Sultan Peppers The Compliments

The Sultan has recently posted a couple of blog reviews over at Center Court Trading, and the first had a few kind words to say about this one so in case you missed it here, I have included the important part here -->

I only tend to add blogs to my roll that I actually enjoy reading, so you'll find all of the following on the right hand side of this page. I'll start with the obvious ones; Green All Over and Mark Iverson. I'm sure you are already aware of these fine reads, so no need to delve too much into them. Mark rarely posts these days but it's worth reading his blog from the beginning if you are new to trading or looking for some inspiration. You'll discover someone's journey from early in their trading life (not at the beginning but certainly before Mark was raking it in) to going full-time.

As for Cassini, he is so prolific, you need to make sure you check his 'previous posts' because he does often post 2 or 3 times a day! I recently started reading the blog from the very start and although there isn't much new info I've picked up about trading, it has given me real inspiration and reinforced a few ideas. Just seeing that Cassini himself has made big errors and lost large amounts and reading him question himself when trading certain sports, is enough to make you feel better about your own struggles. But for newbies, there are loads of gems of info and it's as valuable a tool in your learning process as any forum or financial trading book.

Yes, well thanks for the reminder that I have "made big errors and lost large amounts", and just as the confidence was starting to return too! With one fell swoop, I am once more a broken man, the fragile shell of confidence lying smashed and broken at my feet. Or perhaps not. Last week was a good one, and while January will likely remain in the red, I am looking forward to a much longer February than usual this year.

More seriously, as Average Guy commented, the Sultan's blog has itself fast become one of the best, and must-read, betting / trading blogs out there.

So how was the weekend?, I hear you ask. Well, it had its moments. The Value Under picks for this week had a great Saturday as I mentioned in an earlier post, but Sunday saw three goals in all three games, including a 91' penalty which I could have done without. There were five XX Draw Selections with two winners, and three with a one goal differential. As I have said previously, the 0-0 and 1-1 draws are the results I take most pride in, but I fluked a rare 2-2 (first since September) in the Racing Santander v Valencia game. Only two of today's five went under which was not pleasing. Overall on the weekend, a small loss, but the ROI for all three categories stays positive, and so should I. There is a full round of games midweek in Italy and in England coming up, with at least one game looking a likely XX contender.

Backing the Lay The Draw selections proved profitable, as Roma v Bologna finished drawn at 4.8, but no luck for Football Elite as Evian TG were held to a draw (one of my XX selections), nor for the Green Pullover, who had Rennes v Marseille as a draw pick - as did I. I knew this one was in trouble when I saw the Pullover go for it!

Friendly Tipster League standings

High drama in the NBA again last night with the Texas derby game between the San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks saw Dallas trade at 1.02 when seemingly in command, before the Spurs bench rallied, and appeared to have won the game at the buzzer. Several thousand exchanged at 1.10 before replays showed the shot wasn't made in time and the Mavericks prevailed in overtime. The Spurs play again tonight at the Memphis Grizzlies who have shortened from 1.6 to 1.47. If this was a reaction to the Spurs playing an overtime period (conventional wisdom), this one may be misguided given that the Spurs starters were pulled when they were down big, and the coach left the second team in for the last hour of play. Having said that, Memphis are a decent team at home (6-2), and a price ~1.5 is value, with the Spurs a sorry 2-8 on the road.