Russia

it could make way for Greece? I think Greece is like 95% qualifier, they dont have to make way for Greece. With Moldova and Finland I agree though, they are on the edge.

Yeah I didn't get that statement either Archi. Without wishing to sound harsh... it's a betting site where we discuss actual strategy rather than the fundamental structure or just simple love of a song. Steve goes more for the latter, so anyone reading the forums looking for a tip, beware, don't pay attention to Steve.

Your strategy depends on the popularity of the song,which is determined by its musical form. We all get things wrong from time to time..remember Noddy's Toytown Soldiers from Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2009..I thought your question to me on betting was more of a Pharisees-to-Jesus-should-we-pay-tax-question. This is supposed to be a Russian thread anyhow,and if you can't see that Putin and Medvedev are defecating on their former Soviet province Azerbaijan sending that rubbish sung in Udmurt then you are blind..as for a tip this year,well it's Loreen all the way,and maybe we could all put down our top three after the rehearsals and let the viewers to this Eurovision thread(mine are not duplicated on any other site by the way)decide.

Well Steve, none of us profess to be perfect. In fact, set your watch for the semi-finals night and watch us all scream with pain when one of our 'certain to qualify' tips fails. It's Eurovision - it happens.

The crux of my point Steve, is that you visit and take part in a betting site and state who you think will do what at Eurovision, yet there is no financial commitment in those statements invested by you. There is very little theory, just a stream of similes, metaphors and riddles that to be frank, probably put some people off joining in. Again, as a betting site, it does little to grow the reputation of the Eurovision coverage. If you were to offer reasoning in your analysis that covered the running order, vocal quality, genre suitability, clashes, stage presence or voting allies, then some of what you say may hold water.

I wonder why you comment here and not on a mainstream Eurovision community where your opinion would seem harmless and more in tune with fellow posters. On the other hand, you make some valid points at time, but that is mostly clouded and overrun with these crazed philosophical meanderings. Your opinion is valid, if only is had more of a betting slant given the surroundings you are in.

As for your subtle dig at escbet and duplicate posts; I wish Mickey and I had enough time to craft individual posts for each site. We don't.

You do have a point,but to say don't pay any attention to Steve is a bit infra dig. It's a song contest and emotions do come into it:if I feel that the Greek entry this year is akin to a soft porn act I will say so. It would be nice if other members would make a list of those acts they think will qualify:at least I have put my neck on the line before the rehearsals. As for putting people off,well we should all be friends here,and you might as well make the assertion that a betting site by its very nature will put off Muslims as they don't bet,but this is the site we have,warts and all.

I have no problem reading your comments Steve, but I have to say I disagree with something you've said, and I have my reasonings as to why I disagree. I take your comments with a grain of salt anyways. And why is it a bad thing if Greek is a soft porn act? I dont see a problem there. And yes, you have put your neck out, but others have put their money on the line as well. Basically everything I say here I've backed with a bet.. Well, not everything but if not I usually say it if I havent bet on it myself. I hope I'm right with Greece, as I have quite a few euros riding on them to qualify

Eurovision is my guilty pleasure. I enjoy listening to the songs and trying to analyze how different songs will do etc. I also enjoy a good bet, and eurovision is always full of good bets! So please feel free to comment on stuff, but it would be great to always have even a small reasoning as to why you think "X" is going to happen.

Is there any apparent reason to the sudden rise on Russia's odds? I'm surprised it took this long for the market to react they actually sent a bunch of grannies to Baku. Is it just normal market fluctuation? But head-to-heads have changed quite a bit, and outright odds have risen quite a bit percentage wise, ~50% in a few days. (Pinnacle and Betfair that is, a lot of bookers have not yet followed suit) The odds are going to the right direction for sure, but started to wonder if I've missed some news or something which would explain this.