Top darts referee George Noble assesses the betting on the GSOD.

The Grand Slam of darts (starting Friday) sees the elite from both the PDC and BDO / WDF organisations doing battle and is the only event on the calendar where darts fans get the opportunity to see stars from both codes on the oche together.

Leading darts referee George ^The Puppy^ Noble - one of the most experienced and knowledgable indviduals on the darts circuit - who has refereed both PDC and BDO World Championship finals looks at the leading runners and riders and assesses the potential value bets for customers of

George says :

^It^s very difficult to get away from Phil Taylor as the overall winner and whilst his current odds of 4/9 is not the traditional working man^s price, it^s still great value when you consider the current form that Phil is in and the fact that it^s difficult to see him being beaten.

I have seen Phil close at hand over a number of years and his preparation and hunger to win is second to none. Even now after achieving everything he has in the game, he still wants more and he is simply phenomenal - for that reason odds of 1/10 are a more realisitic price !

James Wade is the second favourite at 8/1 and that^s a decent price. ^The Machine^ is one of the few people around who has the game to trouble Phil and if he is playing his best darts then he has shown he is capable of taking the major prizes. The question with James is him being able to do it consistently which has been Phil^s forte over the years.

At 10/1 Raymond van Barneveld is a bigger price then he has been for a while, but for me this reflects the fact that at the moment Ray is going through a few changes with his darts. He hasn^t been at his peak for a while and I think until he settles on a set of darts that he is happy with, then he won^t be at his best. Obviously when he finally does that, he has shown he is a terrific player.

Gary Anderson is the fourth favourite at 12/1 and he is a player with a lot of potential. He is a big scorer and is definitely one to watch as he makes his way up the PDC rankings. If Gary can recapture the 2007 form which saw him win both the World Darts Trophy and International Darts League he could have a real shout.

The prices for the other players in the tournament start at 33/1 and range to 5000/1 for the two lady competitors Anastasia Dobromyslova and Francis Hoenselaar. If I was looking for a value each way bet from the players in this price range, I would go for Steve Beaton who has come into some really good form recently.

As well as throwing some good darts of late, he is a really experienced player, who as a former BDO World Champion knows what it takes to win a big tournament^.

Good luck - George Noble.