Category: Betting

When you bet you should be prepared to lose sometimes. When you support West Ham you should be prepared to lose sometimes. Two very similar statements! When you bet on West Ham to win then the same applies.

Despite showing a healthy profit at one stage, our balance is now down to 35 points. Surely we cannot lose six on the trot? Well of course we can, but I’m sticking my neck out and looking for our first win since February 4. This week’s bets are as follows:

20 points on West Ham to beat Swansea at 21/20 (41)
8 points on West Ham to win and both teams to score at 11/4 (30)
2 points on West Ham to win a nervy game 2-1 @17/2 (19)

Potential returns are in brackets. After staking 30 points our balance is now down to our last 5 points. Surely we will end our losing sequence soon, and win a game? Why not today? What are the chances?

Our recent results continue to match those of our team. In 13 away league games this season, Leicester had failed to win a single game until they played at the London Stadium the week before last. Recognising West Ham’s propensity to oblige teams having a bad run, we should have gone against recent principles and bet on the opposition for a change. But we failed to do this and paid the penalty.

After staking 25 points on losing bets on the Leicester game our balance is now down to 55 points. West Ham have failed to pick up a single point in the last three Premier League games, and we have recorded a similar losing sequence with our bets. We really shouldn’t bet on West Ham, surely one of the most unpredictable teams in the league? But it is a bit of fun that adds to the game. Nevertheless, we really need to start winning soon before the money runs out!

This week we’ll continue to bet on West Ham to win the game, and stake as follows:

10 points on West Ham to win the game @9/5 (28)
10 points on West Ham to win and both teams to score @9/2 (55)

This brings our balance down to 35 points.

Surely we will end our losing sequence soon, and win a game? What are the chances?

Our recent results have mirrored those of our team. The loss at Bournemouth took our balance down to 80 points. But we won’t give up until the money runs out! We’ll continue with our fun bets this weekend for the game against Leicester. Last week I wrote in this column that we had one of those situations where West Ham have famously assisted the opposition in the past to end a bad run. Bournemouth hadn’t actually won a league game in 2017 in eight attempts before they played us!

This time the statistic I will bring up is that in 13 away league games this season, Leicester have failed to win a single game. Food for thought, but I will dismiss the thought instantly and look forward to a home win on Saturday.

Another statistic involving Leicester is that last season they were awarded 13 penalties, way in excess of any other club. This season so far they’ve had five. That makes 18 in a little over a season and a half. We’ve been awarded 8 in the same period. And what is more we have conceded 16 in that time, which I believe is more than any other team in the top flight. So it points towards Leicester being awarded a penalty. I think I’ll go for a fun bet on that to happen and the penalty to be missed at 20/1.

This week’s bets:

10 points on West Ham to win @13/10 (23)
12 points on West Ham to win and both teams to score @7/2 (54)
1 point on Leicester to miss a penalty @20/1 (21)
1 point on Antonio to score the first goal and West Ham to win 2-1 @33-1 (34)
And for fun, 1 point on Antonio to score the first goal and West Ham to win 4-2 @350-1 (351)

After staking 25 points our balance is now down to 55 points. The potential returns on winning bets are shown in brackets. What are the chances?

Unsurprisingly really we lost out on our bets for the Chelsea game. The bookies were right to make them odds-on favourites, but we couldn’t bet against our team, and the odds were sufficiently generous to be worth a punt. Our balance is now 90 points.

We’ll continue with our fun bets this weekend for the game at Bournemouth. We’ve been on a losing streak but things can change. We have one of those situations this week where West Ham have famously assisted the opposition in the past to end a bad run. Bournemouth haven’t actually won a league game in 2017 in eight attempts. Let us hope we can make it nine!

For this weekend we’ll keep it modest again:

6 points on West Ham to win and both teams to score @4/1 (30)
3 points on a score draw @3/1 (12)
1 point on West Ham to come from behind and win @11/1 (12)

After staking 10 points our balance is now down to 80 points. The potential returns on winning bets are shown in brackets. What are the chances?

I was convinced that we would see off Watford last week but it wasn’t to be. Our balance after our 15 points stake last week has now gone down to 100 points, exactly where we started! We’ve come very close to some big wins, but we have just missed out, a bit like the team.

This week it is Chelsea, who are massively odds on with the bookies to beat us. And not surprising really, given that they are ten points clear in the Premier League. But, we all remember what happened when they visited the London Stadium in October …..

We’ll continue with our fun bets. One of these weeks it will happen. So for this weekend:

4 points on West Ham to beat Chelsea @9/2 (22)
1 point on West Ham to repeat the EFL cup score, and win 2-1 @17/1 (18)
1 point on West Ham to win and both teams to score @9/1 (10)
1 point on Costa to score the first goal and West Ham to win 2-1 @100/1 (101)
1 point on West Ham to come from behind and win @22/1 (23)
1 point on an accumulator with the following teams to win this weekend: Man United, Leicester, Stoke, Swansea, West Brom, Tottenham and Man City @ 40/1 (41)
1 point on an accumulator with the following teams to win this weekend: Man United, Leicester, Stoke, Swansea, West Brom, Tottenham, Man City and West Ham @220/1 (221)

The total stake this week is a modest 10 points, bringing our balance down to 90 points. The potential returns on winning bets are shown in brackets. What are the chances?

If every game we had bet on ended after 89 minutes our balance would now stand at well over 200 points. The week before last I was confident of a victory against an over-performing, timewasting West Brom side, but thanks to their equaliser in the 94^th minute we were denied yet again. The bets that lost out to that last minute goal were as follows:

10 points on West Ham to win the game @11/10 (21)
2 points on West Ham to win the game and both teams to score @7/2 (9)

Our balance has therefore reduced to 115 points.

This week it is Watford, and I am looking for us to have benefited from our warm weather training and team bonding in Dubai, and to avenge the result at the London Stadium earlier this season when, despite a 2-0 lead, we suffered a 4-2 reverse. This week’s bets are:

10 points on West Ham to win the game @9/5 (28)
4 points on West Ham to win and both teams to score @9/2 (22)
1 point on West Ham to win the game 4-2 @90/1 (91)

The odds are quoted by Paddy Power, who have a guarantee that if the team you have bet on in the win-draw-win market (i.e. our first bet above) lead at any stage by two goals then they will pay out, even if the team go on to draw or lose. They started this promotion in November. It was a shame that it wasn’t up and running in the home game v Watford, as we would have been 33 points better off; they would have paid out instantly when we went two goals up.

Never mind that’s the way it goes. It’s all good fun and our luck will change (perhaps). Our balance after our 15 points stake this week has now gone down to 100 points, exactly where we started! We’ve come very close to some big wins. The potential returns on winning bets are shown in brackets. What are the chances?

I had a look to see if sunbets was offering odds on Adrian being caught on camera eating paella or tapas, but couldn’t see anything! Seriously though, I think that it is a shame that this new bookmaker decided to increase its profile using the Sutton reserve goalkeeper in the week. For me it devalued and took the emphasis away from Sutton’s achievements in the FA Cup this season and their excellent performance against Arsenal.

I know that a lot of people thought it was a bit of fun, and it is a pity that the Sutton keeper should lose his job as a result of his naivety, but we do have to be careful to ensure that fixing doesn’t become a feature of football gambling. At one time you could bet on the team who had the first throw-in in a game, and teams were suspiciously putting the ball into touch straight from the kick-off. That practice and those bets are no longer (quite rightly) available, but the pie (or pasty) eating is only one step away from that.

A profit from last Saturday’s game at Southampton on the following bet:

4 points on West Ham to win the game @15/4 (19)

We’ve had a few bets this season on West Ham to win and Obiang to score in the game, but of course Murphy’s (or Sod’s) Law, it happened this week but it wasn’t one of our bets. You win some and you lose some!

We also got our stake of 1 point back on the following bet as only one team let us down (Palace):

1 point – A six game accumulator for the following six teams to win this weekend: Chelsea, Palace, Everton, Watford, Tottenham and Man City @ 17/1 (18)

Our balance has now increased to 130 points.

This week I’m confident that we will win against a West Brom side, managed by Tony Pulis, who I believe have exceeded the expectations of most people this season and currently sit in eighth place. A win would cut the gap to two points in the league table. My bets are as follows:

10 points on West Ham to win the game @11/10 (21)
2 points on West Ham to win the game and both teams to score @7/2 (9)
1 point on the London bus saying that you wait a long time and then two come along together, so West Ham to win the game and Obiang to score at anytime @18/1 (19)
1 point on the score at half-time to be 0-0, at full time West Ham to be 2-1 winners @40/1 (41)

And finally the real longshot of the weekend:

1 point on the following 11 teams to all win their game – Arsenal, Manchester United, Stoke, Swansea, Villa, Brighton, Derby, Fulham, Leeds, Norwich, and Reading @331/1 (332).

Total stake 15 points – new balance after staking is 115 points. Potential returns if correct in brackets.

What are the chances?

Our 10 point stake was blown out of the water in the first half on Wednesday night bringing our balance down to 120 points. We now face an away game at Southampton and remember that they beat us convincingly 3-0 earlier this season at the London Stadium. Nobody really expects us to win on Saturday, including me, but I refuse to bet against us, so my stakes on Saturday will be:

4 points on West Ham to win the game @15/4 (19)
2 points on the game ending as a score draw @4/1 (10)
1 point on Antonio to score the first goal and the game to end 1-1 @50/1 (51)

And then 3 fun accumulators:

1 point – A double on the Southampton v West Ham and West Brom v Stoke games to both end in score draws @22.5/1 (23.5)
1 point – A four game accumulator on the above two games plus Hull v Liverpool and Leicester v Man Utd – all four games to end as score draws @619/1 (620)
1 point – A six game accumulator for the following six teams to win this weekend: Chelsea, Palace, Everton, Watford, Tottenham and Man City @ 17/1 (18)

Total stake 10 points, bringing our balance down to 110 points. Potential returns if correct in brackets.

We were within a minute of a 98 point haul with our bets on the Middlesbrough game. As a reminder they were:

9 points on West Ham to beat Middlesbrough @2/1 (27)
5 points on a draw @11/5 (16)
1 point on Andy Carroll to score the first goal and West Ham to win 2-1 @50/1 (51)
1 point on West Ham to win 2-1 @19/1 (20)

Yes, so near on three of our four bets coming in, including the big one. Nonetheless, we did have 27 points from the well-deserved win, bringing our new balance up to 130 points.

What will happen in our game against Manchester City? I haven’t got a clue. It’s only a few weeks since they well and truly outplayed us and dumped us out of the FA Cup. I am hoping that our new signings will inspire us to victory over an inconsistent City side. When they turn it on they are quite a force, but they don’t do it regularly. Hopefully they will be over confident after their recent success here.

Smaller stakes this time as follows:

West Ham to win the game, 5 points stake at 5.2/1 (Betfair) (31)
Drawn game, 3 points at 3.6/1 (Betfair) (13.8)
West Ham to win 2-1, 1 point at 18.5/1 (Betfair) (19)
2-2 draw, 1 point at 15/1 (Betfair) (16)

Total stake 10 points. Potential returns if correct in brackets.

What are the chances?

We were successful with the following bet last weekend:

20 points on a West Ham victory v Palace @6/5 (44)

We had four losing fun bets, although we were very close with a couple of them.
Our balance was 75 points, so winning 44 points takes our total to 119 points.

Despite being away from home, I am confident of a follow up victory at Middlesbrough on Saturday, although I will build in the safety net of a draw. Let us hope that last week’s second half performance wasn’t a false dawn.

With 8 draws already, Middlesbrough are the draw specialists of the Premier League this season. The game earlier in the season ended in a 1-1 draw, courtesy of a rather good goal by an un-named Frenchman who most fans hope will soon become a “Payexit”.

This weeks bets:

9 points on West Ham to beat Middlesbrough @2/1 (27)
5 points on a draw @11/5 (16)
1 point on Andy Carroll to score the first goal and West Ham to win 2-1 @50/1 (51)
1 point on West Ham to win 2-1 @19/1 (20)

Total stake 16 points. New balance 103 points. Potential returns if correct in brackets.

What are the chances?