Betting StrategyHaving a Betting Strategy in any sphere offers the best chance of success; however, it doesn’t guarantee a winning outcome. Knowing your selections in advance and how much you are going to invest immediately puts you at an advantage over the majority of punters. Most Gamblers don’t have a betting strategy which is why haphazard staking, changing one’s mind over a particular selection (then seeing your original choice romp home) and no betting bank to bet from, often sees a Punter run out of cash or most times with so little money left to bet with, that horrible occurrence of having a very small bet on a nice priced winner which if stakes having been placed to level stakes, the gambler would walk home in profit, but alas, he leaves with little or nothing. Two questions to ask yourself contemplating a Betting Strategy, (1) is the type of Betting Strategy you are considering a comfortable fit with your personal betting style and (2) is the blueprint of your plan flexible enough. There are some brilliant books on Horse Racing and Betting on the market, sound advice, betting angles and examples of betting methods in action from the Author. But the key word in all those books is Advice, trying to make a system out of information gleaned from books is all well and good if it suits your style and is adaptable. The usefulness of Betting Systems is their ability to hook you into your favoured area/s of Betting, but somewhere along the line the idea that if you run a system you must slavishly back every bet without question seemed to be set in concrete; it simply isn’t true and quite easy to disprove. FlexibilityAn analogy of a Sky Scraper shows the point quite well….. The foundations are huge and rock solid, the base upon which the building is pinned is vital, without a foundation no building of any substance can stand. So the foundation is solid, it must not shift at all. The Sky Scraper is then constructed but one vital element is built into its construction, flexibility. Earth quakes are amongst the worst of natural disasters and tall structures are at extreme risk. Early constructions were built too rigid and although the foundations remained intact, the building itself would suffer devastating damage because of the movement of the earth against the rigidity of the structure. Architects now build flexibility into the Sky Scrapers they design so that when earth quakes strike, the structure is flexible enough to survive. A Betting Strategy that is too rigid with inflexible rules that cannot take into account the ever changing racing scene, always have and always will suffer extreme loss, that loss being in monetary terms; bankruptcy, ruin, plus ones confidence totally shattered. Horse Racing is compelling as a sport; just taking in the variety of racecourses upon which Horse and Jockey compete is breath taking enough with some of the most picturesque tracks in the world. Flat Racing, National Hunt Racing and Flat “Dirt” tracks; its an ever changing picture, the Horses themselves as they mature, the Jockeys, the Trainers, the Weather, the seasons of the year, its absolutely fascinating and quite a puzzle to work out! A sound Betting Strategy can help put some of the pieces in place. 1. Sound Racing Logic 2. Types of Races 3. Types of Horse/Selection 4. Staking Plan to suit your style At the time of writing there are 3 race meetings today, my chosen race type happens to be 3yo+ Handicaps with 8 to 12 runners. I leave out Selling Races, races for Amateurs or Apprentices, of the 20 races taking place, 6 fit the conditions set out. I like winning form so look for at least 4 runners in the race to have had a win in one of their last 4 outings, any runner in the first 5 in the forecast without winning form is included because the forecast in made by professional people who compile forecasts on a daily bases and those runners without winning form but are still able to punch their way into the lower end of the forecast must have some credentials worth looking at, so they are included in the short list. Just the one race match the criteria, plenty of time then to rate the race and see whether there is a contender worthy of selection. Some might find that approach too narrow but the point is about developing a plan that suits you best. So from 20 races to 1 in less than a minute and that is just one angle, you may have another approach that specialises in Maiden Races based around Trainer Form, so many angles to choose from, there is sure to be more than one to suit your style and to suit your time available to study the Factors that come with your Betting Strategy. BETTING ANGLES Following winning Form and Horses that have the will to win is always a sound and logical approach, yet even this angle can be vulnerable at certain times of the year. Autumn is one such time, Horses that have shown winning form through the Summer months start to race against fresh animals who have (for various reasons) had a Summer break, the rigours of a hard Season takes it toll and Form can become unstable. This is where flexibility comes into play, monitoring form and results can provide you with all the clues you need, even a reduction in stakes can be vital, not losing as much is more than a consolation prize, it could keep you on the winning side in the long run. Always back your judgement and if you find yourself questioning that judgement then that’s a sure sign to take a break and gather your thoughts. There are some Betting system Truths that can guide the punter in the right direction. Rerurn From Betting Strategy to Home Page |