Who are we?

Calcodds was developed by Alan Hughes who has had over thirty years experience in the bookmaking and casino businesses (Casino dealer at 18 and bookmakers permit holder at 22).

After many years bookmaking I was challenged by a former employee to turn professional gambler. My betting partner's major interest  was horseracing so that is where they looked first for betting opportunities. My personal interest and knowledge in horses, to be truthful, is next to nothing. My interest is in finding a mathematical edge, no matter what the subject matter is.

We stumbled into the place markets by accident and were, at first, perplexed as to how the place odds were calculated, and this was after many years bookmaking! After a few of days studying the place markets I put my findings down on paper, and my partner, a computer expert, put the workings into Excel - and the rest is history. I went from a zero punter with absolutely no interest in horseracing into a £4 million turnover player on Betfair in our first year (2002/3). We started with £30 bet units and as we kept on winning, increased the bet stakes gradually up to £200 units. Net profits in the first year, after Betfair commission, was in excess of £100,000. We used to bet or lay everything that was more than 10% out of line, under or over. 

Why are we sharing Calcodds with you?

Betting turnover on Betfair has multiplied approximately 5-fold in the last four years so there is much more liquidity in the markets for more players to share in the action. The average UK horse race now trades over £100,000 per race just in the place market. So two reasons why Calcodds is trading and sharing our findings with you. Firstly, to hopefully make money from our web site, and secondly, to use Calcodds as a marketing tool for our free casino junkets (www.casinota.com) and other business interests. If you don't play in casinos that's fine by us - just enjoy Calcodds and hopefully  profit from the site.