There are certain things which no Christmas should be without; drunken uncles, Yule logs, somebody choking on the Christmas pudding and, of course, the loss of exorbitant amounts of money via gambling. The use of the word 'exorbitant' is a holiday highlight too, for some of us.

To help gamers get their wager on and lose tremendous amounts of cash the Irish betting site, Paddy Power is, according to GameLife, offering a chance for geeks to place a bet on which game will be the Christmas best-seller.

The list of games is pretty varied and covers a number of platforms. Current favourite is Need for Speed ProStreet at 11-10, with FIFA Soccer '08 following at 2-1. Call of Duty 4 trails a few places behind at 20-1, with Manhunt 2 on 25-1. Super Smash Bros. Brawl is rated even worse, coming in at 66-1 while Link's Crossbow Training sits at the rear end at 80-1.

Worst of the lot though is Balloon Pop, which is sitting at the back of the class with odds of 250-1.

The list looks a bit odd if you ask me and, while I'm definitely not taking responsibility for anybodies bets, I think the smart money should be on Link's Crossbow Training or Guitar Hero III, which sits at 20-1. Parents are bound to buy that for their kids and everybody and their mum will want to pick up a Wii Zapper when it comes out. Like I said though, no responsibility.

Are you going to place a bet or you going to save your cash up and buy yourself a game instead? Tell us your favourites and drop us any insider tips you have in the forums.