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What Are Blackjack Side Bets?Side bets are bonus bets placed on a round of Blackjack on outcomes beyond whether the player or dealer will win. The majority are staked at the start of the round before the cards have been dealt alongside regular bets and many have fixed odds that usually offer greater payouts than the simple 2:1 rewarded for beating the dealer.Play Blackjack at Pinnacle Casino

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Finding a niche market in betting can often lead to value. This can be anything from specialist knowledge of handball betting to extensive experience in betting on Japanese baseball. Providing you know more than the bookmaker, there is money to be made.  &lt;Bet on soccer at Pinnacle&gt; They also make for interesting and potentially profitable bets, as they can be a little more reliable

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A corner is one of the most inexplicably exciting events in soccer. Only around three per cent of them lead to a goal, but you can guarantee that the attacking team’s fans will roar their approval and encouragement if their team are awarded one. Read on to find out how you can benefit from betting on corners.

Corners betting in soccer: Value in a lesser-known market

Poisson Distribution is a mathematical concept for translating mean averages into a probability for variable outcomes across a distribution. For example, if we know Manchester City average 1.7 goals per game, so by putting the Poisson Distribution formula tells us that this average equates to Manchester City&nbsp;scoring 0 goals 18.3% of the time, 1 goal 31% of the time, 2 goals 26.4% of the time and 3 goals 15% of the time.

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What is Expected Value?The amount a player can expect to win or lose if they were to place a bet on the same odds many times over, calculated through a simple equation multiplying your probability of winning with the amount you could win per bet, and subtracting the probability of losing multiplied by the amount lost per bet.A simple example of Expected Value (EV) put into practice -&nbsp;if you were

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The Expected Value of a bet shows us how much we can expect to win (on average) per bet, and as such is the most valuable calculation a bettor can make when comparing bookmakers' odds. How can you calculate Expected Value in sports betting in order to predict your winnings? Read on to find out.

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Sam studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield before joining the team to indulge his long-established interests in writing, sports and betting. Whilst Sam’s speciality is soccer, he enjoys following most sports for their major events and exploring betting markets with his love of stats in tow in order to find value.

Sam Pearce

<h3>Lionel Messi at Barcelona: A timeline</h3>
<div class="articleV2 unordered-list">
<ul>
<li>December 14, 2000: Messi joins Barcelona’s La Masia youth academy as a 13-year-old, signing his contract on a paper napkin.</li>
<li>October 16, 2004: Messi makes his first-team debut for Barcelona as an 82nd-minute substitute in a 1-0 win over Espanyol, becoming their youngest player ever.</li>
<li>May 1, 2005: Messi scores his first Barcelona goal in a 2-0 win against Albacete, becoming their youngest scorer ever.</li>
<li>May 29, 2005: Messi wins the first of the 35 trophies he would lift with Barcelona as they secure the La Liga 2004/05 title.</li>
<li>May 17, 2006: Messi wins the Champions League for the first time as Barcelona defeat Arsenal 2-1 in the final.</li>
<li>December 1, 2009: Messi wins the Ballon d’Or for the first time, in a year&nbsp;in which Barcelona won the&nbsp;sextuple and Messi scored 38 goals in all competitions.</li>
<li>2011/12: Messi enjoys his finest individual season for Barcelona, racking up 73 goals and 29 assists in all competitions and becoming the club’s all-time top scorer in the process.</li>
<li>November 22, 2014: Messi becomes the all-time top scorer in La Liga following a hat-trick in a 5-1 victory against Sevilla. He wins the treble for a second time that season.</li>
<li>August 2018: Messi is named Barcelona captain following the departure of Andres Iniesta.</li>
<li>April 17, 2021: Messi wins the 2021 Copa del Rey, his final accolade as a Barcelona player.</li>
<li>August 5, 2021: Barcelona announce that Messi will not be renewing his contract with the club and is leaving.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Messi’s impact on Pinnacle’s odds</h3>
Arguably the best place to start for analysing Messi’s impact is Pinnacle’s own betting markets, in which his departure has already had a direct influence on Barcelona’s odds. On August 5, just a few hours before the news broke that he would not be renewing his contract, Barcelona led the outright market for this season’s La Liga as 2.290 favourites.
By August 9, when the club had officially confirmed he was leaving, Barcelona’s odds had lengthened to <a style="color: #f50;" id="articleLink" href="https://www.pinnacle.com/en/soccer/spain-la-liga/matchups/" target="_blank">3.450</a>* and they had fallen to third-favourites to win the title behind both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. To put that into context, Barcelona have only finished outside the top two in La Liga once in the last 13 seasons.
Lionel Messi’s impact on this season's La Liga odds
<table class=" article-table">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
Team
</td>
<td>
Odds to win La Liga 2021/22 before news of Messi’s departure
</td>
<td>
Odds to win La Liga 2021/22 after news of Messi’s departure
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Barcelona
</td>
<td>
2.290
</td>
<td>
<a style="color: #f50;" id="articleLink" href="https://www.pinnacle.com/en/soccer/spain-la-liga/matchups/" target="_blank">3.450</a>*
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Real Madrid
</td>
<td>
2.570
</td>
<td>
<a style="color: #f50;" id="articleLink" href="https://www.pinnacle.com/en/soccer/spain-la-liga/matchups/" target="_blank">2.090</a>*
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Atletico Madrid
</td>
<td>
4.360
</td>
<td>
<a style="color: #f50;" id="articleLink" href="https://www.pinnacle.com/en/soccer/spain-la-liga/matchups/" target="_blank">3.350</a>*
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
During the same period, Barcelona’s odds to win this season’s Champions League lengthened from 15.300 to <a style="color: #f50;" id="articleLink" href="https://www.pinnacle.com/en/soccer/uefa-champions-league/matchups/" target="_blank">18.130</a>* (having reached as long as 22.550 at one stage). Conversely, the odds for Messi’s new club PSG moved from 5.130 to <a style="color: #f50;" id="articleLink" href="https://www.pinnacle.com/en/soccer/uefa-champions-league/matchups/" target="_blank">3.680</a>* favourites to lift the trophy in 2021/22.
Unsurprisingly, Messi’s absence having an adverse impact on Barcelona’s odds is far from unprecedented. When it was announced that an injured Messi would miss a league match against Real Madrid in October 2018, Barcelona’s odds to win the fixture lengthened from 1.740 to 2.090, slashing their win probability from 57.5% to 47.8% in the process. Meanwhile, Madrid’s odds shortened from 4.300 to 3.390.
<img src="/sites/default/files/media-image/lionel-messi-barcelona-stats.png" alt="lionel-messi-barcelona-stats.png" title width="1920" height="1080" loading="lazy">
<h3>Analysing Messi’s Barcelona stats</h3>
Messi is perhaps the finest example of a player whose stats speak for themselves. Here is how a career that has featured four Champions League trophies, 10 La Liga titles, seven Copa del Reys, eight Spanish Super Cups, three UEFA Super Cups, three Club World Cups, and six Ballon d’ors translates into Messi’s 17 seasons at Barcelona:
Lionel Messi: Barcelona stats
<div class="table-holder-article-content">
<div class="table-modal">
<div class="table-modal-head">
<div class="table-modal-head-inner">
<h2>Lionel Messi: Barcelona stats</h2>
</div>
</div>
<div class="table-modal-content">
<div class="article-table-content">
<table class=" article-table">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
Season
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
Apps.
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
Goals
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
Assists
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
G+A per app.
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
Involvement in Barcelona's goals
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
2004/05
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
9
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
1
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
0
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
0.11
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
1.17%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
2005/06
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
25
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
8
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
3
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
0.44
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
9.09%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
2006/07
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
36
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
17
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
3
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
0.56
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
19.04%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
2007/08
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
40
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
16
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
13
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
0.73
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
28.16%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
2008/09
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
51
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
38
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
17
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
1.08
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
34.59%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
2009/10
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
53
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
47
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
11
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
1.09
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
42.02%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
2010/11
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
55
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
53
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
23
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
1.38
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
49.35%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
2011/12
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
60
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
73
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
29
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
1.70
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
53.68%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
2012/13
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
50
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
60
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
15
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
1.50
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
48.70%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
2013/14
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
46
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
41
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
14
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
1.20
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
37.41%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
2014/15
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
57
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
58
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
27
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
1.49
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
48.57%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
2015/16
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
49
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
41
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
23
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
1.31
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
37.87%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
2016/17
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
52
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
54
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
16
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
1.35
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
40.94%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
2017/18
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
54
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
45
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
18
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
1.16
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
44.68%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
2018/19
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
50
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
51
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
19
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
1.40
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
50.72%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
2019/20
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
44
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
31
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
25
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
1.27
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
50.90%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
2020/21
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
47
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
38
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
12
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
1.06
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
40.98%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Total
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
778
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
672
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
268
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
1.21
</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">
37.52% (average)
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
The numbers are staggering. Aside from the highly impressive return of 672 goals and 268 assists, the 34-year-old has turned in more than&nbsp;one goal and/or assist per appearance in every season since 2008/09. On top of that, he has been directly involved in less than 40% of Barcelona’s goals in all competitions during a season on just two occasions since 2009/10.
There is no shortage of stats in the table above worthy of specific attention. In 2011/12, Messi recorded a total of 102 goals and assists (equivalent to 1.7 goals and assists per game), while in that season as well as in 2018/19 and 2019/20, over half of Barcelona’s goals were either scored or assisted by Messi.
<div class="articleV2 unordered-list">
<ul>
<li><a style="color: #f50;" id="articleLink" href="/betting-resources/en/soccer/importance-of-first-six-games-in-soccer/j3r2fj6dy6mbzvw2/" target="_blank">What can bettors learn from the first six games in a soccer season?</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
The obvious question for Barcelona is thus how they replace his contribution in their attacking output and the presumed answer is with great difficulty. Messi was involved in 40.98% of Barcelona’s goals in all competitions during 2020/21 (actually his second-worst individual return among the last five seasons), while Antoine Griezmann was only the other Barcelona player involved in more than 20%.
While new signing Memphis Depay did post more encouraging numbers on this front, they still fell short of Messi’s. Amidst the news that fellow attacking acquisition Sergio Aguero is injured for the next few months, Depay is taking on an unenviable level of responsibility for the opening stages of this season.
Goals, assists, and goal involvements in 2020/21 (selected players)
<table class=" article-table">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
Player
</td>
<td>
Goals
</td>
<td>
Assists
</td>
<td>
Involvement in team goals
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
</td>
<td>
38
</td>
<td>
12
</td>
<td>
40.98%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Memphis Depay (Lyon)
</td>
<td>
22
</td>
<td>
12
</td>
<td>
36.55%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Antoine Griezmann (Barcelona)
</td>
<td>
20
</td>
<td>
12
</td>
<td>
26.22%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona)
</td>
<td>
11
</td>
<td>
5
</td>
<td>
13.11%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona)
</td>
<td>
7
</td>
<td>
7
</td>
<td>
11.47%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Martin Braithwaite (Barcelona)
</td>
<td>
7
</td>
<td>
3
</td>
<td>
8.19%
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Furthermore, without Messi’s 30 league goals last season (which represented 35.29% of Barcelona’s total), Barcelona would have been 15 points worse off in La Liga, placing them 20 points behind Real Madrid and 22 behind champions Atletico.
This is partially because Messi is a rare breed of player who consistently outperforms against both his expected goals (xG) and expected assists (xA) metrics. As a consequence, not only has he served as the fulcrum of Barcelona’s attack, but he has done so to a greater standard than can be reasonably expected of him.
Lionel Messi: Expected goals and expected assists stats
<table class=" article-table">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
Season
</td>
<td>
Messi’s combined goals and assists in La Liga
</td>
<td>
Messi’s combined xG and xA in La Liga
</td>
<td>
Overperformance
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
2016/17
</td>
<td>
46
</td>
<td>
40.85
</td>
<td>
+5.15
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
2017/18
</td>
<td>
46
</td>
<td>
44.05
</td>
<td>
+1.85
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
2018/19
</td>
<td>
49
</td>
<td>
41.34
</td>
<td>
+7.66
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
2019/20
</td>
<td>
45
</td>
<td>
37.44
</td>
<td>
+7.56
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
2020/21
</td>
<td>
39
</td>
<td>
38.10
</td>
<td>
+0.90
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Total
</td>
<td>
226
</td>
<td>
201.78
</td>
<td>
+24.22
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Expected goals and assists stats taken from Understat.
<h3>How will Lionel Messi do at PSG?</h3>
Perhaps the last question that remains is how Messi will fare at his new team PSG. He has been priced at <a style="color: #f50;" id="articleLink" href="https://www.pinnacle.com/en/soccer/france-ligue-1/matchups/" target="_blank">1.806</a>* with Pinnacle to score over 27.5 league goals in 2021/22 (something he has failed to do only twice since 2009/10) and is available at <a style="color: #f50;" id="articleLink" href="https://www.pinnacle.com/en/soccer/france-ligue-1/matchups/" target="_blank">2.020</a>* to net under 27.5.
PSG 2021/22 odds
<table class=" article-table">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
Market
</td>
<td>
Odds
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
PSG to win Ligue 1
</td>
<td>
<a style="color: #f50;" id="articleLink" href="https://www.pinnacle.com/en/soccer/france-ligue-1/matchups/" target="_blank">1.086</a>*
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
PSG to win the Champions League
</td>
<td>
<a style="color: #f50;" id="articleLink" href="https://www.pinnacle.com/en/soccer/uefa-champions-league/matchups/" target="_blank">3.680</a>*
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Lionel Messi to score over 27.5 goals in Ligue 1
</td>
<td>
<a style="color: #f50;" id="articleLink" href="https://www.pinnacle.com/en/soccer/france-ligue-1/matchups/" target="_blank">1.806</a>*
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Messi’s performances may depend on a range of factors, including how efficiently he adjusts to playing in a new league for the first time in his career, how Mauricio Pochettino integrates him tactically, and whether he can avoid the injury and fitness issues that have plagued him to a minor extent during the last few seasons.
However, with the six-time Ballon d’Or winner joining an attack that can already boast Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, and Mauro Icardi, an absence of quality from his teammates certainly shouldn’t have a negative impact on his numbers this season.

How important was Lionel Messi to Barcelona?

It was recently announced that Lionel Messi was bringing his 21-year stint at Barcelona to an end. As someone widely regarded to be the best player in the world, just how important was Lionel Messi to Barcelona?

In early August, shockwaves were sent around the soccer world when it was announced that Lionel Messi was bringing his 21-year stint at Barcelona to an end in order to join PSG on a free transfer. Needless to say, Messi is regarded as the best player in the world in many circles and the broad expectation is that he will be sorely missed by the Spanish club – but just exactly how important was Lionel Messi to Barcelona?