Picklive

Picklive is a new breed of betting site and, personally, I love it.

It’s not your standard sports betting site where set odds are offered on football matches, nor is it an exchange type site like Betfair, where you bet against other gamblers. This is an extremely innovative and online version of fantasy football.

Why so innovative? Well, with Picklive you play in real time as the game runs so you are effectively playing live fantasy football and this results in offering an entirely new experience when watching football. Not only does it enhance the experience of watching a game on the television but even if you can’t access a TV or if your other half may have ‘borrowed’ the remote control, then you can still play along and keep tabs on the game.

There are two ways to play – the ‘Live Game’ and the ‘Big Game’.

Both concepts are simple. In the Live Game, when the game on offer starts, pick three players that you believe will score points over the following 7.5 minutes. These players will score (and lose) points for numerous things; pass completion, shooting, scoring and saves to name but a few.

During the 7.5 minute game you go up against other players and you may make up to 3 substitutes during the game to take advantage of the higher scoring players. At the end of the 7.5 minutes the game ends and the player with the most points wins.

It’s incredibly simple but extremely smooth and playable too and it leaves you wanting more which is the main thing. There are two different types of Live Game ‘room’ – a free game where you can go to get to know how to play and a betting room where you would stake £1 per 7.5 minutes – the low stakes really play into the enjoyment levels well.

The top 3 players of each game share the prizepool after a small rake is taken out but over the week, the player with the highest score wins a jackpot amount too, giving you even more chances to win.

The Big Game is an even easier way to play, especially if you aren’t going to be around for the game or near a computer. It plays out over the whole 90 minutes and costs £2 to play. You pick 5 players who you believe will score the most points and let them get on with it. At the end of the game, the prize pool is, again, shared out.

Picklive will even match any first deposit up to £20 (an amount that, in theory, you can make go a long way) and offer £5 bonuses if you recommend any friends to the game. If the game isn’t enough, they even have an excellent ‘fanzine-style’ blog that keeps you up with any bespoke offers and news from the team.

Let me sum Picklive up. It’s fun. It’s simple. It’s low stake. It’s extremely playable. It’s live fantasy football at it’s best and it has a massive future and that’s why it earns a mighty 4.5 Diegos