Monte's Multiple: Sometimes you just have to take things at face value

Monte's Multiple / Jaymes Monte / 19 October 2009 / Leave a Comment

Would you back a winless Roy Keane and Ipswich at a paltry 2.2?

Lay Ipswich to beat Watford @ 2.2
Lay Shaun Murphy to beat Marco Fu @ 2.2
Back Trinidad & Tobago to beat Cape Cobras @ 1.8
Treble pays @ 5.8

Jaymes Monte thinks he has found an early, tractor shaped Christmas present in this week's treble. Fill yer boots.....

Bet 1: Football - The Championship

Sometimes in betting, as in life, things can appear too good to be true. And when these situations occur we tend to look for the hidden catch, something that we are missing or some information that we don't have? Is there something in the small print which negates the perceived 'chance of a lifetime'?

However, sometimes we just have to take things at face value and stop looking for things that aren't there. Such a situation has arisen this week (in fact two, but more of the second later) in the shape of a Tuesday night Championship game.

Roy Keane's Ipswich side are 12 games into their league campaign and as has been much publicised they remain without a victory. Yet remarkably they have been priced at [2.2] to take all three points at home to a Watford side that are no mugs on their travels. The Hornets have picked up 11 points from 6 games on the road, losing just once.

Of course there is the sound theory that Ipswich will certainly not go through a whole season without a win and thus they will pick up their first win of the season at some stage. But to attach odds of [2.2] to an outcome that they have failed to achieve in 12 attempts is nothing short of ridiculous. It appears too good to be true but as the old adage goes; 'never look a gift horse in the mouth' this is an early Christmas present.

Selection: Lay Ipswich to beat Watford @ [2.2]

Bet 2: Snooker - Premier League

The second 'too good to be true' situation rears its head in the Premier League of Snooker. It's a matchup between two out of form players occupying the bottom two places in the league table.

Shaun Murphy versus Marco Fu; both players made first round exits in the recent Grand Prix ranking event and neither player has recorded a victory in the Premier League this year. Yet somehow Shaun Murphy has been priced up as the [2.2] favourite with Fu available at [3.4] and the draw at [3.25].

Again there is the theory that Murphy, who is ranked number three in the world, will turn his form around at some stage. But until he does we should continue to lay him at these ridiculously short prices, especially against such accomplished performers as Marco Fu.

Selection: Lay Shaun Murphy to beat Marco Fu @ [2.2]

Bet 3: Cricket - Champions League

Finally, we go to India to complete our treble and to what has been an extremely intriguing competition.

The Champions League has completely destroyed the myth of the IPL and the IPL teams; not one of its three representatives has made it to the semi-final stage. Whether it can continue to market itself as the pinnacle of Twenty20 club cricket remains to be seen, but no longer can they fool many into believing that the IPL contains the best teams in the world.

Trinidad & Tobago have been the revelations of the tournament with some magnificent batting performances in Hyderabad, including a jaw-dropping 213/4 against the Diamond Eagles. And the luck of the draw means that they will complete their tournament in their favoured stadia.

Whether that will be in the semi-final or the final depends on how they fair against Cape Cobras in their semi on Wednesday. These two sides are closely matched and I don't think many would argue that this would have been a worthy final. However, I am going to side once again with the team from the Caribbean.

I'd fancy them to chase down any total set on this track and as we have seen they are more than capable of setting up a mammoth chase. They have big hitters right down their batting order and although Dwayne Bravo can be expensive, he has an uncanny knack of taking key wickets at key times.

Selection: Back Trinidad & Tobago to beat Cape Cobras @ [1.8]