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Craig Edwards' Snooker and Golf Blog

Yearly review

Uncategorised Posted on 12 Jan, 2020 11:15AM

Dear golf and snooker member,

Above is the stats for the service.  Top line is lifetime which is a month short of two years while the bottom line is 2020

Overall it has been a good second year for the service, with the golf place doing its job of grinding a profit while we take bigger priced shots in the golf outright.  This brings balance to the principal of grinding a regular profit for golf members.  With patience and discipline golf is the best betting medium I am aware of and has been for nearly 30 years.  There are so many markets to exploit and despite the bookmakers squeezing their percentage in the last two years.  Using one perspective it has been remarkable that not one place model pick has won a tournament in the two years because they will, but in truth that is my strength as a tipster, recognising which players are comfortable playing for cheques and which ones excel in winning positions.  From my background of playing snooker I realise how the mind-set of a professional can make up easily 90% of the performance.  Players do evolve or seek sports psychiatrists help and I also believe I try to be sensitive/learn all the time.  In hindsight my staking could have been better despite significant profits, when we moved in heavily on someone or an event the result was not there, whereas in 2018 we smashed into a few like Tom Lewis (50/1), Tom Gillis 66/1 and 175/1 (twice), and Matt Jager (250/1).  On the one hand that distorted my figures but again that is my strength as a tipster.

I have a couple of areas that I want to improve, firstly the last couple of weeks of 2019 when our staking was relatively small, we moved the markets very fast.  That could be possibly because events not on the PGA Tour and European Tour don’t have robust enough markets.  Time will tell, and if markets start to move too fast and existing subscribers keep missing out, I will stop taking new members until someone leaves.  Hopefully that won’t be the case when the main tours start.

Second area, on the place model, I am considering increasing selections over the coming year by no more than 10%.  Looking at my notes and lists from last year if I had changed criteria for selection down one notch, I realised we would have increased profit and with it being the most stable commodity we have; the goal is to move it over 30% ROI. 

The snooker, has been a gring, particularly from April onwards but overall when you consider that Shaun Murphy 20/1 and Thepchayia un-Nooh 100/+ place, were our only decent outright draws, that in its own right is encouragement.  As with all sports there is unpredictability and no two days are the same (I can remember, just, lol) but of course that is no excuse just a fact.

Overall the beauty of the service is you don’t have to stake thousands and at £10 = 1 unit or £1 = 0.1 unit the service has yielded over £6000 profit in two years.  I accept the temptation is always to get stuck into short priced selections but my figures tell you different.  For those reasons it is my disciplined members that use golf exchanges well that get the most out of the service.  Using the exchanges wisely can only increase your profits on my figures and I am always happy to help with that.  Bookies make it more awkward than ever these days so always be prepared to use close family and friends accounts when possible.

For January the all-inclusive yearly package is down to £249.99.  Anyone who has time on their package but wants to take advantage of the offer can do so and i will extend their current expiry date.

https://edwards-tips.co.uk/sign-up.html

Lastly, I sincerely hope you all have had a good Christmas and wish you a happy new year.

Craig.



Masters Outright

Uncategorised Posted on 12 Jan, 2020 10:38AM

Snooker Betting Predictions and Tips

MASTERS

January 12-19

Alexandra Palace, London

The first snooker tournament of 2020 is the prestigious Masters which makes up the third part in snooker’s Triple Crown with the UK Championship and World Championship.  This is an elite invitation tournament for the top 16 in the world rankings at the completion of the UK Championship in early December 2019.  With £250,000 first prize and £15,000 for an invitation, it is an event that player’s clamber to make.  This year, however, seven times champion Ronnie O’Sullivan has decided to refuse the invite opening up an extra spot for Ali Carter who was ranked 17th and giving a different and more open dimension to the event.

Draw:

Judd Trump v Shaun Murphy

Ding Junhui v Joe Perry

Mark Selby v Ali Carter

John Higgins v Barry Hawkins

Neil Robertson v Stephen Maguire

Mark Allen v David Gilbert

Kyren Wilson v Jack Lisowski

Mark Williams v Stuart Bingham

Betting Predictions and Tips

Judd Trump is the defending champion and number one seed having beating Ronnie O’Sullivan in last year’s final.  Last year’s win was the launching pad for a superb 2019 that saw Trump become World Champion for the first time.  With five other tournament wins Trump has an impressive lead at the top of the world rankings and the ‘man to beat’ this week.  He does have an extremely difficult opening match against 2015 champion, Shaun Murphy who was back his brilliant best, winning the China Championship after two other runner-up finishes in the Asian swing in the early months of the world snooker 2019/2020 season.  The winner of that match will probably face another tough task against China’s Ding Junhui who emerged from a two-year slump by winning the UK Championship in December.  He too is a previous Masters champion back in 2011 and was a semi-finalist last year. The Chinese superstar is a player who needs confidence and one of the few players with a good head to head record against Judd Trump.  Happily, my subscribers are on Ding Junhui at 34.00 from December and have great value but don’t be mistaken this section is the most difficult by far.  Joe Perry made the final at Alexandra Palace the last time he played and has beaten Ding twice in the Masters.  Perry may be the outsider of the section, but those facts combined with an ability to play well versus Trump and Ding he could play a factor.

Without doubt, the top half of the draw is the hardest with another former champion, Mark Selby looking back to his best in recent months by winning two home nations events, the English Open and the Scottish Open just three weeks ago.  In 2008 Selby, remarkably won the first of his three Masters titles on debut and with his other wins in 2010 and 2013 he also had two runner-up finishes to mean he competed in five finals in a seven-year period by 2014.  Surprisingly he has not made a semi-final in the last five years and looks overdue.

The bottom half has Neil Robertson leading the way after a superb 2018/2019 season saw him catapult back into the top 4 having dropped out of the elite top 16 a year earlier.  The 2019/2020 season has been poor for the Australian in ranking tournaments but did win the invitation Champion of Champions tournament in a final of the highest quality against Judd Trump.  He has an awkward first-round match against a rejuvenated Stephen Maguire to negotiate.  The winner of Robertson/Maguire will play Mark Allen or this year’s debutant David Gilbert.  It is a tall order for a debutant to win the Masters and Gilbert is not a proven winner despite being superb all year.  Mark Allen though was the 2018 Masters champion and has six semi-final appearances in nine tournaments this 2019/2020 campaign.  He will be hard to beat and the winner of this quarter will be favourite in the semi-final against a weak looking quarter 4.

The weak-looking quarter 4 sees 2018 runner-up Kyren Wilson play Scottish Open runner up Jack Lisowski while double Masters champion, Mark Williams plays Stuart Bingham.  Jack Lisowski looks the only in-form player in this segment and should improve on last year’s nervous Masters’ debut.  One noticeable fact about Lisowski is his ability to lose in the early stages of ranking tournaments to older journeyman pros while his multiple positive head to head records against many of the top players.  Possibly the logic is that playing the best players frees him up to go for his shots and no doubt if they go in at the Alexandra Palace the crowd will get behind the talented left-hander.

In summary, Mark Selby and Mark Allen are three solid bets to win their respective quarters while Lisowski looks the value from the weakest quarter.



Masters 12th and 13th

Uncategorised Posted on 12 Jan, 2020 10:15AM

Sunday 12th January, 13:00

Ding Junhui v Joe Perry

Betting Odds: Junhui 1.45, Perry 3.10

Head to Head: 16-6

This year’s tournament leads off on the afternoon of Sunday the 12th January with 2011 champion Ding Junhui playing Joe Perry.

Ding Junhui won his third UK Championship in December and re-established his credentials at the top of the sport.  He had been in a slump for over two seasons since losing to Mark Selby in the 2017 World Snooker Championship semi-final.  In 2016 he also suffered a close loss in the 2016 World Snooker Championship final to the same player and possibly fell out of love with the game.  Having followed his UK Championship win with many impressive wins at the Scottish Open and overseas qualifying he arrives at Alexandra Palace with a new impetus in his career and is amongst the leading contenders for the title.

Gentleman Joe Perry will be no easy match for the Chinese superstar after his last Masters appearance in 2017 resulted him losing to Ronnie O’Sullivan in the final.  Perry is one of the most performers on the circuit and regularly proves his ability to mix it with the very best.  To illustrate that he has beat reigning world champion and world number one twice in just over a year while also making the final at last season’s European Masters.

Like always at the Masters there are no easy matches with only the world’s top 16 invited.  This has potential to be a high-quality opening for the event and these two players have an interesting history at the event.  Ding Junhui won their first encounter at this great championship but surprisingly to many Perry has won their two most recent matches here.  At first glance of their head to head it would be understandable to think to expect Ding to justify favouritism but at Alexandra Palace, Perry raises his game.

In that knowledge we will concentrate on the break markets and despite the opening frames on a new cloth being awkward with the cushions sliding it does however, make the pockets play slightly easier the longer the match progresses.

If Bet365 put up no centuries in frame 1-4 close to the start it is worth a small bet at 1.80+.  Long term members will know it is a market we target here and the World Championship winning on the last six occasions.

Sunday 12th January

Mark Selby v Ali Carter

Betting Odds: Mark Selby 1.44, Ali Carter 3.30

Head to Head: 19-12

Mark Selby has a superb record at the Masters winning on three occasions, on debut in 2007, then 2009 and 2012.  It is a while since he featured prominently in the tournament and maybe this is the year, he wins a fourth title having rediscovered his best form in recent months winning the English and Scottish Open’s.

The Captain, Ali Carter was the grateful and unlikely recipient from the withdrawal of his arch adversary Ronnie O’Sullivan.  Always one of the toughest match-players on the snooker circuit Carter has been grinding wins all season without reaching the later stages of tournaments.  His last final was at the start of 2019 at the Coral Grand Prix.

There is a match to like in this match and that is to exploit Ali Carter who in recent months has been starting matches slowly only winning frame 1 on one occasion in his last seven matches.  Paddy Power have Mark Selby to win frame 1 and the match at 2.00 which looks a solid bet for those who can otherwise concentrate on Selby to win frame 1 at 1.60+.

Recommended Snooker Bets

Mark Selby – to win frame 1 and the match @ 2.00 (1/1) Paddy Power

Monday 13th January

Neil Robertson v Stephen Maguire

Betting Odds: Neil Robertson 1.33, Stephen Maguire 3.60

Head to Head: 10-16

Australian, Neil Robertson attempts to win his second Masters title this year having won the first one ever at Alexandra Palace in 2012.  He has managed two runner-up finishes since and last year lost in the semi-final to eventual champion, Judd Trump.  After a superb 2018-2019 season that saw Robertson rise back to sport’s highest echelons the current season in ranking tournaments has been a disaster.  Missing his flight to the season opening Riga Masters when he was defending champion seems to have set the precedent for what was to come.  In the Champion of Champions however he did find the previous season’s form beating Ronnie O’Sullivan and Judd Trump in scintillating fashion a couple of months ago to remind us his best is not far away.

Four times Stephen Maguire has made the semi-final at the Masters, the last of which was in 2014.  This season has been a significant improvement for the Scot having taken ownership of a shared practice facility with friends John Higgins and Anthony McGill.  He won the World Cup with Higgins then won the Six Reds World Championship followed by reaching the final of the UK Championship, amassing over £300,000 in the process.

An interesting matchup when you consider Maguire holds a surprising head to head advantage, primarily accumulated in their early careers’ when Maguire won their opening six encounters.  For those reasons we can expect a good showing from Maguire guaranteeing a high-quality match with plenty of breaks.