Betting Guide

The Better Betting Guide

Knowing when or when not to bet is the difference between being a successful punter and being just another person adding to the profits of the bookmaker. Your average betting shop will be full of people betting race to race through boredom as much as anything and more often than not they leave once their pockets are empty. Even if they do win, rather than take the money and leave they will think their luck is in, try to keep the run going and give it all back and more. Most of us will have been in this position at one time or another, I know I have, but it's how you learn from it that matters.

If you want to win long term you have to take a professional approach. Below are some pointers that should be helpful.

*Set aside an amount of money you are prepared/can afford to commit to your quest. This is your 'Betting Bank'. Never bet more than 5% on any one selection and generally aim for less than that but make 5% an absolute maximum. I'd personally recommend not going over 2% that way if you do hit a bad run you still have plenty of capital to recover.

*Keep a record of every bet you have. It may feel a bit laborious but you'll be surprised at how much more disciplined this will make you. It also helps you to pinpoint the areas you are strongest in.

*Try to specialise in certain events. If you get a good knowledge of a specific type or horse race or sport it will give you an edge over other people, even over the bookmaker and it allows you to spot value where errors have been made by the odds compilers.

*If you are starting out or attempting to bet on a new event then it's always worth trying it on paper for a while to see how you get on before actually risking any cash.

*Don't part with money for so-called 'Professional Tipsters'. There are some genuine ones but they are very few and far between. 99% are con men that disappear when things start going wrong then come back with new identities and begin again. You are better off keeping the money you pay them for your betting bank. There are plenty of tips and information available freely on the Internet that is far better than any service can offer. For horse racing advice visit www.expertbettingadvice.co.uk and for sports betting advice I can recommend www.online-betting-guide.co.uk

*Shop around for prices. Never take a shorter price because of convenience. There are so many bookmakers that operate now, especially on the Internet. You can make a big difference to your profits by shopping around. Odds comparison sites such as www.valuechecker.co.uk do most of the work for you so there is no excuse.

*A lot of online bookmakers offer free bets to new customers. This is a great way to build your betting bank. Offers can be found at Free Bets

*Try to avoid really outrageous bets such as scorecasts. These are the type of bets you see promoted in the Betting Shop window and the reason for this is simple, because they are profitable to the bookmaker.

*Finally, if you do want to have some fun bets or bets to give you an interest then set aside some money separate from your main betting bank. Try to make this as little as possible because fun bets and interest bets are normally losing bets.

I hope this piece has been somewhat informative and you have taken something from it. In future parts I will be taking each point brought up but going more in depth as well including methods I use to come up with selections.

The Better Betting Guide - Part 2

Some punters are great at picking winners but still manage to lose long term, this is down to one flaw - their inability to stake correctly. Consistent staking is of immense importance. If you don't set yourself up with a betting bank and a proper structure to it then you will find things tough, especially when keeping detailed records of your selections, which is vital when taking your betting seriously.

There are different methods you can use for your betting bank but I would recommend that you set aside an amount of money you are willing to invest and be prepared to write it off and treat it as money you don't have. Once you've decided on the amount divide it into 100. We call this 100pts or betting units. Next you need to decide on how much of your bank you want to invest on each selection. With a 100pt bank, if you keep to 1pt wins, this will give you 100 bets before you would lose everything. The average price of your selections should determine up to a point the amount of bets you go without a winner. For example, if the average price of your selections is 5/1 you need to be getting a winner every 6th bet for you to not be showing an LSL (Level Stake Loss). A winner more often than this would give you an LSP (Level Stake Profit).

None of the above is set in stone. You can differ your approach, but it is a good place to start and use as a guideline. You could use a 50pt bank, especially if you are backing at shorter prices, even lower for sports betting where prices are extremely low and you are aiming for a very high strike rate. You can also range your bets depending on confidence but level staking is considered the most sensible approach. If you're not confident should you really be having the bet anyway?

Keep any 'fun' bets separate from your main betting bank. If you keep a record of those as well you will soon realise they aren't so fun.

If you are betting on different areas such as horse racing, football, tennis etc, try and keep separate records and banks for each. This may seem a very laborious process but it really pays off and will highlight where you should be concentrating your efforts.