Catching Up

It’s been a while since my last blog. With a severe lack of monetary return at the start of the football season, I decided to sit back for a while, and wait for form to take shape, before making some more informed decisions. Who would have thought, after four Premier League games, that Blackpool would be holding a champions league spot. The top ten also makes for interesting reading. Birmingham, Blackpool, and Wolves; all teams who have frequented The Championship in recent years, have made good starts.  The ‘predictable’ Premier League is certainly not predictable, at least not below the top 2 positions, which makes it the best league in the world.

Away from football, I have recently subscribed to ESPN. I am getting quite into Baseball, and the team that I follow and that everyone knows, The Yankees, are looking very good. I tip them to win back to back World Series at 3.9. The American Football season has also started. Personally, I can’t look past the Colts with Manning pulling the strings, and so I tip them at 12.5.

The next big sporting event for me is the Ryder Cup. I am not too much of a golf man, but I watch the majors, and get excited around Ryder Cup time. There is nothing I like better than watching fierce rivalries. I love to see normally reserved men absolutely pumped. And the price on Europe to win really stands out at 1.75. America statistically have one of the worst golfers in terms of form at the moment. Picking Woods as a wildcard was a controversial decision, and it remains to be seen if he will step up. I don’t think he will. Three of the four majors were won this year by European’s, and America has a lot of new blood. The fact that it is also being played in Wales, stacks the odds heavily in Europe’s favour. Come on you blues!

James Faux, Hyperion Gaming

http://www.hyperiongaming.com/

The New Football Season

A few nights ago, I won Hyperion’s first ever poker night, beating off some stiff competition. With a small portion of my winnings, I decided to buy a Racing Post yesterday morning, enticed by their pullout on the new football season. This got me very excited, and I have decided to follow in their footsteps, and post my favourites for the football leagues this season.

Premiership – I have already mentioned this in the last post, but I will be backing Chelsea at 2.8. The odds have drifted slightly, so jump on this. Have Chelsea significantly improved their squad – no. Have Man Utd, Liverpool, or Arsenal significantly improved their squad – not really. Look at the number of goals Chelsea scored last season, and the fact is, the players that left scored very little of these. Ballack scored 4 league goals, Cole 2 – I’m sure Yossi will be able to cope with this burden. What about Manchester United – I have been very surprised by the hype surrounding new signing Hernandez. 26 goals, in 4 seasons, in Mexico – not much to shout home about. He scored a good goal against France in the world cup, but we will wait to see how he fares. Arsenal have lost strong players, but bought strong players. I expect them to do as well as last season, but still see them as too inexperienced, and too weak in terms of player muscle. Liverpool I think will do well with Roy at the helm – bring a British core back to the team, as opposed to a Spanish core in a British league. However this transition may take a couple of seasons.

Championship – My pick here is Forest. Did very well last season, if they can improve their away form they will be right up there. As also mentioned before, I quite fancy Norwich. 2 promotions in a row is quite a formidable feat, however I think they have a real chance of making the playoffs. I have refrained from naming companies in this blog so far, as no money is coming my way from affiliation. However a certain sponsor of Forest is offering a great bet – back Forest to win the Championship, and if they fail to win but finish in the top six, your stake is refunded. Load on at 10.0! Has to be my nap in this post, as it’s a win-win situation.

League One – It’s hard to look past Southampton in my opinion. After a year of consolidation, they look on track to make it a quick return to the championship. However, the odds are nothing to shout home about at 3.1, so my outsider for the season is Colchester at 55.0. They will be pushing for playoffs at least, and potentially one to lay off in the new year.

League Two – I think by now you can see that my knowledge lies in the higher leagues. However the price on Wycombe looks good at 10.0, with a few loan signings they should have a strong squad, and be there or there abouts in May.

There you have it – the first lot of many more tips to ‘load onto’ throughout the season. If you have read this far, I have backed a double of Norwich to beat Watford, and Reading to beat Scunthorpe at the weekend at 2.8. However I’ve approached this with a small stake mentality, not much form to read at present. I wish you a good weekend of football betting.

James Faux, Hyperion Gaming

http://www.hyperiongaming.com/

General Chit-Chat

Norwich – Value Pick This Season

I must apologise to my avid fan-base for the lack of blog interface. One might have assumed that the World Cup Final was the perfect time to write an article, however time has been of the essence recently. In a nutshell, Spain deserved to win, and Howard Webb did the best he could. I did read a very well written quote the other day about Howard Webb, regarding the opinion that there is now a modern tradition in refereeing to not ruin a spectacle. Essentially, Webb ruined the game by trying not to ruin the game, and whilst commendable, it slightly removed itself from the rules of the game.

In not keeping up with the blog, I have failed to keep up my winning tips. I’m actually pretty glad about this – as I’m sure that I would have failed to tip a golfer that I have not heard of before. Credit to Oostheuizen, he seemed to walk the final day. The next big event has started to hot up, and The Ryder Cup begins soon. Europe currently sit at 1.60 on the exchanges, which may be worth getting some money on. European golfers have really stepped up to the plate recently, and they should be full of confidence on their home turf.

On a final note, I was surprised to hear there are only 17 days to go until the football league starts. My tips will then well and truly step into gear, as I am predominantly a football man. Ante-post, even though this may be considered a supporters bet, Chelsea look good value for me at 2.7 to win the premiership title. Looking to the newly re-branded Football League, the Championship is once again anyones. I like the look of Norwich at 18.0. I think they stand a good chance of doing well, and whilst they might not win, I think they represent a good opportunity to make a profit later in the season.

James Faux, Hyperion Gaming

http://www.hyperiongaming.com/

New Kids On The Block

Time for another WC update, this time with only four matches to go. What has struck me most since my last blog? The number of big players that have failed to light up the biggest of stages. The bookies must be sleeping well given the fact that Drogba, Kaka, Messi, Ronaldo, Rooney, and Torres have only scored two goals between them. The top three names of the tournament, in my opinion, have been Schneider, Schweinsteiger, and Villa. Whilst these are certainly household names, they may not have been the names everyone anticipated to top the player list.

And what about the ante-post – of the pre-tournament  favourites, only Spain are still standing and they don’t look the Spain of the European cup. England’s odds of 6.0 were quite frankly laughable. Given that the top teams have not produced, and given that the top names have not produced, the punters have had their fingers burnt, and the bookies will be lining their pockets. Bookies have also claimed this to be the biggest betting event of all time, and with the ease of online use – they are certainly the ones laughing.

On a final note – my pre – tournament tip of Argentina crashed out over the weekend. I must apologise to my avid fan base that I know will have loaded on. Where should you put your money now? Load on The Netherlands.

James Faux, Hyperion Gaming

http://www.hyperiongaming.com/

World Cup: Half Time Report

Having arrived close to the mid-way point of the World Cup, there have been many talking points so far. However, I’m not sure that the quality of football is worthy of a blog (especially from England!), so I will begin with one of the main talking points – the vuvuzelas!  o==================<0

Yes they sound like the drone of a swarm of bees. And yes they drown out the standard atmosphere. But isn’t that half the point? This is no standard football tournament – it’s the first of its kind to ever occur in Africa – so you would expect things to be different to the norm. I like the vuvuzelas, and advocate them being used to the fullest at this tournament. I just hope this doesn’t start people jumping onto a vuvuzela shaped bandwagon, with them cropping up at future major sports event such as Wimbledon, and the 2012 Olympics.

Another talking point has been the shock results throughout the tournament. Other than tipping Argentina to win the tournament from the start (looking good – they are now joint favourites), my personal backing of single games has not been very profitable. If someone did not mention the sport, and said that Switzerland had beaten Spain, New Zealand had drawn with Italy, and Serbia had beaten Germany, I certainly wouldn’t have guessed the results were from football!

The final thing to mention is the disharmony throughout the tournament to date. Anelka being sent home and the French squad refusing to train. England becoming somewhat quickly fed up with Capello the disciplinarian. The girlfriend of Iker Casillas distracting the squad from producing a telling performance. Maybe if there hadn’t been so much to talk about, then the Jubulani football might have been banned by now! Lets hope that in the second half of the tournament, the football can do more of the talking!

James Faux, Hyperion Gaming

http://www.hyperiongaming.com/

Come on England!

I fully understand that this is the ‘Betting and Online Gaming Blog’, and all I have only really written about football thus far. However, the beginning of my blog has coincided with the culmination of the Premier League, and the beginning of the biggest football tournament in the world. I promise soon to write some more specific articles about casinos and poker, however it would be rude not to blog on the World Cup on the day that it begins!

The first thing I would like to say is; Come on England! From my own personal experience of world cups, the build up to the tournament has been relatively standard. I read the other day that a pub landlord bought the biggest England flag money can buy, and attached it to his roof (see picture).  Mars bars have told us to ‘believe’ this is our year. The optimism, as ever, is here in abundance. From a betting perspective, the odds put England at 4^th favourites, but odds at the time of writing of 8.8 still don’t catch my attention. Odds such as this seem to represent recent winners. Do I believe England can win the world cup if they play to their best? Yes. Do I think they will win the world cup? No.

(Do I hope my words will come back to haunt me – I certainly hope so!!)

Since the tip in my last blog, Argentina have been reduced from 8.6 to 8.4 to win the tournament. I certainly think they have a good chance. They have an array of talent, they have one of the best players in the world, and they have been given the easier side of the draw in avoiding Brazil and Spain.

Bring on the opening ceremony and the first game today! I hope the tournament lives up to the spectacle that has been made of it, may the best team win!

James Faux, Hyperion Gaming

http://www.hyperiongaming.com/

World Cup Fever

The football season has passed, and I have held off gloating about a historic double. Only in this fleeting moment will I ever mention ‘Chelsea’, and ‘The Double’, so as not to repeatedly bore my ‘avid fan base’.

World Cup Fever is now well and truly upon us. Surprisingly, Gareth Barry’s ankle is one of the main talking points leading up to the tournament kicking off on June 11^th. England can win without Gareth Barry, cant they? I just hope that everyone is fit, and we have a good tournament. I still don’t really expect us to win, but you never know. What would happen if we actually did win? Would the whole country come to a whole partying standstill? Would we have a bank holiday?

It’s sad to see that quality players have already been ruled out. Klose, Ballack, and Essien are already confirmed as sitting on the sidelines. It’s sad that every player is not able to showcase their talents on such a stage.

I’m also quite interested (and worried after the Togo incident), about how safe the tournament in South Africa will be. I’m pretty sure it will be fine, but when was the last time a tournament was held in a country with such a racial and unstable background?

Anyway enough questions, I know that after tipping England to win the 20-20 world cup, everyone is on tenterhooks and waiting for my next winner.

Argentina to win @ 8.6

Lionel Messi top goalscorer @ 11.0

James Faux, Hyperion Gaming

http://www.hyperiongaming.com/

World Champions

Us Brits rarely get to utter the phrase ‘world champions’. Within mainstream sport, maybe the last time was when England won the Rugby world cup in 2003. So congratulations must go to our new 20-20 cricket world champions, especially in beating our closest rivals in the final. I would like to point out that I tipped us to win a few blogs ago at 7.6, which puts me in the green for my tips to date. However I am hesitant to say that this will continue.

Shane Warne wrote an article in this morning’s Telegraph congratulating England, however he pointed out in his first line that it will count for nothing when it comes to the first day of the Ashes in Brisbane. Typical Aussie – we are world champions for 2 days, and they  are already talking up their chances for the Ashes. Checking the odds, Australia are a lowly 1.5, whilst England are sitting at a higher 4.5 for what is perceived by many as the biggest battle in world cricket. If you are considering backing England it may be worth doing so now.

Lets hope we can again talk about English world champions in July.

James Faux, Hyperion Gaming

http://www.hyperiongaming.com

Hodgson’s Day Of Reckoning

Have I been following Fulham’s epic run in the Europa League? The honest answer is no. With its change in format, and extended number of games, I admit to losing interest in a tournament that I used to follow more closely. However I will definitely be watching tonight – I always make a point of watching every European Cup Final, whoever is playing. Other fans of European football may also have lost interest in a tournament whose status has fallen, but we should not underestimate just how big Roy Hodgson’s, and Fulham’s achievement has been here.

They have knocked out big European names already; Shaktar (current champions), Juventus, Wolfsburg, and Hamburg. The achievement of simply reaching the final seems even more astonishing, considering the fact they have no major honours to their name.

I just hope, and I presume Mark Schwarzer does too, that this match doesn’t go the same way as Middlesbrough’s 4-0 thrashing by Sevilla in the 2006 final. They promised so much, as Fulham have done so far, so Schwarzer will hope to banish these painful European memories tonight.

The bookies put Athletico at 2.1 for this epic showdown, and Fulham at around 3.8. There is value with Fulham here, but I think the best bet of the night is Fulham simply to win the cup, at 2.7.

James Faux, Hyperion Gaming

http://www.hyperiongaming.com

Another Final Post

So the election is now out of the way. For now. It eventually concluded the way the bookmakers predicted; a hung parliament. Now we await the tussle for power and potential coalitions.

My attention now changes to the next big race. The Premier League Title. Chelsea and Man Utd cannot share anything as with the electoral race. We will definitely have a winner at the weekend.  Chelsea are the undeniable favourites, and as you will see from my previous posts, I will be gutted if they loose at the final hurdle.

What is very interesting are some of the odds for offered for chelsea:

• Chelsea to beat Wigan: 1.12
• Chelsea to win the league: 1.12

Whilst neither bet represents value in any shape or form, I question why the odds should are exactly the same. Essentially, anyone wishing to put a single bet on Chelsea to beat Wigan, should just bet on Chelsea to win the league. Chelsea can win, draw, and loose and still win the league. I would be hesitant to even suggest that Chelsea to beat Wigan should be included in an accumulator.

My tip for the weekend: Not to bet on the football. England are 7.6 to win the 20-20 World Cup, get on it before the odds fall even further.

James Faux, Hyperion Gaming

www.hyperiongaming.com