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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UEFA U21 Euro 2007 Betting Analysis

UEFA U21 Euro 2007 - Tournament Starts June 10

The UEFA under 21 Championships kicks off in Holland on Saturday.

This competition has proved a fertile spawning ground for future super-stars, while some of faces on show will already be familiar to bettors.

The future soccer talent of Europe will be show in Holland for the next two weeks as the continent’s eight best under-21 national teams clash. The tournament has existed since 1978 but has undergone regular modification.

For 2007 the competition has been moved to odd years so as not to clash with the major international senior competitions, while for the first time the hosts – Holland – were chosen before qualification began, thereby sidestepping that process.

The Dutch are coincidentally the holders of the trophy, which they lifted in Portugal last year, after beating the Ukraine 3-0 in the final. That was the first time the Jong Oranje had claimed the title, but they have another great chance as hosts.

Holland kick-off two weeks of action against Israel, with PinnacleSports promising to offer top asian handicap odds on every UEFA U21 Euro 2007 game throughout the tournament.

The key issue to keep in mind is that there is little continuity from one competition to the next as players must be under the age of 21 when the qualification process begins. Given that stipulation, few of the winning Dutch side in 2006 will remain, but success in the event is a reflection of the effectiveness of international you acadamies.

Italy have enjoyed the most success in this competition, lifting the trophy on five occasions since their first success in 1992. On that evidence alone the nation that produced the current World Champions will be popular with bettors.

England fielding several high-profile players, warmed up for their opening against the Czech Republic by thrashing Slovakia 5-0, after which coach, Stuart Pearce staged a mock penalty shoot-out. Pearce has first-hand experience of the pain of losing on spot-kicks going back to Italia 90, so hopes the rehearsal will pay dividends. The Czechs were rocked by the withdrawal of their captain, Martin Latka, four days before the off.

Israel take a football team to an major international event for the first time since the 1976 Olympic Games, with several of the squad, including Chelsea's Ben Sahar having already made their debuts in the full senior side. They have a tough Group A opening game against the hosts and holders, while the sections other two sides, Portugal and Belgium, play later in the evening.

The final side making up the eight team event are Serbia, who lifted the event in 1978 when it first appeared in this format. Coach Miroslav Djukic can call on four senior international players who should add invaluable experience.

Check out the UEFA U21 odds at PinnacleSports now

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Premiership Relegation Analysis

Relegation Battle Likely to Go Right to the Wire
In football as in life, everything that goes-around, usually comes-around. On the final day of the Premiership season, West Ham travel to Old Trafford for a game that could conceivably be decisive in both the title and relegation battles. For Manchester United fans it could also serve as payback for the painful memory of the final fixture in the 1994/95 season. The Red Devils were denied a historic third straight Premiership title following a 1-1 draw at Upton Park, by what a pig-sick Alex Ferguson called, "An obscene amount of effort".

West Ham Signings Expensive Throw of the Dice
The Hammers will probably need an equally obscene amount of effort in order to avoid relegation this term. Their final seven games feature Everton, Bolton and Chelsea all at home, as well as a visit to the Emirates Stadium on April 7th, so the bubbles might have already burst before they visit the Theatre of Dreams on May 13th.

The Hammers have endured a turbulent season changing both manager and owner while suffering a negative backlash from the signing of Argentine duo, Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano, whose arrival coincided with the club's worst run for 74 years. Alan Curbishley replaced Alan Pardew in mid-December and made a dream start defeating Man Utd at Upton Park but the necessity of a defensive overhaul was underlined by a 6-0 defeat at Reading on New Year's Day.

Curbs has followed the example of Harry Redknapp last season, and splashed the cash, investing heavily in defenders Lucas Neill and Matthew Upson. This represents an expensive throw of the dice, the danger of which was demonstrated when both were injured on their debuts. West Ham's problems cannot necessarily be solved by money alone. A lack of desire dubbed the 'Baby Bentley' mentality won't necessarily be helped by parachuting in big earners, who will need to integrate quickly.

Wigan Suffering Backlash of Success
In contrast Wigan aren't prepared to mortgage themselves against the potential rewards of Premiership survival. Manager Paul Jewel declined to sign any 'big' players, but at least he and Wigan's supporters can draw some comfort from a relatively kind end-of-season run-in. Wigan's survival battle is however handicapped by consistently being the worst supported club in the Premiership despite slashing ticket prices. "We need the fans to be our 12th man" said Jewell. "I hope the supporters will join us for the battle."

After a first season in the Premiership when Wigan shocked everyone by finishing 10th and reaching the Carling Cup final, the Lancashire club has become a victim of their own success. Many of those players crucial to last term's achievements, particularly Pascal Chimbonda, Jimmy Bullard, and Jason Roberts - cashed in with lucrative transfer deals and with them went some of the heart that drove Wigan to success last term.

Charlton Must Avoid End-of-Season Wilt
In their seventh consecutive season in the Premiership, Charlton are in their greatest peril of relegation. It is no coincidence that Alan Curbishley, who took them into the top flight and kept them there with modest resources, left at the end of last season. His successor, Iain Dowie, struggled with the legacy lasting just three months in charge,

The responsibility of saving the club has now passed to Alan Pardew, available after being relieved of his duties at West Ham. His biggest challenge is breaking the club's tendency to wilt badly towards the end of the season. In 2005/06 the Addicks took just five points from their last seven games; in 2004/05 just two points over the same stretch. That kind of form would be terminal this time around. Charlton have found goals hard to come-by, so the form of Darren Bent, who many had expected to leave in the January sales, is critical.

Writing Has Been on the Wall for Watford
The writing has been on the wall for Watford since defeat at Goodison Park in the opening game of their first Premiership season. The Hornets went ten games before finally recording a victory and have been favourites with www.PinnacleSports.com to finish bottom of the pile throughout. Despite some bad breaks, manager Aidy Boothroyd has remained philosophical. However, the sale of Ashley Young in January was probably the final nail in the coffin and an indication that the board were cashing in their chips and preparing for life in the Championship.

Watford's revenue is 4% of United's demonstrating the widening gap between the Premiership's haves and have nots since it was reduced to 20 teams. 40 points was considered the survival watermark, but as the Premiership has become increasingly polarised by wealth, point distribution has changed. 35 points would have been enough to stay up in five of the last seven seasons, and should be regarded by punters in the relegation market as a benchmark for this term.

This year's Premiership survival battle has special resonance with the new media and TV rights packages worth GBP 2.7 billion over three years. In real terms, survival is worth a minimum of GBP 30 million.

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Betting 101 - Do your homework

Just as there is no fountain of youth, there is no secret betting system that is an easy path to riches.

STUDY - Understand the sport that you are betting on
Success in gambling is directly related to study.

You should understand the sport and league that you are betting on - and have access to basic statistics and team news if you seriously thing that you can beat the bookmakers lines.

They have put in time, resources and committment in setting an accurate price - so you have to at least have the basic sports knowledge in place to spot a soft line.

SEARCH - Check reliable sites for information
However, you're unwilling to commit to excessive hours of study, then at least become a student of the markets and take advantage of what happens, even if you don't know why it's happening.

As a good example I've regularly seen the Pinnacle Sports Sharp Report on places like The Sports Bookie Blog which often report which side of a game sharp players are on in line moves.

By my reckoning - simply following their advice on these price movements provided a winning 31-15-1 record since we started checking them out this years - and that's an impressive return for a simple piece of websurfing.

SELECT - Always get the best price
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, it repeat my mantra once more ALWAYS OBTAIN THE BEST AVAILABLE PRICE.

For those Sports Bettors outside the US, PinnacleSports.com still offers -104 (1.96) lines on NFL sides which saves players up to 60% of the "juice" other books charge with traditional -110 (1.90) pricing.

They have a similar over-round on their asian handicap prices in European football, regularly offering odds of 1.96 on each side - and should be a preferred destination for most handicap punters.

Put simply, you have to win close to 53% of bets to break even with -110 (1.90) , while at odds of -104 (1.96) you only need to win 51% of your plays to break even.

NOTE
Pinnacle Sportbetting's recent decision to voluntarily exit the American market brings the importance of this maxim sharply into focus for US residents.

The vacuum that Pinnacle Sports leaves is a hard one for any book to fill and the number of questions on the betting forums is a reflection of this.

If you are outside the US then you have a huge advantage and you SHOULD be using PinnacleSports.com for your American sports bets and Asian Handicap bets.

If you are NOT - then you are LOSING MONEY !

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PinnacleSports drops US players

It's being reported on the Sports Blog at BookieLabrat.com that top internet bookie PinnacleSports is leaving the US market.

I'll update this entry as more details become known.

UPDATE:
This has been confirmed by several guys on the forum who have been sent emails from the Customer Service department of PinnacleSports.

This leaves Mansion Exchange as one of the few remaining quality sites that will accept United States based players.

(Note US players can only bet on the exchange - not in the regular sportsbook - but the exchange is a person-to-person method that actually offers better prices anyway)

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Gavle Goat Watch : Some Background

Day two of the Goat watch and so far ... nothing has happened !!

The Gavle Goat (known in Swedish as the Julbocken i Gavle or Gavlebocken) is a giant version of a traditional Swedish Yule Goat figure made of straw that stands in (Slottstorget) Castle Square in central Gävle. So here is a bit of background - from the Wikipedia entry :


It is erected each year by a local association called the Southern Merchants, and another version is erected by a group of students from the Natural Science Club of the School of Vasa.

The Natural Science Club's goat holds the world record for the largest Yule Goat, but since 1994 the Southern Merchants' goats have been larger and had more publicity afforded them.

Both goats have famously been the targets of frequent arson attacks and vandalism, so much so that over the years they have been guarded by the police, webcams, soldiers, volunteers and dogs, and whilst the city officially discourages the attacks on the goats they have brought it recognition and tourism from around the world.

The goat has since had a history of being burnt down almost every year, 2005 being the 22nd time and price tag for constructing the goat is around 100,000 Swedish kronor.

So as of Dec 7th - the goat is still standing - and the bets are still on.

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Goat of Gavle - Will it Survive ?

Arsonists who enjoy burning down a festive Swedish straw goat may have met their match this year.

In the 40 years since the tradition started, the giant goat of Gavle has often gone up in flames within days.

But this year the 13-metre (43ft) high goat has a coat of flame-resistant chemicals, and the authorities are determined it will see in the New Year. "No-one is going to get our goat this year," says a local spokeswoman with confidence.

But Curacao bookie PinnacleSports.com is allowing people to bet on whether the giant goat of Gavle will survive through Christmas Day.

Will The Straw Goat Of Gavel Last Through Christmas?
No, goat will not survive 2/3 (1.66)
Yes, goat survives until Christmas 7/5 (2.40)

Last years goat (shown right) did not survive after two culprits dressed as Father Christmas and a gingerbread man got close enough to the goat to burn it down using flaming arrows.

And since 1966, just 10 of Gavle's giant goats have survived beyond Christmas Day. Aside from being burned, several were beaten down and the 1976 goat was hit by a car.

RELATED LINKS :
WantaWinner.com Forum : they had the original post.
PinnacleSports.com : offering odds on the event
Gavle Goat WebCam : To keep an eye on your bet.

:)

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