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 With bookmakers pricing up earlier than ever on major sporting events the sports bettor is often torn by when to place his bets. The most popular option for me is to wait until just before kickoff which means I have plenty of time to take things like climatic changes and any late team news into account. {readmorelink}Read more{/readmorelink}
There are times though when the early prices on offer are such that by waiting too long you are going to miss out as alert punters will steam in and grab the perceived value on offer from under your nose.
Looking at the Super 14 in particular I noted with interest that while most bookmakers start pricing up from the Wednesday, Mbet.co.za come out with their early prices on a Monday afternoon. On the face of it they are taking a risk as they have not had a chance to compare their odds and handicaps to other bookmakers and should they read a game incorrectly they are liable to be standing a particular result come kickoff with little chance to trade out of it.
This could turn out to be a great marketing move with long term benefits though.
This week for example they priced the Hurricanes as 8.5 favourites over the Force. I have no doubt that the final handicap will be around the 12-13 point mark. With fellow punters sharing these sentiments waiting to place the bet is not an option and the money will go down (mine included) shortening the price and eventually shifting the handicap.
Mbet will be in a position of risk as their book is lopsided and a huge Hurricanes win would see them payout to a string of punters. Far more important to them though is the fact that to grab the early value you need to open an account.
Yes you may well beat them over the Super 14 season but they will no doubt get your World Cup and other bets as well. I imagine they will see any losses as a result of this strategy as a marketing cost and as a punter with an eye for value I take my hat off to them and I hope that they get the rewards in the form of additional clients.
Make no mistake though I am looking to bolster my bank balance at their expense as well.
This article was written for the CitiGaming supplement of the Citizen Newspaper and was first published on the 18th of February 2010.
Brent Graham is a blogger on www.goodforthegame.co.za and presents a sports betting radio show every Thursday night from 22h00 – 22h30 on 1485AM Radio Today or Channel 169 of the DSTV Audio Bouquet.
You can follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/brentgraham or get on his mailing list by dropping him a line at brent@goodforthegame.co.za
   
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