Customer Reviews

Derek McGovern on Sports Betting and How to Make it Pay

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On the whole the book was a very good read. But at the price you expect it to satify its very own title which this book does not. The book covers a wide range of sports in good detail but tends shy away from its initial objectives and tends to concentrate on the authors past experiences in sports betting rather than reveal 'how to make it pay'. If you are looking for a book to teach you strategies and make yourself more successful in the world of sports betting them im afraid you may well be dissapointed. If, however, you are looking for a book to tell you old stories about sports betting rather than learn anything new then this is the book for you.

270 pages of entertaining and opinionated betting advise from Derek McGovern. I am not sure at the end of this book if I am wiser about how to make betting pay but maybe it is aimed more at a novice. Personally I always make my annual profits from Ante Post Football betting and would have welcomed more discussion on issues such as the record of play off losers etc. One drawback is a few facts are wrong and the book may have benefited from stricter editing Worth buying for us true gamblers.

Brough Scott writes the foreword to this book and sets its tone in describing McGovern as something of a cheeky chappie. McGovern writes in a humorous style whilst sharing many interesting betting tales with his readers, including the infamous Hole in One Gang, and canny "aftertimers". Almost every sport is dealt with in sufficient depth, with US sports the only noticeable absentees. The chapters on Ladbrokes' disgraceful treatment of punters and betting shop crime are fascinating, as is the introductory chapter which outlines the birth of sports betting. A few lines in this book really are "laugh-out-loud" funny, and the tips McGovern gives are particularly useful for those just getting into sports betting. Since reading the book I have become a daily bettor, but the wit of McGovern means that even experienced punters will enjoy it thoroughly. My only quibble is that it's not longer, but that's only because I enjoyed it so much, and in any case I'm being unfair - 317 pages is plenty. Maybe mcGovern could write another book on sports betting, this time aiming it at more experience bettors and consequently going into greater detail and providing us with more amusing anecdotes. Top class stuff.