Posts Tagged draw
Would you back the draw at 1.30?
Posted by Peter Webb in Bet Angel on May 8th, 2010
If a football match was near the end, perhaps ten or fifteen minutes or so, 1.28 may represent value. But before the match has started, no way! Mathematically speaking it’s highly improbable for the draw to be priced at 80% certainty in a fair match. However these strange odds seem to occur often at the end of the Italian football season. Not all of them play out as the odds intend but it’s certainly very strange to keep seeing such massive anomalies. We have another one for Sunday, make of it what you will.

Italian end of season matches
Posted by Peter Webb in Bet Angel on April 13th, 2010
Since my first posting some time ago there have been plenty more Italian matches with strange prices. However, not all have ended up with the predicted result. There appears to be a process of reversion to mean going on! I was lucky on this one, as rather than backing the draw I opted to back Lazio, who went on to win. Because of the propensity for these matches to be unpredictable I wonder whether an element of this unusual pricing is the madness of crowds and / or the net effect of lots of arbing with naive bookmakers. Having done some research these things appear to be more common place in Italian football than I suspected. Whatever, it’s a curious phenomena but one that is proving profitable if you are aware of where that all important next goal is likely to come from.

Couldn’t make it up
Posted by Peter Webb in Bet Angel on January 24th, 2010
One tie looks set to light up what otherwise appears to be a dull and predictable fifth round FA Cup draw.
I waited with baited breath knowing that there were a few ties that could produce a classic cup match, but was amazed when the one top of my list occurred, Southampton vs Porstmouth. I couldn’t believe it!
This should be a real classic fifth round tie. Local derby, quite a history behind this fixture and a perfect set up. One team seemingly in inexorable decline and another who suffered the same fate now back on the march with full confidence. I’m too close on this one to get involved, as loyaltes will get in the way of sound judgement. But it’s looking set up for an excellent fifth round battle.
The draw
Posted by Peter Webb in Bet Angel on January 30th, 2009
I was going to post about Liverpool vs Everton but never got the chance to do so. So here is a reverse appraisal. As most people know a local derby is always a tight affair and perhaps a match you would expect to end in a draw, as neither team want to lose.
Unlike a lot of myths this is actually generally true. I did some research a fair time ago and realised that there was a link between distance travel and the propensity to draw. So there are many factors that make a draw but in fact the proximity to the away team does indeed increase the chance of a draw.
One feature of the match the other night that was interesting was the persistance of the draw during the match. This meant there was ages where you trade the draw with only minor risk and during the match it felt inevitable that Liverpool would equalise. You often see this, but not as stark as in this match. An interesting match all round.

