1) Financial Sense

The number one rule of gambling is, "don't bet more than you can afford to lose". Don't kid yourself that you can make a living out of gambling on horses. With any luck you will be able to make a tidy profit but always remember that there are hundreds of rich bookmakers out there and only a handful of successful professional gamblers. The second most important rule of gambling is "never chase your losses".

2) Specialise

There is so much racing on offer these days that you need to be selective in what type of events you decide to bet on. You won't be able to make a profit from backing a horse in every race every day. I only specialise in 3yo+ handicaps and avoid listed, group, 2yo, nursery, maiden, apprentice and selling races where the each-way value is generally poor 

3) Form Guides

Use a detailed form guide such as the Racing Post to help you when you choose your selections. I find the Racing Post and Sporting Life websites invaluable when it comes to studying the form of sprint races.

4) Selections

Take every known factor into account when making your selections including; horse form, jockey form, trainer form, distance, going, draw, handicap rating, seasonal form, course form, number of runners, winning times, class of race, prices etc. Of course, I do all this hard work for you - all you have to do is send one text message and then you can start receiving all my tips.

5) Each Way Backing

A lot of tipsters don't agree with backing each way (EW) because you have to pay twice as much for the privilege (half of the total stake goes on the win and the other half goes on the place). However, when you start backing horses that are priced 10/1 or more you really need to consider betting each way because you can still make a profit even if your horse is placed.

6) Place Terms

You must take into account the place terms for a race when backing horses each way.

The best races to bet in are ones with 5 runners (2 in 5 chance of getting a place), 8 runners (3 in 8 chance of getting a place) or 16 runner handicaps (1 in 4 chance of getting a place). Having said this, beware of non-runners, as more often than not there is usually one late non-runner when the place odds are in the punters favour.

7) Best Odds

When you have made your selection, shop around for the best odds in the betting market. Use an odds comparison site such as Odds Checker to see which Internet bookmaker is offering the best prices. Also take into account the place terms being offered by the firm as some offer enhanced odds for certain races.

8) Internet Accounts

If you normally bet in a high street bookmakers or over the phone, you are missing out because the choice of available prices is seriously limited. The only way to gamble these days is through the Internet due to the large number of firms offering you enhanced odds, special bets and free money. In order to take the best price available in the market, you need to open an account with a large number of Internet firms. I have an account with every firm listed under Odds Checker so that I am always guaranteed the best price in the market. You will generally get a free bet or gift when you join a new Internet firm so it makes it worth your while.

9) Early Prices

Once you have found the best price in the market, I suggest you take the early price (EP) because I find that 90% of the time the EP is larger than the starting price (SP). Some bookmakers will also guarantee that if the SP is larger than the EP, you will get paid the SP.

10) Betting Exchanges

Betting exchanges are an excellent innovation but they are not ideal for the each way punter seeking early morning value. You will generally get very fair win odds for your selection but I find that the place terms are very poor. You also have to pay 5% commission on any winnings.

11) Level Stakes

Always bet to a level stake because there is nothing worse that putting £100 on a 2/1 loser and only £1 each way on a 50/1 winner. I bet £50 each way on every selection regardless of price and I'm not afraid of backing horses with form figures of 000000 at the odds of 66/1, if I think it's got a good chance of winning.

12) Sprinters in Form

Most tipsters will advise you to back a sprinter in form. My advice would be to back a sprinter that's just about to come into form as the odds will be much more appealing.

13) Draw Effect

When making your selections take into account the effect of the draw - the stall in which your horse has start the race from. At some courses, such as Chester, the draw can play a very significant part in the outcome of a race (low draw best at Chester for sprint races).

14) Confidence

I feel that a big part of my success is down to luck and confidence. When you have made your selection try and visualise it winning and be confident that it will at least sneak into a place. Also never change your mind after you have made your selection.

15) Watch The Race 

I also think it's important that you get to see your selection run so that you can see for yourself if you were unlucky or not. I subscribe to the Racing UK (SKY Ch432) and At The Races (SKY Ch415) satellite channels so that I can see every race that I bet on.

BETTING GLOSSARY

 

Accumulator:	A bet involving more than one horse with the winnings from each selection going onto the next.
Antepost:	Betting on an event well in advance of the day of the race - in the case of the Classics or big National Hunt events this could be a year or more before the race takes place.
Banker:	A selection that is fancied very, very strongly indeed. Will often be the cornerstone of combination bets.
Bar:	This shows what the lowest odds of horses not mentioned in the betting forecast are likely to be - '50-1 bar' means those not quoted are 50-1 or bigger.
Bets Odds Percentage:	The bottom line is that the odds available are balanced in favour of the bookmaker. A simple example is the toss of a coin where the chances of heads or tails are 50:50. However if the bookmaker were to offer even money on either event there would be no profit margin. Hence odds of 5-6 each of two would probably be offered. The Best Price Percentage figure at the bottom of most of our odds tables calculates the percentage in favour of the bookmaker (ie. 111 per cent means 11% in bookmaker's favour). Sometimes when firms wildly disagree the percentage will drop below 100% and therefore be in the punter's favour.
Board Prices:	This refers to the currently available odds displayed on the boards of on-course bookmakers. It is from these that the starting price is derived.
Co-Favourite:	A horse that shares its position at the head of the market with at least two other horses.
Drifter:	When the price of a selection moves out (gets bigger), often due to a lack of support. That selection is said to be “on the drift”.
Eachway:	Backing your selection to come placed (see place terms above for more information).
Favourite	The selection that the bookmaker rates as most likely to win the event.
Handicap	A race where each horse is allocated a different weight to carry based on current form and ability, the theory being all horses run on a fair and equal basis
Joint Favourite:	When a bookmaker cannot split two selections for favouritism.
IBAS:	(Independent Arbitration Betting Service). An arbitration service which was launched to deal with betting disputes between punters and bookmakers.
Jolly:	Another term for the favourite in a race
Monkey:	Bookmakers slang for £500
Nap:	Best bet of the day from a particular napster
No Offers:	When bookmakers are unwilling to offer a price on a horse N/O is chalked up on their board.
Over Round:	In theory a betting book should be 100%, so a toss of a coin would be even money heads, even money tails. However the bookmakers' profit margins mean the figure is usually above 100%. In cases where it is less (one bookmaker betting 11/8 against on Horse A, another going evens on Horse B in a two horse race) this is referred to as 'over-broke'.
Pony:	Bookmakers slang for £25
Rule 4:	If a horse is withdrawn and there is insufficient time to form a new market the remaining horses in the race are subject to a deduction if they win or are placed. These are calculated according to the starting price as follows: 3/10 or longer odds - 75p in the £, 2/5 to 1/3 - 70p, 8/15 to 4/9 - 65p, 8/13 to 4/7 - 60p, 4/5 to 4/6 - 55p, 20/21 to 5/6 - 50p, Evens to 6/5 - 45p, 5/4 to 6/4 - 40p, 13/8 to 7/4 - 35p, 15/8 to 9/4 - 30p, 5/2 to 3/1 - 25p, 10/3 to 4/1 - 20p, 9/2 to 11/2 - 15p, 6/1 to 9/1 - 10p, 10/1 to 14/1 - 5p, 14/1 - unchanged
Starting Price:	This is often abbreviated to SP. These are the returned prices of the horses which form the basis of the pay out to winning punters if they haven't taken a specified price themselves.
Steamer:	A horse whose odds are continually shortened in the face of heavy support.
Tic-Tac:	The 'sign language' with which bookmakers on the racecourse communicate.
Tissue:	The betting forecast of how an on-course bookmaker thinks the betting on a race now open.