[Premier League - Week 2]

Re: Premier League - Week 2 Barneveld over 3.5 180s 6/4 Bet365 There has been surprisingly little reaction from the bookies to Barney hitting the most 180s last week with his odds just coming in slightly. I'll play it safe this week though and settle for the over 3.5 180s market at 6/4. Barney hit 6 last week in a match that was over in the blink of an eye. There is every chance today's game will last longer and obviously the longer the match the more opportunities to hit a maximum. Barney probably won't play as well as last week but the good thing about him is that even when he isn't paying well he still manages to hit the maximums. Odds 6/4 are too good to resist.

[Premier League - Week 2]

Re: Premier League - Week 2 Highest Checkout Peter Wright 9/1Bwin (8/1 most bookies) With so many talented players on show it could take a really big checkout to win this. It's no secret that Wright is the most improved player and there is no sign of his form dipping. He seems full of confidence at the moment and is well up to hitting a big finish. What makes me favour Wright over the others is his knack of leaving himself big finishes. Last week against Newton he left 161,164 and three times left himself 170. On one of those occasions he deliberately went for a single 18 in order to leave the maximum checkout. I get the distinct impression that Wright wants to hit the maximum checkout. It could be just a matter of time before hits a big finish and at 9/1 Im happy to bet it could be this week. Coral also offer 20/1 on him getting a 170 which might be worth a small dabble.

[February 10 - February 16]

Re: February 10 - February 16 Mladenovic to beat Cepelova 5/6 most bookies At first glance her chances don't look good: she trails the head to head 0-2 and has lost 7 of her last 10 matches. However in her defence she has had some very difficult matches. I believe she is an improving player and now has the beating of a player like Cepelova. Mladenovic has a good all round game with good ground-strokes, powerful serve and is an excellent net player. Although there is little difference in their rankings I'm convinced that Mladenovic can push on an make large inroads into her current 71 ranking. I'll be disappointed if I've read this game wrong and expect the head to head to read 1-2 after this game.

[BDO Darts Trophy - 6-9 Feb]

Re: BDO Darts Trophy - 6-9 Feb Dekker to beat Adams 11/10 bet365 I can't have Adams as favourite here. I can't believe that the bookies are pricing Adams up on his past reputation but there does seem an element of that. At the world champs he was lucky in that he met a woeful O'Shea in the first round and Montgomery in the second who couldn't have hit a double if it was the size of a bucket. In the third round though he was comfortably beaten by Dekker and I don't see any reason why that should be different today. In my opinion Dekker is the better player and should be favourite.

[Premier League - Week 1]

Re: Premier League - Week 1 Week 1 most 180's Van Barneveld 9/1 Betfred A bit of a speculative punt but the odds are quite appealing. Barney's best days are behind him but he is still a heavy 180 hitter. No matter how well he is playing he can usually be relied upon to hit plenty of 180s. In the first 3 rounds of the world champs he hit a total of 20 180's; which shows that he still has what it takes. There is a good chance of his match against Anderson going quite a distance increasing the chances for180s. Of the main dangers; Van Gerwen does an awful lot of switching to 19s which will keep his tally down. Lewis is obviously prolific but has quite a few bad games in the premier league. It's hard to know how Chisnall will cope with the premier league but Its fair to say that he might well struggle. Anderson Is playing well but this is down to his improved doubling rather than 180 hitting. Obviously on their day any of the players could win this market. But with Barney's consistent 180 hitting I will be taking the 9/1.

[BDO Darts Trophy - 6-9 Feb]

Re: BDO Darts Trophy - 6-9 Feb Wilson outright winner 10/3 Skybet With Bunting gone; Wilson is now the man to beat. He has been steadily improving which culminated with his Zuiderzuin Masters win. He played well in the world champ's but was unlucky to run into an inspired Norris. Despite losing that match he still averaged an impressive 99. He looks a class above most of these and this could be the first of many titles this year.

[Australian Open 2014]

Re: Australian Open 2014 Advice please I hope I'm allowed to ask for advice on this forum. I have a bet on Wawrinka to win the Australian Open at 66/1. I can currently lay it off at Betfair at 3/1. I was wondering if the price is likely to better or worse than 3/1 after Nadal/Federer match has concluded. So should I take the 3/1 now or wait. Thanks in anticipation.

[Australian Open 2014]

Re: Australian Open 2014 Nadal Nishikori under 30.5 games evens Ladbrokes Three 6/4 sets would be good enough to win this bet. Nadal was superb against Monfils and doesn't look in the mood to drop set. Neither can I see Nishikori being good enough to take this to tie break. Even if he did a 6/2 6/3 would still bring the bet in. The pair have played 13 sets in total that I know about and Nishikori has only won one of them (and that was on grass probably Nada's worse surface) So everything points to comfortable 3-0 Nadal victory.

[Australian Open 2014]

Re: Australian Open 2014 Sharapova Ciblkova total sets 3 13/8 skybet Tricky one to call this. Sharapova must be delighted that her nemesis Serena Williams is out and that must surely give her an added incentive. But her form in this tournament has not been too impressive. Yes she showed great fighting qualities to come through 10-8 in the last against Knapp but it really shouldn’t have been that close. She also needed a tie break to see off Cornet in the last round. So it’s fair to say that she isn’t trouncing anyone. Cibulkova by contrast has looked very impressive only dropping a single game in the last two rounds. This has all the makings of a good match and I would be surprised if anyone ran away with it therefore 13/8 for three sets looks reasonable value.

[Australian Open 2014]

Re: Australian Open 2014 Na Li v Pennetta Pennetta to win a set evens Ladbrokes Pennetta can blow hot and cold; a perfect example was in the last round against Kerber where she blew Kerber away in the first yet looked a different player in the second. Suddenly she started missing shots she was making and playing more conservatively. But it did show that when she’s really on it she’s well up to taking a set off Na Li. Na Li is ultra consistent and can normally be relied on to beat opponents that she is ranked to beat. But in doing so; she often will struggle against opponents before finally sussing them out. A typical example of this was against Safarova in this tournament. Another example was against an injured Halep at Wimbledon where she was totally blown off court by Halep for one set before coming back to win. The head to heads give encouragement as well with Pennetta leading 2-1. The first two games were a long time ago so too much shouldn’t be read into those but Pennetta did win their last meeting 2-0. The important thing to take from that game was just how competitive Pennetta was in the rallies. She won 2/3 of her second serves and on Na Li’s serve won more points than she lost when she got the return in. That shows that she can easily be competitive and should have a great chance of taking a set.

[Australian Open 2014]

Re: Australian Open 2014 Pennetta to beat Kerber 8/5 Boylesports Kerber has been her usual consistent self but hasn’t really been pushed. Riske lived up to her name in the last round against Kerber playing a series of risky shots. Some paid off and some didn’t. But it did show that Kerber is definitely beatable by an aggressive player a little more consistent than Riske. Enter Flavia Pennetta. I remember watching Pennetta beat Kerber 6-1 6-2 in Auckland and as the scoreline suggests she beat her comprehensively: winning almost twice as many points. That was a couple of years ago but if anything Pennetta has improved a little since then. Admittedly Kerber subsequently got her revenge in the French but different surfaces often yield different results. Yes Kerber is the highest ranked player and definitely the more consistent. But in my opinion if Panetta brings her A game then she definitely has the beating of Kerber.

[Australian Open 2014]

Re: Australian Open 2014 Muguruza to beat Wozniacki 2-0 9/4 Ladbrokes Wozniacki is fairly adept at beating players who she should beat but when she comes up against decent opponents she just doesn’t have the ability to beat them. I believe that Muguruza falls into that category. Her form this year has been very impressive indeed. She had a wobble against Kanepi in the first round but other than that she has cruised through virtually every game this year with the minimum of fuss; her only defeat being to Venus Williams. Muguruza also won their only previous meeting in straight sets in March last year at Miami. She is clearly a player on the up whereas Wozniacki is heading in the other direction. Muguruza is the bigger hitter and more aggressive player. She will hit far more winners than her opponent; leaving Wozniacki to feed on scraps from Muguruza’s errors. Unless I’m reading this all wrong I can’t understand why the bookies regard this as a coin toss: I just don’t see it that way. The safe way to play it would simply to back Muguruza at 10/11. But I don’t see many problems for Muguruza meaning a 2-0 scoreline at 9/4 looks mighty appealing.

[Australian Open 2014]

Re: Australian Open 2014 McHale to beat Wozniacki handicap +5.5 Skybet 5/6 I’ve never been totally convinced by Wozniacki and feel the high rankings that she has achieved somewhat flatters her. She had an easy first round match losing just the two games. But this is the exception rather than the rule as she rarely thrashes opponents. McHale is a very solid player and rarely gets turned over by counter punchers such as Wozniacki. In fact she actually leads their head to heads 2-1 (one each on a hard court) There is every reason to think she will keep this close and I believe it would be a mammoth task for Wozniacki to cover the 5.5 games handicap.

[Sky Bet League 1 > January 14th & 18th]

100/1 shot deleted

[Australian Open 2014]

Re: Australian Open 2014 Halep v Piter score after 2 games 2-0 Halep 11/8 Paddypower Halep regularly beats up lowly ranked opponents often winning in straight sets losing only a few games in the process. I believe that there is every chance of her winning the first two games. I'm therefore surprised to find that the price for a 2-0 lead is 13/8. I think it offers decent value.

[Sky Bet League 2 > Saturday January 11th]

Re: Sky Bet League 2 > Saturday January 11th York City to beat Northampton 2/1 Bet365 York City are much better than their league position would suggest. They have drawn an awful lot of games lately which they could have won. They have finally got two back to back wins and that could be the start of a good run. They have recently signed two experienced midfielders in Russell Penn and Adam Reid along with exciting forward Shaq McDonald. I have little doubt that these signings will improve the team and that they will push on from here.

[BDO World Championships 4-12 Jan]

Re: BDO World Championships 4-12 Jan Hogan to beat Mitchell evens Betvic I?ve got to concur with Kev's tip on Hogan. Scotty Mitchell invariably spends more time walking on stage with his invisible dog than he does on the stage actually playing darts. He seems to have got into the habit of losing here and if he goes behind against Hogan there is every chance he will think here we go again. And there is every chance he will go behind as Hogan has the experience of the preliminary round under his belt and showed enough form to win this.

[BDO World Championships 4-12 Jan]

Re: BDO World Championships 4-12 Jan

Tuesday afternoon previews: 4pts T.O'Shea to beat M.Adams 8/11 Ladbrokes I think this could develop into a bit of a Lakeside classic and in many ways it is a shame that they have to meet in the first round but one of the reasons why they meet in the first round is because Martin Adams has had a poor year. He’s on the up again now but I think there’s still a way to go before he’s back beating the likes of O’Shea on the big stage. Although he hasn’t got the best record against Adams down the years I think O’Shea will have just too much here. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/o-shea-vs-adams-betting-silverback-can-tame-the-wolf-at-lakeside 4pts P.Hogan to beat S.Mitchell Evs BetVictor I’m surprised Hogan isn’t the favourite here because he has a couple of things going for him. He has played a match on this stage and he has won plenty of matches on it in the past and having got past his preliminary round match he now has nothing to lose. Mitchell will be a bit rusty and you’ve got to think in the back of his mind he knows he doesn’t perform on this stage so at even money with a fairly impressive game behind him Hogan is my fancy here. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/mitchell-vs-hogan-betting-paul-hogan-can-continue-scotty-dog-s-misery-on-the-lakeside-stage 4pts S.Bunting to beat J.Widmayer 3-0 4/5 Stan James Stephen Bunting is too good not to perform well on this stage and there’s every chance with one of his main rivals in Scott Waites already out that this could be his year. The Scouser should be looking to put a marker down but his B game is good enough to win this one with comfort unless the American improves dramatically from his preliminary round win. If Bunting is at his best he’ll be averaging in the very high 90s and that can see him through without losing a set. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/bunting-vs-widmayer-betting-stephen-bunting-can-cruise-into-the-second-round-at-lakeside

Got to say the 4/5 on a 3-0 Bunting win looks mighty generous from Stan James. All the other bookies have it at 8/13 or 4/7. Worth snapping up before it goes.

[BDO World Championships 4-12 Jan]

Re: BDO World Championships 4-12 Jan Correct score Eccles to beat Fitton 3-2 9/1 Unibet 888 sport Going to have a cheek punt on Eccles to win 3-2. Despite the odds I don't believe that there is much between theses two. When they met 6 months ago in the English masters Eccles just edged it 3-2 and I see it being a similar score this time. Fitton has always been a big hitter but his checkout percentage is often a worry and if it comes down to a final set decider I think Eccles should have the consistency to win. Eccles may not be a crowd favourite after yo-yoing between organisations but he is usually competitive. At odds of 9/1 im happy to have a small punt.

[BDO World Championships 4-12 Jan]

Re: BDO World Championships 4-12 Jan Michael to beat Razma -1.5 sets 11/8 Boylesport I don't know much about Razma but from what I do know he looks well out of his depth here. Yes he's got to the final of the Estonian and Latvian masters recently but with averages in the 70's that doesn't cut it at this level. John Michael is probably best known for his 6-3 defeat to Phil Taylor in he European champs a few years ago. He is no world beater but he plays at a higher level and with averages in the high 80's looks a class above his opponent. I would need Michael to have a very bad day at the office not to cover the 1.5 sets handicap and the 11/8 on offer is much more generous than I anticipated.

[BDO World Championships 4-12 Jan]

Re: BDO World Championships 4-12 Jan Bunting to win 9/4 most bookies Wilson e/w 12/1 Sportingbet I'm convinced that the winner will come from one of these two. When Bunting won the World Masters in October without losing a single set he looked nailed on for victory in the word champs. He regularly averages in the high 90's: something most BDO players can only dream about. He is sometimes a little sloppy on his doubles but his high scoring should ensure that he has plenty of darts at the doubles. In last year's world champs he was looking impressive until his from inexplicably left him half way through the match with Fitton. I don't envisage that happening again and I would be surprised if we don't see him in the final. He has been trading a 5/2 for ages but that has now gone however I would still back him at 9/4 as he is undoubtedly the best and most consistent BDO player Despite being whitewashed 7-0 by Bunting in the World Masters final; Wilson surprisingly reversed that form with a 5-1 victory over Bunting in the final of the Zuiderduin Masters. Admittedly Bunting seemed a little below par but that victory shows that he is a serious contender. His game seems to be getting better and better and he has certainly come a long way since he was a contestant on Bullseye. For a player seeded no.2 the 25/1 that has been available seems incredibly generous. He has now come into 12/1 but even that seems a great price. I think that there is every chance of seeing the "Jammie Dodger" in the final.

[PDC World Championship - 13 Dec - 1 Jan]

Re: PDC World Championship - 13 Dec - 1 Jan Darren Webster Buy total 180's over 2.7 Sporting Index Webster has been having a great 2013 after a poor 2012 and has been mixing it with some top notch players. Beating Wade would be a really tough ask but I feel he can be competitive enough to cover this low line. Webster certainly knows where treble twenty 20 is and unless he freezes on the big stage I think he should be able to cover the line no problem.

[World Cup Europe Qualification > Tuesday October 15th]

Re: World Cup Europe Qualification > Tuesday October 15th

Group B : Italy Q , Bulgaria 13, Denmark 13, Czech 12 The Bulgaria v Czech Rep is a great betting opportunity. Both teams have to win this to get into head-2-head 2 game qualifying. 14 points will not do it. A draw is no good for either team, and they will each have to setup and play to win. Bet365 over 2.5 is 43/40, while the home win for Bulgaria is 13/10 bet365 I don't know much about either team, just that their motivation and desire to win is massive. Any help or insights here are appreciated.

I don't think the Czech team can qualify as they would be the lowest ranked second place team.

[Sky Bet League 1 - Saturday 31st August]

Re: Sky Bet League 1 - Saturday 31st August Oldham to beat Tranmere 21/20 Ladbrokes and Coral Odds against for Oldham against Tranmere looks like decent value for me. Oldham are full of goals and should have no problem scoring against a below average Tranmere side. Tranmere have shipped 13 goals already in 4 matches and their defence looks to be in for another tough afternoon against an underrated Oldham side.

[Sky Bet League 1 > 24th August]

Re: Sky Bet League 1 > 24th August Oldham to beat Port Vale 7/5 Betvictor Willhill Coral In the pre-season friendlies Oldham seem unconcerned by the fact that the opposition kept scoring against them. They seemed to believe that they would always score one more than the opposition. They carried this trend on in the opening game against Stevenage with a 4-3 victory. Obviously its folly to have such a gung-ho approach and subsequently lost their next two games. However the one thing they have proven is that they can create a lot of chances. If they can strike the right balance between attack and defence they are going to move swiftly up the table. Port vale at the moment just look an average side and are surely there for the taking.