TAPS (or The Alternative Punters Syndicate to give it it’s full title) is a subscription service offering a comprehensive betting experience.
Selections are sent out via daily emails and cover a variety of sports. There are three dedicated Horse Racing selections (Recommended Best Bets, Warm Selections and the Laying Service), one combined Horse Racing/Football system (System Selections) and one general sports service (Sports Bets). In addition, every weekend you also receive an email covering Football Fixed Odds Forecasts. All in all a very comprehensive set of selections.
A welcome package received when you first join the service covers all the additional information needed to support your betting activities as well as advice on relevant staking options.
Email delivery was very reliable and I don’t think there was ever a time during the trial where emails were not received well in advance of the day’s racing. Support is available if required and I have always found any questions are answered swiftly and courteously.
And so to the trial….
Due to time constraints, the trial covered the Recommended Best Bets, the Warm Selections and the System Selections over a period of 11 weeks.
Results over the period were very mixed, as summarised below:
Recommended Best Bets
Staking: Level Stakes (set at 1% of original bank)
Starting Bank: £500.00
Final Bank: £549.50
Profit/Loss: £49.50
ROI: 90%
Warm Selections
Staking: Level Stakes (set at 1% of original bank)
Starting Bank: £500.00
Final Bank: £363.38
Profit/Loss: £-136.63
ROI: -19.4%
System Selections
Staking: % of Bank (set at 7%)
Starting Bank: £500.00
Final Bank: £477.83
Profit/Loss: £-22.17
ROI: -1%
When combined with the subscription fees, this adds up to a sizeable overall loss for the smaller investor.
Of course, these losses may have been offset by results from the other sports bets and laying service, but I was unable to verify this, and thus the outcome represents the results that a typical investor might receive.
My overall impression is that this is a well run operation which delivers a reliable selection service. Unfortunately the selections have not lived up to expectation and with an overall loss over the trial period, a failed rating could be expected.
However, I have personally followed the TAPS service for a lot longer than the trial and have experienced some good periods and some bad periods. Overall I have made a small profit – but not one that gives a great ROI. As the performance has been slightly better over a longer period, I have decided that the TAPS service deserves an overall rating of neutral.
UPDATE
Although we have given this service a Neutral rating due to the average performance of the horse racing during the test, I can confirm that I have continued to monitor the service over the longer term and if we include the Sports Bets it has actually done ok.
Results for 2009 so far show over £2000 profit at SP to £100 stakes which would no doubt be quite a bit more to Betfair SP so I think it would certainly be worth taking out the free trial to see if it fit’s in with your betting style.
You can get a free trial for TAPS here:
https://www.cash-master.com/taps.php
