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Systems vs methods is a much debated topic in the gambling world, each with there own pro's and con's. Some bettors prefer systems others method's - there is of course no definative answer to which is 'better', however personal preferance may play a part in deciding what is the best approach for each individual. I personally run many different banks of both method's and system's.

SYSTEMS - Are a set of rules that each selection must comply to, to be a bet.

An example of this could be:

'back Manchester UTD, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal when playing at home in the league'.

- Now i am not saying that this is a profitable system, mearly using it as an example, but it does show how 'restrictive' a system selection is, as the example system just focuses on just thoes 4 teams and only when they are playing at home and also when playing in the league. Of course it does take out the 'thinking process' of a method bet, which may be preferable depending on your way of thinking.

However it's not that easy to just come up with a system. With a system research is the key. One form of research is to look at past data and find trends. Keeping with the example system - looking back at past seasons results it is clear to see that thoes 4 teams do well and win a high proportion of there home games, this trend is also pretty reliable happening season after season - so in building a system we can probably rely on this trend to continue.

The next step is to see if this system is profitable as it is no use betting on a long term unprofitable system. To do this you would list all the past selections that would have qualified for the system, you can use however many years of data as you want, however the more data you you use the better as it builds a bigger picture. (A spreasheet comes in really handy here) then you will need to imput to your list of selections the odd's and result of the selection (if it won or lost). Once this is done a staking plan should be implemented, at this point a simple 1 unit (£ / $ / point) 'level stake' plan should be used. I always use 'level stakes' when working out a system as it is simply the best indicator of how sucsesfull a potential system is at this early point of system development. Once this is done you will have the results - SR, ROI, profit etc..... You will then know how sucsesfull the system 'would have been' - if it seems a profitable system then you can explore different staking methods (have a look at the 'staking plan' page for potential systems). If it dosn't look profitable then back to square one, I would strongly urge against making up risky staking plans to turn negative results into a profitable system, as you will be playing a dangerous game. Of course you can make slight tweaks to your system at this time - just make sure you have a reason for it.

So there you have it, a 'potential' system. - a word of warning though, 'just because a system may have been previously profitable, dosn't mean it will be profitable in the future'. However it can be used as a good 'guide' to future results.

If you use a system, you have to use it to the letter, it's no use doing all that research only to pick and chose what selections to bet on. There is also software available that can do much of the statistical research for you, which makes it a hell of a lot easier and quicker.

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METHODS - Are much more flexible than a system as they have no rules and rely on the individuals oppinion. However you decide to pick your selections is personal preferance but it always should be noted that there should be a reason for the selection. Betting on anything and everything without research is the quick way to the poor house. Try and bet on things that you know something about, for example if you are a follower of a lower division club - then why not try and specialise in that particular league. But try not to place bets on things you know nothing about, just because there is a Spanish league game on the TV on a Saturday night dosn't mean you should bet on it.

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If you decide to use a method or a system, a staking plan should still be used.

It's a well known fact that bookies (like any other business) want you to become there customers, and with the ammount of bookies competing for your business they will often try and entice you in with the likes of 'free bet offers'. These offers are fantastic for us punters as it's proabably the closest that you will ever come to 'free money' in this game.

So whats the best way to take advantage of these offers?

IMO the best way to take advantage is to go for some 'risk free cash' by using a simple method of 'arbing' also known as 'matched betting' - a process that i will now explain in the example.

- First thing to do is open up a betfair account, this is a must as we will need to lay a bet (a 'lay' bet is basically acting as a bookmaker - taking bets on a certain outcome of an event).

- Then we look for a 'free bet offer':

and open up an account with said bookie, depositing £20 or however much is needed to make the most of the offer. If it was a free £10 - then just deposit £10 etc.....

- Next thing to do is look for a suitable market to bet on. I would advise against betting on horse racing as the odd's tend to change frequently and non-runners will change the odd's (even after you placed the bet). Football is a good sport to bet on, the odd's are fairly stagnent, and there are no reduction factors to worry about. One thing to make sure of is that there is ample time to place bets, so don't try this at 2:58 on a saturday afternoon. It only takes a minuit to place a bet, but don't rush when starting off doing this.

- Now look for a good game to bet on. A good game to bet on is a game where the odd's to 'lay' (on betfair) are as close as possible to the odd's offered by the bookie. There are other factors to consider if you want to be a bit more advanced (but i will go into that later).

- Placing the bet. Now we want to place the bet - have both accounts open in seperate windows, have the odd's set to decimal - bookies still often use fractional odd's (e,g, 2/1), but for ease of use it's advisable to set it to decimal (2/1 would become 3) as decimal odd's are used on betfair.

BETFAIR (lay odd's - pink) - man utd 2.04, draw 3.80, chelsea 4.1

BOOKIE (backing odds)  - man utd 2.0, draw 3.6, chelsea 3.9

The above is just an example, but around the odd's that you are likely to see. The closest odd's are on man utd - so that will be our focus.

- Next step.

Place a £20 bet on man utd @ 2.0 with the bookie.

Lay man utd @ 2.04 for £20 stake.

Then wait for the match to be played, we don't really care who wins.

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If man utd win the result will be as followes:

Bookies account - WIN £20

Betfair account - LOSE £20

sub total - £0.00 profit / loss

However we will have released the £20 'free bet offer', so the actual outcome is an extra £20 in the bookies account. We would then repeat the process to turn this 'free £20 bet' into actual cash.

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If man utd fait to win, then we will suffer a slight loss - due to paying commission (a small cut taken from winning bets), and the fact that our liability was just over £20. However we would still have released the '£20 free bet', which was the main aim.

HINTS / TIPS

- Check out http://bigfootybets.com/bookmakers.html for a list of bookies / offers.

- Read the small print of the bookies, some may have 'wagering requirements' before you can withdraw you account balance, but the next hint may negate this problem.

- Try and filter the 'free bets' into your betfair account, betfair is the account i use for 99% of my betting - so i would much rather have the majority of my cash in this account than in various bookies accounts. To do this try and pick bets where the side that is most likely to win would put the cash into your betfair account. This also has the advantage of saving you time withdrawing your balance from the bookies accounts, who may ask you to e-mail them ID - such as a passport photo. - though only in rare circumstances.

- Never rush things, and think everything through before placing the bets, checking everything.

- Take advantage of the additional offers that the bookies may have on big events such as FA cup finals etc....

- Use a debit card as opposed to a credit card to open accounts, as there is often a small surcharge (1.5%) with credit cards.

- Have a look at http://bigfootybets.com/forum/index.php?topic=138.0 - a forum post discussing this topic for any questions.

- Have a backup 'exchange account' such as betdaq incase something goes wrong with betfair, betdaq and betfair both offer 'free bets' so there is no excuse not to have a backup account.

This is well worth doing, it may not seem like making big money but getting £20 or so every now and again for very little effort soon mount's up to a respectable ammount. You could even build up a nice little 'betting bank' to start you on your way.