How would you describe your Gambling Activity?

[topnotch]

sorry to hear about your bad times alfie. i understand what dammo was getting at now after reading his reply. i just wondered if people were going off the profit/loss in olbg tipping records and stuff, because presumably alot of people don't always bet in real money with what they tip on this site. i know im more selective about real cash and income money bets than i am with the tipster money. maybe this could be a factor in the discrepancy between those who make real life profit when their olbg record may show losses or people may not keep records, and as dammo says may well be deluding themselves
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top rugby tipster april 2007

[Betfairalfie]

The less than 5% figure is confirmed by OLBG figures but was triggered by a Betfair report a few years back saying that less than 3% of their customers make 15k+ GBP profit per annum. 15k tax free I guess would be "a living" for most of us.

[topnotch]

ok i see what you mean. but those figures from the Betfair report aren't clear cut. how many of those customers bet for fun, or bet full time for a living, or just the occasional punt on a special event. some even may bet and profit less than the 15k threshold to supplement their working wage etc etc. some may bet purely for the gambling buzz and may know nothing about the sports they punt on with just the act of gambling being the motivation. some may just use Betfair to Lay off to protect other bets with their other bookie accounts. stats can indicate all sorts of things,like for example this site has thousands of members. what proportion of the members are on here to just tip and discuss with fellow gamblers or sports fans, compared to those who want to just follow tipster's selections. or experienced v inexperienced etc, high or low stakes and such like. as a 'profession' or as a low stakes hobby or for fun? these discrepancies will skew statistics.
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top rugby tipster april 2007

[Betfairalfie]

topnotch - I agree that statistics can be skewed and thats why I raised the subject. But do you really think that 50% of OLBGers make a consistent profit as indicated by this poll? Or like me do you think that this poll is skewed by one or more of the following;

- a biased sample (the poll is more likely to attract a response from profitable people rather than non-profitable people)
- by innacurate responses (an element of delusion, as Dammo pointed out)
- or a non-statistically valid sample size (maybe the profitable % will reduce as the sample size increases).

[man o bong]

i'll have a tenner on INACCURATE RESPONSES.

Does that mean i have a problem
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[topnotch]

i dont think that 50% of all olbg members do make a constant profit, but i can believe that 50% of the 31 who have voted (at time of writing) out of over 20 000 do make a profit constantly without delusion being a significant factor. as you say, a bigger sample size would not throw up that stat, purely on the basis that only a small minority of the 20 000 (or whatever number of members) probably dedicate their 'working' life to this as income. given the vote count is only 31 out of over 20 000 nothing can be deduced at all as yet. i do think though that those who do not make continual money may well be reluctant to publicly say so, and as such may indicate a self delusion in the voting as dammo suggested.
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top rugby tipster april 2007

[Mondada]

I don't have much to add except that all the points raised so far are valid. The poll is not representative because of *all* of the reasons mentioned so far, but it is almost impossible to know the weight of each factor.

I, for example, make a profit and that's how I casted my vote. I keep detailed records of every bet I place and therefore I know I'm not deluding myself, but since there's a show-off factor to the poll I was certainly more inclined to vote. I'm not sure if I would've done so should I have a breakeven or losing record though.


F.

[Billy121only]

Rather than a vote - it would be interesting if Anthony could create a 'true' survey based on everbody's 12 month performance on here.

I have kept meticulous records since my first bet on NEWS KING in 1981. It took many years before I started to make a profit but you absolutely must keep records or you will delude yourself. In addition, this allows you to analyse where you excel and where you struggle. No one is going to make money out of every sport, every bet type, backing and laying at random. Keeping records will allow to to find a niche where you can focus and become good enough to make a consistent yearly profit.

A similar thing seems to occur with online poker. Everyone's a 'pro' or at least making a good profit. I sometimes wonder who the heck is losing?

I think that this site is excellent as it allows you to gamble and acheive the same positive feelings that a bet provides, and it even gives you an audience to congrat you when things go well! At the end of the day, the majority of people are betting to acheive a buzz from success, the money is almost secondary. However, real money can destroy lives and although I have been lucky not to have a problem, I have seen friends get into awful situations through gambling.
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[thatsa donkey]

Hi Guys, not voting here sometimes systems work sometimes they don't.

Some of us only use Tipster Comp to assess new systems. It's a great tool. So assessing us using Tipster Comp data is useless. It is a great thing to use to improve my betting but unless you know what I am trying out you cannot assess my betting.

Donkey.

[Roger Green]

If it is any help...just over 2% of clients o f a credit betting company make any tangible profit..... 1780 active accounts ( and they are soon encourged to move elsewhere! )

Very hard to believe it is any higher with OLBG members..

[bottomlesspit]

I am most certainly in the red, but am not worried about it.

I place a 5 team accumulator every weekend with a tenner on it, and singles/doubles mostly on televised games.
The singles/doubles look after themselves, and I would guess at a return something around or just under break-even.
I rarely bet under 1.8, and prefer evens and above as I don't bet enough to make the returns worthwhile on odds-on shots.
45% strike rate keeps me around break even

There are enough bets around at evens and above to be able to pick one out that should win.

The acca rarely comes in (maybe once a season on average), but when it does it obviously makes a massive difference to my weekend. In the meantime a tenner down the swanee each weekend isn't missed, and the buzz of watching the goals come in is worth the money.

I bet primarily because I enjoy it. I gave up believing I could beat the bookies long ago.

[AcesJones]

I think all the points raised on this thread are very relevant. I do believe that the vote will attract the more consistent tippers though therefore creating a largely biased result.

I have been honest with my vote, I make a consistent.....wait for it.................... LOSS
This is probably down to the fact that most of my betting is made up of Accumulators and Doubles. These are generally smaller stakes with the potential to make a very profitable return.
I like bottomlesspit don't have the resources to bet bigger to make a good return on evens or odds on selection, I don't have a "bottom less pit" So I keep the bets small to add a little enjoyment to the weekends football results
So all in all I don't make a profit from gambling, but The bills get paid, the house hasn't been repossessed and the kids are fed and clothed. as long as it stays that way I will keep making my bets for the enjoyment and hope of hitting a nice accumulator. As SkyBet says "It matters more when there's money on it!"
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