whipping boy
It is estimated that about 5% of people who regularly bet on racehorses make a profit which means it is possible!
The bad news is that it is not easy. It requires the ability to perform long hours of hard, meticulous work, an analytical mind, iron discipline and patience.
The gambling industry depends for its profits on the “suckers” the 95% of regular punters whose donations are gratefully received and distributed among racehorse owners, jockeys, trainers, their second cousins twice removed, clerks, bookmakers, breeders, cleaners and, of course, the elite 5% of winning punters.
Your first step is to be prepared, and for this a thorough study of form is needed. Most punters end their day empty-handed because they are not properly prepared and simply follow the herd.
The whole idea of form study, which can take many hours, is to form independent opinions which go against those generally held and which therefore offer greater rewards when proven correct.
A big mistake of most of the suckers stems from their eagerness to bet on every race on the programme. On a typical two-meeting Saturday this could mean between 18 and 20 forays into the market action, action, action, until the money runs out, as it inevitably does.
This is where the wannabe winner needs discipline. Target races where you have a good chance of winning. On our typical Saturday this could mean placing just a few bets I’ve seldom been able to find more than about six worthwhile bets on a day. Often it’s fewer and sometimes none at all!
Do not bet on races where your chances are not good, no matter how tempted you are, and do not change your approach when your “fancy” wins a race that you stayed out of.
Remember that your method is based on winning in the long term, not the get-rich-quick approach which is the hallmark of suckers. The sucker seeks all-day entertainment; the winner seeks the satisfaction of making a profit, even if only a small one.
No matter how carefully you select races to bet on, you will still often be a loser. A success rate of 60% (three winners in five bets, say) should ensure a profit and this should be attainable with hard work, discipline and patience. The suckers, generally, are not stupid: they simply tend to leave their brains at the racecourse gates. Winners stay calm and keep their brains in their heads.
The most important aspect of successful punting is money management. You do not need a large amount to start. Decide what you can afford as start-up capital and take it from your entertainment budget to be replaced as soon as you have won it back.
An easy system is to place 20% of your available capital on each selected bet. So, if you have R100, you bet R20. If the bet loses, say, you have R80 left and your next bet will therefore drop to R16. If this one arrives at, for example, 2-1 you will have R112 and a 20% bet will rise to R22.
The golden rule is never to run out of capital. Stay in the game and be patient: opportunities to play bigger bets will come as your “roll” builds up.