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| JANUARY 20 | DECEMBER 19 | NOVEMBER 18 | JULY 28 | |
| LEICESTER | 2/7 | 6/5 | 6/5 | 2/1 |
| QPR | 4/9 | 2/7 | 4/9 | 2/1 |
| DERBY | 15/8 | 2/1 | 10/1 | 8/1 |
| BURNLEY | 2/1 | 2/1 | 9/4 | 16/1 |
| NOTT'M FOREST | 3/1 | 5/1 | 3/1 | 4/1 |
| READING | 6/1 | 7/2 | 7/2 | 3/1 |
| WIGAN | 8/1 | 9/1 | 9/2 | 5/1 |
| BRIGHTON | 9/1 | 8/1 | 12/1 | 5/1 |
| MIDDLESBROUGH | 12/1 | 33/1 | 25/1 | 8/1 |
BOLD = Odds shortening
So Reading's odds have drifted a fair bit over the past month, with odds a £10 bet on Nigel Adkins side to go up now earning you £60 profit as opposed to £35 a month ago.
However, Reading's odds had gone out to as high as 10/1 after our FA Cup exit at Brighton so if you took a punt then, you might have picked yourself up a bargain.
Elsewhere and Leicester's sure to the top of the table has been reflected by the bookies who have made them heavy odds on favourites to return to the Premier League for the first time since 2004. QPR also remain odds on, although they've drifted out very slightly.
Derby, Burnley and Forest all remain in the 2/1-3/1 ballpark before you get to Reading and a group further out that includeds Wigan and Brighton. Middlesbrough are the month's biggest movers with their odds slashed from 33/1 to 12/1 in the space of a month.
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| JANUARY 20 | DECEMBER 19 | NOVEMBER 18 | JULY 28 | |
| LEICESTER | 11/13 | 5/1 | 9/2 | 14/1 |
| QPR | 2/1 | 10/11 | 9/2 | 6/1 |
| DERBY | 14/1 | 9/1 | 50/1 | 33/1 |
| BURNLEY | 17/1 | 10/1 | 8/1 | 80/1 |
| NOTT'M FOREST | 25/1 | 28/1 | 16/1 | 12/1 |
| READING | 50/1 | 16/1 | 20/1 | 9/1 |
That isn't just me tacking Reading onto a list of favourites, the simple fact is that the bookies now view QPR and Leicester as the only teams they see with a realistic shot of winning the Championship.
Odds of 50/1 are long to say the least but Reading were also 33/1 to win the title around this time two years ago so stranger things have happened. Still, there's a 16 point gap between us and leaders Leicester, while two years ago that gap was only 11 points. Considering that the remarkable run we went on to win the title still only saw us win it by a single point, I won't be putting any money on a similar surge.
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| JANUARY 20 | DECEMBER 19 | NOVEMBER 18 | JULY 28 | |
| YEOVIL | 2/5 | 8/11 | 1/3 | 11/10 |
| BARNSLEY | 4/9 | 1/2 | 11/13 | 11/10 |
| DONCASTER | 4/5 | 11/8 | 7/4 | 5/2 |
| MILLWALL | 5/2 | 7/2 | 3/1 | 9/2 |
| CHARLTON | 10/3 | 11/5 | 4/1 | 9/1 |
The bookies are no longer interested in taking bets on Reading to go down and while I was beginning to take a tiny glance towards the bottom a couple of weeks ago, back-to-back wins have lifted us to 41 points and realistically around 3 wins from safety.
Yeovil, Barnsley and Doncaster all remain odds on to be playing League One football, with Millwall and Charlton the next strongest fancied.
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Golden Boot & Others
Despite his hat-trick heroics against Bolton, 10-goal Adam Le Fondre remains a long-shot for the golden boot out at 33/1. Newly appointed Leeds captain Ross McCormack has 17 for the season and is the current favourite at 9/4, just ahead of Danny Ings and Jordan Rhodes who are one goal behind him.
If you fancy betting on Reading to make the play-offs 6/4 is the best price you're going to find right now, with a top half finish 1/16 and a bottom half finish 8/1.
So that's how the money men see it. If you are of age, in a country that allows it and fancy a flutter please gamble responsibly, while you can always visit Gamble Aware for support.
All odds taken are the best price available from oddschecker.