NRL TIPPING
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A head over heart formula and a close following of weekly team changes are key cogs in a winning tipping formula, according to defending Illawarra Mercury online tipping champion Vicki Harvey.
Harvey, with the strong counsel of husband Pat, tipped so well last year that she also finished second overall in the NRL's online TopTippa competition.
TopTippa rewards points based on the betting odds of each match, upping the value of tipping an upset, and Harvey put the formula to good use last year.
"There's a strategy to it, you don't just get the win and the loss you get more points if you back the the team is paying more money," Harvey said.
"We had bad weeks as well where we didn't tip too well and then we had good weeks and I suppose everyone goes through that in a tipping comp year.
"Before the semi-finals started we thought we'd better take some upsets and that's how we got to win it I think."
Harvey plans to play a straight bat early in the 2014 season as she and Pat get a gauge on each team's form.
"Early on I'll think we'll just go week to week," she said.
"It's hard to know until they start playing and you get a feel of how well they're going to go.
"Who's in and out makes a big difference to so we follow the team announcements pretty closely.
"Later in the year we definitely do look to pick some upsets."
While it pains her to do so, the diehard Manly fan admits she is occasionally forced to put an "L" next to her beloved Eagles.
"We don't tip against them very often but there are some teams they seem to have a bit of a hard time against," she said.