If we log in to our Scotbet accounts there should be a free £25 bet granted. With the complete lack of football this off-season we’ll have to just make the most of the summer sports. Apologies to all those not on the Gooner Gambling sScheme towards £1000 but this week’s article will look at the upcoming Wimbledon Semi Finals to make a profit.
If you look to the left of the page on Scotbet you should see the heading “Tennis”. From here find “Wimbledon Mens Singles Semi Finals”, “Murray v Nadal” and “Set Betting (Best of 5)”. Whilst Nadal should be able to overcome Murray we only have to look at the Quarter Finals and Tsonga has proved that it can be worth backing the underdog. It’s sure to be a close game but Murray has looked impressive and is starting to reach his peak. There’s definitely a chance of another upset here so tick the box next to “Murray, Andy 3-1” which had odds of 7 as I was placing the bet. After this, open up the Betslip by clicking on the right hand tab and be sure to use your full free £25 bet (remember to tick the ‘Place using free balance box’ near the bottom of the betslip). (Ed’s note – When I placed the bet, it would only take £8.30 of the free bet. I phoned customer service and it seems there was a limit on the amount you could bet on this outcome which – in theory – has now been removed as I then placed the rest of my free balance on the same outcome. If you have any problems, phone customer service which I found very speedy in dealing with the issue)
At Betfair go to “Tennis”, “Wimbledon 2011”, “Mens Tournament”, “Semi Final Matches”, “Nadal v A Murray” and then “Set Betting”. Here you can lay Murray winning 3-1 which had odds of 8.4 (7.2 when I laid it initially – but please read my note at the bottom of this piece) as I did this with £15 so it left the following outcomes…
- Murray wins 3-1: +£39 (+£150 at Scotbet, -£111 at Betfair)
- Murray doesn’t win 3-1: +£15 (-£25 FREE bet at Scotbet, +£15 at Betfair)
This means that unfortunately after England went crashing out of the Euro U21 Championship our profit from Scotbet will be either £34 (Or possibly more – see below) or £10 as England’s U21 exit left us -£5.
Betfair responds instantly to breaking news such as updates on Nadal’s foot injury and will often fluctuate whilst bookies such as Scotbet will take slightly longer to react. Odds are likely to be changing hour by hour but as long as the odds are similar at Betfair and Scotbet a small change to what you back or lay with should mean you’re able to ensure a guaranteed profit. Chances are it will just be a slightly smaller profit if Murray is to win.
It just goes to show you don’t need football markets to make a guaranteed profit,
“Why gamble when you can win!”
Ed’s note – Ok, so I tried to lay £15 at 7.2 – much better odds and lower liability than Russell enjoyed. However, only £3.34 was available, so I cancelled the unmatched part of the bet, went back to the odds – now slightly less generous at 7.4 and tried to put the rest on. In the end, I had to spread the £15 lay across four different odds (7.2, 7.4, 7.6, 7.8). My total liability if Murray wins 3-1 will be approx £100. As the market is – at the moment – quite small – you may have to go back and put the unmatched portion of your bet on a slightly less generous price, but as long as it does not go much over 9, then you will still be in profit. Tomorrow, on the day of the game, more money will be in this market, so you should be more likely to be able to place all of your bet on at one price
Finally, a reminder for those of you who are following the Gooner Gambling Scheme that we are going to have to bet on some non football events to continue until we have some Arsenal matches to bet on. What we will do is give at least 24 hours’ notice before the event the next bet is on, and the words ‘Gooner Gambling Scheme’ will be in the title of the piece trumpeting it. For those that fear they might miss the boat, we can send out an email to notify you that the details of the next bet are online. If you wish to be notified in this way, just send an email to [email protected] with ‘Gooner Gambling Guide’ in the subject line and we’ll do the honours. Don’t use this address for anything else though.
