The third part of the Gulf Swing, the Dubai Desert Classic, starts on Thursday and Tiger Woods, fresh from his resounding eight shot win in the Buick Invitational, has already jetted in. Golf betting nuts are taking note of the maestro’s ominous words that he sees no reason why the four majors should not be within his grasp this year.

Certainly the Augusta Masters, where he has achieved a staggering four wins, is easily within his reach. He is comfortable with British golf courses and loves to play here. Royal Birkdale is one of his favourites. The Buick this year was held at Torrey Pines, the venue of the US Open and the USPGA, at Oakland Hills will be a welcome finale for a man with three majors in the bag. It will not have escaped the attention of online betting fans that Oakland Hills was the venue for the disastrous collapse of the US team in 2004 and revenge might be in the air. A rolling bet on Woods to take all four would not be an unreasonable proposition.

Woods has only won the Dubai tournament once, in 2006, after seven appearances and he will want to remedy this in a year where, according to Faldo, he is playing as strongly as he ever has. If he falters this week, European hopes come in the shape of Lee Westwood, Nick Dougherty, Sergio Garcia, Niclas Fasth, Henrik Stenson and Colin Montgomery. My favourite, South African, Ernie Els has emerged from a dodgy patch and should be right up there with Tiger on the final day. Stacks of free bets are available right now with online betting companies and IÂ’m off to be check out the best. See you there!

You use your football free bets and then, once in a while something happens in sport to send a little shiver down the spine and allow a small amount hope to fill the heart in spite of the money, the egos and the poor sportsmanship that chip away at the true spirit and purpose of sporting events in our culture. Sports betting fans will have spotted that such an event occurred in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Saturday when non-league minnows, Havant and Waterlooville, met the mighty Liverpool FC at Anfield Road Football Ground.

Taxi driver, refuse-disposal man, courier and others took on Liverpool and played the game of their lives. Eight minutes in, they shocked the world and themselves by going one-up. Minutes later Liverpool equalised and then Havant scored again to make it 2-1 and live online betting must have been going mad at this point. They went to their half-time dressing room at 2-2 and we can only imagine the elation they felt. Of course, the party was spoiled in the second half when Banayoun completed his hat trick and then Crouch nailed one in extra time, but it didnÂ’t seem to matter. They had done their best and put on a good show.

And the shiver? That didnÂ’t come when the Liverpool players treated their opponents to a five-star hotel for the weekend or when they met the bill for the champagne and lobster. No, in a week when it was feared that Manchester City fans might not show respect in a minuteÂ’s silence for the Munich air disaster at the Old Trafford Derby, it came when the Anfield Road crowd, reminded of why they were drawn to football in the first place, gave a thunderous and lengthy standing ovation to the plucky side that came from the South and played their hearts out.

 Sat 26 Jan, the BBC has blown it again and disappointed FA Cup betting fans in choosing to broadcast the Wigan v. Chelsea tie in the FA Cup Fourth Round on Saturday. Surely, if you get elevated within the BBC sports department to the position of responsibility where itÂ’s your choice which match to put on, you will have grasped the real appeal of the FA cup and know that itÂ’s a David and Goliath game we want to see – one where thereÂ’s a real chance of an upset or, at least, a game which isnÂ’t another example of the week-in week-out grind of the Premiership.

In fact, itÂ’s not even that. Often the top league sides are too distracted by Championship or Champions League places to even bother to field a top side. Too often itÂ’s seen as a chance to air a few juniors and give them some experience. Of course, thereÂ’s always an exception – and watching Chelsea educate Newcastle in the realities of the Premiership should be good fun. Time to grab those free bets for new customers of online betting services.

So, what might have been? Sports betting fans might take a look at Liverpool v. Havant and Waterlooville. Liverpool FC are down in the mouth at the moment and a win for Havant would produce much glee among us all but especially the Toffees. Derby v. Preston should produce a few brawls and Hereford v. Cardiff could produce a shock result. All these are more interesting fare than the one on the telly.

The Men’s Quarter Final Stage of the Australian Open Finishes next weekend and online tennis betting almost took a shocking third-round turn when defending champion, Roger Federer nearly lost it to Janko Tipsarevik in a nail-biting 5 setter in Melbourne on Friday. Federer showed his mettle and pulled himself back to win in straight sets in his fourth round encounter with 13th seed, Thomas Berdych but still had to fight to save two set points in the second set.

He faces James Blake in the quarters and the American is gung ho to give Federer a run for his money. Australian Open tennis betting fans will be wondering if Federer is revealing an off-form patch in his playing and, if he gets to the semis, a looming battle with the increasingly impressive Novak Djokovic may test him to breaking point. This will be the match of the tournament without any doubt.

Federer has not had to deal with a five setter this early in a major since 2002. He claims to welcome the experience however, saying “Just being there in a five-setter is good for me because I’m hardly ever there. It gives me a lot of information, how I’m feeling, and what I still have to work on.”

Djokovic, who has signed up Pete Sampras for coaching, has yet to drop a set in this tournament and will capitalise on any weakness he finds in Federer. The Serb has an abundance of all-court talent and has been breathing down FedererÂ’s neck for some time. Online betting enthusiasts would do well to follow this match with a view to a live bet as the match progresses. Spread betting may also come into play for the braver of the gamblers among us.

Snooker Free bets are what to look for as sports betting fans must have been on the edge of their seats for the opening two quarter finals in the battle for the snooker title of World Master. In both matches the winner came from behind to demonstrate nerves of steel which were also evident in the losers of these games. Mark Selby recovered from 5-3 down to claim his semi-final place with a 6-5 win over Stephen Maguire.

Selby, 3-1 down at the interval, described himself as gobsmacked to still be in the tournament although the shrewder of online betting enthusiasts will have spotted the reason. Selby demonstrates consummate skill together with an ice like demeanour and he never gives up.

Another man who never gives up is Ken Docherty, the second semi-finalist to emerge. He came back last night from the graveyard of 4-1 down to beat Sean Murphy 6-5. Docherty was 5-4 with two to go when Murphy took on a difficult table in the tenth to draw level with a clearance that was the most impressive of the match. Alas, he barely got a look in at the clincher and Docherty stole the match with a display of masterful snooker and a glimpse of character which suggests he will go all the way.

Snooker betting will see a surge in wagers over the next couple of days as the final two quarter finals are played out between Englishmen, Stephen Lee and Peter Ebdon and, from the East, Marco Fu of Hong Kong and Ding Junhui of China. The Semis are on Saturday and the final on Sunday so dig around for those free bets now and get stuck in to this betting bonanza.

The news and gossip is hotting up (or droning on, depending on how you feel about the club), regarding the contenders for the position for the position of Newcastle United Football Club manager. Football betting fans must surely be on the edge of their seats as one candidate goes and another arrives.

After early favourite, Harry Redknapp pulled up at the first fence, many names have been drawn from the hat. NUFC fans favourite, Alan Shearer, still gamely running, has stated on Tuesday evening, that owner, Mike Ashley, seeks someone who will ‘galvanise the dressing room’ and claimed an ability to do that while conceding that he lacks the experience which the billionaire owner also requires. Blackburn manager, Mark Hughes is keeping a low profile after saying he rules nothing out.

Sports betting enthusiasts perhaps sensed first sight of the likely winner on Tuesday night when Didier Deschamps was installed as bookies new favourite. The former Juventus manager took Monaco to the Champions League Final in 2004 where they were worthy runners-up to MourinhoÂ’s Porto. Not enough? He also captained France in their 1998 World Cup Final triumph and has said he will bring Gianfranco Zola with him as his number two if he gets the job. ThatÂ’s if the Toons can remove their heads from where the sun doesnÂ’t shine for long enough to notice that they are onto a good thing and grab him while they can.

Tennis Betting on the Australian Open – Commences 14 Jan

After Andy MurrayÂ’s defeat today on the first day of the Australian Open, there have got to be more than a few of us wondering today whether BritainÂ’s hopes of having a new world-class tennis player been dashed again.

At only 20 years old, fans of British tennis will hope that Andy Murray has a long career ahead of him – heÂ’s certainly started well – but todayÂ’s defeat shows that he may have a way to go before heÂ’s really in with a shout of winning any Grand Slam titles.

In the wake of his opening round robin match to Marat Safin in MelbourneÂ’s Kooyong Classic this week, all eyes were on Murray to advance well into the tournament. Jet-lagged, tired and having just eaten, Murray was informed that his match had been bumped and he was next up. His subsequent comfortable win over Brydan Klein was surely a sign that great things were in store at the open.

Apparently not. Despite his 9th seed placing, his win at the Qatar open and Greg RusedskiÂ’s recent tip that Murray was a possible Federer-beater, Murray went out in four sets to FranceÂ’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the 38th seed.

The Frenchmen took the first two sets fairly effortlessly, powering through with a huge serving game. Murray came back strongly to take the third but lost the next in a tiebreak – and along with it his hopes of victory.

To be fair, Tsonga was always going to be a tough opponent, and Murray’s inexperience at this level of play showed through in several mistakes during the match. However, he seemed undaunted and surprisingly confident after his loss – whether that confidence is enough to win major competitions remains to be seen.

The Cheltenham Festival takes place during 11 – 14 March this year and Cheltenham Betting will soon be upon us and across the nation, well over £500 million will be wagered on the outcome of the 25 races so get your free bets ready. The Festival will attract about 240,000 people over the four days with online betting fans adding to the unique fever generated by this meeting.

The Festival represents the first leg of the Spring Double, the second being the Grand National meeting. While the latter offers a majority of handicap races, the Cheltenham meet features a diverse set of races both with and without handicaps, thus producing a different approach to sports betting tactics.

The Grand National Handicap System poses greater challenges of winner prediction, but longer odds, for followers of online betting, while Cheltenham offers non-handicap races which, although having shorter odds, tend to yield clear favourites.
Online betting enthusiasts will, however, still have the opportunity to pit their wits against the bookies because Cheltenham has a history of occasional, unexpected long-odds winners nosing home and providing rich reward for those with an eye for the unpredictable. Nevertheless, form is still the key at Cheltenham and it is worth noting that, statistically, previous festival winners have a better of chance of winning at subsequent festivals. WhatÂ’s more, itÂ’s rare for a horse carrying over 11 stone to win in the handicap races.

The attention of the political betting world is focused on New Hampshire where a critical phase of the presidential primaries will take place on Tuesday. It is widely considered that the result of this primary will reveal who is to be the new incumbent in the Oval Office come January 2009.

Online betting is hotting up in a contest which involves more than just party political consideration. ItÂ’s pretty rare in US presidential politics that the end result is so unpredictable and this is certainly partly due to the unpopularity of George Bush and the Republican Party in general, thus rendering a Democrat win likely. What makes this presidential race more interesting is the previously unheard of candidature of both a woman and a black man.

The involvement of these two people, Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama, a vastly experienced Senator and a figure for change, respectively, digs deep into the prejudices of the American people. Who do they fear the least, a woman or a black skinned man? If Iowa is anything to go by, misogyny rules, and they will prefer the manly qualities of Mr Obama over the feminine appeal of Ms Clinton.

Sports betting fans will note, however, that Iowa also chose Mike Huckabee as their favoured Republican candidate. Mr Huckabee thinks the world was created 6000 years ago and God did it. Furthermore, New Hampshire has a belief in its political sophistication and a treasured history of overturning the Ohio preference so, despite Barack’s fresh appeal, he may yet be shown the door. As John Sununu said, ‘Iowa picks corn, New Hampshire picks presidents’.

On the Republican side, things are equally, if not more, unpredictable. ItÂ’s likely that their candidate will emerge from a tussle between John McCain, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani. ItÂ’s anybodyÂ’s guess but, if I were you, IÂ’d keep my eye on McCain.

The British Darts Organisation (BDO) World Championship starts on Saturday. Played out at the Lakeside Leisure Centre, widely regarded as the home of darts, this is still the title that most players want to win.  Online betting enthusiasts should note that, despite an exodus of talent to the PDC championship, the BDO draws the new up-and-coming talent from all quarters.

The luck of the draw means the tournament opens with a replay of last years final between champion Martin ‘Wolfie’ Adams and Phil Nixon. In the final Wolfie was six up when Nixon came back to even the match leaving the final set as the decider – it should be a ‘must see’ encounter.

ItÂ’s hoped that second seed, Gary Anderson, will have overcome his demons for this yearÂ’s challenge after departing in the first round of six previous starts. Sports betting fans should note that this year sees him up against the Aussie, Simon Whitlock, if he makes it through the first round.

Mark Webster is top seed and in good form right now. Robert Thornton, winner of the World Masters in Bridlington should be watched along with Ted Hankey and John Boy Walton who will be keen to make their mark this year.

There is a strong movement afoot to recognise that darts has transcended the pub and moved into the arena. There is significant pressure for the sport to be included in the Olympics, for the first time, in London in 2012. This tournament will be another step along that route to the proper recognition of darts as a sport in the same league as golf, snooker and bowls.