How much should we be betting

Another winning post top stuff man, us youngsters could always do with a lil bit of guidance

I agree fully there is no such thing as a value bet! Doesn't matter how good your information is or how much you study at the end of the Day after a period the chances are you will end up losing. However the fun part of taking a bet in moderation depending on how much you prepared to pay for the adrenalin rush you get from the race or game should be your limit.

gregbucks wrote:

chicken n chips wrote: thankfully I am not a huge punter but it still annoys me when you take an each way bet in an 8 runner field and a horse gets withdrawn at the start. So now your horse has to run in the first two in order to win. Also in a 16 runner handicap where they pay 4 places and one gets taken out at the start. You then only have the first three paying but what really gets to me is 20 plus runners and its not a handicap and you get paid only for the first three.

To me taking bets is a hobby and to pass the time (hopefully it applies to most who play the horses) as I know that I will never ever be rich by punting horses with the miniscule amounts that I play. So it has to be a hobby.

You in the minority san, most here are pro punters... :lol:

suits me fine the way I play greg, I get my kicks out of I macs and the like.

gregbucks wrote: Seriously, great posting WP .... punters should make use of your 10 steps....

I agree with all 10 steps except the point about not taking an agents advice..their advice is infallible and their punting suggestions are never wrong...a rare breed they are :woohoo:

Titch wrote:

gregbucks wrote: Seriously, great posting WP .... punters should make use of your 10 steps....

I agree with all 10 steps except the point about not taking an agents advice..their advice is infallible and their punting suggestions are never wrong...a rare breed they are :woohoo:

Lol Titch, you are an exception!

A lot of this boils down to interpretation of the word value.

Would I have backed (just an example!!!) Kingsley at 5/1? No. Add a zero and it looks like it COULD be value.

I pick a minimum of my 1-2-3 in just about every race, reckon my second selections probably win as much as my first selections. You can never be certain you are backing a winner so my first choice is 7/2 and my second choice is 12/1... which is the better value? I won a fair few rands on Enchanting Lass at 12/1 despite thinking Grey Area at around 7/2 was the likely winner (9.5l 3rd). For me, it is about assessing the race, having, for example, your 1-2-3 with a good idea of how convinced you are that will be the finishing order and then checking the prices... if you feel it is going to be a fairly open race and the prices are 3/1 twice and 25/1 on your 3rd selection, imo do your main bet on the 25/1 shot even though it is only your 3rd selection.

But that is just me.

For me the size of the bet must be commensurate with risk. How do you do that? Simple. Have a policy that determines up front how much you want to win with every punt irrespective whether its football, boxing, dogs, horses, etc. Stick to the policy. How much you want to bet = Divide this policy by the odds. (Every few years revise this policy to meet with inflation).

Don't believe the bull that is written in punting books, it's crap. Trust me..

A man much smarter than me once said that all that matters is if you have had a "good" bet. What is a good bet then? One that you have worked out to be good odds, a good winning probability and the risk versus reward factor has been taken into account.

I was trying to explain the concept just this afternoon to my wife but she simply doesn't understand.

I want to risk $200 to win $40,000 on a horse that is entered for the Kentucky Derby (200/1)

She only thinks of the risk of losing the 200 but not of the reward of possibly seeing a horse in the starting gates that could possibly win you 40000.

At the end of the day, what do you risk, at what cost and to what end......

Some fantastic posts! Great input. We should all start a book "ABC of Horse Racing" :lol:

Nice idea WP

Would be great for the marketing of racing if newcomers could get a more informed look at punting. Can only be good for the game.

chicken n chips wrote: thankfully I am not a huge punter but it still annoys me when you take an each way bet in an 8 runner field and a horse gets withdrawn at the start. So now your horse has to run in the first two in order to win. Also in a 16 runner handicap where they pay 4 places and one gets taken out at the start. You then only have the first three paying but what really gets to me is 20 plus runners and its not a handicap and you get paid only for the first three.

To me taking bets is a hobby and to pass the time (hopefully it applies to most who play the horses) as I know that I will never ever be rich by punting horses with the miniscule amounts that I play. So it has to be a hobby.

One thing this ain't for me is a hobby nor passing time. I don't enjoy losing my tom and I know I ain't gonna get rich from the game. I play to win.

Great strategy WP imo with racing every day punters are betting way above their budget on a daily basis ...this in turn makes it difficult to show a profit on a daily basis therfore punters are always chasing after their losses......