FAQ

We’ve always had an FAQ, and a basic site introduction here at TFT. However, we wanted to explain more about what it is that we do, rather than just have everybody assume that we’re a run-of-the-mill tipping site, because that’s simply not the case.

Over the years, we’ve seen tipster sites (or nowadays, Twitter tipsters!) come and go. Some last for a few weeks, some a few months, and some a year, but none of them ever seem to last. Without conducting a poll, it’s very difficult to state why that is for sure. However, our opinion is that it’s because they don’t want it enough. They don’t live and breathe football and programming like Ian and Toby do. It’s one thing to have a passing interest, but it’s another thing entirely to dedicate huge chunks of our personal lives to what we do. We’ve ran TFT for a decade (at the time of writing this), and we’re not going to stop now, because we love what we do.

What we aim to provide, here at TFT, is a very honest perspective of the betting world. We’d like to think that we’re helpful to bettors at all stages of their respect betting “careers”, but we appreciate that it’s more likely to be mature/experienced bettors that appreciate what we do, because you need to have a lot of composure and comprehension to succeed in this field, which absolutely no bettor has when first starting out. Our aim is to make more intelligent bettors, essentially – that’s why Ian writes such detailed previews about each of his picks. A monkey can pick 1, x, or 2 from a betting slip; that’s really not a challenge. However, what we try to do is explain why we think what we do, which in turn allows bettors to make up their own minds with all of the facts, it allows bettors to observe the game with an idea of what to expect (and when to jump if things go pear-shaped!), and it allows bettors to trust the tipster more. Ian finds it absolutely imperative that tips come with previews, because otherwise people are just following as if they were sheep, and no sheep will ever succeed in the betting world.

What is the purpose of this site?

Our objective on the site is to make The Footy Tipster the ultimate betting resource. You can find team news, value picks, and even picks aimed at those who take gambling that bit more seriously than most. If you’ve got the intelligence to dress yourselves in the morning and also locate this site then we’re going out on a limb to presume that you’ll know that a 1/6 home side is generally going to win their home games – that type of bet doesn’t appeal to us as a value bet. We want tips of good value that obviously bear greater risk but also bear greater profit. That said, our Membership section has now got a “banker bet” section of short odds tips that should be winners, if they’re what you prefer.

Our role is to basically give you a better chance of winning, not to guarantee you a win, as that’s frankly impossible. We believe that we make intelligent bettors long-term profit with our website and we believe that we create more intelligent bettors in the process, which is very beneficial long-term. Remember that the bookies watch the big leagues far more than you do so perhaps sometimes it pays to have an expert in a smaller/lesser-known league!

Our motto is “We’re good; not God” so do bear that in mind when taking our betting advice. Every tipster loses but the important thing is giving the right tips at the right time because that will see you enter the green long-term. Just so you’re aware, we try to keep our value tips to minimum odds of 3/4 (1.75) or longer whereas the “banker bets” can be any odds at all.

How does this site work?

We’ve designed this section purely for those of you who are struggling to understand how the betting tips work.

First of all, we have the day’s featured game in the Membership section. The featured game is basically our “game of the day” because of a good combination between likelihood and value on the selection.

You’ll sometimes find a free tip on the site too, which is to demonstrate what people can expect to find if they sign up to the Members Section.

After that, you have our thoughts on the day’s games. We’d hasten to point out that they are not necessarily our tips but purely our thoughts and we’d also point out that if we’ve not mentioned them before the list of our thoughts on the day’s games then chances are we see no use/value on them whatsoever so be very careful.

As for the list itself – the team we select in bold is the team we back to win the game. If both teams are in bold, then we have backed a draw. For site members, the number after the teams is the level of confidence we feel in my selection out of 10. Also, don’t misconstrue what a rating of 2 would mean; we still think it will happen but we’re just not as confident as with other fixtures for various reasons i.e. a derby match. Examples are below.

AC Milan vs Siena (10) – Basically, if AC Milan fail to win this game, the world will implode. Naturally this is an exaggeration but you should get the gist of my point.

Man Utd vs Chelsea (3) 2-1 – We think Man Utd should win the game, but we won’t be putting our houses on it because there are a lot of risk elements involved. We’ve come to the conclusion that the scoreline is fairly likely to be 2-1 and thus have added it as a helpful pointer, although please do not take this as being an advocate of backing over 2.5 goals.

Barcelona vs Real Madrid (5) – We’re fairly confident this will end up a draw.

Please don’t misconstrue what we mean by placing the scorelines on some games. They are the scorelines we think should happen but if we put a side to win 2-0, for instance, then this is not necessarily an endorsement of a handicap bet, strange as it may sound. We will mention if a handicap is recommended but a scoreline of 2-0 means we think it should end that way and not that the side is necessarily playing well enough for us to be confident on backing the handicap. We will only advise on taking handicaps if we’re confident that the side in question will score enough goals to cover it, even in the scenario whereby the side in question concedes.

Partnerships/Co-operation

Whereas we don’t want to seem martyr-esque, we at The Footy Tipster do like to help other like-minded sites as best we can to achieve success if we deem them worthwhile for our punters. We’re open to most suggestions regarding links or partnerships so feel free to ask. We’re also available for “rent”, for want of a better word! Basically, if you’re a betting tips website yourself and want to increase your website’s hits with a link exchange then just drop us an email. Needless to say that there is a fee for this service. If you have any queries on the above then feel free to email us at thefootytipster@gmail.com.

Success Rates

We’ve had a few questions of late regarding why we don’t post our success rates on this website. Well, there’s some good reasoning behind that, at least in our eyes. Basically, we like people to formulate their own opinions of the website without having any expectations. For instance, if we put that the success rate was 80% then if you followed our tips and lost the first time around, you’d most likely leave and assume we were liars. However, if we put that the success rate is 45%, then people aren’t interested and simply don’t bother with the site at all. Personally, we find that rather offensive considering the amount of hard work that is continuously put into this site. Again, our motto is “We’re good, not God” so we like it much better if you form your own opinions over time and then decide whether you want to stick with us for some good tips, in-depth previews, and laughs or if you wish to go elsewhere. Let’s face it – it’s hardly going to break the bank for you to sign up for a trial to find out!

We came into being in 2007 as a mere blog, and although we’ve progressed significantly since then, we’ve not lost any sense of perspective. Therefore, we can categorically state that there will never be charges for punters to use the free part of this site; the site itself will always be open for punters to experience before deciding if it’s worth their time or not. We would also like to point out that there is a Membership service on the site which there is a fee for but it’s only there for those who wish to join and/or have access to Ian’s preferred value tips of the day and team news from around the globe. The perks of doing so can be read on the “Membership” tab at the top of the page. Furthermore, there are currently personalised services in operation for those of you that are staking larger amounts and would like additional security with their picks, more of which can be found by clicking this link.

Too lazy to pick which games you want to bet on?

Then read the previews – that’s what they’re there for! If that still doesn’t permeate, perhaps try backing the featured game with a banker and see how that works out for you.

Do you offer in-play/trading tips?

Not so much nowadays, but if you want to discuss such, email thefootytipster@gmail.com.

How quickly do you respond to emails?

Well, we try to respond within 1-2 hours if it’s regarding a bet. If it’s about a link or a different enquiry, it may take a little longer. Unfortunately, sleep is essential on occasion but that is the only time of day that the site is not manned in some capacity or other. Do keep in mind that we’re incredibly busy a lot of the time though, please.

What competitions do we cover?

Here is a list of all the competitions we cover.

This list may be added to or have some removed at any given time, although we do try and maintain consistency.

If you have any suggestions on other leagues/competitions that you’d like to see covered by myself, please email thefootytipster@gmail.com

What are banker bets?

A banker is something you can use to beef up your odds as part of an accumulator. Something you can generally rely on to win, hence the short odds.

What is the featured game?

The featured game is what we deem to be the best value pick of the day i.e. likelihood versus available odds.

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