When I started Sports Betting many years ago there was no social media and if you wanted to see what experts in any field fancied you had to subscribe to an SMS line.

Fortunately, I had a lot of time on my hands and was able to do my own research resulting in reasonable success. These days a lot has changed though and the one commodity I seem to never have is time.

There is good news though and that is with the advent of platforms like Twitter you are literally a click away from expert analysis and advice.

Golf is a good example of a sport I used to follow very closely, but these days when it comes to a big event I go to the Twitter feeds of the likes of Ben Coley, Dave Tindall and Steve Rawlings to see where they think the value lies. These guys not only look at the players current and course form, but also know where he went to College, what his mom’s favourite meal was and which type of grass he prefers putting on.

Unless I quit my job there is no way I could develop that sort of expertise and data base, but they write quality previews each week and with a short read I am able to form an opinion and place some bets.

Cycling is another sport which I love and consider myself fairly knowledgeable on, but I am always amazed when I take to social media and see the analysis from the likes of Will Newton and many of the European based cycling fans and punters. These guys leave no stone unturned and have an amazing knowledge of the history of the game and although I still form my own opinion in the end, their Tweets and articles prove an invaluable resource.

Closer to home there is the Goodforthegame Forum where for rugby in particular I believe we are unprecedented as far as quality tips and posts go. There is a mix of up and coming and veteran sports bettors, all of which love their rugby whether North or South and if I find myself in a position where I want to watch a game but have not had time to truly research it then a simple visit to the Forum is all that is required.

Tap into others knowledge and you will see benefits.

Twitter: @BrentGraham.

This article was written for the CitiGaming supplement of the Citizen Newspaper and was published on the 20 August 2020.

Brent Graham is a blogger on www.goodforthegame.co.za and sends a free weekly e-mail list just CLICK HERE to register