Can you tell me about your background in Horse Racing and using the Betting Exchanges?

My Dad was a bet a day man right up until his death, and he layed my first real horseracing bet. It was on Oxo in the 1959 Grand National. It won and from then on racing  became an ongoing interest for me.

The part of London that I grew up in bred gamblers, and betting on cards, greyhounds, horses, shove’apenny , and even Escalado was an integral part of my childhood. 

The betting shops were the next port of call. It could be a very entertaining afternoon out, and these places abounded with characters.  I watched plenty of people do their wages in, and thankfully that helped me to realise that a betting bank, and its protection was paramount if you were to mount any sort of assault against the bookies.

Once betting tax was introduced the game was up for the home based punter. I wasn’t a sophisticated gambler by any stretch, but I had read several books, understood what the bookies overround was, added that to the tax, and realised that winning long-term was virtually impossible. I dabbled in other areas of betting, but my interest in gambling by the mid 90’s had almost reached zero. And then the Internet arrived making the Betting Exchanges possible. I bought a computer around 1999, and since then 90% of my betting has been done via Betfair.

Would you describe yourself as a Betting Exchange Trader or a Punter?

At first I was 100% a punter. My betting was based on form, trends and statistical picks, and laying off a bet never really occurred to me. As I started to make more bets I began to see the real potential of the Exchanges. I started to do quite well trading a few  football markets. I expanded on this in to other markets. And that was a big mistake.

Are there any basic trading strategies you use that you would be able to reveal in this interview to help my readers?

The overs and unders market is basically an even money bet. Prices on this market can get really out of line. I blindly made 150 small bets, taking anything above 2.08.  I came out of it up 22 points. I did some more research, and became a little more selective about my picks, but not the prices. I also started to trade in and out of them in-running. If your new this is a good market to get your feet wet in. You can learn a lot about weight of money, pricing and the ebb and flow of the markets. Primarily though, you won’t get too burnt money wise if you get it wrong.

Over the time you have been betting, would you say you have won more that you lost?

Definetly lost more.  Betting shop punting down. Traded options punting well down. Spreadbetting shares and indexes down. Spreadbetting sports slightly down.  Sports betting on the Exchanges I’m ahead a little

Do you use any Betting Bots and which ones would you advise using?

I’ve just tried  the free version of  Betangel . As a free tool it’s OK, and it probably gives you a slight edge over a lot of punters. But the interface is not to my liking. As I intend to do more trading in the future I think that it is inevitable that I will need to buy one. It is just which one at the moment?

What is the most costly lesson you have ever made when either betting or trading?

In the biggest betting shop of the lot—the Stockmarket. I’d just begun trading options in 1988, I made a phone call to my broker after reading a newspaper report on a  PLC. I bought £2000 worth of contracts, went around to the shops to get some fags, when I got back I looked at Ceefax to see that this company  had issued a profits warning, and with it a huge slice of my £2000. Ihis taught me to always do my own research. Don’t rely on tipsters, software or anything else. If your going to win at this game you have got to be self-reliant. Sometimes I fall back on this, but in the long run I know that this is a good rule to follow.  

What would you say to anyone who is just starting to bet or trade?

It’s all been said before. But, keep records of  all of your bets, they can be very illuminating. Test your ideas on paper, and then with small stakes, before rolling it out. You must be willing to learn. Use forums, read the threads that interest, you, ask questions. You can avoid a lot of the traps and scamsters in this game just by using this free resource.

Have you followed any Horse Racing Tipsters in the past and what did you think of them?

At sixteen I wound up working at White city stadium. The Dogs was a top night out, and the City was the top venue.  I used to get tips from the Head Groundsman just before the off. I used to pass the information on to my brother-in-law by handsignals just before we got the traps ready.  Those were the best tips that I’ve ever had.

Otherwise its been the usual Newsboy, Templegate, Sunny Jim, etc.

The only one that  I’ve  paid for was Jock Bingham who contributed to the VDW methods.  I’m afraid Jock wasn’t having a very good run when I joined him.

Do you have any further information or help you could give someone who has been betting or trading for a while or is just starting out?

Don’t overtrade. Specialise. Find a market that you like, and then narrow that down. If its horse racing for instance specialise in Claimers. Get to know everything about them.  What Trainers/ Jockeys also specialise? How does the 1st, 2nd, 3rd favorite fare? How does the prize money affect the entries.  Keep asking questions, and researching them and you could become an expert in your chosen niche---and that means that you’ll make money.