High Roller Sports Betting

The term "high roller" in sports betting refers simply to the placing of large stakes. What one person might consider high of course might differ substantially from another's understanding of the term. For the purposes of this article let's consider those punters who are frequently prepared to wager into four figures and beyond.

Very few bettors place four-figure or five-figure bets every time. Ordinarily they will assess the likelihood of a wager being successful and stake accordingly. How generous a price on a particular market happens to be would often be a consideration too. However a person who places high stakes with some degree of frequency might reasonably be considered a high roller.

Perhaps unsurprisingly different bookmakers (sometimes called sportsbooks) will take different views on the desirability or otherwise of high roller custom. A very large wager on a line which carries a big price exposes the book to the prospect of hefty losses should the bet be successful. A good book such as Pinnacle (now sadly no longer accepting business from UK customers) will welcome the bet every time due to its skill in balancing its prices out. Others though will run shy, and seem to prefer the custom of the pound-a-bet hobbyists and occasional dabblers.

FA CUP FINAL

Most sportsbooks will operate different limits for different markets. A punt of several thousands on the likely winner of the next X-Factor competition is unlikely to be accepted as this tends not to be a high roller market, and it would be difficult for the bookmaker to offset the bet. The same sportsbook is likely to offer a far more generous limit on the outcome of the FA Cup Final or the winner at Wimbledon because there will be wagers aplenty on the opposite side of the line creating some sort of equilibrium. Indeed your five-figure punt may have the effect of pushing down the price on that market, thereby increasing the price on the opposite line{s) which is thereby itself made a more attractive proposition for potential customers.

It is an unfortunate but unavoidable truth that some online bookies are known to slash the maximum stakes offered to certain customers once a few large wagers have proved successful. Indeed it is not unknown for punters to access their accounts and attempt to place their bets only to find that their previous £1000 limit has been reduced to £1.

Paradoxically the best sportsbook for high rolling customers is probably one which doesn't operate a limit at all on its stakes - Betfair. Because Betfair is a betting exchange which makes its money solely from the commission it deducts from winning bets it has no interest in restricting customer action, indeed quite the opposite.

High rolling is not a discipline for everyone. To even attempt it one must first have the money to stake in the first place (and be prepared to lose it), and then some considerable knowledge of the market in order to ensure at the very least that losses are kept to a minimum, and ideally that a profit is made.

Who Goes to Europe?

One of the more interesting developments in Premier League football over the past few years has been the increased fluidity involving the (admittedly still relatively small) pack of teams chasing the glories of European competition.

Few would contest the notion that this year's title race has essentially narrowed into a stand off between last year's champions Manchester City and a resurgent Chelsea under the renewed guidance of The Special One, the enigmatic but quite brilliant Jose Mourinho.

Behind those two things are not quite so clear cut. Under Louis Van Gaal the once dominant Manchester United would seem to have reasserted their status as automatic contenders following last season's debacle, in which relegation had at times looked a more likely prospect than Champions League football, without really troubling the two front runners very much.

And yet with just sixteen matches left to play United are not even in third place. That honour goes to unfancied Southampton, who despite having lost the best part of their team after last season would appear to have gone from impressive under the talented Mauricio Pochettino to rampant under the tutelage of Dutch legend Ronald Koeman. Southampton are where they are on merit, and have begun to believe that Champions League football next year really is within their grasp.

So where does that leave perennial competitors Arsenal, who have represented English football in Europe's premier tournament for the last seventeen years without absence? The bottom line is that Arsenal need to invoke all their experience and undoubted ability to challenge either United or Southampton for one of the four Premier League placings. They did their cause no harm at all today, of course, by comprehensively demolishing champions Manchester City 2-0 on their own turf at the Etihad.

FIREPOWER

Although Southampton so dearly deserve their place in the sun, my gut feeling is that Arsenal will edge into third place as the season nears its end. That will leave United and Southampton battling it out for fourth place, and with the amount of firepower they have at their disposal United should just limp across the line in spite of their dodgy defence, leaving Southampton having to settle for a place in the Europa League (the good news being that on their current form that is a tournament they could quite feasibly win).

Below the top five lurk some of the usual, as well as some not so usual suspects. Tottenham would appear to have maintained their status as the best of the rest whilst Liverpool, who a few games back were floundering badly, seem to be on their way back. This year's surprise package up in the top half of the table is West Ham United, currently seventh in the Premier League and going great guns. Below them is the aforementioned Liverpool, and thereafter a big fat drop to ninth place and also-ran obscurity.

My prediction in the final analysis would be 1. Chelsea, 2. Manchester City, 3. Arsenal, 4. Manchester United, 5. Southampton, 6. Tottenham. The only road into Europe for anybody else will be via the F.A. Cup. Interesting times.

It's All About the In-Play...

That's what Ray Winstone reckons, anyway. But what is it that makes In-Play betting so exciting?

Unlike standard match betting, when you place a bet on a fixture and then sit back and wait for it to happen, In-Play betting allows you to adapt your bet to changing circumstances during real time. So if at the start of a football match, for instance, you think the skinny odds on a Chelsea victory make the bet unappealing, you can revisit the fixture after the team has gone 1-0 down to a fluke goal by the underdog and pick up a much more attractive price.

Alternatively, having wagered on Chelsea to win the fixture you can, when the blues go 1-0 up, offset the bet by laying it off elsewhere at a tighter price still, locking in a guaranteed profit.

Betting on the In-Play has revolutionised football and other sports betting, creating interest throughout the match. It means the experienced punter can end up placing his or her stake not just once but several times, as circumstances shift during the course of a game.