The fallacy of Bet Alechmist

Seeing Matt endorse a tipster for Cheltenham and Aintree really surprised me – he put his reputation on the line with this one, and I unfortunately think it’s tarnished the blog. I hope Matt doesn’t make the same mistake again. The troubling part is obviously that Matt will have received money from referring people to use the tipster, and for all intents and purposes he’s “sold” the product to some people on this site. They have ended up paying for the privilege of losing money though, essentially. I’m fairly sure a lot of us hit winners more than Bet Alchemist does! And we’re not trying to win a lot of the time..

I fully appreciate what a great job Matt does, although I don’t feel too guilty calling him out on this because the Smarkets ‘endorsement’ or whatever it is, isn’t exactly spoken about. Matt must drum up a lot of business for them, so you’d think he’d see some money there. The Smarkets endorsement along with the money Matt makes from general bookmaker referrals means that Matt should quite rightly be called out on these things.

I’d love a response on this from Matt, because he’s generally quite open to criticism, but I do think in this case he has to admit that he makes money from referrals and perhaps his endorsement was a little naive, even if he’d convinced himself it was a sure-fire money maker.

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jameslegg97
11

April 16, 2017 at 10:12 am

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Matt
Keymaster
1607 April 17, 2017 at 8:15 am

Just a quick one guys…

I fully expected to receive my fair share of criticism for promoting a tipster service. I have said from the outset that it’s not something that will interest everyone. You are welcome to ignore it.

I’m always looking for extra ways to earn a bit of pocket money and if I find a service that I genuinely believe is profitable and could help you guys, I’ll promote it. If you’re not interested, that’s absolutely fine.

I’ve already answered a number of questions in the comments section of the original post, so please check that out for more info…

https://matchedbettingblog.com/miscellaneous/bet-alchemist-cash-in-on-festivals/

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betman 41 April 17, 2017 at 8:33 am

Fair enough although I’m not sure that much criticism should be expected as you made it clear

Was also apparent from the previous b365 football offer we have a lot of ppl looking for an excuse to genuinely gamble so could argue it was catering for user demand

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Matt
Keymaster
1607 April 17, 2017 at 8:55 am

I agree @betman, it was made clear in the opening paragraph.

I would never criticise someone for lumping a free bet on something at high odds. If that’s how they want to play it, that’s their prerogative. Everyone is different.

First and foremost this is a matched betting site, but that doesn’t mean we can’t discuss other means of being profitable. It’s our common goal.

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jameslegg97 11 April 17, 2017 at 9:26 am

Fair play Matt. Much respect for not calling me an idiot and banning me, or deleting this post!

I guess I’m a fairly conservative matched bettor – I’m not one to actually gamble, and I worry about those that are more vulnerable to it, and ending up going down the wrong road via tipsters etc. I’m sure you thought it through, I just want to make sure you’re aware that putting your name to something on the site will give their service an endorsement that goes further than just “this is basically gambling, but hopefully his tips will come good”.

That said, you go about things in the right way re criticism and responding, so much respect for that.

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BobbyP 2 April 17, 2017 at 9:36 am

I signed up to the alchemist service a couple of weeks ago at the start of the Aintree festival, mainly because I just enjoy the thrill of gambling and it adds a bit of excitement to the usual matched betting stuff (which itself has given me a nice bankroll to have a play around with). I’m down £50 at the moment (basically 2.5 points), albeit if I’d joined one day later I’d actually be £30 up thanks to 4 losers on the first day. My first impressions are that it’s very user friendly, doesn’t take up much time and he seems to know his stuff. As well as the winners / places, there have been a few near misses as well which I’m hoping will turn into more winners in the future. I’ll certainly stick it out for a few months at least, but really I’m just doing it for a bit of fun rather than trying to make mega bucks.

Fog (and others on the main blog) have made a good point that at any given time there will always be some tipsters with a great record….does that really make them more reliable than others? Who knows! What I do know is that this Nicky chap knows a lot more about horses than I do, so if I’m gonna gamble I’d at least rather follow someone that has a bit of knowledge.

In answer to some of the questions around using the exchange(s) to place bets, I would point out the following:

– Bookies have BOG, therefore a potential upside if the horse drifts
– At the time the bets are advised there is often poor liquidity on the exchange so you can’t get a better price than the best bookie anyway
– As the bets are usually each way, very often the “place” price works out better with the bookie
– Some bookies offer extra places on the bigger races which you don’t get from the exchange. I’ve benefited from this twice already with horses finishing outside the usual places but hitting that extra place offered (by Skybet in both cases)
– That said I’ve used the exchange for one or two of the bets…I think you just need to look at all the options and try to get the best value you can

I think Matt made it very clear that it was not for everyone, although I think the nature of the personalities on here, there is a mentality of wanting to see instant results and not being happy running up losses, even in the short term. After all, matched betting is almost risk free…

And just a final point, why should anyone care if Matt is getting commission from this? He’ll also be earning commission per click every time you follow a link to a bookie, this is how most websites make any money! In fact, we should all be very thankful for those kick backs because we would otherwise have to pay a subscription (as with most other similar matched betting sites)!

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jameslegg97 11 April 17, 2017 at 9:42 am

My point re commission is that Matt is getting paid by proxy to by endorsing the service. So we should criticize if we see fit.

No one is disputing that Matt should be making money from this site. Of course he should!

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SJ 0 April 17, 2017 at 10:17 am

For what its worth i signed up for a bit of fun, alongside my matched betting exploits. I’m currently £60 up from £10 so its not offending me yet! Putting it into perspective it’ some fun using matched betting profits that i don’t rely on as its all viewed as a hobby alongside my love of sport.

I’d also consider myself mature enough to make a rational decision on what is right for me.

Love the blog, love the forum, love sport…love free money!!

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matchedem
Blocked
10 April 17, 2017 at 11:50 am

What do you all think of my profits margins tho

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jameslegg97 11 April 17, 2017 at 12:09 pm

matchedem thechemist

I’d pay for that – whatever it is that you’re on seems fantastic!

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BobbyP 2 April 17, 2017 at 12:44 pm

I would definitely sign up for that. My guess is he would pick the winner 5 minutes after the race has finished. Can’t fail to lose…

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Chris 24 April 17, 2017 at 1:22 pm

Its pretty easy to come across as knowing your stuff about horses though. There is a wealth of free information on the internet, in the papers etc that can be regurgitated by a tipster in his/her own words to come across as knowledgeable. The only thing a tipster cares about is his bottom line and that comes via subscription fees and/or referral commission.

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