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During the 2004/2005 flat i decided to start betting on the exchange with a modest starting bank of £5000,just to see how i would perform over a period of time.Having been studying form,race reading for many years and thinking that i was confident of making a profit decided to give it a go.Although i was not depending on it solely at the end of 2005 flat turf season i looked at my performance and here was my findings.330 days spent studying and betting produced a turnover of £88,000 with each days betting averaging around £260,my profit after betfair deductions was a little over £4000.The profit being around the 5% mark on turnover was ok but betting with such a small bank is where the problem arose.The time spent maybe about 3000hrs,the expenditure racing papers etc, shows that unless you really have a large enough bank to start with you are going to struggle.My personal opinion is that while i would feel confident of making a profit long term, for me to attempt to go full time with racing as my only income i would need a starting bank of at least £50,000, which of course then my turnover would be about £750,000 annually and of course the 5% profit would look a lot better, you could also put more money into your bank for a higher turover the following year.How a lot of these so called pro punters say they got of the ground with as little as £10,000 is beyond me.So for me after the knowledge,the next most important thing is the finance.
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Get yourself a jumps horse for 5k, run it into form, lay it for 50k next time out when everyones expecting it to be a contender at shortish odds.
Nice profit, plough it when you set up for a race you think it will go close at big odds.
Invest in a better horse and stay clean, only way to get your foot in the door for an average person.
The principal requirement of betting racehorses for a living, is – I suspect – a very high boredom threshhold.
Patience and self-discipline. I’m showing a profit of 160 this year, a figure which would be closer to 400 if I didn’t do stupid spontaneous bets or listen to people with ‘tips’.
"The key to making a small fortune in racing is to start with a large one." (Col.Abercromby-Smythe Mallard, Bt. Oxon.)
CheltenhamSpecialist wrote:Here’s an updated version of an earlier post I made on exactly this thread
As a Teenager I worked for an old style ex street bookie who used this “system” for his own bets, and very profitable it was for him too. I’ve used it since 1964 and only had very few losing (NH) seasons in all that time, none since the betting tax was abolished
Start each season with 100 point kitty (I only bet on NH these days)
As the kitty should never be supplemented that makes the first one or two bets very important, no half chancers, whims, old favourites etc, these opening bets need to be as near to cast iron as possible. Luckily this year my first bet was Loosen My Load won his bumper in style, got EW 7-1 It had looked a 1-2-3 certainty
Once the kitty is doubled take out the original 100 points, the season is now “ a bet to nothing” If that 100 points is lost consider re-instating the original kitty but never dip into more
Be just as diligent with every bet, waiting for the first bet is good practice in patience! I usually stick to top class meetings and the occasional Irish bumper, maybe average a bet every fortnight or so
Pick a meeting later in the season to build towards, it’s always been Cheltenham for me but Aintree or Punchestown would be just as good.
The entire remaining kitty goes on an each way yankee and an extra ew accumulator on the four best bets of the meeting of choice (sure to be in the frame is my criterion). This sometimes takes a lot of bottle if the kitty is quite large, this year has been very good to me, I’m 1250 points clear after this weekend so a Cheltenham yankee is going to be a pretty big bet!!!
PS I’ve proofed all bets since joining and I’ve added 300 points during that timeI very rarely include an odds on chance, even more rarely back anything over 10-1. Even four short price places will get the funds back, live to fight another dayt
For the rest of the season the size of my bets are then greatly reduced, my last bet would possibly be the big hunter chase at Stratford in May
This year I’ve only got two of the four already neither are groundbreaking, Dunguib, wherever he runs and Garde Champetre. I’ve just ruled out Denman and An Siorrac (my original banker) is going to miss this year’s Festival so the other two could be any one of a dozen or more …………
Some cracking advice there, CheltenhamSpecialist. Graft away for six months to make a profit and then risk spunking it all away on an each way yankee at the most difficult meeting of the year.
It’s worked for me although I’m really struggling to have the bottle this year as the kitty is very healthy (better than the last few seasons) and the "winners" far less obvious.(IMO)
I’ve always found Cheltenham very lucky though, maybe becasue I don’t try to find 15-20 winners!!Last year I only had one winner but made a tidy profit
2009 Garde Champetre, Punchestowns, Diamond Harry & Denman
2008 Sizing Europe, Tidal Bay, Garde Champtre, Denman
I’m not going to post any more as I got slagged by another member for this
Betting for a living is not much different from running a small business IMO. Most small business go out of business in the first few years due to cash flow problems and it’s no different betting, you need a separate adequate bank.
You also need a mental strength not to chase and place silly bets and stick to what makes you money.
I also think you need to take some time away from the ‘game’ and keep the passion for the sport. I went to Newbury on Saturday and did not have a bet, odds on shots and large handicaps are not my thing, I just went to see some great horses and for a day out.
Fair play to anyone who does it for a living. I am more then happy to try and supplement my wage.
Betting for a living is not much different from running a small business IMO. Most small business go out of business in the first few years due to cash flow problems and it’s no different betting, you need a separate adequate bank.
Totally agree you need the knowledge firstly and then the finance to make the turnover worth while.
Lewey
I don’t try to make a living from it either, I’ve virtually retired (I may work 8-10 days a year) and the shares I’ve retained in the company keeps us comfortable enough for our modest needs, we aren’t flash, our everyday car is on old Landrover bought on ebay for £1500
My kitty works out at £20 a week across the year, less than most folk spend on beer or fags I bet, what I make on the NH season we spend on luxuries, summer breaks in hotels with top class food, a second hand Mini Cooper S a few years back which we’ve still got, etc etc.
During the 2004/2005 flat i decided to start betting on the exchange with a modest starting bank of £5000,just to see how i would perform over a period of time.Having been studying form,race reading for many years and thinking that i was confident of making a profit decided to give it a go.Although i was not depending on it solely at the end of 2005 flat turf season i looked at my performance and here was my findings.330 days spent studying and betting produced a turnover of £88,000 with each days betting averaging around £260,my profit after betfair deductions was a little over £4000.The profit being around the 5% mark on turnover was ok but betting with such a small bank is where the problem arose.The time spent maybe about 3000hrs,the expenditure racing papers etc, shows that unless you really have a large enough bank to start with you are going to struggle.My personal opinion is that while i would feel confident of making a profit long term, for me to attempt to go full time with racing as my only income i would need a starting bank of at least £50,000, which of course then my turnover would be about £750,000 annually and of course the 5% profit would look a lot better, you could also put more money into your bank for a higher turover the following year.How a lot of these so called pro punters say they got of the ground with as little as £10,000 is beyond me.So for me after the knowledge,the next most important thing is the finance.
I’ve re-read your post and two obvious suggestions spring to mind
It sounds as if you bet daily, try betting closer to weekly instead, limit yourself to one or two bets a week
Switch to the Jumps, you’ll find form and horses less transient than on the flat. You’ll get more time to get a proper handle on the grades and more form lines to judge one horse against another
its not that i need to reform my way of betting i made a 5% profit on turnover,its just that if your turnover is not big enough it doesent matter how many bets you make your long term profits cant amount to enough to sustain you for a living its ok having 1 or 2 bets a week but you cant realistically go with that unless your bets are substantial.All the pro punters i have spoke to or read about have a large yearly t/o and not many make above 5% on it over a lenthy period.
- Total Posts 17716
I read it and it makes me shudder to think you are working off a 5% profit. That could so easily have been a 5% loss which would have meant you worked for 3000 hours for nothing.
Stepping up your pot to 50,000 won’t help because it’s all relative. Instead of averaging 260 pounds you would average 2500 pounds and then you might not get matched in a lot of cases. Nothing worse when they win and you wanted twice as much on as you got on.
The 5% would become 40,000 but that could easily end up minus 40,000.
I honestly think your treading on thin ice but wish you luck. You should be looking at ways of increasing your profit margin not your stake.
I honestly think your treading on thin ice but wish you luck.
Fist offering your opinion on this thread could be compared to asking the designer of the Titanic to build an unsinkable ship!
Your problem was you were treading on ice thick enough to support an arctic lorry,and yet you still fell through it!
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