Mindfulness

Championship Top Goalscorer
Wolves have made numerous eye-catching signings this summer but Portuguese pair Ruben Neves and Diogo Jota look particularly impressive acquisitions. The latter was impressive up front for Porto last season and if it wasn't for Griezmann and Correia who play the same role, he would likely be preparing for a Champions League campaign in the Spanish capital.
Although his actual goals scored numbers don't look extremely impressive, a metric called expected goals gives a much better picture of his goalscoring potential. Jota hit 0.53 expected goals per 90 in Portugal last season which was only marginally lower than Andre Silva who signed for A.C. Milan in a big money move. Furthermore he is priced at just 16/1 to be the top scorer in Italy. Bas Dost wasn't far ahead of Jota either in expected goals figures and he hit an impressive 34 goals in Portugal last season. Jota played considerably less minutes than the pair just mentioned which is another consideration when looking at actual goals scored numbers.
Wolves have been lining up in 3-4-3 during preseason and don't have much depth up front. Bonatini will have to recapture his Estoril form and the likes of Dicko aren't exactly top quality options. This means Jota has a good chance of getting some minutes in a central position.
The truth here is that Wolves have signed a Champions League ready forward who is comfortable as a central striker or coming from the left. He's Griezmann like in style who likes playing inbetween the lines and not only has an eye for goal but is a creative force with his dribbling and passing. Stepping down into a weaker league with impressive expected goals figures and there is no way he should be an 80/1 shot in this market.
Championship Top Goalscorer - Diogo Jota each-way @ 80/1 Skybet (4 places)

Your best option is to Tweet William Hill as they offer odds on things if you ask them as I noticed they have a load of non-league ones on their site that people have asked for. As usual with these things you will probably be offered under the odds.
I fully understand your point as well and trying to find the league winners isn't for everyone, but I like the chanllenge and apart from a couple of seasons ago it is profitable for me. There are certainly people like you though who prefer to look for the other markets, I guess the problem for me is that at this level you get so few markets on available so it is pretty much the league winner or nothing.

Yeah that's probably not a bad bet although I personally try and look for bigger prices ante-post given how long you have to wait to get paid out, but obviously I expect them to finish top 7 at least.

Right finally finished the preview so here it is. Last season's ante-post was good so hopefully the same or better this time around
 
National League
As much as Lincoln were deserving winners last season, I can’t help thinking that Tranmere were slightly unfortunate not to win the title themselves. Given they failed by just 4 points you have to wonder if Mickey Mellon had of been in charge for the whole season if they might have won the title, given the really bad spell they had which cost Gary Brabin his job. They also suffered pretty badly from injuries, especially on the wings, and that certainly did not help matters. Having said that Lincoln had that knack of winning games in the closing month of the season which they shouldn’t have and Tranmere dropped points where they shouldn’t. They then blew the play-off final where they didn’t turn up and pretty much gifted Forest Green promotion. This season they start as clear favourites and are no bigger than 7/2 and I think the bookies have got it right. Mellon gets a full season at it and he has strengthened the side nicely without having to make wholesale changes to the squad. Also an interesting factor is that the other sides who were in the league last season have at least 9 points to make up on Tranmere and as much as some look like they should do better this time around, I find it hard to believe that those teams can find the sort of improvement they need, especially as I think Tranmere should improve themselves. The main problem is the price as I don’t think it offers great value, but to me they are the most likely winners of the division.
At the best prices available every other side in the division are double figures and in all honestly I think that sums the division up. Take Tranmere out of things and things look very competitive and tricky to call. Let’s start with the two relegated sides who both came down with issues off the field (granted one way more serious than the other), but have both had those issues settled and can hopefully look forward to better seasons than their fans may have thought capable in May. Hartlepool have gone with a left field choice of manager in Craig Harrison as he has only managed two Welsh sides so far and as much as he has had plenty of success the National League is a very different kettle of fish. Having said that he looks like he has built a pretty decent squad and having former Grimsby man Padraig Amond in the side is a massive plus for me as he was a scoring machine in this league a couple of years ago. I think they look capable of the play-offs, but Harrison’s lack of experience at this level might just put a top 3 place out of reach.
I am sure Leyton Orient fans are just glad they still have a team to watch and a new owner and anything else this season will be a bonus. Getting Steve Davis in as head coach looks a good move as he knows non-league football and did a very good job at Crewe in the Football League. Although they are pretty much starting from scratch Orient have added some decent players to the squad. The problem is everything has been a bit rushed and that will put them at a disadvantage in the first few weeks of the season and the games really do come thick and fast. Also as it stands there isn’t much depth to the side at the moment. With the play-offs going down to 7th this season they might well sneak into them as they can only get better as the season progresses, but I think a solid season this time around before a title bid next season looks the much more likely scenario.
Dagenham & Redbridge finished closest to Tranmere last season and their inconsistency cost them last term. John Still went for youth which worked very well when they were at their best, but it also meant they suffered some very poor result due to lack of experience. Still knows what he is doing though and a 4th place finish was a superb effort after relegation. At the moment Oliver Hawkins is staying and if that remains the case that will be a big plus to their promotion chances. As things stand there is no reason to think they can’t reach the play-offs for a second season running.
Eastleigh were the big disappointment of last season and they ended up with 4 mangers. In the end they were slightly fortunate not to be properly sucked into the relegation battle and Richard Hill managed to steer them clear. They look to have signed well although at the moment I still think they look a bit light especially as they were so far off the place last season. Obviously the cash is there to help, but they look a bit short in the betting given how much improvement they need to find and it would be some achievement if they were to suddenly turn into title contenders.
They say never go back, but Gary Waddock certainly proved the exception to that theory when he managed to steer Aldershot into the play-offs. That was a magnificent achievement and one that would have been hard to predict. Their home form was superb as they only lost 3 games and only the top 2 scored more points at home. To be fair the away form wasn’t bad and not much more improvement is needed on that front. The big thing for me was that Waddock signed most of the squad up prior to the play-offs last season and given they were a young side there should be plenty of improvement to come. It also says plenty about Waddock as a manager and the players because they clearly want to play for him and were happy to commit instead of looking to go elsewhere for more money.  The play-offs were just a step to far as they gifted Tranmere the victory in the 1st leg, but fair play they gave it a good go in the 2nd leg. I can only see improvement from them and they could well be capable of a top 3 finish.
AFC Fylde and Ebbsfleet were both promoted last season and both have plenty of cash. Both look to have sides capable of being in play-off contention this season and I am slightly surprised Ebbsfleet are as big as 25/1. On the other-hand although promoted sides have finished in the play-offs before it has a different kettle of fish to actually be promoted let alone winning the title. Fleetwood are a very good example as of course they had plenty of cash and could only reach the play-offs at the first time of asking. Both should go well, but they would interest me a lot more after having a season at this level.
Sutton are as short as 16/1 which surprises me. Naturally after the FA Cup run they lost Roarie Deacon who went to Dundee, but they do seem to have added well to the squad including Moses Emmanuel who is one of three players signed from Dover. The big problem last season was their shocking away form, indeed opposing Sutton away was a great earner. Maybe they will be a bit more adventurous away from home in their 2nd season back at this level, but I would be surprised to see them finish much higher than mid-table.
Wrexham were miles away last season and were only 8 points away from the relegation zone. Their massive problem was scoring goals indeed only bottom side North Ferriby scored fewer which says plenty. I am predicting a much better season for them though as they have made some really good signings. However to me they still lack a striker who is capable of going and scoring 20 goals. If it wasn’t for that fact I would have been tempted to back them as I really do think they have the strongest squad they have had since they finished 2nd to Fleetwood. They could be ones to keep an eye once the season starts.
When the prices first came out Barrow were the ones who stood out as possibly the wrong price. They had a superb first half of the season which including reaching the 3rd round of the FA Cup. Things went off the rails after that though and they failed to even reach the play-offs having looked possible title contenders at one stage. Paul Cox’s sides usually do the opposite and have a good 2nd half of the season so it was strange it didn’t happen here. I don’t fancy them as much as I did in May. They have lost key players and I am not sure they have been able to make the squad stronger than last seasons. That means for the moment I am happy to pass them over.
The other team available at under 20/1 is Gateshead. They were very inconsistent last season having very good spells and having very bad spells. The squad looks solid again, but I just can’t see them making the leap required to be a top 3 contender although they will be the in play-off mix. As for the rest I find it hard to see any of them making much of a dent at the top end of the table.
So the price is on the skinny side, but ultimately I think Tranmere are the most likely winners and it looks their best chance yet to win the title. In an ideal world I would want bigger than 3/1, but I certainly want them on side. It will be interesting to see how the relegated sides get on as both have had better summers than seemed likely, but at the same time I am not sure either will quite have enough to bounce straight back up. It is so hard for promoted sides to even get into the play-offs, although this year there are two extra places up for grabs and if Ebbsfleet and/or AFC Fylde get one of those it wouldn’t surprise, but for top 3 purposes I would be much more interested in them next season. Dagenham should go well again especially if they cut out the losses to teams they should be beating and Eastleigh should improve to be in the play-off picture. If Wrexham manage to get another decent striker in I will highly likely add them to my bets, but at this stage Aldershot appeal most of the double figure priced teams. I am a big fan of Gary Waddock and I thought he did a superb job last season and they can only improve on that for me and that could well end up seeing them in title contention.
As mentioned above the play-offs go down to 7th this season and that means we have some top 7 prices. I think there is a spot of value in backing Ebbsfleet in this market at 9/4. They have strengthened well over the summer and if they are in contention come January they certainly have the backing to add players if needed. I certainly think they have a better chance of hitting the top 7 than their odds suggest.
I usually like a play on the relegation markets, but I think they are very tough this year and I don’t have massively strong views on who may finish in the bottom four. Pretty much all the clubs who were down that end of the table last season look like they are coming into the new season in decent shape. Solihull have taken a bit of a risk on players from lower down and if that doesn’t work out then they are probably the right favourites in the market, but the fact they are the only odds on side at 10/11 just shows how competitive it is set to be. Maidenhead will rely heavily on Dave Tarpey’s goals and if he struggles or gets injured they could be in trouble. Having said that Alan Devonshire did wonders with Braintree in this league so they could well survive anyway. There are two teams who I am going to have minor interests in. The first is Dover. They have done amazingly well since coming back into this division, but I think their luck might run out this term. Ricky Miller has obviously gone and he has left a massive hole that is near impossible to fill. I think they look much weaker this season and although I was hoping for bigger than 4s I am going to have a small play. The other team is Woking. Now they have been taken over and they may get some healthy investors at some point, but these things don’t always go through so I am not reading that much into it at this stage. Amazingly they sacked Gary Hill and have brought in Anthony Limbrick who is making is managerial debut with the Surrey side. For me that is a huge risk and I don’t think they look any stronger than last season when they just survived. At 5/1 they could well be the best value to go down.
National League North
This looks a cracking league this season with York coming down, Salford and Harrogate going full-time and Alfreton having new owners who seem willing to spend money. Salford are favourites and they should go very close to winning the title. Obviously their owners are well known and they are spending the money this season, by going full-time and bringing in plenty of new players. They look a very strong side on paper and as long as they gel from the start it is hard not to see them challenging and it is no surprise to see them being backed during the summer.
For me though I think York should be favourites in front of them. York are essentially the Halifax for the new season. Like Halifax, York were relegated on the final day of the season and then went on to win the FA Trophy. Crucially though neither Halifax nor York should have been relegated as both paid for poor managers in the first half of the season and the new men in charge couldn’t quite get them out of trouble. For me Gary Mills built a top half side once he got the squad sorted out and plenty of them have stayed despite the drop. Jon Parkin should score goals for fun at this level and surely only injury will stop him scoring 20+. Halifax finished 3rd and had to go up via the play-offs, but I think York are in great shape to go two places better.
It looks fairly open past the top two in the market as the betting suggest. Kidderminster pushed Fylde fairly close last season and they should go well again although they have lost key players which concerns me. Darlington weren’t allowed to take place in the play-offs because of their ground and they will be looking to make sure they get to play in them this season. You feel that Stockport are going to at least give themselves a promotion chance by making the play-offs sooner rather than later and chances are it will be this season given they only have to finish 7th. Harrogate’s manager always concerns me although they look to have a decent side again. Brackley seem to have recruited well and might be able to challenge and no doubt Chorley will be up there again.
When Betway were first to go up with the market I put up Spennymoor on Twitter at 100/1. Now that price is long gone and the chances are it will be a losing bet, but even at 33s they still look a little over priced. They are well backed and they have a good squad who I believe will be in contention for the play-offs. I am not going to put them up now, but hopefully some saw the Tweet and got the bigger prices.
I am though going to stick up Alfreton as a small each-way play. As mentioned above they have new backing this season and money has been spent on the squad. I especially like the signing of Craig Disley who was very impressive when at Grimsby and although 35 now, he should have plenty to offer still at this level. They have signed a huge 16 players and obviously how they gel will be very important, but at 20/1 I think that is more than factored into the price and they should be in the promotion picture.
National League South
The fact the bookies have priced this league up at 8/1 the field proves how hard it is going to be to back the winner. With Ebbsfleet promoted there is no money team in the division and because of that it looks a wide open league with plenty hoping they will be in the play-off picture.
Chelmsford and Dartford head the betting which is no real surprise given they finished 4th and 3rd respectively last season. Chelmsford’s original takeover fell through and now there is another on the cards although it is still yet to go through. That concerns me as does the fact they have lost some good players and I am just not sure they look as strong as they did going into last season. I am sure they will be top 7, but I am going to pass them over.
Dartford make more appeal than Chelmsford as they look in decent shape going into the new season although given the way the league is I think it is better to throw a couple of darts at double figure prices. Hemel Hempstead have already been clipped in from their first show, but at a best price of 16/1 there is still some juice in the prices. I think their manager Dean Brennan is very shrewd and he has strengthened the squad nicely including the signing of Charlie Sheringham who should be up to scoring plenty of goals for them this season. They had a very slow start last season and were never in the play-off hunt, but they should go much better this time around.
The other team I like are St Albans who did the complete opposite to Hemel. They were going so well around Christmas time that the Racing Post put them up as a bet for the title in their mid-term report pull out. The problem was they barely won a game in the 2nd half of the season. From December 10th they only won another 3 league games which saw them end the season in 10th place. Now I prefer to see sides finish a season strongly when investing in them for the next campaign, but they look to have a decent side and I like Ian Allinson as a manger especially as he got promoted from this division with a very similar side in Boreham Wood. They are a best of 25/1 and if they can replicate their first half of last season over the whole season this time around then that price could look very big come April.
Like I mention above though there are a whole host of teams who could win the title and 15 of the sides are under 20/1 with at least one bookie which just sums things up and it isn’t really a league to get that heavily involved in. I can see Poole going well, Oxford look set for a better season and they have a 3G pitch this time around, Bath look the best they have been since being back down at this level, I wouldn’t even rule out the complete outsides Weston having a say. Finally I have to mention my own side Gloucester City who have finally been placed in the Southern section for the first time since promotion to this level. If they can do as well as they did in the North last season then a play-off bid isn’t out of the question. It wasn’t a big surprise that some of our fans decided to take the 50/1 that was available on the opening show, but having said that I would be pleasantly surprised should we end up in a top 3 position come April.
Bostik Premier League
This is the league that used to be known as the Ryman Premier and is a league that has been creating plenty of headlines in recent months. Billericay and their owner/manager Glenn Tamplin have been making the news ever since he took over. He has signed player after player and to be fair to him he has been quite open that his wage bill is over £30k a week. For a step 3 side that is ridiculous because there will be League 2 clubs not even spending that much and he could have been fine with half that at least! The problem is Mr Tamplin is clearly on one big ego trip so he wants to sign the high profile names to get his name and club in the headlines. Obviously we have seen money men come in and do take clubs up through the leagues, but we have also seen the opposite where clubs have gone bust. He says he is in for the long-haul, but the club are unsustainable currently and if he leaves the club will be in a right mess. As Tamplin isn’t exactly shy every other club in the division will be out to beat them this season and because of that they might have a few troubles. The other big issue I have is that Tamplin is the manager (another reason why the whole thing is an ego trip) and that could stop them from winning the league as well. Now obviously on paper they have the strongest squad in the division and quite a few should be playing higher up the pyramid. They could easily run away with the division and those who took the opening 13/8 that Betway went will be happy. At that price I would have stuck them in multiple bets and even at 8/13 I probably would have done the same, but they are now no bigger than 1/2 and there is little point at that price in backing them at all. Only Billericay fans and backers will be hoping they win the league this season and everyone else will be hoping they fail.
When Betway opened up they were going 1/4 odds 3 places and I Tweeted that Dulwich and Leatherhead were worth backing. Now since then Betway have changed their terms and have gone 1/3 odds 2 places. I thought Dulwich were a fantastic bet with the 3 places. They are so consistent and they should at the very least match their 3rd place from last season. For the 2nd year running they lost in the play-off final and it could be the play-offs again, but they look to have strengthened well. They also have the largest fan-base in the division which is a crucial factor for me. They play good football as well and they really do deserve to be a National League South side come the end of the season. Now I suggest having a small bet at 20/1 with Bet 365 with just the first two places up for grabs, but good old Betway have created a betting without Billericay market and that offers the chance for us to back them at 9/2 with 3 places on offer so that should mean they only have to finish in the top 4 and we make a small profit. If they finish 2nd to Billericay or even win the league then we will have hit the jackpot. To me that is the best ante-post bet for the season.
I mentioned I have backed Leatherhead as well and I like the side new manager Sammy Moore has put together. They should be capable of much better than they showed last season and they are 12/1 in the betting without market. Margate are in between them and Dulwich and they tried to do what Billericay are looking to. Now I am sure their wage bill wasn’t as much as £30k, but they spent plenty of cash and could only finish 2nd to Maidstone and then the money man left and it all went pear shaped, so much so they are pretty lucky the club still exists. The club look in much better shape off the field now and with a 3G pitch they should be capable of being in the play-offs.
Evo-Stik Northern Premier
It would be nice to put up the first two as I did last season, but it looks a much tougher task in trying to do that this time around. I am a little surprised that Stourbridge are favourites as they have had quite a few key players leave after yet another superb FA Cup run. That isn’t to say they won’t be capable of going close, but there has to be a question mark over them as a lot depends on if the new players can prove themselves to be as good as those that have left.
Altrincham were a big surprise package last season as I would not have predicted they would do as badly as they did. They are a big side at this level and they look to have got a decent squad together. It would be no surprise if they bounced back at the first time of asking. I’m very surprised by the price of the other relegated side Stalybridge and 20/1 looks on the big side. Steve Burr is a very good and experienced manager and he certainly improved them at the back end of last season. I would be a little surprised if they weren’t in the play-off hunt at the very least. Shaw Lane are well backed although might need a season at this level and are ground sharing this season. Another team at a big price who could go well is Warrington and Paul Carden looks to have done some shrewd business so I will be adding them to Alty and Staly as the bets in this league.
Evo-Stik Southern Premier
Hereford are quite strong favourites for this league after gaining back to back promotions since they reformed. My feelings are though that they are going to find this much tougher than the previous two seasons. Big teams have often not gone up at the first time of asking from this level and although they will be fair the biggest team in the division I don’t think they will have it all their own way as the betting suggests they will. It is also worth baring in mind this looks a really competitive division this time around and although Hereford are almost certain to be in the mix, I think the value lies elsewhere.
Every other team is a double figure price and they are headed by last year’s 3rd and 4th placed teams Hitchin and Merthyr. I worry slightly about Merthyr as they have lost key players although both should be in and around the play-offs again. However I prefer the chances of the other play-off team from last season Slough. They looked real title contenders for at least half the season, but faltered badly in the last months ending up finishing 5th. With that first season in the league behind them they should be capable of building on that and the team look stronger as well.
Royston are another of the promoted sides, but some of their signings have really caught the eye especially getting hold of Adam Marriott who was at Lincoln last season and has scored plenty of goals at this level in the past. They will more than likely need another season, but I think they are worth covering.
The other team to back are Kettering. Now I have put them up the last two seasons and they haven’t got close. They should have done much better than they have and I probably should leave them alone, but there are two reasons why I can’t. First of all the price of 25/1 is simply too big and secondly they have what looks on paper to be a very strong side who should be challenging for the promotion. So given they are much bigger than they have been previously I am going in again and hoping it will be 3rd time lucky.
FA Trophy
Obviously the Trophy doesn’t start for a while yet and it isn’t usually something I have a bet in let alone have one before the season starts, but I think their is a speculative play to be had. Step 3 sides have done well in this competition in the last couple of seasons with two sides reaching the semi-finals two years ago and Dulwich made the quarter-finals last season taking Macclesfield to a replay. Now as much as I don’t want them to win it and am taking them on in the league, there is every chance and Billericay could run away with the Bostik Premier this season. They have the potential to possibly be the best ever side at this level and with teams in the National League not having it as their main focus then granted some luck with the draw they could easily make the final. I am sure their owner would love a day out at Wembley and at 100/1 I think it is worth throwing a few quid each-way on them as there are definitely worse 100/1 bets out there.

Emphasis on patience:
https://www.pinnacle.com/en/betting-articles/Betting-Psychology/the-importance-of-patience-in-betting/WZ52LN9NV97SRDHC?ito=twitter&dvc=d&aup=True#height
 

I thought they might have these issues last season but it didn't fully materialise (despite Costa crisis). It's true that Conte drives his teams to the very limits and of course Mourinho found out his players were only so motivated the year after he won the title with them. I agree with you that there's definitely an underlying volatility at Chelsea but how do we convert this into a bet? Markets are already extremely sceptical of Chelsea's title ambitions, laying them in EPL winners market is all risk for little reward.

I think top 12 is definitely achievable this season. I mentioned before that my main concern is the keeper position. I think the strong defence could help that though. My other issue is the lack of striker options. Zohore is the only proven scorer we have but even he only turned it on in the second half of last season. We have no plan B for up front. Everyone had hoped it would be Saadi but he signed for Strasbourg today. It's raised some concerns that we still lack depth. Top 12 should still be realistic though. Top 6 is more 50-50 unless we had 1-2 more players.

@StevieDay1983 Key question: Cardiff City top 12 finish @ 1.91 (52.4% chance of finishing in top half)
Have the markets priced this right or do you think Cardiff have better chance than this of finishing in top half?

News just breaking that Morrison has signed a contract extension so looks like him and Manga as our back two this season. I never bet on Cardiff. Just can't do it. I'd say 12/1 is a great shout. I agree, we won't go up automatically so if you're going to back us to go up I'd say back us to do it via the play-offs.
The club finally seems to be entering a period of stability. Tan, whether he's done it begrudgingly or not, is now letting others make the football decisions. Ken Choo has been a great addition to the board and he was the man who pushed for the return to blue as well as doing the donkey work to get Warnock on board. He's keen to work with the fans and I never thought I'd say it but I think the club, under Tan's ownership, is actually on a positive footing again.

Hahaha, you just sound like a stereotypical worn down Championship fan. Our fans are very optimistic about this season but I am always pessimistic. I just always struggle to see where the 45-50 points for survival will come let alone the other points for potential promotion. I look at our best XI and it's probably...
GK: Etheridge (not great - would have loved to see Marshall return)
DR: Paterson (quality addition if he can stay fit)
DL: Bennett (another attacking full back - Warnock looking to re-kindle the Blades days when he briefly had Walker and Naughton!)
DC: Manga (looking forward to seeing him return to his best now he's committed to a contract extension)
DC: Morrison (not the biggest fans' favourite but the physical brute we need to complement Manga's more classy approach)
MR: Hoilett (one of a number of potential wide men. Could bring the assists to the table and a huge improvement on the shot Noone)
ML: Ward (another player who might not make the starting XI but is my personal choice)
MC: Ralls (still think he's a better central midfielder but Warnock keeps playing him out wide. Hopefully, that changes)
MC: Gunnarsson (our player of the season last year. Warnock gets the best out of him. Can lead our charge. Amazed he's not captain)
AM: Tomlin (sitting him in the hole will work well)
FC: Zohore (proven he can score goals up top on his own)
When you think that squad doesn't even include the likes of Bamba, Richards, Damour, Mendez-Laing, Saadi, Connolly, or Pilkington it shows how much more depth we have this season. I'm still backing us to make top 6 but it's going to be close. As you said, it's very congested. Wolves and Middlesbrough going all out to appear as the early favourites but so many other teams could be in the mix.

Not now that Conte has signed an improved contract, that was the main inflection point for them this summer. Their transfer business has been good so far, I especially like the signing of Rudiger as he allows you to transition smoothly between a back 3 and a back 4 in-game. This will give Chelsea an added tactical flexibility this year. Defensively they will be sound once again.
Their biggest problem will be replacing Costa as he really is the complete no.9. I don't see many, if any available that possess his qualities as a centre-forward, he was instrumental in their attacking game last year with his awareness and movement.

Not now that Conte has signed an improved contract, that was the main inflection point for them this summer. Their transfer business has been good so far, I especially like the signing of Rudiger as he allows you to transition smoothly between a back 3 and a back 4 in-game. This will give Chelsea an added tactical flexibility this year. Defensively they will be sound once again.
Their biggest problem will be replacing Costa as he really is the complete no.9. I don't see many, if any available that possess his qualities as a centre-forward, he was instrumental in their attacking game last year with his awareness and movement.

@Mindfulness I think that odds are way too low. We need to see what the transfer window will bring us.. for now, I cannot see any miracles from Lille, even though there is one of the best tacticians on their bench. Otherwise PSG, Monaco, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Bordeaux, Nantes are all in better shape currently...  even though I really don't know what to expect from Ranieri.. I went on the open training last Sunday and there was more than 2000 people... atmosphere is crazy around the club, but I want to see the way of football.. if Ranieri will try to play in "Leicester" way, than Nantes will be far from top8.
Lyon lost three/four key players (Lacazette, Tolisso, Valbuena and Gonalons) but they also brought some quality players as Marçal (IMO top3 left full back in the league), Traore (great season with Ajax).. there is still a question about the Ghezzal situation, but I think that with money from especially Tolisso&Lacazette they can still get some decent players.. I am slowly getting the whole picture in my head, but I'm not rushing as I think that many things will still change, especially in top teams. PSG is still without a signing + still holding Verratti who will leave almost for sure; Monaco still on the verge of loosing players, fighting with almost 4-5 clubs not to "steal" their talents, little bit better but still pretty similar goes also for Nice (Seri, Dealbert,...), Marseille is trying to make some decent signings (Rami, Bacca), but on the other hand they let two important players Gomis and Vainqeuer to leave.. Well.. Still too many to happen, to have a clear picture.  
But once again.. no value on 2,30 for Lille top 6. For now, they are somewhere on 10th position right now. But again... they have no problems with finances.. 

Personally I never set quotas or targets for the amount of bets I'm going to make in a day / week / year. Such an approach would ultimately be self defeating as you would end up forcing yourself to make bets that are not profitable over the long term.
I only bet when I believe the market has made a pricing error. The real task is to find as many price errors as you possibly can, your betting frequency / volume will take care of itself.
The frequency of bets you make will tend to vary between leagues. One year you might find lots or price errors (and therefore make lots of bets) in a particular league but the next year there might be less. Same thing between individual coupons, one week there might be 2 or 3 bets that you want to make, the next week there might be none and you will need the discipline to sit out the coupons where you can't find anything.
Just remember that the more leagues you cover, the more time and effort will be required to keep track of everything and make good decisions.
 

@Kengur2017 to Punters Lounge.
I don't know if this will be useful to you or not but I have written down some things that are important to bear in mind if you want to take betting seriously:
 
Psychology
 
 
First of all, if you do not have the correct mentality then you will not be able to develop into a professional bettor.
‘Tilt’ or ‘Gambling rage’ is one of the first major obstacles that needs to be overcome if you are serious about betting. Tilt is a term usually associated with poker but it can apply to any form of betting:
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilt_(poker)
 
Tilt affects all people to some degree, some only suffer from it mildly and can completely eliminate it with a combination of changes to lifestyle and perspective. At the other end of the scale you have chronically impatient degenerates with no self discipline or perspective, the affects gambling has on these people can be highly destructive.   
 
Ask yourself: “Do I have self discipline? Can I take a loss or a string of losses and still retain my composure? Do I react to losses by making rash or impulsive bets?”.
 
Patience and self discipline are key factors if you wish to become a professional bettor. In my view any professional bettor does not see his or her line of work as a get rich quick scheme. Unless you luck out with some kind of crazy accumulator or long odds punt it will take time to build your bankroll.
 
Hurrying to reach the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow can be a toxic mentality. It’s great to visualise a better future for yourself and creating a plan to achieve that but wanting something and wanting it right now will not aid your quest.
 
Do you enjoy the process of becoming a professional bettor? If you really do not enjoy the process at all then why are you devoting your time and energy to it in the first place? Obviously the goal is to make money but you shouldn’t try to make money from something you really don’t like as it will inevitably compromise your ability to execute the process effectively.
 
You have to enjoy the process of getting there and you have to enjoy the process of learning. Never think you know it all, because believe me no-one does. The road to becoming a professional bettor is a constant process of learning and improving, the path is not smooth and chances are there will be setbacks.
 
If and when setbacks occur can you maintain your self discipline and motivation?
 
 
Bankroll Management
 
 
Obviously your betting bankroll needs to be completely segregated from all your other forms of expenditure. Your ability to pay the bills cannot be dependent on how well your betting career is doing – especially if you have a family.
 
Set aside only what you can afford to loose as your initial betting bankroll, then understand and accept that it cannot be used for anything other than betting.
 
Even if you have only set aside a relatively small amount of money for your initial bankroll you must still treat that money with respect. If you want to take betting seriously then a bet must never seem frivolous.
 
One of the first objectives of any serious bettor is to never go broke (loose their entire betting bankroll). The partitioning of your bankroll into individual bets must be sustainable.
 
A sensible way to grow your bankroll over the long term is through compounding:
 
http://www.investopedia.com/walkthrough/corporate-finance/3/discounted-cash-flow/compounding.aspx
 
Partition your results over quarterly or annual periods then incorporate the profits from the latest period into your staking structure.
 
For example:
 
You have an initial bankroll of $5000 which is divided into 40 individual fixed stake bets of $125 (2.5% of total bankroll)
 
At the end of year 1 you make a profit of $1000 so total bankroll is now $6000.
 
Year 2 - Your fixed stake bet would be $150 (still 2.5% of total bankroll)
 
At the end of year 2 you make a profit of $1200 – total bankroll now $7200.
 
Year 3 - Fixed stake would be $180 (still 2.5% of total bankroll)… and so on and so on.
 
By using compounding you can exponentially grow your bankroll in a safe and sustainable way. It will require patience and discipline, especially to begin with, but if you are consistently profitable then I would advocate it as a good way to grow your bankroll.
 
Sustainability
 
 
 
 
When it comes to sustainability as a career, one of the main questions is “Where can I get my bets on?”. Bookmakers are no fools, if you are a consistently profitable bettor then sooner or later you will get limited or banned – nothing you can do as it’s in the terms and conditions you agree to in order to bet with them.
 
One way to negate this problem is to have accounts with lots of different bookmakers and rotate your bets. It’s generally a good idea to have accounts with different bookmakers as you want to take advantage of different offers and prices etc. Despite this, rotating your bets with different vendors could still be problematic in the long term if you are consistently profitable.
 
 
Betting exchanges is the way to go if you don’t want to get banned or limited. On an exchange you’re betting against other bettors with the exchange operating as the middle man who matches up both sides of a bet. The exchange makes its money from charging commission for each bet made, usually between 2-5% (very reasonable in my opinion).
 
The main problems you will face with an exchange are:
 
Does it have the market you wish to bet on?
 
Does the market you wish to bet on have enough liquidity to get your bet matched?
 
Your access to betting exchanges will vary depending on what country you live in. Some of the main ones are:
 
https://www.betfair.com/exchange/
 
https://www.matchbook.com/
 
https://www.pinnacle.com/
 
https://www.sbobet.com/
 
https://smarkets.com/
 
If you’re not sure on who to bet with then ask around on this forum and check bookmaker review sites. Always do your research on the various operators and keep appraised of how they’re progressing. If you want betting to become your business then you have a responsibility to follow the industry at large and pay attention to new developments.
 
Never leave excess money in an online account for longer than you have to. Your bank should be the safest place to store the core of your funds – distribute them to the various exchanges and bookmakers only when necessary. This will help minimise your exposure if an operator goes bust or they inexplicably transfer your funds to bongo bongo land.
 
 
Methodology
 
 
 
From reading your post I suspect this is the area you wish to learn most about. Personally I have no special system to offer you, no low risk to high reward strategy, no promises of gold and jewels untold.
 
The phrase ‘There’s a million ways to make a million dollars’ also applies to betting. The various methods and strategies you could adopt to become consistently profitable from betting are too varied and too numerous to catalogue in a single post.  
 
Ultimately betting is about finding errors in the pricing of an event. If you believe a market has priced something incorrectly you can take advantage of it. Generally speaking, sports betting markets are not stupid. They evaluate outcomes with efficiency but this does not mean they never make mistakes. Your job is to capitalise on those mistakes at every opportunity. This requires diligence and dedication, you must always be on the lookout for opportunities in the market.
 
The more knowledge you have on a sport / subject, the more you can spot the opportunities in the market when they present themselves.
 
Specialising in a particular sport will help you, it should be a sport that you like watching and can watch regularly in order to gain qualitative information:
 
https://www.simplypsychology.org/qualitative-quantitative.html
 
Preferably it will be a sports market which is covered by the betting exchanges with enough liquidity to match your bets.
 
Personally I believe it’s important to develop your own betting strategies rather than follow or rely on other peoples. What if you are following someone else’s betting strategy but you do not really understand it and that person then disappears? You probably wouldn’t have learnt much and would be back at square one. Someone may very well come along on this thread and say “Hey Kengur, I have a great betting system that you might want to follow” and it might indeed be a good system but if you can’t fathom what’s behind it then you’re not really going to advance as a bettor. If you want to be ‘professional’ at something you have to be independent and generate your own ideas. Never rely on others to spoon feed you as it’s not sustainable over the long term.
 
Punters Lounge is a great site in my opinion – use it. I have learnt a lot from seeing how other people do things over the years on here, there’s lots of useful information on these boards. Just don’t expect anyone to wave a magic wand and make you rich overnight – the world seldom works like that.

@StevieDay1983 My thoughts on De Boer appointment:
Despite the fact he has won four Eredivisie titles with Ajax I think you could argue he is still relatively unproven as a manager. The best managers can adapt and become successful in different conditions and circumstances - the jury is still out on FDB in this regard.
His short time at Inter was indeed a disaster but I don't think we can read too much into that particular episode. Both the Milan clubs have operated like clowns over the last few seasons and I feel sorry for anybody who has had to manage them in that time. FDB himself said he will learn from his experience at Inter and in my view that whole circus couldn't all be down to him.
To be honest I don't think a coach of his pedigree and potential should be out of work for long. I agree that his appointment is somewhat of a gamble but on the flipside his appointment could be somewhat of a coup for Palace.
Despite all the talk of playing the Barcelona way etc, I don't think FDB is somekind of maniac idealogue, his time at Ajax shows he can be pragmatic with his tactics.
In my view; Palace need to evolve their possession game anyway as they've had the 3rd worst home record in the premier league for the last 2 seasons!!! and 5th worst the season before that - this cannot continue as eventually it will lead to relegation. With Frank De Boer I believe we will still retain and utilise our ability to make fast counters with Zaha and Townsend but the teams ability to retain the ball and pressure the opposition should advance with the new manager - both through coaching and new additions.
Money situation looks good for Palace going forward, I think we will be able to both attract and afford the talent that FDB requires.
All in all, pleased with the appointment, also good to get it done before July 1st so FDB can have full pre-season with the players.
Palace top 10 finish has gone from 7.0 to 4.0 on BetStars but I'm not tempted to cash out the profits yet. Probably best to stick with it as 7.0 was clear value bet and will be a big win if it lands.

Yeh fair enough mate, there's not much we can say in detail till August but try and follow the ante-post markets over the comming weeks if you can as they do produce some good opportunities here and there. Initial price errors don't last as the markets mature.
I haven't heard anything about Stockdale but I would not be suprised if we try and buy a keeper this window.
In Stevie P we trust.

@Kengur2017 to Punters Lounge.
I don't know if this will be useful to you or not but I have written down some things that are important to bear in mind if you want to take betting seriously:
 
Psychology
 
 
First of all, if you do not have the correct mentality then you will not be able to develop into a professional bettor.
‘Tilt’ or ‘Gambling rage’ is one of the first major obstacles that needs to be overcome if you are serious about betting. Tilt is a term usually associated with poker but it can apply to any form of betting:
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilt_(poker)
 
Tilt affects all people to some degree, some only suffer from it mildly and can completely eliminate it with a combination of changes to lifestyle and perspective. At the other end of the scale you have chronically impatient degenerates with no self discipline or perspective, the affects gambling has on these people can be highly destructive.   
 
Ask yourself: “Do I have self discipline? Can I take a loss or a string of losses and still retain my composure? Do I react to losses by making rash or impulsive bets?”.
 
Patience and self discipline are key factors if you wish to become a professional bettor. In my view any professional bettor does not see his or her line of work as a get rich quick scheme. Unless you luck out with some kind of crazy accumulator or long odds punt it will take time to build your bankroll.
 
Hurrying to reach the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow can be a toxic mentality. It’s great to visualise a better future for yourself and creating a plan to achieve that but wanting something and wanting it right now will not aid your quest.
 
Do you enjoy the process of becoming a professional bettor? If you really do not enjoy the process at all then why are you devoting your time and energy to it in the first place? Obviously the goal is to make money but you shouldn’t try to make money from something you really don’t like as it will inevitably compromise your ability to execute the process effectively.
 
You have to enjoy the process of getting there and you have to enjoy the process of learning. Never think you know it all, because believe me no-one does. The road to becoming a professional bettor is a constant process of learning and improving, the path is not smooth and chances are there will be setbacks.
 
If and when setbacks occur can you maintain your self discipline and motivation?
 
 
Bankroll Management
 
 
Obviously your betting bankroll needs to be completely segregated from all your other forms of expenditure. Your ability to pay the bills cannot be dependent on how well your betting career is doing – especially if you have a family.
 
Set aside only what you can afford to loose as your initial betting bankroll, then understand and accept that it cannot be used for anything other than betting.
 
Even if you have only set aside a relatively small amount of money for your initial bankroll you must still treat that money with respect. If you want to take betting seriously then a bet must never seem frivolous.
 
One of the first objectives of any serious bettor is to never go broke (loose their entire betting bankroll). The partitioning of your bankroll into individual bets must be sustainable.
 
A sensible way to grow your bankroll over the long term is through compounding:
 
http://www.investopedia.com/walkthrough/corporate-finance/3/discounted-cash-flow/compounding.aspx
 
Partition your results over quarterly or annual periods then incorporate the profits from the latest period into your staking structure.
 
For example:
 
You have an initial bankroll of $5000 which is divided into 40 individual fixed stake bets of $125 (2.5% of total bankroll)
 
At the end of year 1 you make a profit of $1000 so total bankroll is now $6000.
 
Year 2 - Your fixed stake bet would be $150 (still 2.5% of total bankroll)
 
At the end of year 2 you make a profit of $1200 – total bankroll now $7200.
 
Year 3 - Fixed stake would be $180 (still 2.5% of total bankroll)… and so on and so on.
 
By using compounding you can exponentially grow your bankroll in a safe and sustainable way. It will require patience and discipline, especially to begin with, but if you are consistently profitable then I would advocate it as a good way to grow your bankroll.
 
Sustainability
 
 
 
 
When it comes to sustainability as a career, one of the main questions is “Where can I get my bets on?”. Bookmakers are no fools, if you are a consistently profitable bettor then sooner or later you will get limited or banned – nothing you can do as it’s in the terms and conditions you agree to in order to bet with them.
 
One way to negate this problem is to have accounts with lots of different bookmakers and rotate your bets. It’s generally a good idea to have accounts with different bookmakers as you want to take advantage of different offers and prices etc. Despite this, rotating your bets with different vendors could still be problematic in the long term if you are consistently profitable.
 
 
Betting exchanges is the way to go if you don’t want to get banned or limited. On an exchange you’re betting against other bettors with the exchange operating as the middle man who matches up both sides of a bet. The exchange makes its money from charging commission for each bet made, usually between 2-5% (very reasonable in my opinion).
 
The main problems you will face with an exchange are:
 
Does it have the market you wish to bet on?
 
Does the market you wish to bet on have enough liquidity to get your bet matched?
 
Your access to betting exchanges will vary depending on what country you live in. Some of the main ones are:
 
https://www.betfair.com/exchange/
 
https://www.matchbook.com/
 
https://www.pinnacle.com/
 
https://www.sbobet.com/
 
https://smarkets.com/
 
If you’re not sure on who to bet with then ask around on this forum and check bookmaker review sites. Always do your research on the various operators and keep appraised of how they’re progressing. If you want betting to become your business then you have a responsibility to follow the industry at large and pay attention to new developments.
 
Never leave excess money in an online account for longer than you have to. Your bank should be the safest place to store the core of your funds – distribute them to the various exchanges and bookmakers only when necessary. This will help minimise your exposure if an operator goes bust or they inexplicably transfer your funds to bongo bongo land.
 
 
Methodology
 
 
 
From reading your post I suspect this is the area you wish to learn most about. Personally I have no special system to offer you, no low risk to high reward strategy, no promises of gold and jewels untold.
 
The phrase ‘There’s a million ways to make a million dollars’ also applies to betting. The various methods and strategies you could adopt to become consistently profitable from betting are too varied and too numerous to catalogue in a single post.  
 
Ultimately betting is about finding errors in the pricing of an event. If you believe a market has priced something incorrectly you can take advantage of it. Generally speaking, sports betting markets are not stupid. They evaluate outcomes with efficiency but this does not mean they never make mistakes. Your job is to capitalise on those mistakes at every opportunity. This requires diligence and dedication, you must always be on the lookout for opportunities in the market.
 
The more knowledge you have on a sport / subject, the more you can spot the opportunities in the market when they present themselves.
 
Specialising in a particular sport will help you, it should be a sport that you like watching and can watch regularly in order to gain qualitative information:
 
https://www.simplypsychology.org/qualitative-quantitative.html
 
Preferably it will be a sports market which is covered by the betting exchanges with enough liquidity to match your bets.
 
Personally I believe it’s important to develop your own betting strategies rather than follow or rely on other peoples. What if you are following someone else’s betting strategy but you do not really understand it and that person then disappears? You probably wouldn’t have learnt much and would be back at square one. Someone may very well come along on this thread and say “Hey Kengur, I have a great betting system that you might want to follow” and it might indeed be a good system but if you can’t fathom what’s behind it then you’re not really going to advance as a bettor. If you want to be ‘professional’ at something you have to be independent and generate your own ideas. Never rely on others to spoon feed you as it’s not sustainable over the long term.
 
Punters Lounge is a great site in my opinion – use it. I have learnt a lot from seeing how other people do things over the years on here, there’s lots of useful information on these boards. Just don’t expect anyone to wave a magic wand and make you rich overnight – the world seldom works like that.

Personally I never set quotas or targets for the amount of bets I'm going to make in a day / week / year. Such an approach would ultimately be self defeating as you would end up forcing yourself to make bets that are not profitable over the long term.
I only bet when I believe the market has made a pricing error. The real task is to find as many price errors as you possibly can, your betting frequency / volume will take care of itself.
The frequency of bets you make will tend to vary between leagues. One year you might find lots or price errors (and therefore make lots of bets) in a particular league but the next year there might be less. Same thing between individual coupons, one week there might be 2 or 3 bets that you want to make, the next week there might be none and you will need the discipline to sit out the coupons where you can't find anything.
Just remember that the more leagues you cover, the more time and effort will be required to keep track of everything and make good decisions.
 

@Kengur2017 to Punters Lounge.
I don't know if this will be useful to you or not but I have written down some things that are important to bear in mind if you want to take betting seriously:
 
Psychology
 
 
First of all, if you do not have the correct mentality then you will not be able to develop into a professional bettor.
‘Tilt’ or ‘Gambling rage’ is one of the first major obstacles that needs to be overcome if you are serious about betting. Tilt is a term usually associated with poker but it can apply to any form of betting:
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilt_(poker)
 
Tilt affects all people to some degree, some only suffer from it mildly and can completely eliminate it with a combination of changes to lifestyle and perspective. At the other end of the scale you have chronically impatient degenerates with no self discipline or perspective, the affects gambling has on these people can be highly destructive.   
 
Ask yourself: “Do I have self discipline? Can I take a loss or a string of losses and still retain my composure? Do I react to losses by making rash or impulsive bets?”.
 
Patience and self discipline are key factors if you wish to become a professional bettor. In my view any professional bettor does not see his or her line of work as a get rich quick scheme. Unless you luck out with some kind of crazy accumulator or long odds punt it will take time to build your bankroll.
 
Hurrying to reach the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow can be a toxic mentality. It’s great to visualise a better future for yourself and creating a plan to achieve that but wanting something and wanting it right now will not aid your quest.
 
Do you enjoy the process of becoming a professional bettor? If you really do not enjoy the process at all then why are you devoting your time and energy to it in the first place? Obviously the goal is to make money but you shouldn’t try to make money from something you really don’t like as it will inevitably compromise your ability to execute the process effectively.
 
You have to enjoy the process of getting there and you have to enjoy the process of learning. Never think you know it all, because believe me no-one does. The road to becoming a professional bettor is a constant process of learning and improving, the path is not smooth and chances are there will be setbacks.
 
If and when setbacks occur can you maintain your self discipline and motivation?
 
 
Bankroll Management
 
 
Obviously your betting bankroll needs to be completely segregated from all your other forms of expenditure. Your ability to pay the bills cannot be dependent on how well your betting career is doing – especially if you have a family.
 
Set aside only what you can afford to loose as your initial betting bankroll, then understand and accept that it cannot be used for anything other than betting.
 
Even if you have only set aside a relatively small amount of money for your initial bankroll you must still treat that money with respect. If you want to take betting seriously then a bet must never seem frivolous.
 
One of the first objectives of any serious bettor is to never go broke (loose their entire betting bankroll). The partitioning of your bankroll into individual bets must be sustainable.
 
A sensible way to grow your bankroll over the long term is through compounding:
 
http://www.investopedia.com/walkthrough/corporate-finance/3/discounted-cash-flow/compounding.aspx
 
Partition your results over quarterly or annual periods then incorporate the profits from the latest period into your staking structure.
 
For example:
 
You have an initial bankroll of $5000 which is divided into 40 individual fixed stake bets of $125 (2.5% of total bankroll)
 
At the end of year 1 you make a profit of $1000 so total bankroll is now $6000.
 
Year 2 - Your fixed stake bet would be $150 (still 2.5% of total bankroll)
 
At the end of year 2 you make a profit of $1200 – total bankroll now $7200.
 
Year 3 - Fixed stake would be $180 (still 2.5% of total bankroll)… and so on and so on.
 
By using compounding you can exponentially grow your bankroll in a safe and sustainable way. It will require patience and discipline, especially to begin with, but if you are consistently profitable then I would advocate it as a good way to grow your bankroll.
 
Sustainability
 
 
 
 
When it comes to sustainability as a career, one of the main questions is “Where can I get my bets on?”. Bookmakers are no fools, if you are a consistently profitable bettor then sooner or later you will get limited or banned – nothing you can do as it’s in the terms and conditions you agree to in order to bet with them.
 
One way to negate this problem is to have accounts with lots of different bookmakers and rotate your bets. It’s generally a good idea to have accounts with different bookmakers as you want to take advantage of different offers and prices etc. Despite this, rotating your bets with different vendors could still be problematic in the long term if you are consistently profitable.
 
 
Betting exchanges is the way to go if you don’t want to get banned or limited. On an exchange you’re betting against other bettors with the exchange operating as the middle man who matches up both sides of a bet. The exchange makes its money from charging commission for each bet made, usually between 2-5% (very reasonable in my opinion).
 
The main problems you will face with an exchange are:
 
Does it have the market you wish to bet on?
 
Does the market you wish to bet on have enough liquidity to get your bet matched?
 
Your access to betting exchanges will vary depending on what country you live in. Some of the main ones are:
 
https://www.betfair.com/exchange/
 
https://www.matchbook.com/
 
https://www.pinnacle.com/
 
https://www.sbobet.com/
 
https://smarkets.com/
 
If you’re not sure on who to bet with then ask around on this forum and check bookmaker review sites. Always do your research on the various operators and keep appraised of how they’re progressing. If you want betting to become your business then you have a responsibility to follow the industry at large and pay attention to new developments.
 
Never leave excess money in an online account for longer than you have to. Your bank should be the safest place to store the core of your funds – distribute them to the various exchanges and bookmakers only when necessary. This will help minimise your exposure if an operator goes bust or they inexplicably transfer your funds to bongo bongo land.
 
 
Methodology
 
 
 
From reading your post I suspect this is the area you wish to learn most about. Personally I have no special system to offer you, no low risk to high reward strategy, no promises of gold and jewels untold.
 
The phrase ‘There’s a million ways to make a million dollars’ also applies to betting. The various methods and strategies you could adopt to become consistently profitable from betting are too varied and too numerous to catalogue in a single post.  
 
Ultimately betting is about finding errors in the pricing of an event. If you believe a market has priced something incorrectly you can take advantage of it. Generally speaking, sports betting markets are not stupid. They evaluate outcomes with efficiency but this does not mean they never make mistakes. Your job is to capitalise on those mistakes at every opportunity. This requires diligence and dedication, you must always be on the lookout for opportunities in the market.
 
The more knowledge you have on a sport / subject, the more you can spot the opportunities in the market when they present themselves.
 
Specialising in a particular sport will help you, it should be a sport that you like watching and can watch regularly in order to gain qualitative information:
 
https://www.simplypsychology.org/qualitative-quantitative.html
 
Preferably it will be a sports market which is covered by the betting exchanges with enough liquidity to match your bets.
 
Personally I believe it’s important to develop your own betting strategies rather than follow or rely on other peoples. What if you are following someone else’s betting strategy but you do not really understand it and that person then disappears? You probably wouldn’t have learnt much and would be back at square one. Someone may very well come along on this thread and say “Hey Kengur, I have a great betting system that you might want to follow” and it might indeed be a good system but if you can’t fathom what’s behind it then you’re not really going to advance as a bettor. If you want to be ‘professional’ at something you have to be independent and generate your own ideas. Never rely on others to spoon feed you as it’s not sustainable over the long term.
 
Punters Lounge is a great site in my opinion – use it. I have learnt a lot from seeing how other people do things over the years on here, there’s lots of useful information on these boards. Just don’t expect anyone to wave a magic wand and make you rich overnight – the world seldom works like that.

@Kengur2017 to Punters Lounge.
I don't know if this will be useful to you or not but I have written down some things that are important to bear in mind if you want to take betting seriously:
 
Psychology
 
 
First of all, if you do not have the correct mentality then you will not be able to develop into a professional bettor.
‘Tilt’ or ‘Gambling rage’ is one of the first major obstacles that needs to be overcome if you are serious about betting. Tilt is a term usually associated with poker but it can apply to any form of betting:
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilt_(poker)
 
Tilt affects all people to some degree, some only suffer from it mildly and can completely eliminate it with a combination of changes to lifestyle and perspective. At the other end of the scale you have chronically impatient degenerates with no self discipline or perspective, the affects gambling has on these people can be highly destructive.   
 
Ask yourself: “Do I have self discipline? Can I take a loss or a string of losses and still retain my composure? Do I react to losses by making rash or impulsive bets?”.
 
Patience and self discipline are key factors if you wish to become a professional bettor. In my view any professional bettor does not see his or her line of work as a get rich quick scheme. Unless you luck out with some kind of crazy accumulator or long odds punt it will take time to build your bankroll.
 
Hurrying to reach the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow can be a toxic mentality. It’s great to visualise a better future for yourself and creating a plan to achieve that but wanting something and wanting it right now will not aid your quest.
 
Do you enjoy the process of becoming a professional bettor? If you really do not enjoy the process at all then why are you devoting your time and energy to it in the first place? Obviously the goal is to make money but you shouldn’t try to make money from something you really don’t like as it will inevitably compromise your ability to execute the process effectively.
 
You have to enjoy the process of getting there and you have to enjoy the process of learning. Never think you know it all, because believe me no-one does. The road to becoming a professional bettor is a constant process of learning and improving, the path is not smooth and chances are there will be setbacks.
 
If and when setbacks occur can you maintain your self discipline and motivation?
 
 
Bankroll Management
 
 
Obviously your betting bankroll needs to be completely segregated from all your other forms of expenditure. Your ability to pay the bills cannot be dependent on how well your betting career is doing – especially if you have a family.
 
Set aside only what you can afford to loose as your initial betting bankroll, then understand and accept that it cannot be used for anything other than betting.
 
Even if you have only set aside a relatively small amount of money for your initial bankroll you must still treat that money with respect. If you want to take betting seriously then a bet must never seem frivolous.
 
One of the first objectives of any serious bettor is to never go broke (loose their entire betting bankroll). The partitioning of your bankroll into individual bets must be sustainable.
 
A sensible way to grow your bankroll over the long term is through compounding:
 
http://www.investopedia.com/walkthrough/corporate-finance/3/discounted-cash-flow/compounding.aspx
 
Partition your results over quarterly or annual periods then incorporate the profits from the latest period into your staking structure.
 
For example:
 
You have an initial bankroll of $5000 which is divided into 40 individual fixed stake bets of $125 (2.5% of total bankroll)
 
At the end of year 1 you make a profit of $1000 so total bankroll is now $6000.
 
Year 2 - Your fixed stake bet would be $150 (still 2.5% of total bankroll)
 
At the end of year 2 you make a profit of $1200 – total bankroll now $7200.
 
Year 3 - Fixed stake would be $180 (still 2.5% of total bankroll)… and so on and so on.
 
By using compounding you can exponentially grow your bankroll in a safe and sustainable way. It will require patience and discipline, especially to begin with, but if you are consistently profitable then I would advocate it as a good way to grow your bankroll.
 
Sustainability
 
 
 
 
When it comes to sustainability as a career, one of the main questions is “Where can I get my bets on?”. Bookmakers are no fools, if you are a consistently profitable bettor then sooner or later you will get limited or banned – nothing you can do as it’s in the terms and conditions you agree to in order to bet with them.
 
One way to negate this problem is to have accounts with lots of different bookmakers and rotate your bets. It’s generally a good idea to have accounts with different bookmakers as you want to take advantage of different offers and prices etc. Despite this, rotating your bets with different vendors could still be problematic in the long term if you are consistently profitable.
 
 
Betting exchanges is the way to go if you don’t want to get banned or limited. On an exchange you’re betting against other bettors with the exchange operating as the middle man who matches up both sides of a bet. The exchange makes its money from charging commission for each bet made, usually between 2-5% (very reasonable in my opinion).
 
The main problems you will face with an exchange are:
 
Does it have the market you wish to bet on?
 
Does the market you wish to bet on have enough liquidity to get your bet matched?
 
Your access to betting exchanges will vary depending on what country you live in. Some of the main ones are:
 
https://www.betfair.com/exchange/
 
https://www.matchbook.com/
 
https://www.pinnacle.com/
 
https://www.sbobet.com/
 
https://smarkets.com/
 
If you’re not sure on who to bet with then ask around on this forum and check bookmaker review sites. Always do your research on the various operators and keep appraised of how they’re progressing. If you want betting to become your business then you have a responsibility to follow the industry at large and pay attention to new developments.
 
Never leave excess money in an online account for longer than you have to. Your bank should be the safest place to store the core of your funds – distribute them to the various exchanges and bookmakers only when necessary. This will help minimise your exposure if an operator goes bust or they inexplicably transfer your funds to bongo bongo land.
 
 
Methodology
 
 
 
From reading your post I suspect this is the area you wish to learn most about. Personally I have no special system to offer you, no low risk to high reward strategy, no promises of gold and jewels untold.
 
The phrase ‘There’s a million ways to make a million dollars’ also applies to betting. The various methods and strategies you could adopt to become consistently profitable from betting are too varied and too numerous to catalogue in a single post.  
 
Ultimately betting is about finding errors in the pricing of an event. If you believe a market has priced something incorrectly you can take advantage of it. Generally speaking, sports betting markets are not stupid. They evaluate outcomes with efficiency but this does not mean they never make mistakes. Your job is to capitalise on those mistakes at every opportunity. This requires diligence and dedication, you must always be on the lookout for opportunities in the market.
 
The more knowledge you have on a sport / subject, the more you can spot the opportunities in the market when they present themselves.
 
Specialising in a particular sport will help you, it should be a sport that you like watching and can watch regularly in order to gain qualitative information:
 
https://www.simplypsychology.org/qualitative-quantitative.html
 
Preferably it will be a sports market which is covered by the betting exchanges with enough liquidity to match your bets.
 
Personally I believe it’s important to develop your own betting strategies rather than follow or rely on other peoples. What if you are following someone else’s betting strategy but you do not really understand it and that person then disappears? You probably wouldn’t have learnt much and would be back at square one. Someone may very well come along on this thread and say “Hey Kengur, I have a great betting system that you might want to follow” and it might indeed be a good system but if you can’t fathom what’s behind it then you’re not really going to advance as a bettor. If you want to be ‘professional’ at something you have to be independent and generate your own ideas. Never rely on others to spoon feed you as it’s not sustainable over the long term.
 
Punters Lounge is a great site in my opinion – use it. I have learnt a lot from seeing how other people do things over the years on here, there’s lots of useful information on these boards. Just don’t expect anyone to wave a magic wand and make you rich overnight – the world seldom works like that.

@StevieDay1983 My thoughts on De Boer appointment:
Despite the fact he has won four Eredivisie titles with Ajax I think you could argue he is still relatively unproven as a manager. The best managers can adapt and become successful in different conditions and circumstances - the jury is still out on FDB in this regard.
His short time at Inter was indeed a disaster but I don't think we can read too much into that particular episode. Both the Milan clubs have operated like clowns over the last few seasons and I feel sorry for anybody who has had to manage them in that time. FDB himself said he will learn from his experience at Inter and in my view that whole circus couldn't all be down to him.
To be honest I don't think a coach of his pedigree and potential should be out of work for long. I agree that his appointment is somewhat of a gamble but on the flipside his appointment could be somewhat of a coup for Palace.
Despite all the talk of playing the Barcelona way etc, I don't think FDB is somekind of maniac idealogue, his time at Ajax shows he can be pragmatic with his tactics.
In my view; Palace need to evolve their possession game anyway as they've had the 3rd worst home record in the premier league for the last 2 seasons!!! and 5th worst the season before that - this cannot continue as eventually it will lead to relegation. With Frank De Boer I believe we will still retain and utilise our ability to make fast counters with Zaha and Townsend but the teams ability to retain the ball and pressure the opposition should advance with the new manager - both through coaching and new additions.
Money situation looks good for Palace going forward, I think we will be able to both attract and afford the talent that FDB requires.
All in all, pleased with the appointment, also good to get it done before July 1st so FDB can have full pre-season with the players.
Palace top 10 finish has gone from 7.0 to 4.0 on BetStars but I'm not tempted to cash out the profits yet. Probably best to stick with it as 7.0 was clear value bet and will be a big win if it lands.

Donnarumma's done a runner 
To be honest I don't think it will affect Milan's aspirations too much in the short term, it's just a blow to loose such a talented player for the long term as he will keep improving with age. All being well he will go on to be one of the worlds best keepers if not the best eventually.
Another thing I forgot to mention with regards to Roma is their keeper situation. Szczesny had a great season for them but his performances have gone under the radar compared to the likes of Donnarumma. Roma would have conceeded way more goals if it wasn't for his good work last year. Juventus and Inter are reportedly in for him so the Giallorossi will find it hard to retain his services. Szczesny is definately one of the unsung heros in Serie A right now.

@StevieDay1983 It's early doors but I do not fancy Roma to win the scudetto this year, although a lot will depend on the transfer window. Coach Luciano Spalletti has left for Inter while Roma have replaced him with Eusebio Di Francesco. Di Francesco worked wonders at Sassuolo and he will fit Roma perfectly in terms of their style of play. The problem in Italy is always the level of expectation from the fans, especially at the big clubs. If Di Francesco doesn't hit the ground running then the pressure will soon build.
For me he is a really good coach but at Sassuolo there wasn't much pressure or expectation as he turned a small time Serie B club into an established Serie A force. At Roma he will be expected to challenge for scudetto but that will be very difficult if they can't hold on to Rudiger, Nainggolan, Salah and co. Di Francesco is the right appointment for Roma but if things don't go well in the short term he will probably get the blame and then they will shoot themselves in the foot by sacking him.
Expect the Milan clubs to do better this year; Inter have a good coach in Spalletti and squad is already fairly strong whilst Milan are strengthening with some early aquisitions. Again, the biggest challenge they face is the pressure of expectation and self inflicted wounds.
For me Napoli is the biggest challenger to Juventus. Maurizio Sarri's team plays the best football in the division if not the world right now but can they be pragmatic enough and translate that into a league winning campaign? As good as they are to watch they do not have the strength in depth of Juventus squad wise. If Napoli don't sustain too many injuries they can be serious challengers for scudetto but competition overstretch could derail them.
Will post more in the comming weeks all being well. In the meantime congrats to Benevento who will be playing in Serie A for the first time in their history.
 

 

Here are the ante-post odds for the 2017/18 Serie A season. Let's get some chat going! Does anybody fancy Roma to improve on last season and de-throne Juventus? Napoli are attractive at 6.00. Can the money at AC Milan see them challenge for the Scudetto?
@TastesLikeTuna, @discipline, @Icongene, @betcatalog, @Pipoca, @sajtion, @Vcg2007, @chris666, @WinningAdvice, @yoju82, @DrBetter, @KingSoccertips, @CloughandTaylor, @Punki85, @DW_United, @KikoCy, @vasilli07. @Simeon Borisof, @Simeone, @fat, @HastGill1, @clubgowi, @MPLouis, @Kumanovac, @AF13, @Jase82, @azzurini1976, and @TotoSchillaci, you all contributed to some quality Serie A discussion last season. What are your thoughts on these odds?