Interesting results last week, with the Rabbitohs dropping out of finals contention after their loss to the Panthers. The Titans assured themselves of a top 4 berth, the Bulldogs and Dragons fighting it out for the minor premiership after the former won and the latter lost. There are now 8 teams vying for the final 5 spots in the top 8. At the other end of the ladder, the hapless Roosters and Sharks are fighting to avoid the wooden spoon.

Eels v Panthers – Parramatta Stadium 7:30pm
Team news: Parramatta are expected to be as named, with no injury clouds over the squad.
The Panthers have 2 to drop off their extended bench, with Cooper and Grant the most likely. No injury worries for the mountain men either.
Game news: Crunch game for both clubs with the loser most likely to miss the semi-finals. The Eels are gunning for their 7th straight win, matched only by the Dragons earlier this season. On form, you would have to go for the Eels, they have been irresistible during the last 2 months. The Panthers’ defence has more holes than Swiss cheese which Hayne and company will exploit ruthlessly. Expect plenty of points with the Eels prevailing.
Tip: Eels by 10
Odds: Eels – $1.36, Panthers – $3.00
Footy TAB: Panthers +8.5
Best bets: Safety – Eels @ $1.36, Value bet – Over 42.5 points @ $1.90

Cowboys v Broncos – Dairy Farmers Stadium 7:30pm
Team news: Matt Bowen is out for the season with Ty Williams to play fullback and Shannon Hegarty coming onto the wing. Ashley Graham is also in doubt, with Ben Harris on standby. Steve Rapira is most likely to drop off the extended bench.
For the Broncos, Israel Folau has been cleared to make his long awaited return from injury. Josh McGuire and Joel Clinton will drop off the bench.
Game news: The Cowboys gave up a huge lead last week against the Knights which has probably ruined their chances of making the top 8. If last week wasn’t dire straits, then this week sure is. A loss here and they can start planning Mad Monday celebrations. The Broncos have won 3 straight and will be looking at wrapping up a spot in the 8 this week. I fancy the Cowboys here given it’s their last stand.
Tip: Cowboys by 2
Odds: Cowboys – $2.65, Broncos – $1.45
Footy TAB: Cowboys +6.5
Best bets: Safety – Cowboys +12.5 pts @ $1.47, Value bet – Either team under 6.5 @ $3.20

Titans v Tigers – Skilled Stadium 5:30pm
Team news: Ashley Harrison is set to return from an injury layoff in time for finals footy. Esi Tonga is out for the season with a shoulder complaint and is replaced by Sam Tagataese. Josh Graham, Will Matthews and Chris Walker to drop off the bench.
The Tigers have been decimated by injuries. Beau Ryan and Taniela Tuiaki are both out. Blake Ayshford and Chris Heighington have not trained all week and are in big doubt. Bryce Gibbs has been suspended for 3 games for this incident. Dene Halatau comes into the squad, Rhys Pritchard is on standby for Blake Ayshford and Daine Laurie could come in for Gibbs.
Game news: The Titans are travelling smoothly but were lacklustre in their game against the Sharks the previous week. The Tigers must now win their remaining matches to stand a chance of making the 8. Their disrupted preparation will not help nor will their injuries, but I am expecting them to keep it close.
Tip: Titans by 8
Odds: Titans – $1.36, Tigers – $3.00
Footy TAB: Tigers +8.5
Best bets: Safety – Tigers +12.5 pts @ $1.58, Titans 1-12 @ $3.10

Storm v Roosters – Olympic Park 7:30pm
Team news: Greg Inglis will return to the line-up (Storm that is) in place of Dane Nielsen.
The Roosters have Seitamata Sa in doubt. Ben Jones will take his place if he is ruled with Nick Kouparitsas coming onto the bench.
Game news: The Storm hasn’t lost 3 in a row for a long time and I’m not expecting it to happen now. The Roosters will need a miracle to win here.
Tip: Storm by 16
Odds: Storm – $1.08, Roosters – $7.00
Footy TAB: Roosters +18.5
Best bets: Safety – Storm 13+ @ $1.40, Value bet – Tomane / Mel 13+ (FTS into Margin) @ $11.00

Rabbitohs v Dragons – ANZ Stadium 7:30pm
Team news: Beau Falloon is expected to be replaced on the bench by Toyota Cup captain Jason Clark.
Neville Costigan is still in doubt but is expected to play. Jon Green and Jason Nightingale are expected to drop off the bench.
Game news: The Dragons have lost their last 2 games to give the Bulldogs a sniff of the minor premiership that looked done and dusted a month ago. The Rabbits are now out of contention and have nothing to play for.
Tip: Dragons by 18
Odds: Dragons – $1.10, Rabbitohs – $6.00
Footy TAB: Rabbitohs +18.5
Best bets: Safety – Dragons 13+ @ $1.50, Value bet – Brett Morris first try scorer @ $5.50

Sea Eagles v Sharks – Brookvale Oval 2:00pm
Team news: Brett Stewart makes his long awaited return, with Robertson moving to the wing and Ben Farrar to the centres to fill the void left by Jamie Lyon. Tony Williams is set to drop off the bench.
The Sharks are expected to be as per program.
Game news: Everything points to a Manly win. Expect the usual competitiveness early from the Sharkies, but the floodgates should open in the second half.
Tip: Sea Eagles by 30
Odds: Sea Eagles – $1.05, Sharks $9.00
Footy TAB: Sharks +23.5
Best bets: Safety – Manly 13+ @ $1.30, Value bet – Stewart / Manly 13+ (FTS into Margin) @ 7.50

Bulldogs v Warriors – ANZ Stadium 3:00pm
Team news: Ben Roberts is in doubt with Daniel Holdsworth on standby.
The Warriors have been rocked by more injuries, with Kevin Locke definitely out and Wade McKinnon under a cloud joining Steve Price and Simon Mannering on the sidelines.
Game news: It is Hazem El Masri’s last home game and officials are expecting a bumper crowd of nearly 40,000. The Warriors have too many injuries and with Hannant back, the Dogs should be too strong.
Tip: Bulldogs by 36
Odds: Bulldogs $ 1.09, Warriors – $7.00
Footy TAB: Warriors +19.5
Best bets: Safety – Bulldogs 13 @ $1.40, Value bet – Bulldogs 30+ @ $2.50

Raiders v Knights– Canberra 7:00pm
Team news: Glenn Buttriss will drop off the interchange bench for the Raiders, who will be as named. There is talk that Tom Learoyd-Lahrs could possibley make a return.
The Knights have Cory Paterson and Ben Rogers in doubt with Karawana set to replace the former.
Game news: The Raiders have nothing to play for and the Knights have it all to play for. I’m going the Knight in a tight game.
Tip: Knights by 7
Odds: Raiders – $1.90, Knights $6.00
Footy TAB: Knights +2.5
Best bets: Safety – Knights +12.5 @ $1.20, Value bet – Either team under 6.5 @ $ 2.85

If you thought August was huge with $10,000 in cash freerolls for our Pokerstars players, then get strapped in for September.

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Hurry To Qualify For $20,000 WCOOP Pokerstars Freeroll

The first of the Pokerstars freerolls will be the $20,000 WCOOP Freeroll on September 2nd at 10:45pm US time.

To play in this freeroll you need to you need to download and register a Pokerstars account using the Pokerstars Marketing Code PAWT7. Then you just need to earn 200 VPPs between now and midnight August 31st 2009 (US time).

Eligible players will be issued a ticket after August 31st which is used to manually register for the freeroll.

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Hurry To Qualify For $10,000 In Pokerstars Freerolls

To qualify for these $2000 Cash Freerolls you need to have downloaded and registered a Pokerstars account using the Pokerstars Marketing Code PAWT7. The you just need to play someonline poker to earn a ticket. To get your ticket just earn 150 VPPs between now and August 31st 2009.

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Courtesy of Recent Poker.

The Herald Sun newspaper in Australia reports that widespread Distributed Denial of Services attacks have crippled a number of leading Aussie sportsbetting websites, possibly costing operators millions in lost bets over a busy weekend that features the final Ashes Test, the World Athletics Championships, Tri Nations rugby and crucial AFL and NFL games.

DDoS attacks are mounted when criminals seek to extort ransoms from websites, using tens of thousands of zombie computers under their control to overwhelm the website with data, thus inducing shutdowns. The criminals behind the attacks obtain control of ordinary computers without the owners even being aware of it by planting malignant viruses.

Just last week an unidentified 21-year-old Australian was arrested by federal police for assembling and using a zombie computer army.

Sportingbet Australia is one of two interstate bookmakers sabotaged by the DDoS criminals; the other is the emerging operator Sports Alive, which was down for almost all of Friday.

Both Sportingbet Australia and Sports Alive were circumspect in their comments, fearing further attacks.

Sportingbet Australia chief executive Michael Sullivan said he was unsure what caused the biggest interruption to the company’s online operation.

“All I can say is that we’ve got technical difficulties and we’re working with our principal providers to restore the site,” Sullivan said.

A Sports Alive spokesman said the denial of service was caused by “an unknown person or persons flooding the website”.

Terry Lillis, owner of corporate bookmaker Multibet, was a victim of a similar online sabotage in 2004. Multibet was put offline for 24 hours before Lillis received an email demanding payment of $US25 000.

Scotland Yard investigators revealed at the time that 50 other betting agencies across 30 countries had also been made targets. The Russian mafia was linked to the attack.

Written by our newest addition to the team, John Frangulis

Well, what a way to start the weekend. The weather is hotting up (unless you’re living in Melbourne) and so is the footy action. Here is the late mail for the weekend’s games.

Tigers v Eels – SFS 7:30pm

Team news: Feleti “Dominic” Mateo will start off the bench for the Eels in his first game back from a bicep injury sustained while training at “Mitsos Gym” in Marrickville earlier this year. “Ron” Jeremy Latimore will drop off the extended bench and concentrate on shooting a few scenes for his upcoming flick “The Slippery Eel”.

The Tigers have a few injury concerns most notably Robbie “Ali Baba” Farah and Keith “Floyd” Galloway. Although Dene “Bulldog” Halatau and Daine “Truck” Laurie have trained with the squad, both are expected to play after receiving some “hypoxic” treatment.

Game news: Both teams are evenly matched and it should come down to the team that makes less mistakes. They’ve been scoring heavily in recent weeks but I expect a tighter one tonight. Obviously Hayne is on another planet at the moment and the Tigers will need to be on the ball. I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see the match level at the end of normal time.

Tip: Tigers by 1

Odds: Tigers – $2.50, Eels – $1.50

Footy TAB: Tigers +3.5

Best bets: Safety – Tigers +12.5 pts, Value bet – Either team under 6.5

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Dragons v Broncos – WIN 7:30pm

Team news: Neville “Bartos” Costigan has sustained a hip injury after running into Mark Brandon “Chopper” Read on Wednesday night and is out of tonight’s clash. Jeremy “Will” Smith, lucky to escape suspension after trying to imitate a torpedo in last week’s game will come into the side at lock. Jason “Florence” Nightingale and Jon “Danny” Green will drop off the bench while Chase Stanley “Knife” comes onto the interchange. The Dragons get back Beau “Duke” Scott from suspension and Matt “Wayne” Cooper with his commitments at the Rosemount Fashion Festival coming to an end today.

For the Broncos, Alex “Perry” Glenn is out with an ankle injury sustained on the catwalk. After listening to “careless whispers” going around the club and thinking that “I’m never gonna play again”, Steve “George” Michaels is in line for a recall to replace the injured Glenn. Part-time fashion designer Guy “Laroche” Williams has also been mentioned together with Bronco behemoth Dave “Bunny” Taylor. No final word as yet.

Game news: Plenty of talk this week on the Dragons after their shock loss to the Raiders in chilly Canberra last Saturday night. North of the border, Brisbane supporters have jumped back in the saddle after seeing their Broncos string 2 wins in a row together. For mine, it’s a false dawn for the Broncos with the Dragons set to end their top 8 hopes tonight.

Tip: Dragons by 22

Odds: Dragons – $1.25, Broncos – $3.75

Footy TAB: Broncos +10.5

Best bets: Safety – Dragons over 6.5 pts, Value bet – Dragons 13+

Knights v Cowboys – Energy Australia 5:30pm

Team news: The Knights have a host of players under a cloud. Keith “Urban” Lulia, Cooper “Sooner” Vuna, Danny “Candle” Wicks and Steve “Homer” Simpson are struggling with injuries. Wicks is rated the least likely to play with Cory “Haim” Paterson on standby.

For the Cowboys, Willie “Paira” Tonga is still suffering from the effects of trying to headbutt Jamal Idris last week but is expected to play. Ben Harris “Park” is the most likely to drop off the bench.

Game news: The Cowboys are in dire straits. A loss will most likely see their top 8 hopes evaporate. The Knights belted the Storm last week but the jury remains undecided on their status as contenders. Given the stakes and desperation, I’m expecting the Cowboys to come out firing and win in a close one.

Tip: Cowboys by 2

Odds: Knights – $1.55, Cowboys – $2.40

Footy TAB: Cowboys +4.5

Best bets: Safety – Cowboys +12.5 pts, Value bet – Cowboys 1-12

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Panthers v Rabbitohs – CUA 7:30pm

Team news: “Lucky” Luke Lewis is expected play after being injured in last week’s annihilation by the Broncos. Brad Tighe “Me Up” has a knee complaint but is also expected to play. If they both play, then Tim “Stan” Grant and the retiring Adam “Cotton yes” Woolnough will drop off the bench.

The Rabbits have a host of players out with injury but no late changes are foreseen.

Game news: The Panthers capitulated last week, giving up a 6 point half-time lead and conceding a point a minute in the second half to get flogged convincingly. The Rabbitohs have been decimated by injury but the result here is still a little murky. Mathematically, the Rabbitohs can still make but a loss will end their hopes completely. The Panthers should be more desperate but they are one of the worst teams to tip in games that they should win. Defence won’t be a priority, expect plenty of points.

Tip: Panthers by 8

Odds: Panthers – $1.30, Rabbitohs – $3.40

Footy TAB: Rabbitohs +9.5

Best bets: Safety – Over 44.5 pts, Value bet – Jennings more tries than his opposite

Warriors v Raiders – Mt Smart 12:00pm

Team news: Warriors still undecided on who will drop off the bench with either Russell “Kerry” Packer or Lewis “James” Brown to go.

The Raiders have lost Tom Learoyd-“Loggins”-Lahrs to a hamstring injury sustained while running roughshod over the Dragons pack last week. David “Penny” Shillington has been pencilled in to replace Lahrs. “Billy” Joel Monaghan is also under a cloud, no news on a replacement if he is ruled out.

Game news: Ivan “I can see” Cleary is under pressure if reports in the media are to be believed. The Warriors will want to finish strong but have nothing to play for. The Raiders will be looking at consolidating after their win over the Dragons last week. I expect a dour affair to start, with the Raiders pack to start offloading at the back end as the defence tires.

Tip: Raiders by 10

Odds: Warriors – $1.90, Raiders – $1.90

Footy TAB: Raiders +2.5

Best bets: Safety – Raiders, Value bet – Raiders 1-12

Titans v Sharks – Skilled 2:00pm

Team news: “Prince” William Zillman is out suspended for 4 weeks for giving Souths winger Jamie “Bart” Simpson a hickey on his arm last week. Potential replacement Preston Campbell “Soup” is also struggling with injuries and may miss. If the above eventuates, Brenton Bowen “Arrow” will start at fullback with Mat “Rat” Rogers to move to five-eighth and “Messy” Esi Tonga to play in the centres.

The Sharks are expected to be as named with no changes forecast.

Game news: Sharks looking to avoid the spoon but it won’t be enough to prevent the Titans from consolidating 3rd spot. This could get messy.

Tip: Titans by 20

Odds: Titans – $1.10, Sharks $6.50

Footy TAB: Sharks +17.5

Best bets: Safety – Titans over 6.5, Value bet – Titans 19+

Storm v Sea Eagles – Olympic Park 3:00pm

Team news: No late changes expected for the Storm with Greg “Palmer” Inglis sitting out his second match after assault charges.

For Manly, there has been talk the Brett “Ray Warren loves me” Stewart may play but according to 2KY this morning, he won’t play this weekend and will make his return at Brookvale next week. Shane “Warney” Rodney will drop off the bench.

Game news: Grand Final rematch with both teams playing inconsistent football. The Storm will be looking at wrapping up 4th spot and home final while the Eagles will be out to steal the Storm’s thunder and spot in the top 4. Expect a grinding match with points at a premium with the home ground advantage tipping the scales Melbourne’s way.

Tip: Storm by 2

Odds: Storm – $1.90, Sea Eagles – $1.90

Footy TAB: Sea Eagles +2.5

Best bets: Safety – Storm +12.5, Value bet – either team under 6.5

Bulldogs v Roosters – ANZ 7:00pm

Team news: Luke Patten “my groin” is expected to return from an ankle injury. Prop Jarrad “Love Bite” Hickey is also confident of starting after he was concussed in last week’s game when he clashed heads with Carl “Spider” Webb. Michael “Jordan” Hodgson has a calf injury and will have a fitness test today.

The Roosters have no injury worries coming into the game, with resident Scatologist, Dr Nate “Pooper” Myles, returning from suspension.

Game news: Roosters are desperate to avoid the wooden spoon and the Bulldogs would love nothing more than to condemn their arch-rivals to it after they ended up with it last year. The Dogs showed their class last week and I expect them to get the job done well on Monday night, despite their injury concerns up front.

Tip: Bulldogs by 24

Odds: Bulldogs – $1.11, Roosters $6.00

Footy TAB: Roosters +17.5

Best bets: Safety – Bulldogs over 6.5 pts, Value bet – Bulldogs 19+

>Sports Alive have all the latest odds for NRL round 24.

Thursday morning Australian time sees 4 of the games from round 2 of the EPL being played. There have been some postponed games due to European duties of some clubs.

Yesterday we picked Chelsea to get up over Sunderland. As predicted Sunderland came out firing and had a lead at half time despite the quality shown by Chelsea. They were completely dominated in the second half and goals to Drogba, Lampard along with a superb strike from Deco means they were victorious 3-1.

In my hot tip for betting on the EPL I didn’t fare so well. Wigan who were at home after a dazzling win over Aston Villa were playing Wolves. They were coming off a first game loss and had to play away. But, go figure. Wolverhampton won, in what I see as a real upset. Wigan really did look the goods in the 1st round.

Moving on, we have 4 games to look at in the early hours of Thursday. Most of the kick offs are at 4:45am with one at 5:00am. The first game that I want you to take a look at is the Birmingham City vs Portsmouth game. I am going to take Birmingham in this one because Portsmouth are in a world of trouble right now.

If you are betting on Sportsbet you can get odds of $2.05 for Birmingham. I’m jumping on this one hard, because I have a feeling the Portsmouth club is in total disarray right now. The draw is $3.25 and Portsmouth are @ $3.75.

Get on Birmingham City now. This is a hot tip!

The next game on the cards is Burnley at home to Manchester United. Burnley lost to Stoke in their opening game while Man Utd opened with a win against Birmingham. While I think United will struggle a little bit they should get home in the end. They are paying $1.30 with the draw @ $4.75 and Burnley way out at $10.00. This should be a bread a butter game for the Red Devils. Put this in your multi bets.

The 3rd game in the morning will be one that I will be watching with a keen interest. Hull are at home to Tottenham in a game that I think is not as straight forward as the pundits think. Hull City gave Chelsea tremendous trouble and it wasn’t until injury time they unluckily lost the game. They will be at home to a side that completely outplayed Liverpool at home in the first round. I am going to go out on a limb here and say that this one could end up in a draw.

Spurs are red hot at the moment but could come crashing back to Earth here. I won’t be betting on this game. For those that think Tottenham will be too strong for Hull you can get odds of $1.95 at TAB Sportsbet. The draw is paying $3.35 with Hull at $3.90. In my research today I noticed the media were all over Tottenham, so if you’re one to follow the norm then jump on them.

Lastly, we go to Anfield where Liverpool will be looking to rectify their dreadful start to the season. Granted, it was only one game; but they were dominated throughout and will need to lift substantially if they are going to go anywhere this season. In my EPL betting futures article I wrote them off completely. I still stand by that.

Stoke opened up with a 2-0 win over Burnley on their opening day. They are looking to solidify their spot in the Premier League this year so will be hoping to cause problems for some of the bigger teams. I do think Liverpool will hit back in this game even though they are under pressure. I won’t be betting on them though because I find this game too risky.

If you are having a punt then I suggest you get on at Sportsbet. Liverpool are paying $1.25 which is far too short in my opinion. You get much better value for the draw at $5.25. If you think the Reds are going to capitulate even further then you can jump on Stoke at juicy odds of $14.00.

Best EPL Betting Tip: For Thursday the 20th of August I will be getting on Birmingham City. Portsmouth have sold off their best players and I think they will have a real battle on their hands to not get relegated.

Value Bet: Even though Tottenham are paying $1.95 that is good value. As you read above they are in hot form but I have my doubts. If you think they are a good thing then jump on them. Pundits are saying that they are this year’s dark horses and will give the top 4 a real shake up.

Make an account at Sportsbet now!

Sports Alive, for those that don’t know is one of Australia’s newest bookmakers. They have released their biggest bets from last weekend. Punters last weekend seem to have run out of luck on the sport. The previous week they dominated and took the Australian sportsbook for a lot of money. Last weekend Sports Alive got their own back, with bettors only coming out ahead by betting on horse racing. I will give a quick recap of how the Australian sports bettors went in each sport on the weekend.

NRL Betting – A lot of money was put on the Dragons against the Raiders which will see a few unhappy punters. It was always going to be a difficult game for the Dragons as previous journeys to Canberra had resulted in terrible performances. There were some nice wins though for the home team. There was a $2000 bet @ $2.90 for the win and a $3000 line bet.

The most heavily backed team in round 23 of the NRL were the Cowboys. They surrendered a 12 point lead to disappoint many punters. There were several $5000 bets that the sportsbook held on this game that they didn’t have to pay out. Quite a nice game for the Aussie bookmaker I’m sure.

In one of the biggest bets of the round; there was a $10,000 wager placed on the Rabbitohs to knock off the Titans. They bet didn’t come through either for yet another loss to punters. Sports Alive also held a $3000 bet on the Roosters with a 12.5 point head start. I don’t know what information that punter thought he had, but I don’t want anything to do with the Sydney Roosters at this point.

The market for the 2009 NRL Premiership has changed around a bit, especially with the hot form of Parramatta. They have shortened into $12.00 as everyone starts to believe they are in with a real chance. The Dragons are at $2.75, the Bulldogs $4.65 and Manly at $7.50. You would be comfortable having your money on the Dragons at this point, but it does seem awfully short.

Visit the official Sports Alive website now.

AFL Betting – Punters we jammed in the AFL on the weekend as well. With St Kilda losing their first game of the season there were a heap of multi bets that lost. The only highlight to come out of betting on the game was a $900 bet on Essendon @ $6.00.

Sports Alive had heavy wins this week on 3 key games. These were West Coast beating beating North Melbourne, the Demon’s major upset win over Fremantle and when Geelong weren’t able to cover the line over the Swans.

In the AFL 2009 Premiership betting St Kilda have loosened up to $2.45, Geelong are paying $3.10 and the in form Collingwood have shorted to $4.35.

A-League Betting – With the first two rounds of the A League now complete we can begin to see who the front runners are going to be. Like I said at the beginning of the season you should be jumping all over Gold Coast United. They have a far superior team and definitely look the goods. Just two weeks ago they were paying $8.00 which is when I said to jump on (shameless boast); they are now favourites @ $4.25. Sydney FC are paying $4.50 and Melbourne are @ $5.00. It is still early on, but they have emerged as clear front runners and the winner will come from one of these three.

PGA Golf Betting – Gold bettors got flogged during the last Golf major, but not as much as you might have expected. Tiger Woods was run down on the last day for the first time in history. There was a $5000 bet made @ $1.85 and a $2000 head-to-head bet with Y.E Yang that saw Sports Alive come out well ahead. News wasn’t all bad though, a $300 bet on Yang @ $21.00 gave a return of $6000. Another Aussie had a $150 bet on Brendan Jones to be the leading Australian @ $51. That gave him a draw for a win of $3675.

Horse Racing Betting – To the delight of Australian sports bettors there was plenty of money splashed around for everyone last weekend at the gallops. Acquired was the horse that cost Sports Alive a ton of money. Punter were all over it. One QLD guy had $3000 @ $7.00 to net a nice victory.

The next horse in the thick of things was Caulfield winner Starspangledbanner. The largest bet placed on him was $8000 @ $3.30. Pacino caused Sports Alive grief when they paid out $16,000 following an $8000 bet at $3.00. Caulfield seemed to keep paying out all day long; Cats Whisker paid out a punter a win of $14,000.

Centennial Park took some massive bets and bettors were laughing all the way to the bank. The two biggest bets were both $10,000. One of these was @ $2.50 and the other @ $2.60. Rangirangdoo capped a disaster day off for the Australian bookmaker when a $5000 bet won @ $3.20.

That wraps up the biggest bets placed last weekend at Sports Alive. If you haven’t already created an account there I highly recommend you do. They are a pleasure to deal with and have high standards in security and honesty.

Creat an account at Sports Alive now!

PokerStars is now offering an amazing 100% up to $600 bonus for new players! This blows away their previous bonus of just $50. PokerStars have really turned up the heat of late as they duel with Full Tilt Poker who are also offering sweet deals.

This $600 bonus at PokerStars matches their main rival and makes them solidify their place on top of the online poker sites. To receive the full PokerStars bonus all you have to do is create an account. When you are going through the registration process there are a couple of things you have to keep in mind. To make it easier for you I will give you a step by ste guide:

Step 1 – Visit PokerStars and download the software.

Step 2 – During the registration process enter the PokerStars bonus code STARS600

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Australia demolished the England batting lineup in the first innings of the fourth Ashes Test. The Poms scored just 102 runs as they capitulated and fell to defeat at the hands of the Aussies. The 5th and final Ashes Test gets underway on Thursday night AEST in what should be a formality for the Aussies. All we have to do is escape from the game with a draw to reclaim the Ashes.

Betting markets are now open on the deciding Ashes Test match. Sportsbet have their odds up and have placed the draw as the favourite. I can foresee a drawn game as well. You can make a bet on the Ashes game 5 by creating an account at TAB Sportsbet.

Once you have done that you can pick from the following odds on the game:

Draw @ $2.25 – My pick.
Australia @ $2.40.
England $5.00.

There are also plenty of other betting markets available to Australian sports bettors in the 5th Ashes Test. Below I have given a recap of exactly what is available to bet on:

You can also bet on head to head. The decision you have to make is which player will score the most runs or take the most wickets in the 1st innings. here are the match ups:

There is also line betting available for us to bet on for the 5th Ashes Test. This pretty much means that you chose if the batmen in question will score more or less than the line. The odds for betting on this are @ $1.90.

As far as tips go for the last Ashes Test go I think your bets bet is to play it safe. Take a look at the form of the players and bet accordingly. I will be putting my money on Shane Watson and Michael Clarke. There are a number of betting markets that they are included in. They are both in solid form and I can’t go past them. Use your head – bet smart.

Form will give you the answers you are looking for.

Create an account at TAB Sportsbet now to start betting! (AustralianGambling.com.au readers get a special bonus)

This post is written by our in house English Premier League expert Bernie Pollock.

The first round of the EPL is now over so we can make some better calculations as to who is going to win upcoming matches. The reason I didn’t want to post before round 1 of the EPL 2009 season is because it is simply too hard to predict before a ball has been kicked. Now that I have watched all the games there is a much better chance we will back some winners.

Round-up of the First Matches

As you might have expected there were some upsets in the first round of the EPL season as teams find their form and regain match fitness. The biggest upset of the round came in the last game. Liverpool lost away to Tottenham 2-1 to see them drop 3 points behind their main competitors in Chelsea, Man Utd and Arsenal after just one game. If you throw the big spending Man City team in there as well – you can see that they are on the back foot from the get go.

Here are the results from the 1st round of the English Premier League for 2009:

Manchester United beat Birmingham City 1-0
Tottenham Hotspur beat Liverpool 2-1
Wolverhampton Wanderers lost to West Ham United 0-2
Aston Villa lost to Wigan Athletic 0-2
Blackburn Rovers lost to Manchester City 0-2
Bolton Wanderers lost to Sunderland 0-1
Chelsea beat Hull 2-1
Everton lost to Arsenal 1-6
Portsmouth lost to Fulham 0-1
Stoke beat Burnley 2-0

As you can see there are some pretty surprising results in there. You may have also noticed that there was not one draw during this round. The betting on the future rounds of the EPL will get easier as the season progresses, but I have some hot tips for those that want to jump on now. I will be writing a betting report before every round so all you have to do is visit AustralianGambling.com.au to find the best betting tips for football around the world.

EPL Betting Futures

I tend to use a few different Australian bookmakers but when it comes to the EPL Sportsbet generally has me covered. For the remainder of the article to football odds that I mention are from the official TAB Sportsbet website.

My hot tip for the EPL winner this year is Chelsea. Even though I have been a fan since back in the Zola days, this is not a biased opinion. Last year I backed the Red Devils and this year I think the Blues have the goods. Man Utd will not perform well this year. They have lost Ronaldo along with Tevez. They have a heap of injuries in their defense at the moment and they simply don’t have the quality in their team to win this season. They are second favourites paying $3.25.

Liverpool have lost their midfield hard man in Xabi Alonso. This lad never got the praise he deserved and the Reds will sorely miss him. If you take a look at their team as a whole, they only have one solid player in each position. Aside from Carragher, Gerard and Torres the rest of the team is made up of minnows. They do not have the quality to win this season. They are already off to a bad start losing 2-1 to the Spurs. Betting on the EPL season winner has them at $5.00.

Arsenal won their first game against Everton convincingly. They hammered the Toffees 6-1 to inflict the worst opening round defeat on Everton in their history. Everyone had written them off at the beginning of the season but now everyone wants a piece of them. My prediction has not changed whatsoever. Arsenal have always been capable of pulling out a result like this but they simply don’t have the depth in their squad to keep it going all season. They will drop points when times are tough and won’t be able to keep up with the likes of Chelsea.

Man City is definitely my dark horse for the 2009/2010 EPL season. Everyone is talking about the possibility that they could break into the top 4. I think they will go better than that and will challenge for the title. I think they have a much better chance than Liverpool and Arsenal of winning this year. I don’t think they quite have what it takes to win this season, but they have the quality there to give it a good shake. Sportsbet have them at juicy odds of $13.00.

Chelsea are the ones that will take our the title this year. They haven’t lost any of their big name players like the rest of the top 4 have. They have a highly respected coach now Carlo Ancelotti. He took AC Milan to 3 Champions League titles and looks the goods. Finally a manager has come in and started to play the team with two strikers. With both Drogba and Anelka up front they will be causing havoc all season. They still have the likes of Lampard, Ballack, Deco and Cole in the midfield. That is to go along with Terry, Carvalho, Cole, Bosingwa and Cech as the back. They have a well rounded side and are deserved betting favourites to win this season. Sportsbet have them paying $2.85 to win. Get on it now.

Bets bets and tips for EPL Round 2

Early Wednesday morning sees Chelsea away to Sunderland and Wigan at home to Wolverhampton. Chelsea struggled for fluency with their new formation against Hull City and will be looking to improve on that. Sunderland have improved their squad with the influx of new money by their owner. They have the likes of Marcus bent and Kenwynne Jones up front who will cause a lot of trouble. This is the type of game that Chesea will need to win if they want to be triumphant this year. I think it will be a real arm wrestle in which Chelsea will get up in. You can get on the Blues at $1.51. Perhaps you fancy Sunderland will snag a draw at home? That’s paying $3.75 with the win for Sunderland paying $7.50.

The second game that is on early Wednesday morning is between Wigan and the Wolves. Wigan opened up with an outstanding 2-0 win over Aston Villa. The Wolves lost to West Ham 2-0 and didn’t show much in their first home game. This game is actually my red hot tip of the round. I think it is a no brainer if we go on the form of the first round and the fact that Wigan are at home. The odds are suprisingly generous as well for Aussie sports bettors.

EPL Tip of the Round – Wigan Athletic at home to beat Wolverhampton Wanderers @ $1.72

Stay tuned because tomorrow I will be dishing out some more hot tips for the rest of the game in round 2 betting of the English Premier League. Those games are on Thursday morning Australian time. For those that are interested – Fox Sports will be playing the Chelsea vs Sunderland game at 4:45am. If you want to follow my hot tip of the round I suggest following it on Live Score

The 2009 A-League season gets underway on Thursday night in what is shaping up to be the most exciting season so far. With the addition of the North Queensland Fury and Gold Coast United it should be a hotly contested competition.

In regard to the betting on the A-League 2009 season; there is certainly some great odds to take advantage of. Because of the uncertainty that surrounds each of the teams, the odds vary quite considerably.

In my opinion, the best way to attack the betting for the A League is to take a look at the teams on paper. Hands down, Gold Coast United win in this aspect. Whether they can put everything together on the field is another story. They do have a solid coach in Miron Bleiberg and wealthy owner in Clive Palmer backing the club.

TAB Sportsbet have the best coverage and odds of the 2009 A-League season. Futures markets are now open that include the winner of the A-League and the wooden spoon.

Start betting online with the latest A-League odds

Best Bets for 2009 A-League season – Jump on Gold Coast United to win @ $6.50. They haven’t lost a pre-season match and look the goods. As soon as they string a few wins together those odds will be long gone. Look out for Jason Culina this season, he will pull all the strings.

Wooden Spoon - I think this has to go to the Wellington Phoenix – again. They have lost their star player in Shane Smeltz and haven’t recruited well at all in the off season. I can’t see them having much success this season whatsoever.

Dark Horse – This goes to the Perth Glory. They have a new owner and have strengthened their squad considerably in the off season. They now have 3 Socceroos playing for them and a very solid defense with Chris Coyne back there. These guys should cause more than their share of upsets this season.

Other future betting markets for A League 2009 – There is some definite value here at Sportsbet. You should be able to make a killing. The head to head betting to see who will finish top by the end of the season is an easy place to make money.

My recommendation is to be on Gold Coast United to beat the Brisbane Roar. The Roar will go backwards this year after losing their star player to United. They will not place well this season. Get on Gold Coast United now. They are paying $2.05. Easiest money you can make.

Make an account at Sportsbet now.

There are plenty of other head to head matches to be on at Sportsbet. I just gave you my pick which is almost a certainty. All you have to do is do some research into the teams and find out which ones you think will perform and which ones won’t. Betting has never been son easy.

Round 1 Betting

The season kicks of on Thursday night between Melbourne and the Central Coast. be wary of these first round matches as there will be teams struglging to gel and perform early on. You can bet on more than just the result of the games. Some of the other markets include betting on the first team scorer and picking the final score.

The other first round matches are Adelaide vs Perth, North Queensland vs Sydney, Brisbane vs Gold Coast and Newcastle vs Wellington.

For all the latest odds – Visit TAB Sportsbet