EPL Betting Challenge: Week two

Posted by Creaven on August 21, 2009 under England, Premier League | Read the First Comment

I am quickly realizing this betting challenge might not last very long .

If you missed it last week, the game works like this. I start with $50 and bet $10 on three matches every weekend. Ideally, the goal is to see how much money I can win, but, realistically, the goal it to see how long I can last before I lose the $50.

After week one, things aren’t looking great.

I went with two heavy favorites (Manchester United and Chelsea) and one solid favorite (Aston Villa), hoping to build some momentum. ManU and Chealsa came through (barely), but Aston Villa didn’t and the only way I was going to make money betting on three favorites was if they all won. Here’s how it broke down:

Manchester United -625, WIN 1.60 (1-0 win over Birmingham)
Aston Villa -166, LOSS $10 (2-0 loss to Wigan)
Chelsea -714, WIN 1.40 (2-1 win over Hull)

So my $50 is down to $43. I’m also making a new rule this week: If you drop below $30, you can start making $5 bets instead of $10 bets. That’s fair, right? Anyway, let’s get to this weeks picks:

Manchester United to beat host Wigan (-200)

I like betting on good teams when they’re coming off a loss because their odds improve greatly. If Burnely’s goalie Brian Jensen didn’t play the game of his life Wednesday, and United won 2-1, the defending champs would be at about -400 to beat Wigan this weekend. Instead, it’s -200. United does have quite a few injuries, but in the end they have a lot more talent than Wigan. This is a lock!

Arsenal to beat visiting Portsmouth (-625)

This makes me nervous. Portsmouth still has some talent and it seems possible they could get a 1-1 draw, right? No, there’s now way, Arsenal wins 3-0 (that’s what I’m telling myself at least).

Host Sunderland to tie Blackburn (+225)

I think these two teams are very even and normally I would give Sunderland the advantage since its at home, but Blackburn has had a whole week to prepare for this while Sunderland had to play midweek. It just feels like a 1-1 tie to me.

So that’s what I’m going with for week two. I hope other people play along. Just put your bets in the comments section. Here’s an odds calculator for those who want to play for fun.

EPL Betting Challenge summary:

Record: 2-1
Money left: $43 (started with $50)