Sunday 2 August 2015

2015-16 Plans

While I haven’t exactly been inundated with inquiries into my plans for the 2015-16 football season, a couple of subscribers have asked, the most recent enquiry being:

I was wondering if you were running your service again for this upcoming season?
If so how much is a subscription and how do I go about renewing.
I must admit that I was pleased to see the end of last season, in large part because running the FTL took so much time each week. 

While on this subject, FTL entrant TFA_Raz, also known as David, made a much appreciated gesture when advised that there would be no FTL this season, writing:
That's a shame mate it was a lot of fun. Please keep the £25 as a thank you for all the effort you put into it last season. My performance didn't deserve a cash anyway!
There won't be an FTL this season, so with kick-off just a few days away, it’s decision time on the Cassini Service. After much deliberation, and perhaps a little soul-searching, I have decided that, while results last season were overall on a par with other services, they are not enough to justify continuing as before. Pretty much everyone was saying what a tough season the last one was, (i.e. big losses), and in the leagues I follow there were certainly some unusual (compared to previous seasons) results, but with most subscribers paying £99 for the season, did it offer value for money?

Relative to other services I would say yes, but I am biased, and frankly even though the XX Draws and Bundeslayga selections are targeted at those looking to mitigate Premium Charges, I'm not comfortable that the Value Selections proved to be anything but, and pulled the overall achievable returns into the red.

So looking forward, since I will still be generating prices on each of the big 49 matches each week (EPL, Ligue 1, Serie A, La Liga, Bundesliga) for my own use, it's not a big deal to plug these numbers into a newsletter each week if the interest is there. I will also be adding some bets from a new league. Nothing too original, but the strategy has been profitable for the last three seasons where Pinnacle's Prices are available.

The cost will be £59 for the season, (£49 for renewing subscribers), and because I need an 'official' profit / loss number, I will include some 'official' selections each week (or round). The reason is that if this 'official' number, (actually the ROI%), measured against Pinnacle Sports prices as recorded by Football Data.co.uk, finishes the season below -2.0%, (i.e. no edge), I will refund half of this amount. As mentioned before, Pinnacle's Prices are usually beatable, so this 'official' number will be easily achievable with the smallest of efforts. Why only refund half the cost? The fee is so low because the money is secondary to the challenge of beating the very competitive football markets. I'm an old man by some measures (though not as old as some) and this is very much a part-time hobby for me, not a job, but it does take some time each week, and the small charge is for this effort. As with any betting venture, there can be no guarantees. A loss doesn't mean that there is a fraud being executed - and if anyone thinks it's worthwhile doing this for £29.50, they need help - it simply means that the markets continue to be hard to beat despite our best efforts.

For anyone interested, payments can be made via PayPal or Skrill to calciocassini@aol.com  

For anyone not interested, good luck to you this season. Having watched the Community Shield game earlier today, and with 'my' Crystal Palace making some positive moves in the off-season, the excitement is back. 

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Hi Cassini,

I don´t know if this is the most correct way to reach you, but I created a blog about football analysis from a trader perspective (http://greeningisthenewblack.blogspot.pt/), which might be interesting for a fellow trader and football fan! The second post is about managers and I must say that your Crystal Palace is well served in that department :)
Hope you stop by my blog and if you find it good, it would be great if you can add it to your general betting blog list.

Best regards