Punters backing Shrewsbury for Division Two Title

Paul Simpson's Shrewsbury Town are bet365's new favourites to lift the League Two title this season after heavy activity from punters.

bet365 spokesman Steve Freeth "Simpson has been busy in the transfer market and punters haven’t been slow in jumping on the Shrewsbury bandwagon."

"Sheer weight of money has seen their price drop from 28/1 into 8/1 over the last few weeks and, in Grant Holt and Richard Walker, they have the best strikeforce in the division."

"It's easy to read too much into friendlies, but having seen their last two outings, Simpson's new look side have every chance of being in the shake up."

2008/9 League Two Ante-Post Prices at Bet365
Shrewsbury 8
Bradford 17/2
Darlington 9
Wycombe 10
Rochdale 10
Chesterfield 11
Gillingham 11
Port Vale 12
Bournemouth 14
Rotherham 16
Brentford 16
Aldershot 18

E/W - 1,2,3. Others on request.

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Are YOU the Master of Blackjack?

Have you got what it takes to become bet365 Master of Blackjack?

Throughout July UK online Casino operator Bet365 are hosting a £50,000 bet365 Masters of Blackjack tournament where YOU can prove yourself to be a true Champion.

There's eight daily prizes of £3,000 to give away and a fabulous final prize pool of over £26,000.

For as little as £1 a hand you can enter this competition at Bet365's Casino

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bet365 offer bet on "Bridesmaid Ballack"

Bridesmaid Ballack 5/2 To Choke Next Season

bet365 are offering 5/2 that Michael Ballack finishes on the losing side for Chelsea in a cup final next season.

bet365 spokesman Steve Freeth "Ballack's trophy cabinet should have more winners medals than it does and his nearly man tag will have been added to after tasting yet more defeat on Sunday night."

Will Ballack Be A Losing Finalist Next Season?
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Yes 5/2
No 2/7

(Ballack must actually feature for Chelsea in a final to count.
Champions League , Carling Cup &/or FA Cup)

Take a look at the odds at bet365 now

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Mad Jens Lehmann on Focus at Bet365

Jens Lehmann has looked far from his best during Euro 2008 and bet365 are betting on the former Arsenal keeper's performance in the final on Sunday.

bet365 spokesman Steve Freeth commented "Wednesday's semi final seemed to be about which ageing keeper could make the most ricks and somehow Lehmann finds himself in the final.

It may not be long before he follows Rustu in hanging up his international gloves."

Jens Lehmann Specials - Euro 2008 Final
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7/4 .. Keep a clean sheet
13/2 .. Concede goal from penalty
15/2 .. Get Booked
10/1 .. Give away a penalty
16/1 .. Man of the Match
25/1 .. Save a penalty
33/1 .. Get Sent Off

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Lahm Beats Bookies With Late Winner

bet365 were left rueing Philipp Lahm's late winner for heavily supported Germany on Wednesday night.

bet365 spokesman Steve Freeth said "The quarter finals belonged to the bookies, but the punters are well on top after the first semi ...

They could only see one outcome with all the injuries and suspensions that Turkey had to deal with and in the end they got it spot on – but only just!"

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Chelsea job betting has Spalletti as new favourite

Roma coach Luciano Spalletti has emerged as the new favourite to take over at Chelsea - according to leading UK betting site Bet365.

The announcement that Carlo Ancellotti will be staying in Milan has upset the market and punters are running out of high profile names to turn to.

Spalletti is now the 3/1 (4.00) favourite with Bet365 whose spokesman Steve Freeth said: "Roman Abramovich has apparently had a couple of knockbacks in finding a replacement for Avram Grant in the Chelsea hot-seat and some punters think he'll be turning to Spalletti next."

Personally, I think that he looks a bit like a Gianluca Vialli clone (without the beard) and I wonder if he has the sort of managerial pedigree that the Russian money-man is looking for ...

I'll keep my coin in my pocket over this one.

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Hull City just 3/10 to be relegated from Premier League

HULL CITY JUST 1.30 FOR THE DROP

Yes - Hull City won promotion to the Premier League via the playoff system with a 1-0 victory over Bristol City - hurrah!

But just two days later the reality of the situation has come home to roost with UK bookmaker Bet365 making the Tigers hot favourites to go straight back down.

Hull City are priced at 3/10 with bet365 to go straight back down - or if you're a loyal fan you can back the Tigers at 12/5 (3.40) to survive for a season (also at Bet365)

Spokesman Steve Freeth said: "Phil Brown will now have a lot more money for players at his disposal, but he'll have to spend it wisely to have any chance of surviving in the Premiership."

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Will it take penalties to seperate Liverpool & Chelsea?

Top UK bookmaker Bet365 are offering odds on whether either team will need a penalty shootout to progress to the Champions League final.

Liverpool are 20/1 with bet365 to repeat last season's heroics and defeat Chelsea in a Champions League semi-final on penalties.

bet365 spokesman Steve Freeth said: "Liverpool have failed again in the Premiership, but Rafa Benitez takes some shifting in the Champions League. We're shorter on a Liverpool victory if it does go to spot-kicks as Pepe Reina is one of the best in the business at keeping them out from 12 yards."

Chelsea are at 29.00 (28/1) to go through on penalties themselves.

Meanwhile punters have latched onto a Liverpool win in the first leg on Tuesday after it was confirmed Reds skipper Steven Gerrard was fit to play.

The Gerrard news has acted like a catalyst for punters who are piling on Liverpool.

RELATED LINKS :
GoonersGuide.com preview on Liverpool v Chelsea first leg.
BookieLabRat.com Live Odds page for the UEFA Champions League.

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Bet365 Cheltenham Festival Offer

As you're probably aware, it's the Cheltenham Festival this week and to celebrate this, bet365 are offering new customers an incredible £250 in Free Bets.

Once you've opened an account and placed your first bet, bet365 will give you a free bet to the same stake, up to the value of £50. And that continues.

After placing your first free bet, place a further 5 qualifying bets of £5 or more, and you’ll qualify for a second free bet from bet365, which will be to the same value as your smallest qualifying bet, up to a maximum of £50.

Further free bets (up to £50) are available on the same basis after a further five, ten and fifteen bets at bet365. This means you can generate 5 x £50 = £250 free bets, getting you off to a potential flyer!

Perhaps the best way to think of this offer is that you get a matched bet FREEBIE, and then for the next 20 bets you effectively get a 20% rebate back on your bets.

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Please note, this offer is only available for this week and ends on Friday 14th March. If you've not yet opened an account with bet365, this is definitely the best time to do so; your bets can be placed on any sporting event.

Click here to register with bet365

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Best Bookmakers for 2008

With the start of 2008 it seemed a good time to do the full review of our ratings and rankings of the bookmakers out there - and let you know the best places to play.

Here are the four major award winners of our MEGA start of year review.

MOST POPULAR BOOKMAKER - SUITABLE FOR MOST PLAYERS
----------------------------------------------------------
Bet365 retains the #1 overall best bookmaker ranking for the 15th straight month.

With good bonuses, special offers, reasonable odds, and a hell of a lot of users from the site (with very few issues) - it all means that this UK bookmaker remains our recommended place to play.

TOP US BOOKMAKER - SUITABLE FOR US CITIZENS
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Bookmaker.com keeps #1 US resident sportsbook ranking for 3rd month in a row. (Sportsbooks that accept US players)

This site has plenty of action on ALL US sports plus a reasonable amount of World Football mean that this bookmaker is competitive in the international market. Being challenged by Bodog - but still has the edge IMO.

Non-US players can also play there of course.

BEST HIGH STAKES BOOKMAKER
----------------------------------------------------------
Centrebet rates #1 for high betting limits on major sports and events - saying that they'll take at least $5,000 US of anyones money on any event - and usually a lot more on popular games.

I've got a contact at Centrebet who has told me that if one of our players gets knocked back on a bet they want then I should get in touch with him - and they'll sort it out so it will not happen again.

BEST ASIAN HANDICAP BOOKMAKER
----------------------------------------------------------
And the big news was that Canbet moves to #1 ranking for Asian handicap betting style - knocking PinnacleSports off the top.

Canbet have made a major effort to squeeze their margins to match Pinnacle, and with a better website, better football coverage, and three different bonus offers this UK/Aussie company has moved into the #1 spot.

Visit the Full Bookmaker Review for an overview and links to all the sports betting ratings.

Or see our Bookmaker Shootout for more details of the four best sportsbook category winners.

RELATED LINKS :
Bet365 website
Bookmaker.com website
Centrebet website
Canbet website

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Bookmaker Cashback offers

Make sure that you're aware of all the bookmaker cash-back offers this wekeend if you are placing a single on a high profile game.

The principal is simple - the high street bookmakers are fighting for your bet stake - so they offer several sweeteners on televised games in order to attract your custom.

These usually offer to refund your stakes if certain conditions are met during the game, like a player scoring the last goal, or being sent off, or perhaps even scoring via a header.

Last weekend BETFRED paid out over £20,000 in free bets after William Gallas headed the winner against Chelsea - so it's something well worth checking out.

We've found offers from Bet365, BoyleSports, BetFred, PaddyPower and VCBet that cover games like :
- Arsenal v Tottenham
- Manchester United v Everton
- Newcastle United v Derby County
- Blackburn v Chelsea
- Barcelona v Real Madrid

As well as offers giving insurance against 0-0 bore draws and also any injury time goals in ALL 10 English Premier League games this weekend.

That's insurance worth checking out !

HERE IS THE LINK TO OUR PAGE :
Gooners Guide to Gambling - Bookmaker Cash Back Page.

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bet365 offer a GBP 200 free bet until Saturday!

A GLORIOUS £200 FREE BET - PLUS BEST ODDS GUARANTEED ON EVERY RACE!

If you haven't already got a bet365 account, there's no excuse not to register this week as the bet365 team is running their most generous free bet offering to date.

Open a bet365 account before midnight, Saturday 4th August and place a qualifying bet on the same day. You will then be entitled to a free bet to the same stake (up to £200) on a sporting market of your choice.

Click here to register for your £200 Free Bet.

If that wasn't enough, bet365 are also committed to offering Best Odds Guaranteed on every horse race. Take a board price or an early price and, if the SP is bigger, they'll pay you out at the bigger odds instead!

Click here to enjoy Best Odds Guaranteed and a fantastic £200 free bet.

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Prepare to win when betting on Sports

It's that time of the year again when football talk is starting to get a bit more serious - major transfer moves are made - and the smart punter starts looking around for a couple of reliable internet bookmakers to join up to.

We've reviewed literally hundreds of bookmakers over the last seven years - and after a lot of playtesting, punting and betting experience we've narrowed our list of acceptable bookmakers and sportsbooks down to about 20 or so.

You can get a list of all our recommended bookmakers on the main site at our bookmaker reviews list and you can see the current list of all the latest free sports bet offers as well.

If you're serious about make money on sports - then WISE UP - and learn to bet with the best places while spreading your bets around to take the BEST ODDS.

But - just to set you right - here are FIVE UK bookmakers and international sportsbooks that you should have on your list. Not only will you get good joining offers - but between them you'll get access to 10-15% better odds - meaning more money in your pockets after each winning bet.

#1 £100 - Bet365 ---------- Visit Sportsbook or See Bookmaker Review
#2 £100 - SportingOdds - Visit Sportsbook or See Bookmaker Review
#3 10 % -- Bodog ---------- Visit Sportsbook or See Bookmaker Review
#4 £200 - Canbet --------- Visit Sportsbook or See Bookmaker Review
#5 $500 - PinnacleSports Visit Sportsbook or See Bookmaker Review

Good luck with your sports betting - although you will need less luck - because the odds always favours the prepared punter !

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REMEMBER : All of these sites are 100% safe and secure, all of these sites have a very solid reputation, and we back all of these site with our 1000 Euro guarantee.

What is the Gooners Guide Guarantee? If you join up from OUR site - and ever have a problem getting paid out from ANY of the bookmakers we list then I will personally go into "bat" for you and help you to get things sorted out.

And if it cannot be put right - and we think that you have a fair case - then I will pay you out of my pocket (up to €1000 - £700) and the the GoonersGuide.com site will cancel all further advertising with that organisation.

We take this stuff seriously and only recommend the best sportsbooks ...
YOU WILL BE PAID WHEN YOU WIN.

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Real Madrid big favourites to win Spanish League Title

Real Madrid are now a best 1/9 at bet365 to win La Liga after Saturday's dramatic penultimate round of matches.

Trailing twice and with title rivals Barcelona winning against Espanyol, Real's title hopes looked to have been ended for yet another season.

But ex-Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy's goal forced a 2-2 draw and a last-gasp equaliser for Espanyol at the Nou Camp ensured Real Madrid go into the final round of games next Sunday top of the table.

Madrid are level on points with Barca but in front on head-to-heads, so a home win against 12th-placed Real Mallorca will guarantee a title for the first time in four years at Real Madrid.

Barcelona are now considered almost out of the running and are priced at a huge 6/1 (7.00) at Paddy Power. Barcelona are away to bottom club Gimnastic in their final fixture.

Seville's title hopes remain alive but only just after their 0-0 draw goalless draw with Real Mallorca. They go into the final weekend two points off the pace and it's 50/1 that the other two slip up and they sneak through by scoring a home win over Villarreal.

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Bet365 take a beating as AC Milan win

Bet365 suffered substantial losses of well over £450,000 on Wednesday night's Champions League final as a successful gamble on AC Milan was landed.

The Italians defeated Liverpool 2-1 in Athens thanks to a brace from veteran striker Filippo Inzaghi and Bet365 spokesman Steve Freeth commented : "The punters landed a monumental gamble and we've felt the full force of it."

"Our 7/5 on Milan stood out like a sore thumb on Monday and punters took full advantage of our 103% margin. Milan eventually went off at 11/8 after peaking at 13/10 and we'll be counting the cost well into the night."

Of course all GoonersGuide.com readers should have done well as Simon's UEFA Champions League Final preview on the main site was touting Milan as the winner all week.

And the great prices at Bet365 along with their financial security to make these payouts quickly are some of the reasons why Bet365 remain our #1 recommended bookmaker.

Enjoy your beers.

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BET365 CANNOT SPLIT FA CUP FINALISTS

It's Manchester United v Chelsea in the FA Cup final next month after both came through their weekend semis and the bookies can't split them.

Our #1 rated bookmaker Bet365 quote both at 13/8 (2.63) to win the final in 90 minutes play and each at 10/11 (1.91) to emerge as the first FA Cup winners at the new Wembley.

You can get all the latest FA Cup Odds online at BookieLabrat.com who have set up a special page to monitor all the markets and prices from over a dozen safe and secure UK and European bookmakers.

I'll look at the exotic markets closer to the time.

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The Sheet - England - Dec 9/10/11

( Click the image to see the full sheet )

The sheet is back for the weekend - and we will be hoping that it can follow last weeks example when it went 3-0. (see Forum thread )

This week the sheet picks as many as five games to have a punt in - and all the picks seem to be around fair value or better.

Manchester United vs Manchester City
The first game is the lunchtime derby game with Manchester United given a huge edge in home/away form - and although City have traditionally done very well in avoid defeat in this fixture (4 draws in the last 5 seasons) they've never had to overcome such a large ranking difference of +474.

The sheet takes Manchester United to win and probably by a 2+ goal margin.

Liverpool v Fulham
Less controversy about the next pick as Liverpool have been very good at Anfield this season and Fulham always seem to struggle when travelling.

Again the sheet says Liverpool are likely to be big winners by a 2+ goal margin.

Tottenham v Charlton
Also favoured is North London side Tottenham who have been pretty good at the Lane this season - and there is not reason to think that they won't beat relegation threatened Charlton. The price of 1.60 at Interwetten is very good.

Bolton v West Ham
Home comforts is the key to pick number four - although this one is only expected to be by a one goal margin - but the best price of 1.85 at Canbet is well worth chasing as good value.

The final pick is one that I personally did not want to see - but cannot disagree with as it looks at the Sunday game:

Chelsea v Arsenal
Chelsea have gone 2.5 seasons in the league without a home defeat (Arsenal won 2-1 there in 2004) and it's hard to see the Blues being beaten this time either.

The sheet says that this will be the tightest of the 5 picks this weekend in England but still sees enough in the numbers to make Chelsea a 56% favourite to win and the price of 1.75 (available generally) is fair value.

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OK - lets see if we can get 4 out of 5 and ensure a profit - you'll understand if I say that I'm personally hoping that Sunday's game DOES NOT go to form.

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Champions League Outright Markets

Barcelona eased through to the knockout stages of the Champions League after a regulation 2-0 win over Werder Bremen at the Nou Camp, and are now 3/1 favourites with bet365 to retain their title.

Ronaldinho opened the scoring with a 13th minute free-kick, and Eidur Gudjohnsen doubled Barca's lead five minutes later to send Bremen into the UEFA Cup.

Barcelona dislodged Chelsea from the head of the betting despite the English champions topping Group A following an equally comfortable 2-0 win over Levski Sofia.

Andriy Shevchenko scored the first for the Blues on 27 minutes, before subsititute Shaun Wright-Phillips sealed the win late on.

Chelsea are now 7/2 shots with bet365 to triumph in the Champions League final.

Paddy Power can't choose between the two market leaders and offer them both at 7/2, while Skybet have Chelsea as 3/1 favourites with Barcelona next best at 4s.

There were no shocks with most teams already through to the knockout stages, and Roma progressed from Group D with Valencia who they beat 1-0. Roma remain 25/1 outsiders with most firms.

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Aussies to Win First Cricket Test

AUSSIES 4/9 FOR REPEAT FIRST TEST VICTORY

Will The Lively Gabba Wicket Play Into Their Hands?

The Australians got off to a flyer in the First Test at Lords last year and are 4/9 with bet365 to go 1-0 up this time around. There’s been plenty of support for the hosts while England have been friendless at 13/2. The Draw is priced at 3/1 for those who think the teams will cancel each other out.

Australia are also 4/9 to command a 1st Innings lead (England 13/8), while bet365 have Top Batsman markets available for both teams in the Gabba Test Match. Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Strauss are joint favourites at 3/1 for England, while Paul Collingwood could be a spot of value at 13/2 to get the most runs.

It’s a close call for Top Australia Bat with bet365 making Ricky Ponting the marginal 10/3 favourite ahead of 4/1 shots Langer and Hayden, while Martyn and Hussey are 5/1.

bet365 are also offering a range of exciting Batsman Matches, including Strauss (5/6) v Langer (5/6), Cook (5/6) v Bell (5/6) and Ponting (8/11) v Pietersen (EVS).

Finally, remember that there are a wide range of In-Play opportunities available. The bet365 In-Play console will show the odds as they update in real-time.

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Choosing your first bookie

We get plenty of requests on the forum for recommendations on the "best bookie".

Now we do a lot of work in testing and ranking our favourite bookmakers and also in finding the best free bet offers but it's still a bit of work to match them up to each punter.

This depends a lot on what the person is looking for - and some of the criteria could be things like :

What is your Favourite Sports
European Football, American Football (NFL / NCAA), Tennis, Other sports.

What is your Preferred Competitions
Main Leagues Only = English Premier, Italian Serie A, Spanish La Liga (etc)
Minor Leagues as well = Turkish leagues, Australian league, Jpanese leagues, Lower divisions.

Which markets do you prefer ?
1x2 Betting, Handicaps and AH betting, Over/under or special bets.

Are other features important?
Ease of use, Money transfer options, Joining bonuses.

All these factors will go into finding the best bookmaker for your betting sport, style and league type and it does take a while to find the best bookie that matches to your type.

For most UK punters who are just start out betting online - we recommend four places that are safe, reliable, cover a lot of local games and styles and off a nice free joining bonus.

1) Bet365 = 92% (see Bet365 Review)
2) BetFred = 85% (see BetFred Review)
3) SportingOdds = 80% (see SportingOdds Review)
4) PaddyPower = 75% (see PaddyPower Review)

Depositing GBP 30-50 in each of these four bookies and playing it through will see you earn a series of bonuses (which is always nice) - and you'll get a feel of which of these bookies suits you best.

American and European punters will have slightly different tastes and requirements and will almost certainly prefer different books.

US punters seem to be happiest at :
1) PinnacleSports = 91% (see PinnacleSports Review)
2) CanBet = 77% (see CanBet Review)

And all US players are welcome at both these books - no state restrictions.

While European punters seem to prefer :
1) Bet365 = 92% (see Bet365 Review)
2) EuroBet = 78% (see Eurobet review)
3) Interwetten = 60% (see our Interwetten review)

So get in there and choose your first couple of bookies (it's always recomemnded to try at least 2-3 in order to compare what's best) and see how you find them with a small deposit.

Then you can continue on with your favourites - or come back and check the reviews in more detail - as you'll probably have a much better idea of what you're looking for in a bookie.

Good luck with your punting.

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