason Dufner bogeyed the last to miss an e/w payout by 1 shot and last week's pick Thorbjorn Olesen who was absolutely shocking in Durban contended to the 72nd hole. Not happy- but the beauty of golf is we only have to wait 3 days for another chance!

I am also expecting that this week I will have dropped down the ranks from 3rd overall in the Golf Bettings System punter's league 2013. There's a long way to go though and I'm sure one week can bring about a massive swing in the standings. Which also means it's still a great time to get involved if you haven't already!

Come back tomorrow for my Monday Lesson- what have I learned this week?!

Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship Tips

Well this looks like we have a very exciting week in store!

Just in case you've been living in a golfing news void over the last week, Rory McIlroy has been officially unveiled as a Nike athlete. This however, is not the really exciting news. I am of the age where I grew up watching the television adverts showing off Tiger's acting skills, and spent many an hour on the practice ground trying to replicate the famous 'golf ball juggling one' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oTMosZ76b8). Due to unforeseen circumstances in Mr Woods private life I was deprived of these 3 minute wonders for a number of years... but that is now over! Although I am now supposed to regard myself as an adult I cannot deny that it brought back the child in me when I was confronted with this... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NCDYjHtEcU- long may they continue!

Onto the golf...

This week we head to the Abu Dhabi Golf Club and a number of the world's top players are going to be there. The course was revamped for last year's tournament putting more of a premium onto play off the tee- and Alex Noren has been saying on Twitter that the course is set up like a US Open- 'Firm greens and fat rough'. With the course being over 7400 yards and such a premium on playing from the fairway we need a great driver to be successful here and of course as always- someone who will hole their putts.

The top of the betting is dominated by McIlroy, Woods and Kaymer- all of whom I feel are a bit too short to get any real value from. McIlroy has just switched to new clubs, and Kaymer struggled last year which suggests it may be worth leaving them alone.

A player along similar lines to Martin Kaymer is Paul Casey- he has won this tournament twice and feels it 'just one of those places where things seem to come together'. Although he didn't come through for us last week- we can consider that a warm up for the year and hopefully the same logic as last week applies but this time on a course he loves. With the top players on show here perhaps it will take the pressure off a bit too.

Next on the list is Jason Dufner. With the course set up for somebody with a great long game-particularly driving I feel that the 25/1 on offer is great value for a player that showed last year he is capable of playing against the world's best. With a great showing at the US Open last year we can feel comfortable that he is suited to the course set up this week. Although he didn't have a great showing in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, that can be put down to the weather and he did have some decent form at the end of 2012.

Finally a couple of bigger prices...

With a 3rd place on the new layout last year and in a rich vein of form Thomas Bjorn looks a great price at 45/1. He's got enough experience not to be fazed by the media circus that will be following the World's top two and with Paddy Power offering 6 places 11/1 on a top 6 seems pretty good.

Another player I have not seen tipped this week is Scott Jamieson. Although he missed the cut last year this guy is in the form of his life and I think that even though he threw a huge lead away last week 66/1 is absolutely massive. Let's just hope he's not mentally knackered!

My Betting Tips this week:

• 1pt e/w Paul Casey at 28.0
• 1pt e/w Jason Dufner at 26.0
• 1pt e/w Thomas Bjorn at 46.0
• 1pt e/w Scott Jamieson at 67.0

All at Paddy Power as they are offering 6 places each way!

Last Week and Monday's Lesson for Lewis...

Always a danger man at the start of the week but offering no real value, Louis Oosthuizen overcame a five shot deficit to triumph in the Volvo Golf Champions in Durban.

Commiserations have to go to Scott Jamieson who was on the receiving end of of this overhaul but with a win under his belt already this season and clearly playing well I am sure he will put himself in a position to win again.

Padraig Harrington managed to get into the each way places with a birdie on the 72nd hole which means a 1.25pt profit for the week!

On the note of the final round this week, one of my New Year's resolutions reared its head, and along with that a lesson...

Looking around twitter I saw the statistic that before this tournament 22 players had gone into the final round with a five shot lead and of these 22 players only two had ever not gone on to win the tournament. I then saw that Scott Jamieson was trading at 1.5 on Betfair- great value surely?! Some might even say a dead cert... (http://lewispuntingyear.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/the-year-ahead.html - see point 1!)

Luckily my Moneybookers account was not playing ball and I didn't manage to get the money on- and we all know what happened next. Thinking about it though, how often does the final round leader pull away from the field and increase their lead in these situations? The combination of nerves, playing more safely to conserve the lead and those behind playing more aggressively than they normally might means that it's more than likely that at some point the supposedly huge lead won't be so big after all.

When a player is trading at odds-on, rather than looking to back the supposed dead cert I am going to look to lay them with a view to trading. Even in the case that they go on to win the tournament that lead will at some point look threatened, the price will go up and there is our chance to profit! Or they could completely melt down and we just let it run! For a great guide to Betfair trading see http://www.golfbettingsystem.co.uk/Golf_Trading.htm.

Over the rest of the year I will look at incorporating some in-play trading into the mix so add me on Twitter (@LewisBryan80) to see how I get on, and let me know what you think of this... have you been burned in the past backing a short priced leader? Or even laid them only to watch the pull clear hole after hole?!

Come back tomorrow for my Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship tips!

Volvo Golf Champions 2013

Last Week

Well that was certainly an interesting one! After two restarts due to ferocious winds in Hawaii the Hyundai Tournament of Champions has finally been played. After being shortened to 54 holes Dustin Johnson came out on top which means of his now 7 seven wins on the PGA Tour, this is the 3rd coming by way of a weather shortened event.

Ian Poulter came a respectable T9 after his self-defamation on Twitter and it reinforces my new year's resolution that there is no such thing as a certainty in the betting world after feeling sure that he would be in for a bad week. At no point however did it look like my spread bet was in danger of being a loser and Dustin was always one step ahead.

The spread market for the 72 hole matchbet closed at -11 shots and therefore this gave a tidy profit of 10.25pts meaning all in all it was a good first week for the new blog!


Volvo Golf Champions

Into a new week and we have the European Tour's equivalent of the Tournament of Champions- The Volvo Golf Champions 2013. A field limited to 33 players is headed to Durban Country Club in South Africa which played host to the South African Open most recently in 2010- won by Ernie Els who also won here in 1998.

Due to the fact that there is not a great deal of previous form available for the course and we are coming off a break I feel that the key points to look for will be suitability for the course and also those players who are going to have the most motivation to get their season off to a great start.

The course is not the longest at 6,700 yards and is quoted on their website as being 'a shot makers course that you have to think your way round.' There are some great risk reward opportunities here and none more so than the par-4 18th offering one of the 3 hole-in-one prizes!

My first pick is going to be Paul Casey, who is coming off a torrid year due to injury while his former peers- Luke Donald et al.- have shot to the very peak of the game. When fit Casey was a world class player and has won at courses such as Wentworth which require the shot making and golfing brain it appears will be needed at Durban. With three top 10's in his last four starts at the end of last year as well as some low rounds, he has started to show his quality again and with a Christmas break that I am sure was spent chomping at the bit to go into 2013 fit, he is going to be more motivated than ever to get off to a great start. With odds of 26.0 on offer I feel this is great value.

My next pick is Thorbjorn Olesen who has improved greatly each year he has been on tour and managed to get his first win last year. This player was fancied a lot last season and many people feel that he has the potential to be a great player and is due to start winning. Having just signed with Nike he is going to want to shine, so couple this motivation for a name-making season and obvious talent I feel he is worth our investment.

My final pick has not been in the greatest form of late, but is the definition of a thinking man's player and is one of the world's best. Padraig Harrington knows how to turn it on when in great company and with 3 majors to his name and a top-10 in his last outing in Dubai he is certainly more than capable of a win. Available at 29.0 it is hard to pass up a player of this calibre, especially when returning to the course at which he made his professional debut 17 years ago, bringing fond memories for the Irishman.

The Week's Punts

• 1pt e/w Paul Casey at 26.0 (Coral, 888, BlueSq)
• 1pt e/w Thorbjorn Olesen at 23.0 (Various)
• 1pt e/w Padraig Harrington at 29.0 (Coral, Sportingbet)

Sidetrack!

With the start of Celebrity Big Brother comes a great opportunity to make a bit of profit from the ever predictable British public. Rylan Clark is riding the wave of recent X Factor success as well as coming across as a very typical winning personality and unlikely to be nominated in these early stages. Therefore I can only see that price getting shorter and this offers up a great trading opportunity on Betfair. Once that price has come in it can be safely traded off for a green book or free ride.

• 3pts Rylan Clark to win Celebrity Big Brother at 2.22 (Betfair)

Hyundai Tournament of Champions

First event of the year and it's the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, this week is a small field, all of whom are winners on the PGA Tour in 2012. Being the week after Christmas and New Year and a relatively small prize fund- just the $5.7m- the biggest names have decided not to waste their time turning up this week. Who could blame them- that paltry amount of money and the opportunity for 4 rounds in Hawaii- it's alright for some I suppose...

Having read through many a tipster website, blogs, newspapers and other media it seems that just about everyone in the field has been tipped up or fancied by somebody. The top end of the betting all seem to be there for a reason and those at the higher end of the odds are all apparently 'excellent value'.

For that reason I can't see there being a great amount of value to be taken this week and to be honest this tournament is wide open with every player in the field clearly capable of a win. I think we therefore need to look elsewhere for a decent chance of making some money.

Although it seems every player has been tipped for the win, there seems to be one who doesn't even fancy their own chances. More than a few tweets from a certain Mr Poulter have indicated a very heavy Christmas and flights booked on lastminute.com with RyanAir. Couple this with the fact that he's a matchplay specialist (a bloody good one at that) and is here on that merit I can see this being more of a holiday for Poults than work. This could have been an opportunity to lay the top-10 finish but there is very little in the way of price or liquidity on that front and therefore I'm feeling a spread bet coming on...

Sporting Index offer a 72 hole matchmaker market so we just need to find somebody we think will beat Ian by a few shots. Kapalua is long and wide with huge greens and there should be a fair bit of wind. It also favours players that have played here a few times. Following the twitter theme for Poulter's demise has lead me to Dustin Johnson who has been teeing it up at 7am at the plantation for the last week and seems to be in very good spirits for the tournament (along with his new red driver which he is perfectly capable of hitting 400 yards on some holes here!). His previous perfomances here have been 9th, 16th and 11th (thanks to www.golfbettingsystem.co.uk for that info) and therefore he knows how to play the course and we can hopefully be sure that even if he doesn't win he is not going to go huge and lose me lots of money.

As there isn't much to go on in terms of decent bets here I have decided to add a year long ante post effort to this week's post.

The demise of my lifelong hero over the past few years has left a void in the world of golf, which has been crying out for a new superstar. I really feel that 2013 could be the making of a new power in the sport and now that he has his $250 million (allegedly) deal under his belt he is ready to put that amazing marketing power (and swing) to use...

The week's punts:

• Sell Ian Poulter v Dustin Johnson for 1pt at -0.75 (Sporting Index)
• 3 pt Rory McIlroy to win exactly 2 majors at 11 (SkyBet)
• 1 pt Rory McIlroy to win exactly 3 majors at 41 (SkyBet)
• 1/2 pt Rory McIlroy to win exactly 4 majors at 101 (SkyBet)

The Year Ahead

After a year on the betting wagon- with many losers and a few good winners- it is time to take it to the next level and see how we do in 2013.

The year of 2012 involved many a mistake and I think there are some new years resolutions which need to be set down based on what I've learned:

1. There is no such thing as a dead cert- a lesson learned when putting my entire bankroll on the Frankel / Black Caviar double. Do not want to experience that feeling again in 2013.
2. Being bored on a Saturday morning is not an excuse for £35 worth of BTTS five-folds and Fernando Torres to score first bets 'just to make Gillette Soccer Saturday interesting.'
3. As much as I may think I am a horse racing mogul, I in fact know very little from a betting point of view and blindly following tips and pretending they are my choices in order 'to seem like a real punter' is not going to help the bankroll. 
4. I know lots about golf, I think that I may have made a profit on golf, stick to what you know. (Golf!)
5. In point 4 I say 'I think' I may have made a profit on golf. I didn't keep any record of bets and therefore realistically I don't actually have a clue how I did. A less exciting point but 2013 will involve spreadsheets.
6. Funds should be removed from bookmaker accounts as soon as a bet is settled and just because it's 'only £8' does not mean that virtual greyhounds is the sensible investment choice. 
7. It does not help when funds are being used for both betting and the food shop in Tesco. A separate betting bank in Moneybookers will be used.
8. Public votes are a goldmine. X Factor / Britain's got talent / Big Brother all seem to be very easy to predict.

The plan for 2013

The primary focus for the year (and this blog) is going to be golf, with a few sidetracks here and there if anything else takes my fancy. (Per above- NOT Fernando Torres first goalscorer bets).

I haven't got a set staking plan at the moment and to be honest it's going to be a case of using common sense (ha ha) and seeing what works over the course of the year. I will also look to mix it up a bit with regards to approach and market types. Winner, Each-way, Match betting, Spread bets, Top 10, Back, Lay- you name it I will probably try it at some point and hopefully I won't be making myself look to stupid (or skint).

One site that has been of great use to me in the past year is Golf Betting System and I will also be taking part in their Punters League 2013 (http://www.golfbettingsystem.co.uk/punters_league.htm), so hopefully (very much the key word) may even get a few freebies courtesy of that. They're even offering £50 to the most creative Blog entry regarding the competition, although I'm not sure if the T&Cs state that the said Blog has to actually be read by anyone?

So, here's to 2013- Happy new year and Happy Punting!