[MrE]

Bloody hell VTC, are you still banging on…. unbelievable…. and well done, most would have folded their hands by now….
Once again I just popped in on passing and wondered if the old ‘uns are stll active…. especially my nemesis that is “Ginge”…. no, not really, we had fun.
I finished my foray on here when Billion passed a few years ago now, but I am still playing in “system” mode…. making good profits, but well advanced from what Billion and I were playing along with, although we did have some enjoyable moments with Aussie racing…. lol…
I’ve tried AI, but that always posed more questions than answers and at present (and for the last few years) I have stuck with just two sites and I am floating on air, just steady profits and steady returns without looking for instant fortunes…. it is there guys, I can say that in all honesty… but as always, it’s hard work, nothing in this game is easy.
Old “Ginge” used to say that “value” was everything, the problem with that approach is that “value” is elusive, it is like smoke. you think you have it mastered and you grab it, but just like smoke, it’s gone….. no Ginge, the greatest of respect, but “value is not the be all and end all, that is an easy “get out clause” because it can always be interpreted by whoever is spouting that Gospel…. honestly, it’s all bollox.
For old times sake guys, pick your horses in whatever manner you want to, but have the sense to double check with other sources to see if that selection really stands a chance….
There is far too much to write on this subject and it would take more time than I would be able to muster…. I am now 83 years old, still making a profit, but slowly wilting, it does start to get harder to find the time as you age…. this game is for the youngsters.
I’m still playing at my age, that means I am still making profit, because the instant my account shows 3 losing months on the trot, then I am history….that is my farewell point.
I dont post on a regular basis, I’m well past needing any boost to my ego…. but in passing by, I just needed to say that with the effort will come the reward…. I am still in the game and still making a profit…. the stakes are recuced cuz I don’t need the returns that I once did, but the money I make covers all the birthdays and Christmas’s that I have to pay for…. lol… no better off financially, but all “excesses” have been covered.

I offer my apologies to all for leaving TRF for so long, but Billion was the only guy on the same path as me, when he went, I went with him.
All the best to all you guys, it was a really tremendous place to be when Matron was in charge of all the sexual abuse that happened in Ward 7 at that time, my bum still remains tense at the thought, but I guess things have changed now, Matron has been rerimanded for his perversions and the tools of his trade have been confiscated…. I cannot remember ever seeing so many vibrators in one persons collection…. way to go Matron, you have more stamina that I….
Good luck to you all…. perhaps we’ll still be around this time next year…. and if Matron and Ginge are still around, I wish them well.
Keeop going VTC, I just cant really believe that this is still going after all these years…. bloody outstanding….

MrE

[MrE]

Not gone anywhere GT…. but as you say, it does seem pointless to post anymore. To keep threads “alive”, there has to be some response, some sounding boards to bounce ideas and thoughts around…. sad to say that it aint happening here anymore.
Gone are the days when we used to run scare of Matron and his wet towel and other dastardly instruments that were his enjoyment…. an era gone to the dogs…. or in this case, the horses….

MrE

[MrE]

“A staking plan cannot turn poo into gold”… you’ve just thrown my own mantra back at me GT….
In all honesty GT, I don’t really have a problem with my staking, it was an effort to stir up some interest and motivate some members to post a few ideas… or derogatory comments, anything would have done, but ’tis just you and me. I knew this place was dead on it’s feet, but thought that perhaps it needed a catalyst, or just a spark to ignite smouldering embers, but the embers have been peed on, not enough fuel left to keep striking the tinder box.
It’s a shame, it was once a thriving community where the dumb people met the stupid ones, but it was fun and I found it profitable… perhaps it was taking the mick out of old Billy the Skirt that made it enjoyable…
Thanks for the helpful advice GT and thanks for at least wasting your time and giving this thread the light of day, but I think it probably time to let this particular dead body continue to decompose.
I’ll probably stick my nose in now and again, but should I not, then I wish you GT and all the other forum devotees, a very Happy Christmas and a really stonking and profitable 2024…..

MrE

[MrE]

Bloody hell GT, is that a “quick” answer…..

In all fairness mate, that is a cracking explanation after I read it the third time…. but it is exactly what I meant when I said that doing all that work for just a couple of races per day is beyond my capabilities, I am but a mere mortal and I prefer the easier step of letting others do the hard work on my behalf and just cherry pick whatever suits me.
On the horses I have three main systems, each of these system give me 10pts profit per month, 30pts a month is like magic, but amongst all that profit there is so much dross and as you would surmise, most of the crap are the “shorties”. I have losing runs well into the 30’s but if I cull the short prices, it lowers the LLR only a little bit and seriously effects my bottom line, this was the reason that I posed the question about staking in the beginning. It takes a serious amount of time to finalise these selections and I’ll have no life left if I started to put the extra effort in that you do.
But you have given me food for thought in your comment on concentrating on two or three races a day…. I have tried thinning my selections out so that I have less to work on, but am always concerned about losing the winners that go with it…. I guess I’m just a greedy old sod.
I think that I was after the impossible GT, I was rather hoping that someone had yet another “magic staking bullet” that would be a shortcut, I definitely don’t want more work.

Your bit about the bookies not liking arbing was spot on, I wasn’t actually arbing, but they must have thought that I was because I was constantly beating ISP, I must have got “flagged” for that…. and it wasn’t as though I took ’em for a lot of money, I was probably only gaining a quarter of a point and I’m only a £10 punter, but they still hammered that nail into my coffin….

MrE

[MrE]

Very succinct GT, but that was always going to be a problem for me…. I fully understand your explanation and concur, but it bodes the problem of how does one ascertain what price a horse should be.
I’m a throw back and the only way that I have ever found towards pricing up my selection, is very crude, I look and see how many “dangers” that I think there is (or half dangers) and then add half a point for the rest of the field.
Example…. I see 3 main rivals that I’m afraid of + 3 more with half a chance, I allocate 4.5pts…. there is an outside chance that one that I’ve discarded will pop up and spoil the party, so I add another half a point for the “field”, now I’m left with my expected “value” price as 5/1.
This has been a pretty poor medium at getting “value” and I fall short more times than I am successful…. yes, I pick a fair amount of winners, but in this intance, they are not even close to 5/1, I’m lucky if I get 5/2.
So, unless someone can point a way to ascertain what price a selection should be, I’m still lost….

What I have been doing well at, is getting better prices than Betfair SP by waiting just before the “off”…. it was mooted several years ago that Betfair is a true reflection of the chance of each horse/dog etc, so I have several screens open and all bookies odds displayed, when I spotted a bookie that offered bigger odd, in I went. I had a good run, but as with all things betting, the cloudburst was just around the corner and two bookies gave me the elbow, so that’s buggered that up. There is another bookie on the block that offers the same odds as the major bookies, I may have to try them.
So GT, I’m still looking for that pot of Gold, but the rainbow keeps moving….. and the older I get, the less effort I get to put in. I’m into a few hobbies (other than betting)… and I spend more time building and printing models these days, I no longer feel the “need” to continue with spreadsheets etc, I’m finding it hard work keeping those things updated.
This is a long post, but I think that a lot of guys are in the same boat, whether it be work, partners, kids, everything needs your attention and I was interested in anything (staking or otherwise) that will free up my already limited time…..

MrE

[MrE]

Hi GT…. yeah, I have seen that one and attempted to put it into practice, not easy and far too time consuming for me. I like my progressions/regressions to be of a more simple nature… “Maria” (backing, not laying) springs to mind where I would place bets according to the price at the time of betting, nice and easy, but misses out on Value.
Then I thought that maybe I was getting too caught up in value, after all is said and done, it’s a hobby and I am not in need of the additional income….but I did spend months sitting in front of this screen, watching Betfair prices close to the “off” and grab better prices at the bookie…. PP and Corals kicked my arse for that foray into “value betting”…..
I started to find that looking for value was too hard and needs to be left to those with the “know how”, so I opted for a really simplistic approach after trying different strategies…. now I find that I’m happy just banging on a % of my bank, nice and comfortable and so it suits me down to the ground.
I’m lucky that I have time to “play” with different strategies and ideas…. and those Excel sheets are a boon, so easy to apply the different filters, I have never had a lot of problems with making my selections because there are a plethora of sites out there to help, it was (and still is) the staking that causes the “itch”…..but I’m happy at present unless any of the members has something new….

MrE

[MrE]

Ouch….. a show of nightmare proportions….. Ginge as the Alien and me as Ripley…. ooohh, Matron…. nappies at the ready, but no bed baths….
And whilst we are at it, we are talking staking and systems, I’m not a tipster and nor do I aspire to be, I just wanna see what staking ideas the multitude come out with, but it appears that the answer is nothing….

Mr E

[MrE]

GT, the trouble is getting the motivation…. do I really want to get caught up in a discussion where I know that I’ll probably end up winding members up and they in turn will wazz me off…. then I have to get my handbag ready.
There’s no safe ground, so it’ll be “all or nothing”. whilst I enjoyed the banter last time, I’m guessing the fuse is getting shorter with age….
Over the years that I’ve been absent, I have done very well on the horses, not fortunes, but a steady influx of cash to supplement the pension…. also had my bum kicked a few times too. I had a cracking run of losers about 6 months ago that really made my eyes water, a LLR of 18, then two short priced winners @ 3.25 and 2.75, then along came a spider and I had to Ben Dover and take what I was dreading…. another LLR, but this time it was 34…. that did a fair amount of damage to my haemorrhoids. I spent the last 6 months revisiting staking plans and studying Positive EV and all the rest of the crap….. Lordy me, there’s some really squeaky bum staking plans out there.
So lets see if there’s anybody out there that is using any of these hair raising plans successfully… they’ve actually raised my hair quite a bit, I’m as bald as a badgers bum….

MrE

[MrE]

Indeed I do Ferdy…. oooops, my apologies…. Purwell….
This used to be the place to look and discuss systems, but it’s looking a bit sad these days…. if I can raise a bit of a gallop, I’ll try and start a bit of something going, it might even be staking…. haha, that’ll disturb Ginge’s sleep….

MrE

[MrE]

I’ve only just seen this Ginge…. “Do I remember you”… haha, how can I forget…. It’s great to see your still around after all this time, I have a feeling that I saw a post somewhere from Gamble too, I thought he’s be dead by now, he’s even older than Matron…
All is fine Ginge… and I did note the nudge, nudge, wink, wink against roulette…. don’t knock it mate, done alright with me… not a patch on the gg’s though, that I will openly admit, the wheel is a grind, but the opportunites on the horses is abundant.
Pleased to see your post Ginge, it’s been a longer time than I care to think about… I haven’t got around to reading all the posts and to be honest, I probably never will…. I just wish you well for the future… as I do all forum members…

MrE

[MrE]

This was a long post and I think I misunderstood the context of the previous post…. so I’ve done an “edit” (if it works)…..
Keep posting Sam….. and I will take the time to read the “Alexander ” thread….

MrE

[MrE]

I vote for option 3…. I can’t keep up…. one place at a time….

MrE

[MrE]

Sam…… Jeeez!!!!…. all that went so far over my head it was up in the stratosphere…. You appear to have forgotten that I absconded from Ward 7 a few years ago when Matron was in his office giving Nathan a jolly good spanking (I think I’ve spelt that right). What or who is Alexander and what is this tree????…. I’m probably going to regret asking those questions judging by your posts on the other thread. I’m the sort of guy that likes things simple, simple works, complexity doesn’t…. I’m a bit like that with my betting, which is why I like to mix and match ratings. I don’t study form (much) and I am certainly not a “speed” freak, not on UK racing anyway… all the hilly bits and constantly changing ground makes that a dodgy proposition, although I know a few guys that do quite well using speed. You will need to drop down to base level, pretend your talking to an 8 year old…. Oi, that’s unfair Nathan… yeah, I know what your thinking….

MrE

[MrE]

Thanks VTC….. I don’t know how much I’ll post, probably far too much, but I suppose that it’s a case of “every little helps”. We all have our different experiences in this minefield, mostly my forays have proved profitable, but I have had some disasters, not always plain sailing, but I have (and still am) gaining ground every day…. new sites pop up with various types of ratings and they have changed considerably over the years.
I always enjoy my meanderings into the dark arts that is betting, always a risk but the rewards are worth it…. will the magic wear off???… I hope not or I’ll end up a miserable old sod….

MrE

[MrE]

I realise that this post will only be seen by the minority, do I care???… not even a little bit…
It doesn’t bother me one iota because I don’t know any of you (looking at the members list, that should read MANY of you)…. names that are alien to me, so I really dont give a rat’s arse, but out of respect to TRF (and Matron in particular) I thought that it was the correct procedure to let the forum (TRF) know that things are still going well for some of us. I can leave just as easily as I have appeared…. just like Superman….. whooosh……………………………. gone.
The problem is that I thought that I’d pop on to see how Matron (of the shaky hands) is getting on and how the old stalwarts that I remember ae still doing. There are a few that are still around, not many that I have had chats with, but I remember Nathan (painfully obvious), Moehat, VTC, Matron, Snowman and a couple of others, but the rest are new to me…. in saying that, the memory is not what it was, no dementia yet, but I always fear that it’s close….
I am still winning guys, at horses and roulette…. don’t let anyone deter you from your targets, there are planty of opportunities and they are not always obvious.
Just stop and think for awhile…are you expecting MORE than is possible, is GREED putting the dampers on your aspirations…. take it steady guys, you have the rest of your lives to make this work, no need to break your neck in the rush….

MrE

[MrE]

Hi Sam, you just gotta laugh when you look back at old Billy Goat Gruff… he really was a special guy and thanks for that accolade. I didn’t know that Nobert Nathan had done that, I’m glad that he had some success….
As for myself having a winning system????…. ahhh… I’ve had plenty Sam, but as with all systems, they last only short periods unless the stats are kept up to date. I’m lucky really, I have a few pieces of software that keeps me informed if my strike rate drops and I rectify where required…. such is racing in the UK, I doubt that there is anything hard and fast that you can put your finger on and say that you’ve got it right this time. With the topography of courses being so different and the constant changes of going here in the UK, I think that it is this phenomena that makes UK racing so appealing.
I (and Billy) have studied Aussie and US racing to such a degree that it became boring…. why, because their tracks/Courses are so different from ours that it is hard to find anything stable to base form around, it means nothing to us poms or limey’s, it’s not something that transfers to different countries. From many years of hard work, I think that you need to play to our strengths and that is that UK racing is different to anywhere else in the world… capitalise on that fact, it will give you that edge that you need…. I am still playing at 81 years of age, if I was losing, you wouldn’t have heard from me again…. but there are opportunities Sam, lots of them, the answer is to look in the right places…. and most of the places to look are free.

MrE

[MrE]

Yes mate, I have to agree, he was a hell of a character… and I spent a lot of time with Billy the Skirt studying the Aussie scene.. yep, sorely missed.
On a brighter note.. I am 19 years away from triple figures you cheeky arse…. 81 years it is… and definitely yes to the profits on roulette and my other systems although my doggie ones turned sour a couple of years ago, so just that crazy wheel and the horses now.
Getting a tad wazzed off now though, it’s these newfangled KYC that are of concern to me, I am having to put my bets on through 2nd, 3rd and 4th parties. Both Betfair and Smarkets have had my passport and they still want more…. well, they aint getting it… a bit like Matron I suppose, he aint getting it either…..

MrE

[Author]

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