In economic circles there is plenty of debate about whether or not the bottom of the market has been reached and betting blogger Brent Graham is singing a similar tune after another disappointing weekend of punting.

I love betting on sports but I must say that the highs and lows are really extreme and I would liken it to a roller coaster ride although with betting you never know what lies ahead.

This weekend was another frustrating one for me not least of which because I missed getting a bet on Sunday that would have seen me break square. It was in the cycling where I fancied Andy Schleck for a good ride in the Liege-Bastogne-Liege after his strong showing midweek in the Fleche Wallonne where he was runner up. 

I logged on to place the bet Sunday morning only to see the market was suspended. I could see Schleck was 8/1 and I made a mental note to return later to put a couple of units on. As my wife will tell you mental notes seldom do the trick for me and I totally forgot to check back at the betting and ended up watching in despair as Schleck stormed clear with 20km to go and despite efforts from the main field he trotted up comfortably for the biggest win of his career. 

My real disappointment though was in the golf where only 1 of my 4 selections in the Zurich Classic (Todd Hamilton) made the cut. He never threatened the placings though and I lost 10 units and am left wondering what has happened to my golf form which was so solid up until the US Masters when things began to go pear shaped. Non punters would no doubt find this hard to believe but just like the players themselves we have form fluctuations throughout the year and I am certainly in a dip at present. 

I never got too involved in the Super 14 but I did get greedy. My Best Bet* as sent to my mailing list was the Force -6.5 over the Lions and the Bulls to beat the Chiefs at combined odds of 1.78/1. Both legs came home with the Force really cruising in however rather than follow my own advice I tried to bite off a bit more and threw in the Hurricanes and Crusaders to win their matches. This took the odds out to 7/2 but the Cheetahs once again made me look stupid (and feel sick) when they landed just their second victory of the season in a match that cost me rockets in the spreads markets as well. 

Overall I gave 6 units back in this weekends Super 14 and my long term bets are all touch and go (see details below) meaning I will be watching the run in with interest (click here for the latest Super 14 betting) 

My partner Chris Sturdy has been doing a great job covering each match of the IPL (you can view his previews in our special IPL section) and I dabbled a bit over the past days keeping stakes small and enjoying some of the trading opportunities offered by the in-running or in-play markets.  

Things pretty much balanced out though and after a strong start I came out 0.55 units up which is slightly more than my 0.44 units profit in my Soccer Scramble. That result could have been much better had Spurs held on to beat United instead of conceding 5 second half goals to go down 5-2. It simply wasn’t to be my weekend though but I’ll be back. 

BETTING SUMMARY

Balance after week 15: 61.9 units
Week 16 result: -15.01 units
Running balance: +46.89 units 

I am still in positive territory but well off the 130 unit profit I was showing just a few weeks ago. 

Pending Bets

Champions League: 8 units (Chelsea win 2, any English team 6)
Golf: Race to Dubai: 30 units (10 wins Garcia and 20 places Garcia)

PSL: Ajax (5 units at 2/1)

Super 14: 60 units (Sharks Top SA, Brumbies Top Aus, Hurricanes Top Kiwi, Cheetahs for last, Sharks and Canes to win, a match bet treble Lions/Cheetahs, Reds/Highlanders, Sharks/Blues)

F1: 2 units Button for the title at an average of 53/1

Idols: 1 unit Sasha-Lee at 9/2

For my early thoughts on Super 14 week 12 check out our Discussion Forum 

BEST & VALUE BET