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Frequently Asked Questions
This section is done as a set of Frequently Asked Questions about racing betting in general, using an advisory (or tipping) service and UK Horse Racing in particular. If there are any questions which you would like to see on here then please do drop us a mail.
General Racing Frequently Asked Questions
Can one make a profit backing horses?
Yes. Though let's not pretend that it's easy. Most people who bet on horses lose.
Really?
Yes. It is reckoned that 95% of the people who back horses both regularly and occasionally lose.
That's not very comforting, is tt?
It depends on your point of view. The trick is to make sure that one is in the 5% which makes a profit. And, believe it or not, it's not as hard as people anticipate; particularly if a few Golden Rules are observed.
Which are?
The first important rule is to have a seperate bank account and wallet for one's racing fund (the racing bank) and to use this solely for racing and not to dip into it for any reason other than racing. A major common problem is that after a good win is for people to take the proceeds of that 10/1 winner and use it for a good evening down the pub.
...and why not?
Simple. That win would, most likely to come off the back of a number of long priced losers. All being paid for by the betting bank and where should the money return to? The betting bank. Otherwise, what will happen is that the betting bank will be depleted over time. The idea is to increase the betting bank and not deplete it.
Okay, and what else?
The second rule concerns money management. Quite simply the rule is that one should not mix one's betting money with one's day-to-day money. The only real way to progress is to have a seperate Betting Bank. Open a seperate bank account; place some money in it and then use that money only for racing and then return all winning back to the account.
This is an important rule; if one doesn't keep the betting account seperate from the beer money then it is almost a certainty that the level of the money in the account won't increase. Of course, if one is doing well in a year then do take a lump sum out of it; but make sure that it is a conscious decision such as paying for an extra holiday rather than to have a few pints down the Red Lion with one's mates.
How much should I bet?
This area is also the cause of many people losing out to the bookmakers. Get this wrong and you will add to the statistics of people who lose all at the horses. What is essential is that only a portion of one's account should be placed on a horse at one time. What is also essential is that it must be realised that losing runs do occur in racing. Statistically this must be so and it the whole aim of the racing game is to increase the amount in the betting bank whilst minimising the risk of having it all being wiped out in a bad run.
The secret (well, it's not really a secret but the number of people who don't heed this fundamental advise makes it seem that it a dark secret) is that one decides how one is going to bet. Some tipsters recommend placing 10% of the bank on each bet. Some people suggest placing one-fiftieth, one-hundreth or even half of that per bet.
The important thing to consider is that losing runs occur; speak to anyone who claims to back the horses seriously and they will tell you of nightmare losing runs. It does happen and it is bound to happen and one has to be prepared for it; having a bank method which contains many bets is the safest way to proceed.
But having, say a £1,000 bank and betting £10 bets won't get me rich quick, will it?
No. But, more importantly it won't make you go broke quickly either. Where would you rather be; having £2,000 in the bank after six months or having nothing left from seeing the bank move swiftly to the £5,000 mark and then down to zero in a losing run?
There is no Get Rich Quick in racing; the trick is to compound the profits and let the bank build up nicely itself. There is no race to become a millionaire; those who rush headlong are usually the first to fall. We should know, we have learned ourselves from bitter experience how being overeager to gain serious profits has cost us.
You mean you have lost your bank before?
Oh yes. Twice in fact. Both times simply from betting too much in each race and not having enough bets in the bank to cover the inevitable losing run.
And now?
We're on our third bank and we're playing to half a percent stakes. This means that if the bank is standing at £2,000 then we'd be placing £10 a bet and no more.
So, 'slow and steady wins the race'?
Exactly. And, you know what? Our banks are the largest they have ever been because of this very principle and we can't express it strong enough.
I've heard of people talking of 'points'; what are they?
Quite simply it's punters talking to each other. If you had two punters discussing the day's racing and one says to the other "I won £300 today" to which the other replied "Wow, and I only won a tenner" one wouldn't learn much as to who has selected well. This is because the first person may have been placing a half dozen bets at £1,000 each and the second person, the one who won ten pounds, may have had a single 2/1 bet at £5.
Using points is a simple way of keeping track of how one does without discussing the vulgar matter of money. It also makes the accounting rather simple when one looks at a list of six bets in a day and having a 3/1 winner and a 2/1 winner (cost is six points and the return is four and three points making a point profit on the day).
Using points makes it a lot easier to discuss with fellow punters in the Arkle Bar how one has performed at the meeting or over the internet when discussing the virtues of various computerised systems. Particularly in the latter case we don't need to know that someone with a system made £10,000 in a year; we need to know how many points he made and we'll worry about the stakes ourselves.
What happens if a bookmaker goes bust?
Well, for a start don't expect your money back. But what you can do is to minimise the problems caused by if a bookmaker goes bust. You can do this by ensuring that when the amount of money in a bookmaker is getting uncomfortably high at the end of the day then withdraw the remainder. After all, if more funds are required at the bookmaker the next day then it doesn't take long to deposit it again.
Bookmakers have more chance of going bust than do banks. Remember that.
How do I buy a video of a race run in the UK?
RaceTech are the lads that you want. These chaps are the ones which provide television coverage of race meetings in the UK and they also sell videos over every race since 2002 plus all the classics going back for donkey's.
Have a look at the RaceTech site.
UK Horse Racing Frequently Asked Questions
How many points in the betting bank do you recommend?
We both agree that the betting bank ought to be 200 points wide. In other words the bet is half a percent of what is in the bank.
However, Dave and Malcolm have different ways of calculating how much should be placed on the next bet. Dave calculates at the end of each day how much is in the betting bank and then divides by 200 and uses that number for the stake for the next day. Malcolm works out the betting bank by the same way and then maintains that value for the next 200 bets (the duration of the bank, if you like) and then after these bets have been placed he works out what is to be the stake for the next 200.
Similar but with a subtle difference?
Indeed. Dave's method will ensure that the bank will be most unlikely to ever go bust as a series of losers will ensure that the stakes will diminish as time goes on. The downside is that after a losing run a winning bet won't return as it would do with more level stakes.
Malcolm's method means that if he suffers 200 losing bets in a row (possible but unlikely) then he would be cleaned out but he considers that the fact that the bank is wide enough such a circumstance won't happen. The upside is that any winning bet after a losing run will go further to repair a larger damage.
I see, so which of these two should I use?
Either. But ensure that the bank is 200 points wide; this is the important point to make.
Can you tell us more about staking plans?
Sure, have a look at our Staking Plans discussion page.
But I have heard some tipsters saying that 10 points banks are enough!
If you believe that then perhaps we'll add you to our list of people who believe in fairies at the bottom of the garden, Father Christmas and there being trolls under the bridge.
We know of no professional punter with a ten point bank; but do know of a few who have had their dreams of becoming one dashed.
Do you two back all of your selections?
Of course; otherwise we wouldn't bother. As soon as the selections are posted we then go onto the internet to try to find the best prices on the exchanges.
Do you keep any selections back from us?
No. What we back is what we post. Sometimes one of us may have an extra bet if a non-runner makes a race interesting or if a group of us analyse a race and if a selection looks interesting. But this is rare and what is displayed on the site is usually exactly what each of us backs with nothing added nor taken away.
You report your profits and losses to SP, why is that?
Believe it or not, we think that this is the only honest approach to proofing or recording one's own selections. We have all seen the adverts in the Racing Post or elsewhere in which a tipster was able to get 4/1 on a winning selection. Looking back at the betting patterns of the race it often becomes clear that that 4/1 may only have been available for a second or two and, most clearly, it was the highest price on offer. To us this is slightly dishonest; one can't fairly pick and choose the highest price on hindsight so we give out the results to SP. After all, most of the people who follow our selections work during the day so all they can do is to go to a bookmaker on-line and then place their bets to SP. And, anyone get SP everytime. So, we work out our results to SP which seems to be the fairest way.
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