Okay, Review Time.

There were no betting opportunities tonight, so instead of boring you with my usual trading details, you'll have to put up with me spouting on any other subjects that may spring to mind.

I suppose as we approach the new year, it's only natural to look back on the year just gone and have a little review. Looking at my P/L for the year, and at the markets where I've prospered and where I've failed, I can see a most definite upward trend overall. For the first time in five years, I can now see myself actually succeeding and increasing my profit year upon year.

The reason? The answer? Well, it's having been burnt sufficiently, having lost sufficiently large sums, having the feeling of pain and indiginity enough times that the lesson has finally, finally started to sink in.

I'm most certainly not saying that I won't continue to suffer losses - as I'm absolutely positive that I will - but I do feel in the last six months or so especially, that my greed levels, my discipline and my emotions have been brought under a new level of control to enable me to start posting some regular profits. This blog has also added a new layer of assistance in helping me to stamp those messages into myself.

So what for next year? Well, obviously I hope to continue the profitable work I've done this year, and perhaps add a few extra touches. Last year, I also attempted some tennis trading, and had some okay(ish) results. Nothing outstanding, but I did make some small profits. As ever though, the lure of football proved too powerful and I largely left the tennis alone.

When the new season starts in January, however, I shall make a bit more of an effort to get involved. I don't have any astounding tennis strategies up my sleeve, so will just be trying to apply the well-known ones in a disciplined manner.

I also intend to let my bot out on a slightly looser rein than I have so far. As many before me have dreamed, I have also thought the betting Nirvana is to set a bot running in the morning, and collect the profits in the evening with no effort at all. The reality is of course different, but even a few addtional pennies would be nice.

Okay, apropos absolutely nothing, below I've listed a few more trading ideas that you may, or may not, like to play around with. Once again, I make no report on whether these are profitable or a complete waste of time - that's up to you to decide. However I hope they are helpful in one way or another. Food for thought, and all that:

• If strong team at home and drawing at 70 minutes, dutch home win and current correct score.
• Back Home/Away on the HT/FT market and lay 1-2. If game goes to 1-1 or 1-2, then lay 1-3 also.
• Instead of laying 0-2, have you tried a back of Under 1.5 goals, back Over 2.5 goals, Back 1-0 and 2-0.
• Lay Half-time 0-0 and Back Draw/Draw on the HT/FT maket. If a goal is scored in the 1st half, then you've won. If there's no goal in the first-half, then Lay full-time 0-0 at half-time or lay the draw.
• Back home team to win 1-0 at half-time, and lay home team to win first-half.
• When home team scores 1st goal after 75 mins, lay them and back current score and next home win score.
• Back 5 goals or more and Lay 4 goals or more