Gamblog.co.uk - Gambling & Casino Blog

No horse racing today or christmas day. Racing will resume on boxing day. There will be a feast for UK horserace punters with 8 English meets and 3 Irish.

Derek Tommo Thompson horseracing tips for today, 22nd of December 2005.

11.40 Southwell - Matusa
12.10 Southwell - Amarist

Full Race Cards Available At The Racing Post

Christmas Football Betting by Gerry Macdonnell

Walking in a win to Sunderland
You've got to be tough with kids, my littlest one threw a strop last week when I didn't lavish enough praise on him after he sent me a Christmas card. As a result of the little man's naughtiness, his letter to Santa asking for a puppy, a train set and Rob McCaffrey to stop screaming, "What's he like!" will now go unanswered.

Derek Tommo Thompson horseracing tips for today, 21st of December 2005.

2.30 Lingfield (5)Lewis Island
3.10 Ludlow (4)Capitana

Ibas have had a busy year. Not necissarily because the bookies have been trying to stiff more betting shop punters, but indeed because Ibas is becoming better known to gamblers.

I have had no cause to call Ibas, but I may just do soon, seeing as they are thinking of getting involved specifically in online gambling disputes with accreditted betting firms who have an online betting operation. We shall see.

There certainly are a lot of casino gambling related websites and portals online. These are some of the better ones. I doubt I would endorse 2% of the casinos advertised on these websites. That would be because I think 99% of all online casinos leave much to be desired.

For all obscure card games and rules, I use the Pagat Card Game Information website.

Obviously I use a few horseracing websites for many reasons. These are the main racing websites I frequent.

I frequent many gambling related forums online, here are a few of them.

The Fontwell Racecourse clerk of the course has caled an inspection for 8.30 am 10.30 am due to concerns about frost. Unexpected drop in temperature overnight apparently.

I am not the biggest bingo fan, but there are quite a few people who like bingo and lotteries. These are the few I have read at times for bingo and lotto info.

Derek Tommo Thompson horseracing tips for today, 20th of December 2005.

2.0 Lingfield (8) Snoqualmie Boy
3.20 Southwell (3) Wainwright

4.20 Wolverhampton. 12 runner 1m 1furlong AW Bet-Direct Handicap.

I'm betting on Nan Jan and have taken the first outward move in the betting at 5/1, from 9/2.

3.50 Wolverhampton. 10 runner 1m 1furlong AW handicap

I have taken the 25/1 available on Monkstown Road Each Way 1/4 the odds, 1,2,3 places.

Derek Tommo Thompson horseracing tips for today, 19th of December 2005.

1.20 Doncaster - Cloudless Dawn (2nd 9/4 fav)
2.30 Doncaster - Diamond Sal (non runner)

El Gordo is the home of the spanish lottery that is running into the €2billion payout range. By far the richest lottery in the world. Can you say bingo? Well calling house on this one won't necissarily make you mega rich, but you can certainly win a nice few quid for Xmas if you are lucky.

There was talk of William Hills Plc and the Rank Group merger, but the 2 UK gambling giants have ended discussions of joining forces.

The difference between real poker and videopoker is quite vast, but there are similarities. I prefer videopoker Jacks or Better on a screen, rather than Texas Holdem on green felt, but the basics hands are the same.

I read a few poker websites, these are a few of the better ones.

There are many gambling websites out there that purport to expound quality information related to the odds and probabilities related to online wagering activity and the maths involved. Don't be fooled, most know nothing. These gambling odds websites and pages are quality, you should read them if you place bets online, especially in online casinos.

The father of the worldwide web Tim Berners Lee Has A Blog - yes, the web daddy has a blog.

Don't know who Tim Berners Lee is exactly?

Well give thanks and praise to Tim Berners Lee - Director Of The WWW Consortium

General Gambling Related Blogs

2 Gunmen are on the run after raiding a Ladbrokes betting shop in Glasgow. A Ladbrokes member of staff was kidnapped at gunpoint in Church Street, Shettleton at 6.30pm on sunday evening. The male member of staff was driven to the Ladbrokes shop to open the doors. The Ladbrokes worker was then released in the Hamilton road area unharmed, but shaken.

Details of how much money was stolen have not been released. Detective Sergeant Owen McDonach of Shettleston CID has appealed for witnesses to the armed robbery. No comment from Ladbrokes on the armed raid as yet has been noted.

Poker Room have lost the plot and so has Karl Magnusson, the Vice-President and Chief Administration Officer of Ongame if they are in on this irresponsible stunt in any way shape or form.

Why pokerroom.com would ever feel the need to be involved with such advertising techniques is plain beyond me.

There is surely no way Pokerroom.com have got wind of this promotion yet right? Tell me it's not so and i'll still not be surprised though. When will this stupid shock advertising ridiculousness end?

Ongame run Pokerroom.com - who are in turn accepted by Ecogra and ceo Andrew Beveridge as a decent "sealed" poker supplier. That goes for their quango-like directors Michael Hirst, Bill Gaston and Frank Catania. If Ecogra allow this stupidness to stand, they are more soft than I give them credit for - and that is saying something. Lets not forget that old chestnut - egap 113 - RESPONSIBLE ADVERTISING AND PROMOTIONS

Betting by mobile phone could'nt be easier for gamblers these days. Laying your wagers instantly, while on the move is here to stay.

Mobile Phone Compatibility Issues
Most cellphone handsets are wap enabled. The new style 3g mobile phones especially so. Nearly all the major online betting firms have a mobile gambling option. Sports betting, football odds, horseracing and most wagering opportunities can be punted on via your mobile keypad quite painlessly.

The World Pie Eating Championship starts today in Wigan at Harry's Bar.

The Association of British Bookmakers have announced that fixed odds betting terminals will be VAT taxed on Dec 6 2005.

Gambling Industry Website Links

A 5 strong gang of gamblers betting on reality tv shows have been uncovered as scammers. The suspicion is the Betfair bettors work for Harvest media or BT. Running or working on the public phone line systems for the reality TV voting made it possible for staff to know who was to be evicted, or who had won various reality tele programmes.

6 times embassy world pro snooker champion Steve Interesting Davis rolled back the years last night to produce a stunning comeback to knock Scotland's title-holder Stephen Maguire out of the Travis Perkins UK Championship in York 9-8 from 8-6 down.

Steve the nugget Davis, 48, out-snookered Maguire with a 145 clearance in the next to last frame after some old time safety play that left Maguire wondering what was going on in front of him on the green baize. It was a joy to watch the old ginger master tactician find his world renowned 80's cueing form. The unnerving accuracy of Davis's simple potting, break building and control of the cue ball to lay up snooker after snooker on Maguire was scary.

Made me feel old to be honest hearing that Davis had'nt played so well in 2 decades, but hey, it was well worth it. I remember the days when it got boring watching Davis beat up Jimmy White time after time. Then along came the likes of Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'sullivan to knock king Steve off of his throne of blue chalk. I never thought i'd see the day when it would be fun to watch Davis win a game of snooker, but it was the best sport on TV i've watched in ages.

I think I went snooker loopy for a hot minute there.

Aside from gambling, I read many online weblogs. Here are the select few I can be bothered to link to.

W3C Mobile Web Best Practices Working Group Blog simply put, is designed to teach webmasters how to make internet webpages and/or websites renderable via mobile phones.

Andrew Losowsky has left the alternative reality gaming network (ARGN) to be the website designer for Last Call Poker. Never heard of alternative reality gaming? Well I have never played games(yet), but the main stream media has reported on it a good few times - anyway.

The Adrants Blog report a new way to advertise to mobile phone handsets with a digital cameras built in, via run of the mill advertising billboards found on motorways, underground trains and just about anywhere there is a bit of unused space possible customers may look.

It won't be long before online and offline gambling firms take up with these new adverts.

Empire poker, Casino 888, Golden Palace, Partypoker, Ladbrokes, William Hills, 32red and many other betting operations already utilise land advertising hoardings, newspaper print adverts, magazine full spread posters, taxi cab adverts and your every day flyers.

Digital adverts with casino bonuses and wagering comps for gamblers with handheld mobile phones with cameras installed, will be coming to a billboard near you, soon.

The MSNBC Report - Is This Software On Your Hard Drive? goes in depth into spyware/adware and the public relations push by these firms to legitimise themselves and their behaviour towards the end user.

Spyware Info.com have issued a post asking - Is Spyware All That Bad? and goes into detail why it is. A post I agree with.

There are some big names in the gambling industry using spyware, as reported on by Spyware Detective Ben Edelman

Some interesting sports articles being posted at the newly opened The Recreation And Sports Blog

A couple of interesting recreation and sporting pieces are about Kayak Fishing and more interestingly the Footballers Nutrition and Mental Focus article originally posted at Soccer Training Skills.com

Despite the name, the editor of The Wagering War Blog is a peaceful soul. The wagering war is usually fought against the bookies. Argueing with other poker players is not the norm.

The Wagerer notes he got involved in his first poker room slanging match and did not like it

The betting system tipster come blogger is human after all.

The Man United Rant Blog is on the warpath again. After Man Utd recently failed to even get a Uefa cup spot via the Champions League groups after losing 2-1 away to Benfica - it was inevitable some staunch Manchester United fans would be unhappy.

The William Hills football betting odds compilers have the next Man Utd manager to replace Fergie market priced up as follows. Martin O'neill is 2/1 favourite, closely followed by Omar Hitzfeld at 4/1. Carlos Queiroz is an 8/1 chance. Fabio Capello and Mark Hughes are at 10/1. Roy Keane, Sven Goran Eriksson, Alan Curbishley and David Moyes are priced up at 14/1, while Middlesbrough's Alan McLaren is at 16's.

William Hills also have a Ferguson to leave Old trafford by the end of the season market. The odds are Fergie to leave at 4/6 and sir Alex to stay until the bitter end at 11/10. The 11/10 should be the favourite. Not sure what is going on there. Punters should grab that price. A definate value betting proposition.

Anyway, whether Fergie should leave or not is discussed at the United Rant blog, here are the 10 reasons listed why Sir Alex should retire now.

Thee BBC finished off their poker expose with a report on the rise and rise of Partypoker aka Partygaming aka Iglobalmedia on the money programme which is aired and supported by the Open University

The "television" online poker report entitled The Big Poker Gamble failed to go into detail about the firms dodgy past apart from to mention the millions made by Ruth Parasol in porn, nothing about running mathematically rigged/flawed/error strewn casino software, specifically their roulette wheel.

My most trusted gambling firm information source for good and bad online gaming operators, the "Original Mary" spoke about Iglobalmedia today and said.

Ate Online are hosting the ICE - International Casino Exhibition in London at the Earls Court and Olympia Confrerences Halls in January the 24th to the 26th, 2006.

The ICE Location - Go to Earls Court, just across the road from Earls Court and/or West Brompton underground train stations

There will be lots of good online gambling firms represented, along with the usual online gambling industry riff raff. Offline gambling is the main attraction for ICE. You can buy pool tables, merry-go-rounds, blackjack and craps tables, roulette wheels, fruit machines and slots, space invaders, driving games for your amusements arcade or just go to see the latest electronic games - and play them for free. Here is who will be there.

Audley Harrison V Danny Williams is an interesting fight for sure for the Commonwealth Heavyweight Title. Audley Harrison and Danny Williams will be broadcast live on ITV1 from 8.55 to 10.10pm. The fight venue is the ExCeL London on Saturday December 10 (tomorrow)

Why Audley Harrison is priced up at an odds on chance of 4/11 is anyones guess.

Danny Williams is a 2/1 shot, those odds on the Williams outright win are crazy. An insulting price in my opinion.

Williams is a fairly talented heavyweight boxer - he is arguably of the pugilist mould. Harrison is more interested in promoting himself than fighting. He is a boxing promotor for the most part.

I know Harrison holds an olympic gold medal for the heavyweight class - but has done nothing in the professional ring and has faced no one like a boxer of the calibre of Williams. Don't forget Williams once beat Mike Tyson while Harisson has beaten no one.

Even if I am completely wrong and Harisson punches Williams all around the ring. For betting purposes in a one on one bout, those 2/1 odds are a gamble by the bookies in my opinion.

Yes, David G Schwartz Finished the Las Vegas Marathon in one piece - allbeit in bits. Dodgy legs don't you know? His pins were okay before.

Now, Dave is an author, a gambling authority and Jujitsu practisioner. What he was doing running in the Vegas Marathon is anyones guess. He finished the full 26.2 mile corse though, so fair play to Dave.

A little known fact on the professional poker players scene is Tony Cascarino nicknamed himself Cool Hand Cas while presenting drivetime on Talksport Radio with Patrick Kinghorn.

Cascarino has left talksport and now chats about football on the tele as a soccer pundit alongside writing a column in the Times Newspaper, while doubling up as a pro poker player. I heard on the radio the other day via Charlie McCann that Tony won the Caribbean Poker Classic to net a cool $100,000 playing the game Texas hold-em.

Charlie McCann is a horseracing tipster and betting analyst who now works for Bet-Direct, is expecting a nice drink I gather, as he was the one who turned Cascarino onto the Caribbean Poker event. Never did Charlie expect "Cool Hand Cas" to win the whole tournament against many high profile Texas hold-em pro's.

£25,000 left the bookies satchels, via the 7/1 odds on offer for the Bingo Caller Of The Year(pdf file) market.

Countrywide, the bingo gambling syndicate bet the maximum stake of 25 pounds on the 7/1 shot Karl Seth (38). The bingo punters co-ordinated the gamble, so as not to alert the bookies, thereby not allowing the bookies time to drop the price or remove the bingo callers market alltogether.

To win 25k, the bingo betting crew must have layed out approximately £3500 or so, which would involve about 140 seperate wagers. Clearly, to lay so many bets without the punt being noticed, the bingo gang will have had to be quick and very co-ordinated.

I can see the old girls now, flying around the city centres with their blue rinses glinting in the sun, placing wager after wager. Of course, the odds are there were no grannies involved in the betting coup atall. The thought still makes me laugh though.

Australian police have issued a "Lottery Scam Warning" to Queenslanders that there are scam letters going around proclaiming the recipents have won a large amount of lottery money abroad.

A police spokeswoman said police had received a number of calls from the public regarding the suspect lotto letters.

The letters told recipients to send their personal information and banking details to a Spanish overseas address to collect their winnings.

Irish Bookie MD Were Hit Up By Greyhound Scammers to the tune of 7000 euros on december the 5th.

The modus operandi for the small scale dog betting scam was an age old one, stamped out by English bookies via the totalizator automated betting slip systems in place.

Scribbled bet instructions were written on the betting slip, to confuse the betting shop staff into believing the 2 English male punters had picked the winning irish greyhounds

The fraudulent bets were worth 4,470 euros in one MD bookie, followed shortly after by another bogus bet that couped the scammers another €2,500.

A third attempt at the same scam by the dog gamblers/tricksters was thwarted.

MD Betting?s Darragh Fitzpatrick, who is also Chairman of the Irish Bookmakers Association, said the culprits were caught on camera in the shop and he has forwarded the footage onto the gardai.

Punters Joy - Us Bookies Woe

The gamblers dream headline goes like this - Black Sunday stuns bookies for millions

12 out of 16 favourites won and covered the handicap during last weekend's NFL games played on sunday and monday.

American football bettors cleaned up apparently, costing the US sportsbooks millions of dollars in winning tickets. Wonderful news. Gambling is a game of chance and sometimes I gather, the matador does not always win. A famous betting weekend, nicknamed Black Sunday by the American bookies.

Chelsea v Liverpool - 7:30 Live on ITV1 tonight.

Champions League Football Aired On ITV is good for soccer fans who do not have Sky TV - which includes me at the moment. It is good to see some live football with a wager riding on the result. It means more with money on it, that is for sure.

Football "form gamblers" will look towards the fact Chelsea have not managed to score against Liverpool in their last 3 attempts in the Uefa Champions League

Tonight I think it will be different game and scoreline. Chelsea will score imo, Liverpool will find the net too. Can you say Peter Crouch? Neither side actually needs the win, so both teams will have relatively little pressure to hold them back I bet.

I will not take the 8/13 odds on about the Chelsea outright win. I will back the draw at 9/4 for tonights match-up.

Banned Members Amnesty
Message from John Abbot.

After a lot of input and comments from members, and much discussion between Greedygirl and myself, we have decided to give 'some' members a second chance at membership to Gone Gambling.com

We are aware that this decision will cause much controversy. We are also aware that many of the banned members who apply for reinstatement of their gonegambling membership and are refused, will launch renewed attacks against the integrity of GoneGambling. That in itself will prove that we were justified in banning them in the first place and again in refusing to allow them back.

So why the amnesty?
Over the years there have been a considerable number of people who have been banned because they didn't think at the time and did something completely stupid that was detrimental to GoneGambling either financially, time-wise or in reputation. We are sure that their period in the wilderness will have been a lesson well learnt.

So why the hard line and permanent ban until now?
Customer service and dealing with the membership of GoneGambling has always been very much a one man show. With only one person dealing with everything, there was absolutely no time to be wasted on stupidity. Early on I learnt my lesson well. Giving people the benefit of the doubt and reinstating their membership was taken as a sign of weakness by four out of every five people. The majority of banned members who were reinstated simply saw it as an opportunity to re-offend. For some unknown reason, they believed they would keep getting second chances. That just wasn't going to happen. I very quickly found myself having to waste time banning four out of every five members who I had given the benefit of the doubt to. Most times, I was banning them again just days or weeks after reinstating their memberships. This could not go on. It was more time efficient and safer for GoneGambling to simply say that once a member was banned, they stayed banned - regardless of the offence. This was very tough on members who had a one time momentary lapse into stupidity. But it needed to be that way to ensure GoneGambling continued to grow and flourish. The growth of the site could not be impeded by wasting time on people who were of little or no value and nothing more than 'time vampires'.

It's the members who had that momentary lapse into stupidity and who have learnt their lessons that are being offered this second chance at once again becoming a GoneGambling member. Banned members who lied, cheated, stole or have already used up a second chance, need not apply to have their membership reinstated. Don't make the mistake that we have gone soft. We are simply trying to be fair to those members who may have had a rule applied to them that was designed to be applied to more serious offenders.

If you are one of the banned members who does have their membership reinstated through this amnesty period, you owe a heap of thanks to several GoneGambling members for making this opportunity available to you. Like you, they were banned but already given a second chance. They have since proven that 'some' people are deserving of a second chance as they have become some of the finest members we have.

Does this amnesty mean I now have more time available than previously?
Not at all. I have even less time now than ever before to deal with cheating and stupidity. I'm simply making the time to be fair to 'some' members who may be deserving of a second chance. To make this work, I have enlisted the help of Greedygirl and our Support members. In addition to myself, they will review each case and make a decision on reinstating the membership.

How do I apply for membership reinstatement?
To request having your membership to GoneGambling reinstated, you must send an Email To Us

In your email you must state exactly what it was that you did to cause the ban in the first place. You must then state why you think you should be given a second chance. Do not tell lies to us. If you are caught in a lie you will remain banned for life. See our Gone Gambling Tongue Fight Page for the rewards of telling the truth, even though it may be embarrassing to you.

A decision on reinstatement of membership will be made within 7 days of our receiving your application.

The amnesty will run from the 7th December, 2005, to the 31st December, 2005.

Note: Gone Gambling members who are aware of banned members who they think may be deserving of a second chance, should notify those members and let them know about the amnesty.

Coral Welsh National - live on BBC - Tuesday, December 27, 2005.

The Welsh National grade 3 handicap steeplechase is run at Chepstow Jumps Racecourse over a distance of three miles and five and a half furlongs.

Out of the possible runners, Martin Pipe, Paul Nicholls and Philip Hobbs train more than one third of the ante post pre-race entries.

Over the big fences, one could argue punters should pay close attention to horses that have completed and/or won any form of steeplechase national beforehand.
National winners include Martin Pipe's Stormez who won the English summer national at Uttoxeter.
Last march the Devon trainer Nick Williams charge Philson Run was first past the post in the Midlands grand national.
The Irish born, West Witton (north yorkshire) based trainer Ferdy Murphy won the Irish grand national with Granit D'Estruval.
2 previous winners of the Welsh national may run again. The Nigel Twiston-Davies jumper Bindaree and Mini Sensation trained by Jonjo O'Neill

Also, 4 of last years Welsh national placed horses may race again too - Bindaree, Chives, P Nicholls L'aventure and Lucinda Russell's Strong Resolve. Winner Silver Birch will not be racing.

The winner will recieve £100,000 for the marquee Chepstow steeplechase. Chepstow clerk of the course Tim Long said "There are some excellent entries for the Coral Welsh National for 2005.

It is definately a highly regarded race that many trainers and owners want to enter their best horses and jockeys to win."

Ante post odds punters should remember that for wagering purposes, stakes are not returned for non-runners. The final declarations and weights for all horses will be announced by the handicapper nearer the race. Prices are subject to change, so check with the bookies before you bet. I will not be able to keep up the gallop checking every price that moves in the market. Each way betting is 1/4 the odds for the first 4 places bacause the race is a handicap with 16 runners or more.

Pakistan vs England - 3rd Test

In about half an hour, you can tune into BBC Radio 4 to hear the start of the 4th day of the England Pakistan final test match. Geoffrey Boycott will be commentating. Yip, Mr Boycott has returned to work for the BBC, even though they dumped him previously.

Mr "cleeckit" Boycott worked for talkSPORT Radio when no one would touch him. When he was cleared of beating his girlfriend in France, he promptly turned his back on talk Sport and went running back to the BBC.

Anyway, England are in big trouble. The odds are 33/1 the England win if you fancy a bit of "loyalty gambling" or "patriotic punting", if you are awake of course. Miracles can happen in any game, but the batsmen ain't performed and neither have the bowlers up to now on the dry and dusty Asian wicket.

I'd be on the draw at odds of 11/10 if I had some money in my betting account. Bad light will likely stop play again and England will hopefully eek out a stalemate. The odds on the Pakistani's to win are odds on, because they are in control of the test and England will have to throw caution to the wind to level up the series in this last test match of the three. I m still on the draw. If we nick a win, it will mean the Pakistan cricketers have collapsed bigtime. Won't happen.

The "UK record of the year award" winner will be announced on the 10th of December 2005 at 4 o'clock GMT.

Best record favourite is currently Mcfly at odds of 2/1 with the song All About You. Expert music gamblers may well be punting elsewhere I think. Never liked that tune to be frank. I'd rather take up the microphone myself, or maybe remove the amplifier and speaker wires from the HiFi, so as not to listen to the droning on of McFly. Just reminds me of the tune - What a mouth, what a mouth, what a north and south, blimey what a mouth he's got. I will be gambling elsewhere with my cash.

Westlife - You Raise Me Up - is of no interest to me priced up at 5/2. As with McFly, i'd rather smash my electric keyboard against the wall and burn the music system actually. Certainly not my idea of a decent betting proposition. Musically and sound-wise, I don't like the song or the boy-band thing generally, so maybe I am biased.

The bookmakers music odds compilers are offering punters the rather generous odds of 5/2 for James Blunt single - You're Beautiful to be recorded the top 2005 single. Are the bookies deaf? I think Ladbrokes are gambling themselves with that price. James Blunt is a new solo artist, sings with an original sound and can actually sing somewhat, which helps when recording records. No loud drumbeat, just a pluck of the guitar and a decent melody. Easily reached number one, stayed in the charts for ages. I'll be down the betting shop to lay my bet tomorrow because my online betting account is empty - I cashed out recently. Online sportsbook bettors can avail themselves of that 5/2 price at Ladbrokes. A decent wagering opportunity in my opinion. Don't quote me though, I am not a tipster, just giving my opinion.

I bet the 50/1 quoted odds about the talented solo performer Katie Melua will not last about her tune - 9 Million Bycicles, but she'll not beat the James Blunt record. Outsider backers may well be tempted to play the game of chance for the big payout, but not for me. No each way betting available either. Bettors have to punt the winner only.

The CBI Growing Business Award people have awarded Betfair the "company of the year award" - for the second year running.

This bad joke follows up on the E-gaming Review "Socially Responsible Operator of 2005" award.

The weekend is upon us and the Premier League football odds are in.

Saturday Games
The Ladbrokes soccer odds compilers have Middlesbrough priced up as 10/1 outsiders to overturn league leaders Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. I doubt many punters will be betting on the Boro somehow. Of course, the Boro fans will maybe have their betting slips at the ready, but I doubt they will be visiting the payout box this weekend.

Arsenal look short at 5/6 odds on away to Bolton, who are up there in the league. Footie gamblers may avail themselves with Bolton of the rather large price of 11/4 the home win. Can't say the bookmakers have made a wagering wrick, but the layers will see money from home win backers. I doubt those odds will change much.

Sunday Game
The weekend sunday premier league match is Charlton Versus Manchester City at the Valley. Charlton Athletic have lost 5 games in a row, but the bookies have taken a chance by pricing up Charlton at odds against of 6/5. I can see home backers playing against the form on Charlton. The draw is probably the favourite for me at 9/4. I have a feeling there will be goals in the match.

Stuart Pearce will have his team fired up as usual, but I also think Curbishley will have his players roaring in the dressing room before kick off after losing a 2-0 lead back in the midweek cup game to Man United.

Monday Match
On monday the live game will be Birmingham City V West Ham. Steve Bruce's team have won two games on the bounce and will be looking to carry on the winning run. Pardew's West Ham side are in good form, despite losing to Man Utd at home last weekend. The odds of 6/5 on the Blues to bag all 3 points look slim to me. The East London followers of West Ham will be looking for an away win and will be taking the 9/5 on the Hammers. I personally see the possibilty of another drawn match. The odds compilers are taking no chances on the draw at the rather short price of 11/5, however, those odds are acceptable. Typical of Ladbrokes gaming - "the magic sign" - they generally give little away when it comes to tight football matches.

All in all, this weekend will be interesting to watch as far as the betting goes for Premier league matches. Soccer gamblers may be able to make a few quid on the drawn games.