It is time for quarterfinals in the World Cup 2010 in South Africa and now it the interesting part begins.  Eight teams left and the team that wins their next three games will win the World Cup.

So far, this has been South Americas World Cup and they have four teams left out of totally eight. In these two texts I will give you my best bettingtips in the first two matches that is going to be played on Friday between Holland vs. Brazil and Uruguay vs. Ghana.

I will give you the best 1-x-2 tips and then some special bets from each of the matches, starting with Holland vs. Brazil (the odds are picked from bwin sportsbetting odds):

Holland vs. Brasil, odds: Holland to win 3.75, draw 3.45, Brazil to win 1.95

My bettingtips: Draw @ 3.75 in odds

I can agree with bwin that Brazil is favourites in this game, but according to me, they have become way to big favourites in this game. Both Brazil and Holland has impressed a lot on me so far in the championship and 1.95 in odds on Brazil to win during ordinary time doesn’t seem valuable to bet on.

None of these teams has lost in the World Cup so far and both of the teams has impressed with a strong defence.  Neither Brazil nor Holland normally plays with two defensive midfielders but in this tournament both the teams has chosen that solution.

After that, Dunga took over as manager for the Brazilian team they have played more tactical then before and lots of Brazilians are critical for their tactic. But at the same time I don’t think they have a reason to do that since they won both the South American championship and the Confederations Cup last year.

Holland has been well known as the country that plays “total football” which means all of attack and lots of players that runs towards the opponents goal. Anyway, even though they have made it well most of the times they haven’t been able to win any trophy’s at the end when it comes to the final games.

Therefore, this year, even Holland’s manager has chosen to play with two central defensive players in front of their defenders and I have to say that I am impressed of their balanced and focused way of playing. And this is the reason why I think that they can go far in this tourney.

Brazil pays under 2 in odds and I don’t think that they should be that big favourites since Holland have lots of world class players that can make it difficult for the Brazilian attackers. And in the offence I would say that Hollands attacking players (Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder, Robin Van Persie, Rafal Van der Vaart and Dirk Kuyt) are just as good as Brazils attacking players (Robinho, Luis Fabiano, Kaka). Brazil often plays with their wingers high up, putting pressure on their opponents high up. However, with Arjen Robben and Dirk Kuyt on the other side they might get some problems with their counter attacks.

That is why I do not think that Brazil is worth betting on in this game, but draw or a win on Holland is more interesting. I choose to bet on draw here which pays 3.45 in odds and that is interesting according to me.

Uruguay vs. Ghana, odds: Uruguay to win 1.95, draw 3.15, Ghana to win 4.00

My bettingtips: Draw @ 3.15 in odds

I choose to bet on the draw in this game as well. This time I also think even more of a draw than in the previous match. Both Ghana and Uruguay are two strong defensive teams and have done it very well so far in the World cup.

Uruguay is just as big favourites in this game as Brazil are in the first quarterfinal. I think that Ghana will give them a tough battle. Ghana is the last team left from whole Africa in this tournament and that means that whole Africa is behind them in their further adventures in the championship. I am very sure that Ghana will have most of the support from the crowd and that will give them an extra energy boost in this quarterfinal.

An African team has never gone to a semi-final World cup and this time Ghana has a great chance to be the first team ever to reach that far. Senegal (2002) and Cameroon (1990) are the only two teams that have made it to the quarterfinal earlier.

Both these teams have solid defence and a couple of key-players in the offence that will try to win the game for their nation. Uruguay has Diego Forlan (Atletico Madrid) and Luiz Suarez (Ajax) and Ghanas biggest star is Asamoah Gyan (Udinese) after that Michael Essien got is injury.

My feeling is that a draw is a very likely outcome of this game so that is my bettingtips in this game. After that, anything can happen. You can bet draw to 3.15 in odds at bwin and I will give that a try.

More special bets will be presented in the next text for these two matches.

Sports betting is an interesting field that can offer a wide range of odds both for and against you as a gambler. If handled appropriately this could mean you walking away with a handsome sum of money, but if played wrong it can also mean you losing everything you wager nearly every time you hit the bookkeepers. To better understand the different kinds of bets you can make and the odds for or against you let’s look at a few different examples:

Parley Bets

The good thing about parley bets is that they can have considerably high payouts if you successfully lay a correct parley for any number of matches. The bad is that the likelihood of you actually successfully winning a parley is slim to none, and the actual payout you earn from doing so generally isn’t worth it. Take, for example, a parley placed on two games. While they payout may be set at an attractive 15:4 ratio if you look at this carefully it should actually be closer to 5:1 (or 15:3) in a similar game (and while this is just a generalization these are the common ratios found on most 2-game parley bets). While this difference may seem slim the small change in payout ratios actually means that you’re losing money on a parley than if you would have simply wagered money straight on two games separately, and by doing it separately you would even have a higher chance at seeing some money returned to you as even one bet being successful would have paid off while as in a parley if one was not successful you would get nothing. In short: steer clear of them.

“Sure Win” Betting Systems

These systems may seem great on the surface, and if done properly could slowly earn you some cash over time, but at the same time, the dangers of them may make them not worth the effort. Take, for example, the system of placing complimentary bets on a game through two different bookkeepers offering different odds so that, regardless of the outcome, you will walk away a winner. While this seems great, it doesn’t take into account any betting taxes, wager restrictions or other limiting factors that might be affecting your ability to place money on the line for or against a team. Further, some “sure win” systems are simply useless when it comes down to it and might only work a select few times to earn you $1 out of every $1000 you wager. If this is your kind of money then go for them, otherwise be wary, as the odds simply aren’t worth it.

Lay to Win

To end on a positive note one particularly popular wagering system being used today that has really grown recently is the ability to “lay” a team or individual in a competition to win. This means that rather than betting on the competitor to win, you are betting on them losing, and if successful, you will gain some profit from the match. While the odds of this aren’t exactly the greatest if played right they can keep you winning a good amount of money well over 50% of the time which puts them as a good option for many gamblers looking for an alternative and lucrative wager.

With a wide range of sports and leagues taking place around the world at any given time it can sometimes be quite confusing to decide how to place your bets and which area to focus on. As the internet allows more and more international wagering to take place this means that previously unavailable markets are opening up more each year, yet at the same time this offers new perils for many gamblers if they are venturing into new venues where they may not be comfortable. Before putting your money on the line, consider a few key points to remember at all times:

Stick to What You Know

This may seem like the simplest and most obvious advice to give, but at the same time, it is the most difficult for many avid sports gamblers to adhere to. This is especially true for those who are interested in a particular sport that is played globally such as soccer (internationally referred to as “football”), baseball in both the US and Japan and even cricket. Quite often gamblers see new areas open up where a familiar sport is being played and they decide to get in on the action without fully understanding the difference between them. Baseball in Japan, for example, focuses more on finesse on the field rather than big-hitting plays like the American version does. Soccer also has a much higher competitive level in some areas than others, with players being idolized in some countries and being practically unknown in others. With this in mind, be sure that you only stick to what you know in order to minimize your chances of losing large sums of money from time to time on long-shot bets that you would never do otherwise if you actually knew the current situation of each area.

Do Your Homework

Before getting down and committing to a wager be sure that you are comfortable with what you are doing and fully understand what is going on in the particular match you are wagering on. This means carefully researching each participant – be it a team or an individual – and knowing the ins and outs of what is at stake. While this may seem painstakingly tedious at times, the investment you make of an hour or so a day could save you weeks or years worth of remorse later on and is well worth your while.

Stick to the Bets You Know

If you are familiar with an over/under bet then great, go for it. If instead you are good at reading the point spreads of a particular sport then stick with those. Just because a new betting option is available to you doesn’t mean you should take it – in fact, more often than not you should avoid it at all costs in order to protect your hard-earned cash. Venturing into a new gambling area with little to no experience in how to read and interpret the offerings in relation to the match in question is a recipe for disaster and one you should try to avoid until you know more about the system at play and can comfortably use it to your advantage.

It is often thought with many sophisticated punters that “value” stems from bookmakers who make mistakes regarding what the odds should for a sporting event. So what we seem to have with regards to sports betting is a subculture of punters who go around looking for betting firms to make a mistake with their pricing structure.

In reality this is looking at the picture from the wrong angle. The information networks and professionally compiled tissue prices combine to make the basic default prices quite accurate. In fields like horse racing where gathering theoretically correct tissue prices is basically an impossibility then the problem is even more evident.

But the fact remains that the bookmakers and betting firms are professionals so they have professional contacts. This means that they can arrive at very accurate prices for events and this makes sports betting very profitable for them. But this is where events take a dramatic shift because there is a difference between what odds a betting firm offers and a true theoretical price of these competitors actually winning.

Bookmakers will move odds accordingly to either attract or deter action based largely around the liabilities that they are prepared to accept for each competitor and the need to create a profit. Let us use a rather silly toss of a coin example to highlight what I mean here. A sports betting firm is offering a market on the result of the coin toss in the 1st Ashes Test between England and Australia and goes 1.95 on both England and Australia winning the toss.

Now we both know that the true and fair odds of the toss should be 2.0 or even money in fixed odds terms. But punters do love a gamble and a flood of money comes in on England to win the toss. Even though the price for England winning the toss is less than what it theoretically should be, if enough money is taken then betting firms may look to reduce their liabilities and try to balance their book by taking money on Australia.

So they revise their prices and England are now 1.85 to win the toss and Australia are 2.05. Here the shrewd punter can back Australia to win the toss safe in the knowledge that they are getting 2.05 on a 2.00 chance. Can you see here that the shrewd punter is taking advantage of the situation but they are not taking advantage of a mistake that is being made by the betting firm or bookmaker!

The betting firm knows full well that they are offering greater odds on Australia winning the toss than it actually has of happening. But they are prepared to do it simply because they are trying to balance their books and take some money on the opposite side to try and make money whatever the result. So in this instance then the shrewd sports betting pro is taking advantage of two key factors…..the capacity for mug punters to take poor prices in large quantities and the bookmakers strategy of trying to balance their book.

Carl “The Dean” Sampson

A month before the year 2008 ended, close competition was seen between ITV’s X-Factor Daniel Evans and Strictly Come Dancing’s John Sergeant. Both seemed to lead a blessed life on prime time reality shows.

Despite troubles they faced because of the judges, at the expense of more talented opposition, Daniel Evans and John Sergeant stayed in their own competitions.

Significantly, online betting bookmakers Blue Square placed their bets to still see their favorite and get rid of the reality TV no-hopers from the nation’s screen soon. ITV’s X-Factor Daniel Evans was the 6/5 favorite to depart first whilst Strictly Come Dancing’s John Sergeant was 2/1 favorite.

Way back, despite doesn’t have the magic on the dance floor, Strictly Come Dancing’s John Sergeant luckily captured the hearts, sympathy and most especially the votes of the public. Whilst ITV’s X-Factor Daniel Evans, despite some failed and unlikely performances on the dance floor has spontaneously prove the judges to be wrong by at least getting popular support.

One person from Blue Square with a name of Alan Alger said, “This is what reality shows are all about and sometimes the public show a sense of humor with who they throw their support behind. We’ve had plenty of shocks in X-Factor with some big favorites departing in the last couple of weeks, as Daniel keeps managing to avoid the bottom two”.

Although there is no exact date yet for the fight that will engage two great and popular boxers of today, Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton, many are already discussing who is going to win between the two. Will it be Manny Pacquiao or Ricky Hatton?

Most bookies favored Manny Pacquiao who recently defeated the popular “Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya. They believe Manny Pacquiao will come out outstanding if ever his fight with Ricky Hatton will be pushed through.

With Ladbrokes, Pacquiao, who in eight months came up three weight classes to fight for his biggest battle, is 4/11 to beat Hatton, with the well known Mancunian available at 2/1.

Spokesman of Ladbrokes Robin Hutchison said, “Pacquiao ended De La Hoya’s career on Saturday night and we fully expect him to end Hatton’s too.”

However with Stan James, there is slight less clear-cut and unclear results, with Pacquiao at 4/9 and Hatton at 13/8. According to Charlie McCann of Stan James, “we think Hatton is the stronger even at light-welterweight and if the fight was to take place at the MEN, City of Manchester Stadium or Wembley then Pacquiao might think he is fighting half of Manchester. Also, for Stan James, Pacquiao is a brilliant boxer and has already proved his worth in the boxing industry but maybe he just met the “Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya at the right time. Thus, this may have possibly allowed Pacquiao to go all the way with his punches.

On the other hand, from the records of Sky Bet, Pacquiao is 2/5 while the other, Hatton, is 7/4.

Right now, it is believed that before this year 2009 ends, the fight must already take place at light-welterweight so bets with Stan James stand firm and in countenance.