It’s no good winning if you don’t make a profit. Simple tricks can ensure profits.
Can’t make a profit
This has happened to all of us. You get some good winning bets. But you end the day losing money. This can be changed.
What you have to do is easy. Doing it is not so easy. It requires discipline. And clear thinking.
Money management
Sounds boring. And it is. However, good money management keeps you in control. And that is essential.
This is about having a betting bank. Knowing how much to bet on a horse. And when to stop.
Betting bank
A betting bank is the money you have available to bet with. It should be deposited into your account at Betfair. You could also put only part of it on your Betfair account. Then you must have the rest of the bank immediately available to be sent to Betfair if needed.
How much should your betting bank be? This depends on the bet’s liability and the real chance of it losing. We do lay bets only. The longer the odds, the higher the liability, but less chance of losing.
Work it out
Let’s work this out in reverse. The minimum bet is £2. Say our range of odds is from 1.0 to 10.0. (Most lay bets will occur in this range). The maximum liability would be £2 x 9. £18. You won’t get long losing runs, but you could get two or three losing bets the same day. I use a bank of ten times the maximum liability on any one bet. That would be 10 x £18. £180.
So in order to bet at the minimum level of £2 you need a bank of £180. To put this in round figures, your bet should be no more than 1% of you bank.
Split the bank
If you only make a few bets a day you could safely split the bank. Put half in your Betfair account and keep the rest in reserve. You may never need to use the reserve.
Know how much you want to win
Before you make any bets decide how much you want to win. This is really important. The more you try to win in one day the more likely you are to lose. So don’t try to win too much.
I have found that it’s quite easy to win £8 with £2 bets. Of course with commission the amount will be a bit lower. So I aim to win about 4% of the bank each day. No more. If I get close to my target I stop. That’s enough. Remember that money invested in a savings account might only earn 4% per year.
Oh no a loser
If you hit a losing bet, what should you do? It depends on how many races are still to be run that day.
If it’s near the end of the races, forget it. Stop. Try again tomorrow. Don’t try to recover the losses. You’ll get them back over a few days.
If it’s near the middle of the races, either stop or bet on to recover half the losses.
If it’s near the beginning of the races, try to recover most of the losses by betting on. Of course you should only do this if there are still some races you want to bet on.
After making a losing bet just try to limit the damage, if possible. Don’t continue trying to make a profit.
Make it quick
Get in, make the profit and get out fast. The further you bet on one day, the more likely you are to lose. And the less chance there is to recover.
