Words of wisdom from an ex bookie

wizardofodds · Listed Class Joined: 06 Mar 2008 Posts: 40

I worked as a betting shop manager for 7 years. I know the industry inside out and may be able to give everyone a few pointers in becoming a "better" punter.

1- Open an account on Betfair. Self explanetary. Better odds, more markets, a decent mobile service and a free £25 bet sign up bonus. Anyone who's serious about gambling should be on this site!

2- Keep a bet diary. Its a great way of keeping track of your finances and you're able to look back on your previous selections.

3- Dont get greedy! Stick to backing singles. Every week when I would settle the football coupons there would be 1 or 2 winners a week. People always try and win big with little stakes. You may as well do the lottery!

4- Treat it as a "business". Protect your investment. Dont go chasing your losses. Thats a surefire way of heading in the direction of a "mug" punter.

5- Research, research and more research. Obtain as much info as you can on your selections. Take in others advice however dont be put off by their opinions.

6- Rate your bets. Once you've researched your selection give it a rating. I use a basic 1 to 3 star rating, 3 being the best. Its a great way of seeing if you're getting good value.

7- Keep it simple. When backing horses try and keep to smaller fields. The Grand National is a bookies dream race with 40 runners, anything can happen and usually does! Its also a lot more hard work researching everything in the race.

8- NO IMPULSE BETTING!! I would see this daily in the shop. Punters backing short priced favs thinking it was a guaranteed winner. Just because it looks good doesn't mean its gonna win.

9- Take your time! Dont rush things by trying to win a lot of cash in a short space of time. From my experiences "YOU NEED A LOT OF LUCK TO WIN A QUICK BUCK"

10- Trust your gut feelings. This is mainly to do with the Racing Post. At the end of the day its a trade paper. Its there to make money for the industry, if it wasn't it wouldn't be in the shops. Dont get me wrong, its a great source to obtain information from, however dont let the write ups put you off.

11- Systems. Find one that suits the way you bet and stick to it. I personally have developed one, however its not for the feint of heart! Basically I look for events with the fav priced between 4/5 up to no more than 2/1. If the selection wins I take out my original stake and keep reinvesting my profit on to the next and so on. In its simplest form its an acca but you have more control over the outcome of your returns by betting on single events. From my experience the guys that would win a lot of cash where the ones that punted big. Not everyone has the bank roll to do that but my system allows you to build one up.

I hope the above is usefull to you all. I'll be posting a blog with regards to my selections that i'm backing using my system. Good luck all!

Roger Green · Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 1:03 am Post subject:

Wizaardofodds...I have been on this site for 2 years, and I can honestly say that your posting is one of the most informative and most helpful that have EVER been posted !!!!....I agree with your first 10 principles ...100%...as for no.11...keep your records and time will tell Wink

Every person who ever bets should copy this and carry it with them at all times...SIMPLY BRILLIANT...Well Done

wizardofodds · Listed Class Joined: 06 Mar 2008 Posts: 40

Cheers for the feedback Roger. I wish I was able to post a sure fire way of beating the bookies but I've never seen one. What I've taken is my 7 years of watching how and why people lose. I've deffinately learnt how not to gamble and have tried to turn that into a "winning system". At the end of the day we're all trying to predict an outcome of an event with many variable factors that can effect it. Hopefuly what I've posted will minimize the number of variables that we can control and give us all more winners!

princecap · Classic Winner Joined: 02 Feb 2008 Posts: 519

I'll match Roger's sentiments, very informative article indeed. Win

A question if I may though; when you say (in 11) that you take out the original stake and keep reinvesting, do you go all the way in re-investing your profit. Example, if £10 gets you £18 first time, and you bet £8 to get £15; do you bet the whole £15 next time?

Hope this makes sense; and looking forward to your blog!

wizardofodds · Listed Class Joined: 06 Mar 2008 Posts: 40

Chers Princecap. Yeah I work on the principle that say I start off with a stake of £10 and back summat at evens and it wins, I take out my original £10 then use the £10 that I've won for my next bet. £10 on another even money shot that wins gives me £20 and so on. Its a good way of building up a bankroll and protecting your investment, as your most important bet is your first one. It does make you more selective with your bets as your stake is increasing each time but what you got to look at is that its cash that is not yours. Your playing with the bookies money and how much you want to win depends on how far you want to go with it. The most i've won using this system was £1800. That was a nervey 90 mins I can tell you but there's no reward without risk!!!

wizardofodds · Listed Class Joined: 06 Mar 2008 Posts: 40

Chers Princecap. Yeah I work on the principle that say I start off with a stake of £10 and back summat at evens and it wins, I take out my original £10 then use the £10 that I've won for my next bet. £10 on another even money shot that wins gives me £20 and so on. Its a good way of building up a bankroll and protecting your investment, as your most important bet is your first one. It does make you more selective with your bets as your stake is increasing each time but what you got to look at is that its cash that is not yours. Your playing with the bookies money and how much you want to win depends on how far you want to go with it. The most i've won using this system was £1800. That was a nervey 90 mins I can tell you but there's no reward without risk!!!

man o bong · Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 10:43 am Post subject:

wizardofodds · Listed Class Joined: 06 Mar 2008 Posts: 40

I hear what you're saying Man O. The way that I bet just follows my principles I listed. I protect my investment, take it out and reinvest my profit. By following my guidelines I'm doing my upmost not to give it back to the bookies. If I lose i'm back to square 1 BUT still with my original stake in my back pocket. You should treat all winnings with the upmost respect, however, no guts no glory.

wizardofodds · Listed Class Joined: 06 Mar 2008 Posts: 40

I've now got a blog following my system with my selections and write ups
http://www.online-betting-guide.co.uk/forum/topic31_19323.html

Ukgatsby · Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 2:40 am Post subject:

Fantastic Original Post

If i may add a final section onto the end...

Its the easiest thing in the world to win money.
The hardest is to not give it back !!!

Every single person on this forum could go out and win £27.39 every day.
Doesnt sound a lot but its 10k a year. 50 grand within 5 but the nature of the human being is to not be satisfied and to want more.

Greed and impatience are out weaknesses. eradicate those and everyones a winner Smile

_________________
http://ukgatsby.blogspot.com

Roger Green · Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 3:42 am Post subject:

Mr Gatsby ,Sir you are right...that is exactly how one can make a decent living on the horses....steady income from level stakes

Betfairalfie · Stallion Joined: 01 Mar 2005 Posts: 5239

Nice thread - welcome to the site.

1-10 Win

They sound familiar too, see http://www.online-betting-guide.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6975&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0 and other old chestnuts.

11 Confused

Its very hard to beat a 105%+ book long-term. I'd be happier if you had suggested a trading strategy such as FF's excellent, but alas ignored, blog http://www.online-betting-guide.co.uk/forum/topic31_17657.html

But then again an ex-bookie suggesting trading would have been an even bigger shock Smile

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