Updates of Before You Bet’s Round 13 AFL Freeroll Tournament
Welcome to our live coverage of the first-ever Before You Bet AFL Betting Tournament with thanks to TopBetta! Learn more about the site on our TopBetta review page and follow all the action below!
Ready to kick start the first-ever BYB Betting Tournament
No one has ever reported on a betting tournament like this, but we think it’s a great chance for our readers to see how much fun this unique way of punting is. It’s also a good chance for the competitors to sweat their way to victory.
The betting tournament on this occasion is free-to-enter, features a $500 prize pool and runs for the duration of Round 13 of the AFL. Each participant starts with a bank roll of 1,000 ‘BettaBucks’ – TopBetta’s virtual tournament dollars.
The idea is to then try and win as much as possible, and whoever is the sharpest punter and makes the most profit with their tournament dollars will share in $500 in prizes!
BYB $500 AFL Betting Tournament – Prize Pool
1st - $300 in free credit
2nd - $150 in free credit
3rd - $50 in free credit
As this goes into the sports betting blogosphere there are 25 entrants but we would love to see more of our readers get involved! Anyone can play and it’s completely free to enter, just click here to get involved!.
Thursday 6:00pm: Final hours before kick off...what's your strategy?
Be sure to return to this page throughout the weekend as we will have updates on the progress of the tournament before and after every game of footy. We will be talking about the big movers and shakers, and any interesting strategies participants are using to try and win the tournament.
The first game of Round 13 will see the Pies head west to take on the might of the table-topping Dockers. Both sides coming off a bye, and a rest that Fremantle badly needed after showing a few worrying signs in the last few matches.
Our AFL expert has predicted a 1-39 win for the Dockers tonight. If you agree with him, what’s the best play for the first match of our AFL Freeroll Tournament?
A Fremantle win is paying $1.34 and that looks a pretty safe option to kick-start any tournament campaign. However you’re probably going to have to go all-in on this option to try to build your bank up. Yes, it’s a risk, but remember this tournament only pays the top three players, so you need to play aggressively!
If you want a little more value, punters may look at the HT/FT market with a Freo/Freo result paying $1.50 which would give you a small leg up against those who played it safe.
The ultra aggressive play would be to take the line at 22.5, but it’s such a tricky line, which side do you play? If you get it right, you might find yourself towards the top of the leaderboard later tonight.
Of course, there are plenty more markets to try your luck with, but if you really feel like a gamble, take a look at the First/Last Goal Scorer market. That’s where you’ll find the juiciest odds. Later on in the round, there will be plenty making a “hail mary” play on a first goal scorer to try and land a massive collect. Jamie Elliott at $9.00 might be worth a cheeky bet, but perhaps it’s too early to be going all-in or bust....or is it?
Check back with our live blog later on this evening as we take a closer look at the plays that our participants made, and who came out ahead!
Thursday 11:00pm: Freo hang tough; Punters breathe sigh of relief!
It could’ve been an ugly start to the $500 AFL Freeroll Tournament for many of our TopBetta punters, with Fremantle given an almighty scare by a gallant Collingwood outfit on Thursday night. With the weight of money definitely in favour of the purple army, punters avoided disaster on the opening match of Round 13 as Freo held on for a narrow seven-point victory.
The match started with Freo landing the first goal through Michael Walters at the handy odds of $8.00 but it was the Pies early on who looked the more fluent team. They would kick the next three goals to take a two-point lead into the first break, much to the delight of tournament participant skellz who let his delight be known in the Tournament “Sledge Box” after landing the Pies to lead the first quarter at $2.54 for half of his $1,000 Tournament start bank.
The Pies would manage to maintain their narrow lead at half time, which was bad news for Freo HT/FT backers who found themselves in early trouble in the Tournament.
Scores were locked up at three-quarter time to leave punters biting their nails through a pulsating last quarter of finals-like footy. The pressure was intense and Freo were able to soak it up a little better than their spirited opposition to eek out a hard-fought seven-point victory - great news for those punters who followed our recommended bet of Freo 1-39.
After the opening match of the round we have a clear leader in our $500 AFL Freeroll Tournament with lilbooky making the inspired choice of Coll/Freo for the HT/FT double for the entire $1,000 start bank at juicy odds of $5.50. That bet landed to give lilbooky a very handy early advantage over skellz in second place. fetchthefish and snarkyclarky took the Pies at the line to move into the top four, while six other punters went with the seemingly safe option of a Fremantle victory to build their bank into the positive.
When the numbers were tallied up after the first match of the round, the top 10 looks as follows:
lilbooky - $5,500
skellz - $2,190
fetchthefish - $1,890
snarkyclarky - $1,850
Adam41182 - $1,340
mickodragons - $1,340
rexel9 - $1,330
mack1000000 - $1,330
Madds11 - $1,260
wintheraces - $1,249
There are currently 33 entrants in the Tournament, but registration is still open, so it 's certainly not too late to join, especially with ten punters already biting the dust after the opening match. Several of those unfortunate punters took Fremantle at the line, a couple took a punt on Collingwood to win, while two punters put all their faith in Matthew Pavlich to score the first goal. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be.
So with just 23 players still alive, and six of those already under their start bank, new entrants are certainly not disadvantaged by jumping in late.
Sydney will host Richmond on Friday night, and we’ll be back with an update for that match tomorrow evening!
Friday 4:30pm: Will it be red and white? Or yellow and black?
Friday night footy is upon us with Richmond heading to the SCG to take on the Swans. While Richmond did pull off a miracle victory in Sydney in the last round of the 2014 season, our astute AFL expert in his AFL Round 13 Preview pointed out that match was at ANZ Stadium while their record at the SCG is in recent times is not so flattering.
The Tigers were brought back to Earth a little by West Coast last week and will be keen to prove they are a finals contender. There are whispers that it could be a little bit slippery in Sydney tonight, with rain about during the week and potential of some showers tonight. That will probably bring the Tigers into the game if it becomes a tight, scrappy game.
While the weather has seen the line reduce to 21.5 points in the betting, and in theory it should bring Richmond into the game, the Swannies have arguably the best midfield going around. So it’s hard to suggest they won’t continue to excel, come rain, hail or shine. It's going to be tough for the Tigers to match the intensity of Sydney.
The Swans are $1.34 favourites and that might be the safe play for our current AFL Freeroll Tournament leader lilbooky. After an incredible start last night, our leader may resist the urge to gamble too hard tonight, although another $5.50 winner like last night would probably be enough for lilbooky to grab an unassailable advantage in the quest for the top prize.
For those looking for something with a little more value, you might like to take Sydney for the HT/FT double at $1.50, or if you just want to gamble, you can flip a coin on an odd/even game total score at $1.92. It’s a fine line between madness and genius!
Our pick for the first goal scorer is Richmond's Ty Vickery. A mug of a footballer, let’s be honest, but he’s been plucking them from the skies in recent weeks and offers some value at $9.00.
Stay tuned to our Twitter account @Before_You_Bet throughout the evening and join in the banter as we sweat the action in the Before You Bet $500 AFL Freeroll Tournament with thanks to TopBetta.
Friday 11:30pm: The Tiger Army roars!
A classic Friday night encounter at the SCG has left Sydney fans in shock as their team gave up a 32-point lead to go down to Richmond by 18 points.
The Swans looked far too strong early and went to the main break well in command, but a seven-goal blast in the third quarter saw Richmond take a two-point lead in the final change. A tight, tough final quarter saw scores level up with five minutes remaining, but when Jack Riewoldt slotted through his sixth goal of the evening, it was all over as the yellow and black army roared with delight!
The pain might be even worse for Sydney with both star forwards in Lance Franklin and Kurt Tippett likely to be slapped with suspensions after being reported in separate incidents.
No doubt the Sydney loss claimed a number of punters from our AFL Freeroll Tournament, but did a few manage to find the Tigers?
snarkyclarky moved into second position after loading up on the Tigers at the line while wintheraces had a small nibble on a Tigers victory which paid off handsomely to move into third place. However they both still trail lilbooky who decided to sit out this match but still maintains a nice lead.
lilbooky - $5,500
snarkyclarky - $3,459
wintheraces - $2,008
bossman1 - $1,890
yuppieshrink - $1,675
skellz - $1,490
jmaguire60 - $1,450
mack1000000 - $1,330
matbru - $1,029
The Sydney loss certainly has a mess of many of our punters' strategies. 15 of our starting field of 36 entrants have been eliminated, with just nine punters in the positive. That means that anyone who would like to late register is still right in contention for the $500 in prizes.
Registration remains open throughout the weekend, so you still have time to jump into the action and try to land a big score. It costs you nothing to enter, so why not give it a shot?
Saturday 1:00pm: Make or break time!
Saturday football is no doubt going to set the scene for the remainder of our AFL Freeroll Tournament. Much like the premiership quarter, now is the time to accumulate a big number to put yourself in a position to win.
At the time of writing, 21 players remain in contention to top the tournament and the majority of those have bankrolls of the starting amount or less. Those punters are going to have to pull out a miracle first goal scorer or a roughie or two if they are going to win.
Our leader lilbrooky, meanwhile, now needs to decide whether to go with the conservative approach and not risk the lead, or aggressively try and edge further ahead of the pack.
The first game on Saturday is the Hawks taking on the Bombers with the Hawks $1.07 favourites. Last night’s upset knocked a few out of the tournament, but a few others had a penny or two on Richmond and started to build some momentum. Will some punters be brave enough to get on the Bombers at $8.70? Good luck with that!
And what about this afternoon’s Brisbane versus Adelaide match? The Crows have a four-goal line to cover and have to play at the Gabba. Is there value on the Lions at the line? Before You Bet’s AFL tipster has picked Adelaide at the line, so clearly he doesn’t think so. This one might be a good game to get a few bucks on Taylor Walker to kick the first goal at $6.50. Big Jack Riewoldt kicked the first goal as the favourite last night and that trend might continue this afternoon.
No doubt those remaining in the tournament will start getting aggressive once Saints versus Bulldogs match comes around on Saturday evening. It’s the last game of the day – the time for booming or busting. By this point the odds on the head-to-head match result and line betting might not be enough to get ahead of the leaders. Instead, look to find those at the bottom of the pack trying to land an adventurous St Kilda/Western Bulldogs Half-time/Full-Time result bet at $5.50.
It’s going to be very interesting to see some of the last-minute strategies, so be sure to stay locked on this page and on our Twitter account @Before_You_Bet as we update you on some of the quirky moves on the penultimate day of our AFL Freeroll Tournament thanks to TopBetta.
Also don't forget that the tournament is still open for entry and costs nothing to get involved! You will start with a virtual $1,000 bankroll and have to catch up to the leader with almost five times that amount, but with some clever management of your funds you are certainly still in with a chance at the $500 prize pool!
Saturday 11:00pm: Catch snarkyclarky if you can!
And suddenly snarkyclarky is a mile ahead!
Earlier today we said that a big Saturday of footy was going to be the day to change everything and that’s exactly what happened.
snarkyclarky’s rise up the leader board kicked off when he got on Essendon to cover the line against the Hawks. For a while there it was looking like the Dons were a chance to win the game, but ultimately the Hawks got up by 38 points, meaning Essendon had covered the 50.5 point line.
With the bankroll doubled to $6,573, snarkyclarky opted to sit out the Brisbane versus Adelaide game and that was probably a wise decision when a strange game would see the Crows overcome almost certain defeat with a game-saving last quarter.
It was the Bulldogs versus St Kilda game that ultimately determined snarkyclarky’s fate. The final minutes of the game would have had snarkyclarky sweating. The Dogs were up by eight points and the Saints were all over the ball. Two behinds later and all the momentum and it was looking like a draw might be the unravelling of snarkyclarky’s tournament. A couple of gut-wrenching intercept marks by Easton Wood in the backline and the Dogs held onto the victory and just like that, snarkyclarky was up to $9,859.57 – more than double that of their nearest competitor lilbooky.
lilbooky took an interesting strategy into Saturday. lilbooky could potentially have locked up the lead by backing all the favourites to simply win their games, but instead lilbooky nibbled on the first goal scorer markets in a small risk-big reward strategy. In the first match, lilbooky placed a $500 first goal scorer bet on Jason Winderlich for the Bombers. That would have netted $6,500 and jumped lilbooky over five-figures. But alas, Winderlich couldn’t get the job done. lilbooky then got $500 on Josh Jenkins at $8.50 in the Adelaide game. No dice and so it was another hit to lilbooky’s bankroll. Despite these setbacks, lilbooky is still in second place with $4,500 and is certainly still a chance to go all the way.
The biggest mover outside of our new leader was new entrant sabstaar. The first bet of their tournament saw them with $850 on Essendon at the line and they then got $800 on St Kilda/Western Bulldogs Half-time/Full-time double at $5.50. sabstaar goes into the final day of the tournament with the third largest bankroll overall and just $100 less than lilbooky.
snarkyclarky - $9,859.57
lilbooky - $4,500.00
sabstaar - $4,400.00
mickodragons - $2,750.00
dogs54 - $1,929.80
mack1000000 - $1,330.00
jmaguire60 - $1,300.00
Adam41182 - $1,000.00
There is only one game remaining so it is going to be very interesting to see what strategies are used from here out. For those outside the top three it’s going to take something at big odds to have a chance at sharing in the $500 prize pool.
We can’t wait to see how it plays out! Be sure to return on Sunday as the weight of the Before You Bet AFL Freeroll Tournaments rests on the shoulders of the Carlton versus Gold Coast game!
You will start with $1,000 and if you manage to bink a big first goalscorer bet, could call yourself the champion! What a story that would be and what a way to rub it in the face of those who have grinded their bankroll all weekend. Stay tuned!
Sunday 1:00pm: Hail Mary! Boom or bust on Blues versus Suns
Welcome to the final day of our $500 AFL Freeroll Tournament at TopBetta. It’s been an entertaining weekend for our 39 entrants. Many hopes have already been dashed through a combination of upsets on the field and some aggressive betting strategies, and now just 19 players are left standing in the quest for the $500 prize pool and honour of being crowned our champion.
The final day will all come down to the Carlton versus Gold Coast match. A contest that would ordinarily hold little interest for many, now suddenly means a whole lot for our remaining tournament participants.
The punter to catch is snarkyclarky who had a great day yesterday to now hold more than double the amount of second-placed lilbooky and third-placed sabstaar. With the top three place finishers to be paid, that trio are in prime position but they also have an interesting decision ahead of them.
The short stacks are going to have to gamble. Having tournament dollars left in the bank doesn’t win you anything, so they will all be going “all in” for a short at glory.
Even those with less than the start stack are still a chance to win if they can lob a first goal scorer bet at big odds. No one is out of contention here.
So do our leaders play it safe and try to hold their position? Or will they still be trying to increase their bank?
Carlton to win will pay $1.43 but do you really want to risk your tournament on the underperforming Blues? The line is out to 15.5 which looks attractive if you think the Suns can be competitive.
If you still haven’t joined our AFL Freeroll Tournament, then it is STILL not too late! As we already mentioned, if you can land something at good odds then you can still share in the prizes for the top three.
BYB $500 AFL Betting Tournament – Prize Pool
1st - $300 in free credit
2nd - $150 in free credit
3rd - $50 in free credit
snarkyclarky holds on to claim victory the BYB AFL Freeroll Tournament!
Our first-ever AFL Betting Tournament on TopBetta has come to an exciting finish with snarkyclarky going all the way to win the title of champion and top prize of $300 in TopBetta bonus bets.
snarkyclarky didn’t put a foot wrong all tournament. As you can see below, there wasn’t a single losing bet all weekend, so the victory was well deserved.
The decision to sit out the final match between Carlton and Gold Coast ended up proving to be a wise one as snarkyclarky's bank of $9,859.57 was good enough for victory.
Things were a little closer in the battle for the minor placings.
Both lilbooky and sabstaar made the decision to go for glory. Rather than trying to nurse their bank in second and third position respectively, they each wagered their entire stack in the quest for the top prize.
lilbooky wagered $4,500 on the GC/Carl HT/FT double, and it would’ve followed the trend of the round for big comebacks, but Carlton would lead all the way on Sunday afternoon to account for the Gold Coast with relative ease.
sabstaar’s strategy was a little more unique. sabstaar placed a bet on the opposite HT/FT combination, going with Carl/GC, as well as a couple of strategic first goal scorer bets. One of those was a $900 bet on Brandon Matera at odds of $12.00. The young Gold Coast forward had the first shot on goal from 40 metres out directly in front. A shot which you would expect a professional footballer to nail, but it sailed off to the side, costing sabstaar a chance at securing a piece of the prize pool.
In the end, it would be mickodragons who made a remarkable comeback to snatch second place. mickodragons was down to just $500 in tournament dollars late on Saturday, but an all-in play on the Carl/Carl HT/FT double was enough to win the $150 bonus bet for the runner-up result.
The final punter on the podium was wintheraces who stuck to match result betting most of the way, before taking Carlton at the line with an all-in bet that paid off to pick up a $50 bonus bet for third place.
That wraps up our first-ever AFL Freeroll Tournament. Congratulations to our winners and thanks to TopBetta for hosting the tournament. We will be back with another great sports betting tournament very soon, so stay tuned for details. In the meantime, we encourage you to enjoy the betting promotions on TopBetta.
Final Results:
