Episode 57 with Johnny Dineen - Former Bookmaker Turned Upping The Ante Pundit

In this latest episode I had the pleasure of being joined by Johnny Dineen, one half of the popular Upping The Ante show from the Racing Post.
Originally a bookmaker by trade and one with quite the reputation for doing things differently, Johnny is now a professional punter and he talks with me about what the reality of that is like, both in terms of getting on and how the work/life balance of this suits him.
Johnny also speaks candidly about his time bookmaking, the highs and lows, why it appealed to him and ultimately why the growth of Betfair alongside the recession in Ireland saw him shift to being a professional punter.
He also has plenty to say on other topics that many bettors will nod in agreement about, from affordability limits to the black market and the terrible way bookies treat many of their customers these days.
We also round things off with a chat about his media work, including his very popular stint on Upping The Ante - which won Silver in the Best Betting Podcast category in the 2023 SBC Awards. Johnny also won Silver in the Best Betting Expert category too - just being pipped by his Racing Post, stablemate, Steve Palmer.
All told its a fascinating chat with a man working at the heart of betting and bookmaking for many years and someone always willing to do things differently.
Discover More:
- Learn more on the Smart Betting Club and how we help winning bettors at smartbettingclub.com/
- Watch Upping The Ante on KZbin: • Upping The Ante - Chel...
- Johnny on Twitter: @johnnydineen
- Podcast feedback - contact SBC on twitter @sbcinfo
- Read more about each SBC Podcast episode: smartbettingclub.com/the-smar...

[@williamsafari6437]

i marked the board in glasgow when i was still at school .i left school when i was 14-1/2 .that was the same yr as one giant step for mankind

[@iain713]

great craic as ever, genuinely surprised they had cameras when they took that photo of him though !!!

[@tc6070]

ya at least 25 years ago

[@sabrehill1]

Always a pleasure to listen to Johnny. Top man.

[@SmartBettingClub]

Firmly agree!

[@johnelephantjt]

Great interview 👍

[@SmartBettingClub]

Cheers John!

[@batnerful]

Great podcast ! Top man Johnny !

[@SmartBettingClub]

Thanks!

[@gurney2931]

A good chat that gents, thank you.

[@SmartBettingClub]

Thanks!

[@CakeyBakeyNumeroUno]

Johnny, will you be co hosting the coming seasons upping the ante ?

[@EricPollarrd]

It’s hard to believe there are actual real LONG term profiteers from purely form reading. I mean if it’s true then it’s definitely encouraging. I’d like to know what the average numbers of pros there are now on bf, when I was last into my systems 20yrs ago it was said to be 0.01% of bf accounts profited more than £20k a year. I’d say with the sophistication of today’s software it should be way higher now

[@sabrehill1]

Steve Palmer won?! Holy shoot 🤣

[@bigshug8576]

A degenerate 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@paulconey252]

As good a listen I've heard in a long time,good man johnny

[@SmartBettingClub]

Thanks Paul

[@gipperbanana]

I don't get why people bother with bookies when you have the exhanges?So much hassle and almost always worse odds ..be grateful for any insight

[@danielpatrickdwan7167]

Liquidity mainly. BOG. Extra places

[@SmartBettingClub]

@@danielpatrickdwan7167 Agreed. Also a significantly increased number of markets/sports alongside the liquidity issue

[@overarch888]

My man is still coping over not buying a punk or ape 😭😂

[@EricPollarrd]

So how can’t an independent bookmaker do well but corals William hill bet365 etc are all raking it in?

[@SmartBettingClub]

Much bigger companies, bigger budgets etc...