Testimonials

ProGambler 
The following review is from ProGambler (www.progambler.co.uk) who investigate betting services and systems. 

“With the majority of sports tipsters concentrating on Racing, football and golf it’s always nice to look at services ploughing their own distinctive furrow. 

One such service is On The Oche (OTO) the brain child of darts expert Richard Anderson. We have been monitoring the service for over 10 months now at Progambler and feel it time to bring you up to date with the numbers and to put our opinion on record.

Why OTO? 

The service first came to our attention in July last year when it seemed to consistently garner plaudits on the more discerning forums and message boards. As OTO offer a diversification into a sport which could be ripe for a betting boom we considered it essential that we check this service out on your behalf – our main reason being that surely it makes sense to build a punting portfolio across the sporting spectrum? 

I think increasingly, this diversification angle should be a key consideration for anyone who follows tipster services with a portfolio mentality. All sports can suffer unfathomably adverse betting periods and it pays to have some balance in your roster so as not to be relying too heavily on any one sport or service.

After a ‘toe in the water’ free month’s trial membership we’d made an impressive 5.91pts profit. At that point I discussed with Rich the possibility of Progambler proofing his service – and here we are 10 months later. 

How did OTO actually perform? Well before I add the context here are the all important numbers:

Number of tips: 153
Outlay: 132.55pts
Return: 155.66pts
Profit: 23.11pts
% ROI: 17.44%
1pt Level Stake Profit 41.65pts
1pt Level Stakes % ROI: 27.22%
Average stake per bet: 0.866pts
Level Average Stake profit: 36.08pts

As you can see, some nice solid numbers with a strong, healthy ROI. 

Quite importantly however, the stats suggest that to follow a level stakes approach was more profitable for this period than following strictly to the advised staking. That is not to say that this trend would definitely continue but it is certainly worth bearing in mind when deciding on a staking plan with which to follow the service.

OTO averages about 5 or 6 tips per week however the reality is that there are periods of frantic activity and then quiet periods which can sometimes run into weeks. Thankfully Rich is very good at flagging up advance notice of when he is likely to put out his selections. I would also say that you need to be quick on the prices although often even if you are not on the best prices you should get close to them. Generally best and next best prices tend to last for up to an hour after they have been advised.

Straying back to the results, the fact that level staking seemed so much more profitable led me to the theory that the longer priced selections were where the true profit was hiding – a fact, if true, that isn’t reflected in Rich’s staking. My hunch is level staking is the way ahead here. 

On The Oche is pretty uncommon as a tipping service in that it offers bets ranging anywhere from 1.44 to 51.0. The vast majority of the bets are odds on or close to it, reflecting a sport of two man, head to head contests. Darts is a sport, and this is a style of betting, that should suit those who favour maintaining short losing runs over regularly backing big priced selections. Although, as I stated earlier that is not to say there are no opportunity to experience the thrill of a double digit winner such as finishing second in the UK Open at 50/1 ew. 

The results prove OTO have a massive edge when it comes to the outright betting and are still profitable in the busier more cut throat match betting that obviously represents the lion’s share of their bet volume. From this summary it is clear that getting the prices is not nearly as important on the outright betting as it is in the match bets – and that is a key point worthy of consideration.

As for the 10 month period itself, well, undoubtedly there were highs and there were lows with the highs, I am pleased to say, far outweighing the lows.

So let’s look at the key aspects of this service. 

This service is profitable to both advised and level staked approach, the customer service is excellent (and Gregor would argue second to none). 

Rich is straightforward to communicate with and very importantly he explicitly understands that his service must evolve and change along with the environment it operates in if it wants to keep making good profits for its members. OTO has without doubt got an excellent handle on the darts scene. The write ups are a nice balance too, being involved enough to engage the reader and relay the reasons behind the bet without recourse to needless waffle.

Who would suit this service? 

I would say it suits anyone who doesn’t mind backing short price selections and who is looking to add diversity to their portfolio. At £300 per year, I believe OTO to be at the more affordable end of the market. £50 or £100 per pt level stakes would reflect an entry level investment level to give the desired return whilst covering subscriptions and hassle factor.

An additional, and underplayed, aspect is also that OTO is very much a service for the punting voyeurs out there – those that like the emotional roller coaster of watching their bets in running. Darts is a brilliant betting sport and, at its best, it is fabulously entertaining armchair viewing. The sport, like all pub games, is simply made for betting, yet it is only in recent years that the bookies have cottoned on. Latterly, they have really taken the game by the scruff of the neck and along with the TV companies, the betting firms sponsorships have started to inject the much needed cash that will allow darts to develop and grow to the next level. Crowds are well up too and it’s great to watch the majority of the matches played in packed houses with electric and partisan atmospheres.

I would have no hesitation in recommending On The Oche to any interested parties without reservation.