I usually tap this column out with some serious enthusiasm but this week the fingers are moving a bit slower than usual. The reason quite simply was my worst weekend of sports betting ever and it is fair to say that when people talk of the brilliant Masters victory of Charl Schwartzel in future years, a shiver will go down my spine as I recall how it all went wrong in the second week of April 2011.

 When you bet on as much sport as I do you are bound to make an occasional error when submitting your bets and this weekend my complacency cost me a tidy packet.

  5 weeks in it is time to take my 1^st Super Rugby report card home to Mom!

Let me start this weeks column with good news and that is that I had a really enjoyable camping weekend at Buffelspoort with the family and despite only watching a single game I managed to claw back most of the previous weeks losses.

 At the end of every football season you hear about the little old lady who stuck 2 pounds on an accumulator with a UK bookmaker and managed to correctly pick the winners of 15 different leagues catapulting her to millionaire status.

 I have written before about the importance of information and how getting key facts early can give you the edge over the bookmakers. I recall getting an SMS weather update from a mate 30 minutes before kickoff of a Super 14 game in Sydney which confirmed the rain had arrived and saw me cancel plans to have a bet that required loads of tries and points.

 If you put R100 on the Proteas and the Springboks both winning their World Cups this year you would pocket a cool R4400 in a few months time, that is assuming they win of course!

Keen sports bettor Brent Graham sends out a free e-mail with his best or value bet for the week and in this betting blog he takes a look at how you would have done if you had followed him to the letter in 2010.