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The reason I ask is because the last 18 months I’ve had a shocker.
You name the sport, golf, horse racing, football, I’ve been getting absolutely hammered to the point where I’m strongly considering knocking gambling on the head altogether. Seems a pointless exercise if you just lose all the time.
Ok I’ve done some bad bets and maybe it’s delusional to say I’ve been unlucky as well. But I just wonder if anyone else has had that kind of run where everything dries up and everything they touch turns to muck. I mean even if you’re a bad gambler surely some of your bets will land occasionally.
I’ve heard of bad runs lasting several weeks but this is bordering on two years and it’s starting to hurt.
I have been gambling nearly 50 years.In that time I have had losing runs that have seemed never ending.I also have had winning runs that defy reason.
How many years have you been gambling?If you have had 10 winning years and now are on an eighteen month losing run there might be nothing to worry about.
If you are backing mainly short priced selections it might be time to rethink as 18 months would worry me.If you are backing jackpot or multiple type bets I would not worry so much as one win could turn things about.
One important thing is enjoyment,I enjoy backing horses,if I was not enjoying doing it I would either have a rest or pack it in.
Best wishes whatever you decide to do.If you go to back a certainty always buy a return ticket.
After 30 plus years betting I’ve recently done something novel and started a staking plan
Very simple ……….. if you have £100 in your betting bank do 20 times £5 bets and see what you have at the end of that and start again with 20 bets
so if you have £140 after 20 bets you now do 20 times £7 ……………. if you have £80 at the end you now do twenty times £4
In theory your betting bank should last forever …………….
unless you have 20 successive losers !
Quite easy to have 20 successive losers though right? Hugh Taylor is a winning punter and has had more than one 40+ losing run in the last 18 months.
I like the idea though, how about cranking it up to something like 75 or 100 bets to shrink the risk of ruin?
Quite easy to have 20 successive losers though right? Hugh Taylor is a winning punter and has had more than one 40+ losing run in the last 18 months.
I like the idea though, how about cranking it up to something like 75 or 100 bets to shrink the risk of ruin?
well, sounds reasonable but I did actually have £100 in my account and I couldn’t be bothered betting a pound !
I tend to bet on fairly short priced ones, typically 2nd favourites in small field races at around 2/1 if I think I’ve found a false favourite and mainly on football so I don’t expect long losing runs.
My first sequence of 20 produced 11 winners and 9 losers and at the end of that the bank was over £140 so I’m now on a sequence of 20 times £7
I guess it depends on the way you bet but I like the discipline it gives me
I’ve had bad runs – remember the Cheltenham I never had a winner – in the County Hurdle, which was then the getting out stakes I was on one of Nicky Richards’ at 80-1 that was right there at the last but fell away to be placed behind Pedrobob.
All I can say is that as long as you are confident your approach is sound it will turn around. I’m not a big punter but have a big turnover and over the 6 years since I opened it my Bet365 account is up.
Normally i back big prices so i expect bad runs. From 27th December till the First Day of Cheltenham i had 42 straight losers.
I have only had my ” bank ” since September 2015 and twice i have had a run like that. Thinking back my bad runs have always happened at the same time King George – Cheltenham and on the Flat Lincoln till Goodwood.
Last flat season i had way too many non runner Ante Post bets that were placed on the Tuesday for the coming Saturday so i will be cutting down on those this year and waiting till the day.
My points above are that by finding out where you are making mistakes should help cut down your losses when a bad run strikes.
How many bets are you having a week Judge ?
Good point Botchy. Also worth looking at your patterns after winners and big losers to see if your emotions come into play.
For many punters I know (and I’ve been guilty myself), suddenly everything looks like a great bet in the afterglow of a nice winner. On the flipside there’s the old losschasing monster.
@judge
Firstly I would stop betting on every sport under the sun that is definitely the road to ruin just chose the sport that you are most interested in and concentrate on that, you are going to throw away any profit you make on one sport and the bookies are laughing all the way to the bank…I used to bet every day and pick tips from the newspaper, pop into my local betting shop and bet on every race as it came up……that was a lose lose formula and you only find out the hard way.
Now after many years of trying to find a way to bet that suits me I have finally found a system that works for me.
I think it helps to have an interest in horses themselves not just betting, to know a little about pedigrees, which track horses run best at and the ground that they prefer. Also trainers, like Michael Stoute and Mark Johnston who often get early season winners.
Being a flat race fan I don’t tend to bet on horses over the jumps so I tend to back on the AW during the jumps season and keep an eye on Meydan because those horses will come over at the start of flat and could possibly be more forward than those that have wintered in the UK.
I never back in any flat races below a class 4 so that can narrow your betting down for you and only bet on one or two horses a day (if that) and make them horses that you have seen run a good race either on TV or at the track.
Lastly if you can go racing and bet on horses that you see look good and make some notes to follow up in the future, or alternatively from what you have seen on ITV. I don’t have access to Racing Uk or anything like that so have to uses what resources are available and there are quite a few.
Hope this might help but everyone is different just chose what works for you….Jac
Things turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out...Normally i back big prices so i expect bad runs. From 27th December till the First Day of Cheltenham i had 42 straight losers.
I have only had my ” bank ” since September 2015 and twice i have had a run like that. Thinking back my bad runs have always happened at the same time King George – Cheltenham and on the Flat Lincoln till Goodwood.
Last flat season i had way too many non runner Ante Post bets that were placed on the Tuesday for the coming Saturday so i will be cutting down on those this year and waiting till the day.
My points above are that by finding out where you are making mistakes should help cut down your losses when a bad run strikes.
How many bets are you having a week Judge ?
I think you’re right part of it is betting in the right way, for example last week I really should have had a winning week having backed our duke at 6-1 and Eminent at 8-1, but ended up down for the week because bet too much on the golf, put about 300 on when my upside was about 1000 tops
so normally I back about five or six players in the golf, when you think there are 150 runners then statistically your chances of picking the winner in that case would be about 25-1, but I’ve got it where i’m only getting 3-1 odds.
also in golf you can get horrendous runs, because there are so many players, betting on that game has hammered me in the past few months. if one of my players messes up early I will end up going in again, covering other players that concern me, then end up being huge amounts down by the end.
horse racing isn’t so bad but even so if the average field size is a dozen or so, you can obviously get very poor runs. there’s also the argument that you shouldn’t back shorties because in that case the numbers aren’t in your favour.
Concentrate on one sport, e.g. horse racing over the sticks, make your selections/bets before racing and stick to them (don’t add others), bet at level stakes whatever the odds, restrict yourself to 1 horse per race (or if big field perhaps 1 per every 10 runners), try to avoid odds on shots, bet win only unless horse is at least 14/1+, try to avoid races below class 4. You will back more losers than winners but should show a steady profit. You must be disciplined!
Never had a good run to be honest!
I've stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains
I've walked and I crawled on six crooked highwaysHi Judge, we spoke a bit about this in the Punchestown Stayers Hurdle thread, and as I
mentioned then, I’d had a pretty bad time at both the Cheltenham and Aintree Festivals
this year, which is unusual for me, particularly as Cheltenham has been a happy hunting
ground for me.Hard to put your finger on it when it goes awry, but it’s possible that when the Festivals
come around, I love having a bet on all the races each day. That’s something I don’t do at
any other time of year. I tend to bet on the bigger races, and study them for some time. It
gives you a better chance than the “scattergun” approach. I’m also not a favourite backer,
so my stakes don’t need to be too great to get a decent return when it goes well. I also think
it’s important, if you have accounts on line, that you take at least a portion of any winnings
and pay them back into your bank account, that was one thing I learned early on, there’s a
temptation to use you winnings to try and get bigger winnings, and if it starts going wrong
it can get you down, and you try too hard to get the winnings back……result, further losses.
You have to have a cut off point where you say, “that’s enough for this week” and give yourself
a break.I’m a jumps man as you probably know Judge, so the flat coming up is a bit hit and miss for me.
I don’t bet as much during the flat season, although I do like to have a go at all the big ones,
and impossible big field weekend handicaps. Again with those, I’m looking for something at very
decent odds, and scout around for the extra places with whoever offers them. If I get a big one,
I pay all or most of it back in, and maybe do something to celebrate my success, ranging from
a decent meal, to on occasions having a weekend away. It gives me a positive feeling about my
betting.I see you are a golf backer too. I’m very keen on the golf and have a bet virtually every week
during the season. I know that by picking 6 golfers, which you mention you do, statistically
should give you more of a chance, but in general I never back more than two (although I quite
often also bet them in the 1st round betting market). If when the cut is made, if I’m in no
man’s land, I’ll maybe pick one more (and not a big bet) to give me an interest in the final
two days. If he isn’t going well, then that is that tournament done, and I’ll move on to next
week’s. You can check in the General Sports Forum, in Darren’s Sports Bets thread, where I post
every week along with Darren and Raymo. We stick up our choices, and explain why we’ve gone for
them, and it’s gone well for me since the season started, but I stick to the same format, I don’t
bet more golfers or up my stake the following week, I take my profit (or most) and move on.I’ve been where you are before Judge, although maybe not for the length of time that you mentioned,
I think we all have. If there’s one thing I think is my main safeguard, is if it’s not going to plan,
perhaps on a Saturday, then down tools until the following week (or month) when you can concentrate
on one or two that you really fancy, like you did with Our Duke and Eminent. Finally, and it was
pointed out to me years back by a wise old sage, only bet what you can afford to lose without
hurting you. I’ve tried to stick to that.I hope it goes well for you and your fortunes turn around, but even if you want to take time out
betting for a while, keep in touch here, perhaps you might find that studying and posting your fancies
up, without the threat of loss, that you might look at your races a little differently. It would be hard
after that length of a losing streak, not to look at your races thinking “what’s the point”, taking the
pressure off might get your confidence back. Best of luck mate
Ok thanks for your wise words Big g, Golden miller and others.
You’re right Big g mate it’s a good idea to take money out from time to time. Actually sometimes I think the problem is I’m chasing a big win- annoyed because of having this bad run so go for a bigger punt and try and have it off and possibly buy a house or a car lol.
Like for example last week going into the last round I was convinced that chappell was going to win- I was on koepka and grace but felt I had done my dough. So put £40 on a double chappell to win but doubled it up with real madrid to win the football- and they lost of course.
If I had just backed chappell would have escaped a complete disaster but got greedy and paid the consequences. In general I feel that doubles and trebles are bets that bookies love, you always hear about the guy who’s had it off with a big accumulator, but what you never about is the thousands and thousands of bets that have lost horribly.
I don’t have access to Racing Uk or anything like that so have to uses what resources are available and there are quite a few.
Triptych, this site shows most of the UK flat racing everyday free
Judge, I think at heart you know you’re going to have to chuck it altogether. You’re just putting off that day but once you’ve made the decision I’m sure you’ll be massively relieved and the lights will come back on for you. I get the impression you feel trapped in a tunnel with punting.
I can’t hack it either and I think very few can however skilful and knowledgeable they are. I’ve tried more than once to have a serious go at it because I’m confident in my judgement about jump racing. But I don’t have the nerve. I don’t have the emotional strength. I don’t have the discipline. Betting with the intention of making money is no easier than any other professional undertaking. Those who do manage it in the long term are pretty special individuals imo.
I bet for fun these days and am glad I can restrict it to that. Maybe you should take a break for a year and see if you can do it on a fun basis when you come back. Good luck whatever you decide.
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