T20 Cricket - Australia v India Feb 1 (08.30)

India are coming of the back of 3 straight test defeats as they take on an Australian side where most of the team are fresh from the Big Bash T20 League which finished on Sunday. The odds strongly favour the home side who are bouncing around the 1.60 mark.

I'm not so convinced that this will be as one sided as the bookies suggest. India have the better T20 pedigree and the Aussie side is far from the finished product. The Indian selectors have moved away from their rigid (immovable) selection policy for the Test series and the large 17 man squad will feature some young players keen to secure a position for the World T20 later this year.

There will be some great talent on display in the form of Australia's batting legend David Warner and the recently recalled Brad Hogg who was in scintillating form during the Big Bash series. For India Tendulkar and Kohli will be the men to watch.

I think Australia will win this but I envisage some good trading opportunities along the way tomorrow morning.

Lay the field trades

Today's card a Southwell presents 3 likely candidates for a lay the field trade.

3.30 - 7f Hcap
4.00 - 6f Hcap
4.30 - 6f Hcap

Keep your liability low by laying in-play at odds on. Get 2 matches and you'll be in profit.

Challenger level straight bets

5 straight bets on CH level which should go through at least 3 out 5 to secure profit. Use the same stakes for all 5 matches.

11.30 - De Voest - Beck (Heilbronn CH)- Take De Voest to win 2-0 @ 2.63 - WON
13.00 - Golubev - Meffert (Heilbronn CH) - Take Meffert+1.5 @ 1.65 - WON
13.00 - Ilhan - Phau (Heilbronn CH) - Take over 22.5 games @1.90 - WON
14.00 - Bubka - Bachinger (Heilbronn CH) - Take Bubka+1.5 @1.75 - WON
21.00 - Kendrick - Venus (Honolulu CH) - Take Venus to win @ 2.40 - WON

All 5 bets went through nicely. 5 out of 5.

Approach remains the same

Well, yesterdays approach to matches was quite fun, even thou It lacked depth, but since, I'm late I'll do it like that again.

1.00 Ivanovic - Kvitova - Ivanovic leads H2H 3-0, but Kvitova would definitely love to show that things changed from 2009 to now. If I take Kvitova's big possibility to have a massive weakness for a short time into account I must say Kvitova 2-1.
Update: Kvitova wins 2-0.

3.00 Murray - Kukushkin - Is Lendl Andy's lucky charm? But Kukushkin here plays a very underdogish role, while he shouldn't be so underestimated. He took the set from Murray in Brisbane when he was at his best, winning a tournament, he can do it again, but Murray to win it in the end. Murray 3-1 with a tight start.
Update: Very easy from Murray, 3-0.

3.00 Nishikori - Tsonga - Nishikori surely knows how to come from behind. Was 2-0 against Ebden and in almost "walking dead" mode, also set and almost another down against Benneteau. Surely he can't allow himself to go deep behind the Tsonga, because the comeback will be hard or close to impossible. Tsonga to take it 3-1.
Update: Well, he managed to make another injured comeback and whipped Tsonga out. Tsonga was very unconfident that day.

3.00 Errani - Zheng - I don't get all the hype about Zheng winning this match. They are almost the same on all stats for last year and while I watched both progressing from 1st round to here, I really can't make a call who should be favourite here. I think Errani has both, defensive game and she can hit the ball when needed, Zheng's style is a quite similar and a bit more aggressive, but tends to do a bit more mistakes. This can't be one-sided match. I'll go for Errani 2-1 and over 28 games.
Update:  Easy for Errani 6-2, 6-1.

5.00 Gasquet - Ferrer - Definitely the match of the day. Gasquet was just amazing vs Tipsarevic, who never really get close to him. His recent matches went ok too, and his backhend, well, that is...supernatural when in form, which currently is (or at least was in last match). Ferrer had a couple rough matches, with Sweeting almost taking him the match. Ferrer with his weak serve will definitely struggle more on her serves and will need to fight to the limits to get this match. Gasquet 3-2.
Update: Gasquet has played defensive game and it was all about Ferrer dominating the game. Ferrer 3-0.

5.00 Makarova - Williams - Makarova will surprise Williams from the start and take first set away from her. Then she'll probably become affraid of winning and switced to lower gear. Williams to end it at the end with 2-1.
Update: She won not just 1st, but 2nd set too.

9.30 Lisicki - Sharapova - In form in which Maria is, this will be no contest and a straight set winner for Sharapova.
Update: Lisicki took first set, then Sharapova has taken the control and win quite easy in 2nd and 3rd.

11.30 Djokovic - Hewitt - Hewitt can get a set if Djokovic will ease of a bit, but Djoko is cool as ice, when dealing with difficult situations or getting from the back to win the game. Hewitt can take the first set, Djokovic all the other 3, even thou 3-0 more likely then 3-1.
Update: Djokovic 3-1.

Some short opinions on all todays matches

Tonight I'll approach writings with a different approach. Usually I pick up game or two and then write about it, tonight I'll say short opinion about each match.

1.00 Azarenka - Benesova - Azarenka has way too much of everything for Benesova. Azarenka in 2-0, under 20 games. Azarenka won 6-2, 6-2.

3.00 Lopez - Nadal - Lopez is just too shaky and can' take the pressure well, so Nadal will eat him. Nadal 3-0 or maybe with a slight chance for 3-1. Nadal win in 3 sets.

3.00 Goerges - Radwanska - If Radwanska starts very badly, then it can go for 2-1 too Radwanska, else just easy straightforward win for Agniezska.Radwanska 6-1, 6-1.

5.00 Berdych - Almagro - If Almagro can be keep errors low, serve high, his backhend strong, then I see a possible upset, but more likely just a very tight match. Berdych to win 3-2. No upset in the end, but it was tight, Almagro has won the first set, then lost 3 in a row in TB.

5.00 Li - Clijsters - This will be very evenly match, with best athleticism of Li to make her a winner in 3 tight sets. Very tight match, Li won first st, Clijsters 2nd in TB and 3rd one won from Clijsters.

7.00 Kohlschreiber - Del Potro - Again, odds are way to low, as Kohlschreiber could definitely take Del Po into TB or two, where we can't tell who will them. Del Potro to find the way in the end with 3-2. Kohlschreiber gave up after went break down early in the 2nd set. Del Potro 3-0.

9.00 Tomic - Federer - Tomic is saying that Federer is his biggest idol. Tomic doesn't believe that he can win this, saying that it will be fun to play. Tennis on high level is not about fun.Too much respect from Tomic to Federer who will teach kid a lesson. Federer 3-0 or maybe 3-1. Federer 3-0.

11.00 Wozniacki - Jankovic - If Jankovic can play aggresively and making winners to Wozniacki she has all the chances to win this. I'm writing this as the game is at 2-1(2nd set) and If Jankovic can get 2 games in this match she is a winner for me, but I don't believe it, so I'll just writ the result. Wozniacki 6-0, 6-1. Update #2: OMG, Wozniacki to 4-1 then turnaround and 5-5 and 7-5 for Wozniacki. Respect Jelena.

Nothing from me today

Hello there. If there exist any daily readers of my humble blog, I would like them to inform, that I won't be able to write any tennis thoughts for todays matches, because I simply didn't have time to write it, and matches will start in 15 minutes, so it's too late anyway. From the first seight of todays matches, I think the stronger favourite with nice odds for me was Tipsarevic to win against Gasquet. Might also fancy taking Bartoli at 1.50 from the start. Good luck to everyone.

3rd round part 1

Yesterday my trading started badly again as I was soon facing red on 3 matches. I needed to take some time to reduce it and made tiny profit at the end of the day. Also just 2 picks for me today:

3.00 Oprandi (2.58) - Goerges (1.61) - Australian open (round 3)
This is the second time those two will play each other. Last time Goerges won in straight sets, but it wasn't easy. Oprandi is in decent good running winning streak, winning Yakimova and Schiavone here in round 1 and 2 and battled through qualies in Hobart (winning against Wozniak, Vandeweghe and Tsurenko) then was beaten by very good Mona Barthel. Julia Goerges won in 1st round against Hercog and in 2nd round against Daniildiou who retired. It's a clear pattern in this match how it will go, Goerges will be trying to with harder shots, hitting winners, approaching net, trying to get some free points at the net, while Oprandi will be returning balls, waiting for her chance and more likely, waiting for Goerges to lose concentration and start hitting misguided balls. It will be a very tight match, where I see Oprandi can get the first set, then Goerges to come back in 2nd and the 3rd... Well, that's a big question, but I'll go with Oprandi to win 2-1, maybe even 2-0 if Goerges will not be able to recover.

5.00 Isner (1.85) - F.Lopez (2.16) - Australian open (3rd round)
Isners odds are very temptating to take from the start, since they are so high because Isner had some cramp problems at the end of 5th set vs Nalbandian, but he had 2 days to rest, so if it was just fatigue, he is clearly over it. Isners main weapon is of course serve and weapon is sound and ready as he has hit 43 aces vs Nalbandian. Everyone knows Isner is not a good mover, which may be concern because Lopez will move him around a lot, but he can and he should attack slower 2nd serve from Lopez. Lopez is left-hander, his first serve is strong, but he can be very shaky on 2nd serve as he tends to do many DF's. That's my concern, because Lopez was giving away BP to Mayer and to Cipolla like he was charity and he can't certainly not afford to be broken several times as he was in round 1 and round 2. Lopez thou may win a set, but in the end if Isner won't have any health problems, he will go through with 3-1 or 3-0.

No low backs today, since a lot of games will be tight when we have a clear winner if look at odds.

Masters Snooker - Jan 19

12:30 - O'Sullivan 1.83 (13) v Trump 2.18 (8)

I'm looking forward to this one. Two of the world's most exciting players go head to head in a 'blink and you'll miss it' quarter final clash.  The bookies have O'Sullivan as the favourite for this one but I'm not so sure. Betfair seems to also have the 'Ronnie' factor with punters getting behind the Rocket, I think more because of his fame and what he's done in the past rather than his true chances in this match. Ronnie will be looking to avenge his defeat in their last meeting and it won't be so easy for Trump who caught him by surprise last time out.

I think it I will be close, particularly if Ronnie has his long game firing, but I'm going with Trump the young pretender to win. Should be a great trading match particularly in the first few frames.

Update: An excellent game of snooker with the two highest breaks in the tournament. Ronnie didn't do much wrong but Judd went in the interval 4-0 up. Ronnie picked up 2 frames but was unlucky to lose 6-2 a scoreline which doesn't do justice to how close this match really was.  


From a trading perspective this was quite lucrative with my lay on Ronnie at the start never looking  really in doubt. I took advantage of a couple of swings and plenty of scalping opportunities as Judd's price bounced between 1.10 and 1.20. 

2nd round part 2

Hello. Another not very good night even thou I have went into this night trading session fully prepared and fully fit. A couple of mistakes cost me some money. Must clear my mind and have a better start today. Just two picks again:

5.00 Lisicki (1.77) - Peer (2.24) - Australian open (2nd round)
Peer and Lisicki played 4 times and are tied at 2-2. With 2 wins from Peer on hard courts, including the last one in 2011. Lisicki had a couple of injuries lately, as she retired from Bali in November and also retired (abdominal problems) in QF of Auckland, that means she can't be really 100% fit her serve could be affected. Lisicki played 1st round vs Voegele and won 2-1, but looking at the stats, she struggled a lot, as Voegele had more BP then her and Lisicki 1st serve was just on 50% with more doubles then aces and amazingly she hit 55 unforced errors. Peer progressed through 1st round with easy win vs Holland. She played pre-AO tournament in Hobart where she reached semis. She won against Hradecka, who has a similar style of tennis as Lisicki. Peer is a player who plays constant tennis, with no big ups and downs and will like to have long rallies, where she will wait for mistakes of her opponent. My prediction is based mostly on that I don't believe Lisicki can drastically improve her performance against Voegele, and if she'll play as she did in 1st round, she is out for sure, because Peer will punish her mistakes. I'll go for Peer to win 2-1, but I'll be cautious as Lisicki can hit a purple patch and starts hitting everything in, then all we can do is quickly switch and stay on her, but I don't believe that will happen.
Update: After some good picks this one went awfully wrong. Lisicki was battering Peer from the start to the end. She was still doing some mistakes, but it was not even enough for Peer to come close to a threat. Lisicki won 6-1, 6-2. I tried with my lay in 2nd set, went out very quickly and but my money on Lisicki to get out with zero.

7.00 Benneteau (2.32) - Simon (1.74) - Australian open (2nd round)
My prediction on this one is similiar to the one above. Simon is not playing as we are used of him. He is not reliable on long rallies which used to be his biggest weapon. He had some problems in 1st round against Udomchoke, winning 3-2. Benneteau is playing good tennis recently, but he has also played a lot of matches recently (maybe too much?). Simon will probably start slower as he knows this is 5 sets match and he is twice more fit then Benny, so the longer the match will go, the stronger (or Benneteau weaker) Simon will be. Biggest chance for Bennetau is too start strongly and get ahead before Simon will wake up. So I'll go for a lay on Simon and when I'll see Simon waking up I'll lay Benneteau. I see a long match here, with Benneteau winning first or first two sets, then Simon will probably come back to 2-2 and in my opinion win 3-2. Simon is leading 5-1 in H2H matches...
Update: I was too tired in the morning to be able to trade it. Looks like Benneteau had a better start, won first set 7-5 and second 7-6. Then it was Simon's time to turn on as he won 3rd and 4th set quite easily. In the end the winner was Benneteau.

LOW BACK OF THE DAY:
Cirstea vs U. Radwanska - Cirstea to win @ 1.43 - Cirstea did win, but she was awful in first set and lost it 6-1. Then it turned the game around and win it easily.

Masters Snooker - Jan 18

As I write Selby is 4-1 up against Lee and will soon be 5-1 ahead. That'll be another opening match going with the favourite. Not brilliant for trading but it does set-up some good 2nd round matches which could be very close.

Tonight's game will either be very close or completely one-sided.

7pm - Carter (7) 2.16  v Dott (10) 1.84
A week ago Carter was favourite for this match but with his ongoing health issues he is considering retirement after this tournament. That'll be a real shame for the talented and likeable player. Carter has been off the boil and hasn't picked up a ranking title since 2010, he's 2-3 down in the head to heads and Dott is the form player. Of the two Ali's, the more naturally gifted player but what Dott lacks in excitement he makes up for in consistency.

The outcome of the match I believe will come down to the attitude Carter brings to the Palace. He's clearly not enjoying his snooker and if he's serious about retiring, then the question is "does he want to go out with a whimper or a bang?"

I hope it's a bang but I fear it will be a whimper, so my pick is Dott.

2nd round of Australian open

Yesterday I had a rough night, I quickly got some red numbers, managed to get back to evens, got red again, back to zero and whole night in that order from red to evens and back to red. In the morning I was too tired to continue anymore, so I ended the day with -1% of loss. 2nd and 3rd rounds are best for trading anyway, if you have done your "home-work" for 1st round, which I did. Again just 2 strong picks for me:

5.00 Isner (2.20) - Nalbandian (1.82) - Australian open (2nd round)
Nalbandian won last 2 matches again "Big" John Isner. One of them Isner retired and one was last year in Auckland. Nalbandian's fitness is a definitely worrying as this game will probably be long one, going at least for 4 sets if not 5. Isner will need a lots of cheap points won by his strong serve so he'll be at least fresher on Nalbandian's serve to try making a break. Isner's movement and shots were not exactly brilliant in 1st round against Mitchell, but he managed a 3-0 win anyway, with a great 3rd set. Nalbandian hasn't played a lot of matches, actually this match vs injured Niemienen (who retired) was first after his injury in October. Isner is definitely much weaker on longer rallies, where i believe Nalbandian will be dominating, but he can sometimes make 2 or 3 bad mistakes in a row and break for Isner could also mean a set. Odds are just to good to not go with big American, who also has a better record in grand slam in Melbourne then Nalbandian. If Isner's 1st serve will let him down, there will still be chance for him to come-back in 2nd set, because I believe when he'll find his serving rhythem he'll found also the key to winning this match. My call is Isner to win 3-1 with 2 sets in TB.
Update: Isner won 3-2, but was incredible how he managed to win it in 5th set. He was limping, had cramps, wanted to quit, was just walking on the court, then somehow saved BP in the 5th set and broke Nalbandian who couldn't believe it.

7.00 Dimitrov (2.44) - Almagro (1.68) - Australian open (2nd round)
It's true that Grigor Dimitrov is a promising young talent, but this will be too much for him to handle. Dimitrov can play some amazing points, then he'll totally fade and screw everything. This is a 5 set match, so I'm confident Almagro will be more consistent, plus Almagro has a very strong and solid 1st serve recently (15 aces against Kubot), which will allow him to cruise over some of his serving games and he'll sooner or later found the way to break Dimitrov. Almagro lost 1st set against Kubot in 1st round then turned things around and win it easily 3-1. Dimitrov had a lots of ups and downs vs Chardy, but managed to get a win at the end in 5 sets. Experience, better on rallies, more constant serve, less mistakes, everything points to Almagro winning this 3-0 or 3-1. If Almagro (which is a possibility) will start slower again, even better so we can back him on higher odds. I really don't thing Dimitrov can take this match.
Update: Almagro won 3-2.

Some matches where odds will go just down and down and are worth for taking those 20 or so ticks:

Stakhovsky - Anderson - Anderson's injury looks like a past and his serve is doing ok. Stakhovsky could play some good games, but eventually he'll fade away. Anderson to win 3-0. Anderson @ 1.32

Karlovic - Berlocq - Pretty much same thing here, Berlocq won't be able to fight off big serve of Karlovic and Karlovic will found a way to break him sooner or later. Else he'll just win it in TB. Karlovic @ 1.37

Querrey - Tomic - Querrey is a decent server, but Tomic is even better receiving and he plays smart tennis. Querrey will be a no match for young Australian. Odds are almost as high as vs Verdasco, that's crazy. Tomic @ 1.40

1st round, part 2

Decent profit on yesterdays first round matches, let us hope for something similar today. Since I'm pretty occupied and on tight with time, I'll write just 2 picks:

1.00 - Kirilenko (1.78) - Gajdosova (2.26) - Australian open (1st round)
Well, this will definitely be a interesting match. Kirilenko starts as a slight favourite here, but her recent results show she is not in form she was some months ago. Barely winning against Lepchenko and a terrible lost against Arviddson isn't exactly good. Her 2nd serve is problematic too, either slow or double fault. Gajdosova is Australian girl who will have a huge support from the crowd, since everyone would love to see her finally reaching 2nd round of AO. She will definitely be nervous and her mental strentgh is always questionable. She played decent tournament in Hobart, where she was kicked out from winner Mona Barthel. If her nerves won't be too much of a problem and if she'll be serving good, she has decent chances to overpower Kirilenko. Gajdosova definitely has stronger shots, but we will see if the accurancy of these flat power-shots will be good enough. Kirilenko will be fighting from the base-line and making her hard to win points. We will be able to see quickly how this game will go, but I believe Gajdosova is finally prepared for her step to 2nd round, but it will be tight and will need a help from bad serving from Kirilenko. I go for Gajdosova to win 2-1, winning first set then losing a tight one and another tight 3rd set win for Gajdosova.
Update: Gajdosova played whole match with "two faces". She showed some great shots on her serving side, then completely faded on receiving side. Gajdosova was broken in 1st game of the match due to DF's, but then she was holding ok till the end, but failed to break Kirilenko. She had soooo many great opportunities, but she didn't managed the easiest shots and the number of unforced errors was astonishingly high. I kept laying Kirilenko, as I though Gajdosova must take of her chances, but she failed. In the end Kirilenko broke her in 2nd set too and won in straight sets. I ended with high, but still managable red on this game.

3.00 - Gulbis (1.77) - Llodra (2.28) - Australian open (1st round)
Serve & rush player Llodra is coming to AO without any serious match practice in year 2012, but he is experienced player, so he won't mind getting behind in first set, as he knows he has more then enough time to come back. Gulbis played just one, with a decent lose againt Youzhny. Odds seem quite right, but I see here a very tight match, so I'll wait for someone to go ahead. More then likely that will be Gulbis, so the lay should be quite cheap after end of 1st set. None of them have enjoyed any visible results in AO. I will go for Gulbis as fresher, younger player to win this match 3-2 or 3-1. But if Llodra will fight, he will at start of 2nd set. So I'm going there for a lay.
Update: As expected, Gulbis went ahead very quickly, was trading around 1.15 in 1st set already, so I layed, wait for break and hold for Llodra in 2nd set and hedged out for average profit. Looking at the result I should have stayed till the end, as Gulbis totally collapsed and won just 3 or 4 games after winning first set.

Masters Snooker - Jan 16

A couple of days away from trading for me. I often find that if I'm losing or scratching trades and leaving money in the market my confidence can drop and I find myself tensing up and unable to get in the zone and flow. A small break combined with dropping my stakes to well within my comfort zone I find helps me to refocus.

I've had a little bit of good fortune on the horses with 2 x 11/1 doubles and an amazing 174/1 treble which I was able to hedge for good profits. Backing horses, (even with a solid hedging strategy) is always going to suffer losing runs, with the wins (when they come) of offsetting the loses. It requires good bank management and to look at the long-term P&L rather than the day or week.

On the trading front I've got myself back into the zone with a 15% ROI on the snooker, 30% ROI on the darts and 185% ROI on the football. Small stakes admittedly but just the boost I need to my confidence after a patch start to 2012.

On to the snooker...

The Masters Snooker is a real treat. The invitational event attracts the worlds top 16 players and the quality of snooker on display is exceptional. If you've ever tried to play snooker you'll appreciate just how skilled these players really are. The opening matches saw Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Williams progress at the expense of defending champion Ding Junhui and #9 seed Steven Maguire. Both matches were close, both finishing 6-4 though the winners were never behind.

Matches - Jan 16

12:30 - Judd Trump - 1.43 (8) v Stuart Bingham - 3.25 (11)
Trump is the form player and rightly starts as favourite. After exploding onto the scene with a win at the China Open he finished 2011 with a fantastic win at the British Championships. Before 2011 that he'd only passed the 2nd round of a ranking event on one occasion. From being a relative unknown he now has the weight of expectation on his shoulders. He's not short of confidence and if there is a tiny chance of a pot he'll take it often at the risk of safety. That said he's not started tournaments well and is vulnerable to sulking if things don't go his way. He didn't really hit his stride until the QF's of the British Championships. Bingham will feel he has nothing to lose  and I can see him taking the first frame or 2 before Trump gets serious.

Update: Trump took the first frame then twice went behind before winning 6-4. This provided a couple of good swings and 48% ROI. We are now all set for a cracking 2nd round match with Ronnie O'Sullivan. 

19:00 - Shaun Murphy - 1.58 (6) v Martin Gould - 2.7 (16)
This could be closer than the odds suggest. Gould has rapidly risen up the rankings after returning to professional snooker after a break. He impressed me in the made for TV, Power Snooker format convincingly  beating strong favourite and defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan the final. Head to head Murphy leads 3-0 and in every aspect he's the better player on paper. In their last 2 meetings though Murphy has thrown away commanding leads and let Gould back into the game. Gould's a great potter of the ball and quick. If he can get ahead early I think he'll take this. If Murphy leads then a lay on him could be a profitable trade as Gould could run him close.

For a second opinion check out this excellent snooker blog. http://www.snookerbacker.com/

Australian open starting

1st round of Australian open is just few hours away. I'm very anxious about it. The selection of matches is just huge, so the hardest thing will be to pick the ones that are worth trading. I have run through almost all the matches, read the stats and my 3 strongest picks for trades are following: (I'll of course trade more then those 3)

1.00 - Kavcic (1.91) - Ward  (2.08) - Australian open (1st round)
Kavcic starts this match as a slight favourite. He is more or less clay lover, on the other hand Ward has achieved any visible results only on hard courts and grass. Kavcic played just one match after 3rd of October and that was a worrying loss against Darcis in Chennai. Not because he lost against him, but the way he lost it. He was leading set and 5-1 in 2nd set, but managed to lose the match from that position. His confidence can't be high, he'll try to do his best thou. Ward came through qualies with wins against Minar, Cervantes-Huegnon and Sijsling, who aren't exactly top players, but he has some matches under the belt and his feel for the ball is definitely better then Slovenians.. Ward strongly depends on serve and will like to close the points soon, Kavcic serve is sometimes very shaky and definitely he's not big server + he likes to do double faults. If Ward will get his first serve around 60% or over that, he might be too hard for Kavcic to break. I believe in stronger start from Ward, who will take 1st set. After that it's about Kavcic if he'll find the feel. I think free points won from Ward should be the key to win this match. I go for Ward to win this 3-1.
Update: Kavcic won in straight sets. Ward had some chances thou, but couldn't hold his serve good enough.

5.00 Rochus (1.50)- Phau (3.00) - Australian open (1st round)
Rochus leads 3-1 in H2H matches, with Phau winning the last one, but it was 3 years ago, so it doesn't count much. Rochus had a wonderful tournament previous week in Auckland coming to finals, where he played a good match vs Ferrer, who came stronger in the end. He won against some good hard court players as Kohlschreiber, Bellucci, Kamke and Paire. His shots are well aimed, he plays aggressive and will be to much for Bjorn Phau to take it. Phau made through qualies with wins over oldie Clement (in very poor form), claycourter Crugnola and frenchmen Ruffin in 3 sets. His stats are nowhere close to brilliant and I think If Rochus will show just 50% of talent he showed in Auckland he'll be too much for Phau. Rochus to win this 3-0 or 3-1.
Update: Phau never got even close to be danger to Rochus. Rochus won 3-0.

5.00 Berlocq (1.96) - Huta Galung (2.02) - Australian open (1st round)
They start close at evens. We know what to expect from a good clay courter Berlocq. He will be better on rallies, he will struggle on serve, and may have problems if Huta Galung will take advantage and will play aggressive and will be commanding the points. But that's mainly depended on his 1st serve percentage which was from good to bad in qualifications. He played 2 very in poor players who anyone will win (Greul and Zampieri) the third one was a bit tougher vs David Guez. Berlocq could have a slower start and will need some time to adjust to game of Huta Galung but when he'll into the game, his technique will prevail and he'll outcome as a winner. I will personaly wait for HG to go ahead and then lay him on lower odds as I don't really see him winning this, but if, definitely not in 3 sets. I will go for Berlocq to win 3-2.
Update: Berlocq lost first set then he came back to win it 3-1.

Some low back picks that I believe won't have any problems at all (just odds over 1.10):
De Voest (3.30) vs Lu (1.40) - Lu to win at least 3-1. LU 3-2.
Benesova (1.25) vs Johansson (4.5) - Benesova to win 2-0. Benesova 2-0.
Pennetta (1.16) vs  Bratchikova (6.8) - Pennetta to win 2-0. Penneta lost 1-2.
Lepchenko (5.5) vs Hantuchova (1.22) - Hantuchova to win 2-0. Hantuchova 2-1.
L.Mayer (5.50) vs F.Lopez (1.22) - F.Lopez to win 3-0. Lopez 3-0.
Garrigues (1.16) vs Bernerova (6.80) - Garrigues to win 2-0. Garrigues 2-0.

Finals

Well, just finals in Auckland, Hobart and Sydney are away from the start of Australian Open 2012. Qualifications are already available to trade today on BetFair, but I think they won't be liquid enough so I won't be even bothered to give them a try.  I hope players won't be changing their "faces" like they used to in this pre-Australian open tournaments, when they were good one day and completely changed in less then 24 hours. I want to see some consistancy in order to be able to trust the players. I believe motivation shouldn't be the factor on Grand Slam anymore, so I hope for two good weeks.

Obviously todays most interesting final to trade is one against Benneteau vs Nieminen. Nieminen had a nice number of games under his belt, coming to this final as qualifier, so he could be a little bit tired, he will also play some hours after this match doubles finals vs brothers Bryan. His 2nd serve speed (sometimes even 1st) is really worrying, as he was serving in 2nd set yesterday serves around 100 km/h, which is total rubbish. He must be happy that Istomin was too fatigued to exploit this lower then WTA serves from Nieminen. Head-2-head stats are strongly to Nieminen side (4-0). Benneteau had a nice flight here, still without a lost set, his motivation will be high, as he will definitely want to earn his first ATP title in his career (he had a couple of finals). His experience shouldn't be the questioned at all, he can have a bit weary legs, but same thing with Nieminen. I expect them they should be evens at rallies, with more UE's from Nieminen, and better serving from Benneteau. Benneteau is also amazing at the net, so everything points towards Benneteau winning this game. It definitely won't be an easy match, but Nieminen was broken too many times in this tournament, and too many breaks vs Benneteau could prove fatal very fast. Odds at 1.85 for Benneteau are very saucy, so half-stake from the start could be a proper start, getting out for small red if things don't go my way and adding full-stake on higher stake. If Nieminen goes ahead I really don't believe he will be firmly ahead throughout the whole match. I believe in 2 tight sets for Benneteau or even 3 setter.

In Auckland we have a strong underdog Olivier Rochus vs David Ferrer. Rochus plays tennis of his life-time and I'll think he'll at least try to oppose Ferrer tonight. Cheap lay at 1.08 couldn't hurt anyone as Ferrer was quite unsure at some moments in this tournament. In the end I think Ferrer will win it thou, as he is too much of a fighter for Rochus, who struggled against Paire who is a fighter and all-around player as Ferrer. It might be close, Rochus has beaten Ferrer 2 in his carrer, but I'll be hoping for better start from Rochus then switch to Ferrer on higher odds. Ferrer to win in two straight sets.

I'll be short about Wickmayer vs Barthel. If Wickmayers shots will be working she'll win it, but I'll not be easy and we will have some ups and down, so a good trading game. Wickmayer will be trading definitely higher then she started. Wickmayer in 3 sets.

3 trades for me over night

 2.00 - Kerber (1.90) - Barthel (2.10) - WTA Hobart (Semi finals)
Two German girls in semi-finals in Australia. Kerber breezed over her opponents to reach Cirstea who she won 6-0, 3-6, 7-5, but it was much harder then it looked, as Kerber totally collapsed in 2nd set and was close to retiring because of a wrist injury. Cirstea was winning 5-2 in 3rd set and had a couple of MP's but Kerber saved them and won the match. This will be already 8th match for Barthel in this week, but regarding her age fatigue shouldn't be the problem. They will start at evens, mainly because of Kerber's injury. I believe Kerber is the better player, but question is how much will she want to win this match, so we must be very careful, because she just might give this win away to her fellow German player, which would mean that would be her first WTA finals in her career. They are both solid on serves, have nice shots, it will just be the competition who would made more UEs. I think if Kerber is doing ok it's good to back quite fast as she will try hard she will win. If she won't then Barthel will be dominating and it could be a quick and easy straight match for Barthel. If Kerber wins first, it's always good thing to lay her, as Barthel won't give up if she gets set behind, thou Kerber will, I believe. Barthel to win in 2 sets.
Update:My fatigue because of lack of sleep in last days really knocked in this night and I was not able to wake up for this game at right. What a shame, because, obviously Kerber just let Barthel win first set, then she decided she'll try anyway, but was too late. She wanted to win in TB, but it was too late and Barthel was more focused. Barthel won 6-0, 7-6.


5.00 Baghdatis (1.57) - Benneteau (2.72) - ATP Sydney (Semi-finals)
Baghdatis is really in cracking form. He played one of the best matches of his career yesterday against Argentinian big guy Del Potro and won in straight sets. His serve is helping him lately a lot. And his backhend was very accurate and deadly, thou he will need to do more against Benny to win points, as Benneteau will catch more balls then Del Potro. I believe better serving from Baghdatis will grant him more free points which would be the key to this match. Benneteau played decently vs Bogomolov which was quite poor. Definitely not to go from a start on Baghdatis, since he can relax too much, as he thinks this is the easier opponent then Del Potro. But if he'll try enough he has all the skill to win this match + he has a big support from the crowd. Baghdatis to win in 2 or 3 sets.

Update: Trading tennis would be amazingly simpler and easier (probably too much) if players would be showing at least similar if not the same level of skill two days in a row. Our opinions are judged based on how the player(s) played one day ago because it's highly likely that he or she will continue in that manner. Well, that couldn't be far more away from the truth this week. Baghdatis started very poor, his level of UE's was astronomical and was soon two breaks down in first set. He then showed some style from yesterday and he broke back twice levelling the score. He was broken back to 6-5 immediately and lost the set. I made decent profit with him coming back at that time and I closed the trade. I didn't watch the 2nd set, but I read it was an early break from Benneteau that was crucial. Benneteau won in straight sets.

9.30 Azarenka - Li (still to follow)

Darts Picks - BDO World Championships Jan 12

Well my picks yesterday were well wide of the mark! I could have thrown the form book out of the window and just flipped a coin for all the good my research did! I'm not sure many people would have called yesterday's results with both the 2nd and 3rd seeds going out, the favourite to a qualifier!

I'm sure that the four matches over the longer 9 set format will provide great trading opportunities.

18:40 - Jennings (12) 2.32 v Harms (13) 1.74
On paper this look like the closest match. Both players are on the same number of ranking points tied in 12th position. Harms has dropped only 2 sets on his way to the quarters knocking out #4 seed Robbie Green in the last round. Jennings has had a slightly easier path on his first appearance in the tournament and is just below on average scores.

For me though Harms has looked the more likely of the two to choke and if he falls behind I think he'll struggle to fight his way back in. I think it will be close but the home crowd will get behind the Englishman and Jennings is my pick for the semi.

Trading Darts

Trading note:
My strategy in close darts games is to lay both players. Typically at 1.76, 1.56, 1.46 and look for a swing. between the two to lock in green regardless of the result. The player who leads first will be matched first, if it's the favourite it will be probably be at the top 2 or 3 levels, if its the underdog maybe only the 1st or 2nd lays. Where a one leg gap is opened up all lays will be matched on that player.

When all the lays are matched, then £5 laid at each level would return 40% for a maximum liability of £8.90.

This was the case with Hankey v Waites and Winsantley v Norris last night, (ironically the games with the strongest favourites), where I would not normally play this strategy. Had I done so there would have been 2 or 3 opportunities to top up the lays at each level to maximise the green without increasing the liability beyond the original £8.90 to increase the ROI. C'est la vie.

Match selection as ever is critical but as we move into the 9 set stage of the tounramnet there will be more time for the momentum to swing.

A quick youtube search found this video of someone using a similar strategy to this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_c0hfyo42c

Horse Racing - Jan 12

Not much better today.

Small EW double: 

Star In flight 13:45 - Catterick Bridge
Update: Fell when looking clear to win. Insurance lays paid.
Make the Mostofnow 14:05 - Fontwell Park
Update: Lost.

Place lay insurance @ 1.25.

Place Bets: - Back to Lay in running. 

King Of the Kelts 12:45 - Catterick Bridge (if 1.50 or better only) Update: PlacedI
Turbolinas 14:45 - Catterick Bridge Update: Unplaced

5 short picks on todays tennis matches

Hello again.

Yesterday my prediction on how the things will go weren't exactly accurate, we will hope for a better day today. Since I'll write about 5 matches, I'll try to be short and constructive.

1.00 - Kohlschreiber (2.29) vs Almagro (1.79) ATP Auckland (Quarter finals)
I must say from the start, that my big favourite on this encounter is Nicolas Almagro. Reasons? He started the year very poor and rusty. From match to match is he is showing better and better play and his level of UE is going down and serve is going up. They are both left-handers and they usually hit a lots of UE where I think Almagro will do a bit less errors. I'm going for a quite confident win for Almagro here, but I'll be approaching cautiusly and also trying to get a bit better odds then starting ones at 1.79...
Update: It was a very tight match where Almagro always looked a better player, had more chances to break and was getting more points on Kohlschreiber serve. But as he didn't take his chances (True that Kohlschreiber played awesome on big points), Kohlschreiber punished a series of 2nd serves in TB and took the first set. He then get first BP in the at 5-4 for Kohlschreiber and Almagro served a double to finish the game. I finished with quite big red. Kohlschreiber 7-6, 6-4.


4.30 Wickmayer (1.36) - Halep  (3.70) - WTA Hobart (Quarter finals)
Wickmayer here really shouldn't have a lots of problems, she defeated Simona Halep easily twice last year. Seems like Wickmayer struggled just against Errani defending play. Halep does a lot more errors from Errani and will be struggling on hard strokes from Wickmayer. I'll be entering on 30:0, 40:0, 40:15 on Wickmayer serve and be waiting that she'll break her and then I'll probably green out. In case Wickmayer will be struggling on serve I'll wait and try to back her again on higher odds as I can see here only one winner and that is Wickmayer.
Update: Wickmayer was in control for the whole match and won 6-4, 6-0.

4.30 Verdasco (1.59) - Garcia-Lopez (2.80) - ATP Auckland (Quarter finals)
We will see another match full of breaks here. Verdasco's starting price is just too low, but you can never know who will have worse start Verdasco or GGL, so I'll wait a couple of games and lay Verdasco if he goes ahead or back him on higher odds if GGL goes ahead. I believe in game of a lots of breaks and turnarounds. In the end i see a more likely winner in Verdasco then in GGL, but it will be in 3 sets.
Update: Match rescheduled for today.

6.30 Radwanska (3.10) - Azarenka (1.46) - WTA Syndey (Semi finals)
Azarenka was hitting quite a lot of errors in the start of 1st set against Bartoli, went 5-2 down but then she managed to fix her game and win it in straights. Radwanska played a very long and hard match against Wozniacki who was bothered with a wrist injury. She played like she only knows how to, with long rallies and with UE's down to ground zero. Azarenka will need to do a bit more then against Bartoli to win points and she'll be doing mistakes, so I believe Azarenka will trade higher and in previous encounters their match went to 3 sets. Start with a lay on Azarenka then on some point turn to Azarenka if she will not be tanking it. Radwanska to win in 3 sets.
Update: Radwanska get an easy first set, then Azarenka  showed her real strentgth and won. But it wasn't so easy as it looked as Azarenka saved 12 out of 15 break points.

9.30 Del Potro (1.36) - Baghdatis (3.70) - ATP Auckland (Quarter finals)
Clear favourite here is Del Potro. But it won't be that easy as the odds suggest. It will be just a matter of one break in each set and it might go to a tie break too. Del Potro could just depend on his serve and he is something too passive on recieveing side. I'll be trying to back the servers on this match, but not from start as I need them to settle with their serve. Baghdatis break up for backing the server would be even nicer. I'll apply the classical back the server strategy on this one and we will see if there will be any profit. I won't be doing this till forever, when there will be enough profit I may put a free bet on Del Potro as I see him to win in two tight straight sets.
Update: No breaks in first set and it went to TB which was won by Baghdatis. In second set Baghdatis didn't offer a single BP to Del Potro, which choked and was broken close to the end of 2nd set. One of the best matches from Baghdatis in some time.

BDO World Darts Championships - Jan 11

The World Championships is in its second round and there are 4 matches tonight.

Darts trading has a lot of similarities with tennis, with breaks of throw similar to breaks of serve, "Legs" similar to games and sets similar to eh...Sets.

That said, there are differences. Darts is played at a frenetic pace and games between top players can be over in heartbeat. It's a game played by big men and what they lack in physical fitness they make up for in mental toughness. In evenly matched games, (which we'll see more of after the early rounds are completed) psychology plays a massive part in the game. When a player makes a mistake, say a low score, the player throwing next will often choke and fail to punish the mistake. It amazing how often this happens.

The real pressure though will come on the out shot, which must be finished on a double. The players who are so consistent often tense up when they feel the pressure of winning the game, set or match. Last night 19 consecutive darts where missed on the last double of a match. These players can hit these doubles  in practice with incredible consistency but add in the pressure of the match and they can sometimes look like amateurs.

My trading strategy plays on the strange way pressure effects theses players. You'll often see a player in the lead crack and let a competitor back into the match. This allows me to lay both players once their odds are below 1.80 topping up each time they are matched. In the longer second round format with the best of 7 sets, there is more chance of a swing between the players and a good start is less critical. This strategy can be very profitable when it works, particularly if you lay at lower odd as well say 1.76, 1.56 and 1.46, get matched on both ladders and you'll be delighted with the result.

The downside is that if the match is one sided you'll end up with liability on one player and be stuck with the loss. Try it out with small stakes and see if its for you.

If you're very brave you can scalp the small swings on missed out shots. The price will be lower the more the shot has riding on it. Game, break of throw or set. You can lay before the shot and back after its missed. Avoid the final shot as they'll be no way back if they hit it. Unless you like a gamble!. 19 opportunities last night in one match.

Tonight's Picks.

17:15 - Atkins 1.91 v Van De Wiel (10) 2.08
This should be a close one. Too close to pick a winner. I'll be laying both below 1.80 and hoping for a good swing before the decisive break. Which may not be until the penultimate set. I'll be out before the decider.

Update: The qualifier Atkins stormed into 3-0 lead and looked to be on the way to the quarter finals. Atkins let the pressure get to him and the Dutchman clawed his way back to 3-2 and a chance to take it to a deciding set. After doing the all the hard-work De Wiel cracked and Atkins showed great composure to win with an excellent finish on double top.
Atkins 4-2.

18:30 - Hankey (15) 3.05 v Waites (2) 1.49
This will be a great game to watch but I can't see past Waites here. I'll be backing half stake on Waites at the start and topping up if I can get a higher price.

Update: A massive upset with the talented but inconsistent Hankey knocking at the World Champion. He did it the hard way, twice coming from behind at 2-1 and 3-2 to take a deciding set. Waites looked nervous missing 11 consecutive darts. Hankey (unusually) was composed, taking 5 legs in row, he wobbled in the penultimate game but was awesome finishing from 144 for the match.
Hankey 4-3.

21:00 - Winsantley (3) 1.37 v Norris 3.6
Deano, last years runner-up should have no problem against the qualifier.  I'll be backing half stake on Winstanley at the start and topping up if I can get a higher price.

Update: An even bigger upset in my opinion, Winstanley is the world number 1 in waiting and I'd backed him to go one better than last year and win the tournament. Like Waites before him he threw a way a lead an let Norris back in.
Norris 4-3.

Horse Racing - Jan 11

Not much racing of interest today so small stakes on third fav's with a chance to win but decent EW odds.

Playing a small EW double. 
The Shepherd - 13:30 - Fairy House - Update: Unplaced.
This Is Me - 15:55 - Doncaster - Update: Unplaced

Playing half equally divided.

Laying 50% of stake To Place on Fairy House @ 1.25 - Update: Frustratingly not matched on a 4th place horse. Usually good cheap insurance.

Back to lay
In the To Place market:

Brian Sprout - 16:15 Kempton - Update: Unplaced by trade paid 33.8%

Pick your the lay level to suit you attitude to risk.

Three tennis trade picks

Hello there.

We will have a lot of decent matches today, traders should also be back from their break yesterday when BetFair was having a maintance during the tennis matches. I'm really sad that BetDaq day didn't worked out yesterday, so we are back too BF. Enough babbling and on to the bussiness:

3.00 - Stepanek (1.78) vs Nieminen (2.24) - ATP Sydney (hard court)

Stepanek and Nieminen played each other week ago in Brisbane, where Stepanek had won in straight sets (7:6, 6:2), after that Stepanek had a pretty tricky knee injury vs Dolgopolov after leading 1-0 sets and then lost. I was a bit sceptical for him (to even) start in Sydney this week, but he played a decent match vs Malisse and won 2:1. Nieminen on the other hand played 4 qualies matches in Sydney, won both very easily but he had very easy and not skillfull opponnents and yet he was being broken way too many times, but he found a way to break back every time. I think in this game serving will be beneficial and as I see Stepanek currently way more reliable on serve game I believe he will come through at the end, but I expect a lot of break points (at least) on each side. My call is Stepanek to win in 2 tight sets or maybe in 3 sets. And a fact: Stepanek has won 6 out of 7 matches against left-handers and of course Jarkko is left-hander and H2H Stepanek leads 6-2. History from next week repeating?


Trade: Odds for Stepanek are quite juicy from the start as 1.75-1.78 looks ok for me, I'll go half-stake backing Stepanek from start and adding as If I'll see Stepanek dominating. If Stepanek will be struggling I'll go out, waiting to lay Niemienen (if he gets break up) at lower odds. Main concern here is injury scare from Stepanek.

Update: Match with amazing record of breaks of serve. Nieminen won 2-1, but he was broken 6 times, but luckily for him, he managed to break Stepanek 8 times. Nieminen started better, got an early break and hold to 2-0. I decided to enter on lay side there, Stepanek broke back, but was broken again. They exchanged a couple of breaks in first set and after securing some profit I just let the match go. Stepanek came back, but he continued with his awful game on his serve.

3.00 Sweeting (2.48) - Istomin (1.69) - ATP Sydney (hard court)

Sweeting come here as a lucky loser vs Michael Russel which definitely isn't a result he should be proud of. THen he made a surprise victory against Gilles Muller in 1st round and is now facing very up and downish Istomin, who dropped a set vs both Australian wild cards boys (Reid and Feeney) which definitely isn't a good sign.  Looks like Sweeting likes to play vs  strong servers, who tend to finish points quickly. They have never played each other before. My call is that Sweeting will go ahead and maybe win a set and afterwards Istomin will come back and probably win the 3rd set.

Trade: I'll wait a little, at least for Istomin to serve and then lay Istomin on around 1.50 which I think it will be managable position to trade since i expect very tight first set. My exit point on that lay will be BP for Istomin. If Sweeting will break i'll wait for hold and If Sweeting will win 1st set I'll lay him and we'll see if Istomin can get back.

Update: Easy win for Istomin. Sweeting got his one and only BP in 1st game of the match and from there it was just a downfall for him. I didn't traded the game since there was not enough money on it.

4.00 Baghdatis (1.38) vs Ebden (3.55) - ATP Sydney (hard court)
This one was the easier for me to choose. We have a big favourite who still has some value. Baghdatis has come back from his dreadful form last year and is playing very good tennis lately. Murray was obviously too tough cookie for him to handle previous week, but he'll do his best here as he is defending champion of 2011. Home boy Ebden played in Brisbane and lost vs Stepanek in 3 sets and won 1st round here against Granollers. I watched Ebden vs Granollers in 1st and 2nd set and It really didn't look strong and I really don't know how Granollers lost that 3rd set. Ebden is a player who likes to finish his points very quickly, so he'll be either winning his serves easily or being broken very fast, but he I'll have problems coming back against Baghdatis, that's for sure. Ebden's aggressive and fast style of play will produce some damage to Baghdatis, but he is just full of errors so he will not be able to keep his level of play high for very long. Baghdatis in 2 sets.

Trade: Well, 1.38 is a bit to low to back, but I'll be satisfied with as low as 1.50. I personally (but unlikely) hope for a better start for Ebden, so I can back Baghdatis on higher odds, else I'll be satisfied with a bit lower number. Exit point is 2nd serve and BP for Ebden once I enter. If all goes well, I'll be closing at below 1.10 quickly after 1st set.

Update: Bagdatis started very lazy and didn't show any interest of winning the first set. Ebden was solid and strong on his serve and managed a break. Baghdatis turned back in second set and It looked like he will win 3rd one easily, but Ebden was a tough opponent, and Baghdatis needed to win it in 3rd set tie-break. I backed Baghdatis prematurely left that back bet open, layed Ebden at start of 2nd set and because it was too dangerous I just went out with zero profit better then risk a lot.

After all, it was a solid night of trading, but I did get most of the money on matches I didn't believe I would.

Big Bash Cricket

The T20 series in Australia has been fantastic so far. The Aussies have really embraced the shorter format of the game and the international all-star lines ups are producing some games of incredible quality.

Fox Sports are doing a great job with the coverage which you can stream for free on Bet365. The commentators are providing as many laughs as the batsman are sixes. A particularly nice touch is the in play commentary from the players themselves, hearing a bowler talk about how he intends to take a wicket before he bowls really makes you feel close to the action.

The Big Bash tournament takes a league and cup format and we're near the end of the league stage.

From a trading perspective this is a very lucrative opportunity with very well matched teams needing to take points to secure a semi-final place creating massive swings. When trading T20, my strategy is based on one of three styles, lay the batting side, back the bowling side or a hybrid of the two. Because the games are so close there are often big swings in price. It's possible to see a side come in from 10's to 2's in few minutes or move out from 1.10. The swings will come from the key trigger points of wickets and boundaries. The amount of the swing will be determined by the run-rate, wickets lost and runs scored at the that point. Check the in-play stats at ESPN Cricket.

The good news is that you don't need to know anything about cricket to be able to make a profitable trade. The market will move when a wicket is taken or boundary hit or a six knocked out of the park. So lay or back accordingly.

Tomorrow's game is between  Sydney Thunder and Perth Scorchers respectively 2nd and 5th in the league. Perth are the form side with 4 straight wins whilst Sydney are coming of the back of 3 straight losses. Thunder  have been unlucky in losing to the Sixers in a rain affected match and taking top side Hobart close. They'll want to make the home advantage count and secure the points to take them into the play-off places. In Gayle they've got one of the biggest hitting batsman but Perth's top bowler Edmonson won't make it easy for him.

The opening odds have Perth (1.79) as favourite but I'm going for the home side (2.24). I think it'll be a close one which will make for excellent trading. It all gets under way at 08:00am and once we know who wins the toss I'll be laying the batting side.

Update: Some very questionable umpiring decisions (wrong) particularly when the umpire called Gayle not out but was overruled by the third umpire. What followed was a batting collapse. I only made one trade, laying Sydney at 1.95 but only for tiny stakes. It proved to be the right trade as after that the market only went one way as Perth cruised to 9 Wickets win. Not to take anything away from them, the Perth Bowling and fielding were first class.

Together we are stronger

Very warm welcome to all readers to my and DTM's new blog where we will be sharing our thoughts on trading several different sports. I'll personally specialize in tennis trading aspects, DTM's posts, who is a multi sport trading full-time expert, will be about trading other sports, like cricket, darts, soccer and many more, so there will be a big variety of trading styles and picks. Our goal is to make make at least one trading related post here daily, but there could be also more. My posts will probably differ from the ones DTM will be writing, because we do have different style and different approach towards trading, so we don't guarantee any generalization. But anyway, main goal is to achieve nice profits, help you getting the right matches to trade and finally, keep everyone including ourselves happy.

That's all about the introductory facts, we will have some thoughts on our blog in some hours time, definitely hour or two before the tennis matches in Australia kick-off.

For the end, me and DTM wish you all a happy new year.