How to Find a Tipster (Handicapper) You Can Trust

While we have talked before about recognising betting site scams, and what to look for in an online betting site, one thing we haven’t talked about is how to find a trustworthy tipster or handicapper.  Anyone can call themselves a tipster and offer you sports betting picks, but that does not mean that you should take every tipster’s advice.  And if you are paying for tips, you should be extra careful.

How do you choose a trustworthy ?

• Look for a long-term history.  If you can’t find one, the tipster isn’t being transparent and honest, so you cannot take their word for it that they know what they are doing.  Expect to see a bad week now and again, and run the other direction if you see results that are too good to be true.  But if the results are in the range of what you are looking for and realistically can expect, they may be a good choice.

• Follow their current picks for a few weeks.  If they offer a tier of free picks, follow along for a few weeks to check on their current results.  Again, remember that anyone can have an off week now and again.  But you want to start seeing good results before you give them your money or start wagering based on their picks.

• Third-party verification of predictions.  A lot of legit tipster will post their predictions on third-party websites like Wagerminds.com or on social networks like Twitter before games begin.  This puts a timestamp on the predictions, so you know they were made before the event.  A lot of handicappers who scam customers are posting histories of predictions they made after the scores were released. 

• Find out their history.  Finding out the history of their picks is one thing, but it is also important to learn about the history of the company or individual that you are going to be dealing with.  Look for transparency and experience here.

• Customer service.  When you talk to the customer service agents who represent the tipping company, or to the tipster himself (if it is an individual), what is that experience like?  Are they friendly?  Knowledgeable?  Transparent?  Do they dodge your questions or defer a lot?  Or do they answer your queries promptly and thoroughly? 

It takes some time to evaluate a tipster.  Even though you may want to dive in and start wagering right away, it will really pay off for you to take a few weeks to shop around and make a smart decision.  Otherwise you could lose money twice over—the money you pay the betting service and the money you lose on bad wagers.  If you find a really good tipster, they will be a great asset to you along the way as you wager on UK betting sites.