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

I possibly started earlier than many people. My father was blind and I won’t say I learnt to read from the daily racing pages, but that was certainly the way I practised; reading out the day’s runners and riders for him.
Since then I reckon I must have bought every racing system, method, or plan going. Fortunately, I kept them all and plan on selling some of them on Antiques Roadshow. Seriously, some of the ideas in them might have been unworkable in the days before the betting exchanges, but they have gained some new relevance. In fact the system I use now is an amalgam of several old ideas, with some new variations. The difference being the value that is obtainable on Betfair.

Like anybody who’s been in this game for a long time I’ve suffered the highs and lows of backing horses, and even managed to eke out a precarious living at one point. Also, like most people, I’ve made some dreadful decisions and been conned by ‘experts’ more times than I care to mention.
About four years ago, I threw the whole thing in. My work meant I couldn’t back regularly, and I decided that this was going to be a closed chapter of my life; and then along came the betting exchanges.

I initially put in a couple of hundred pounds just to play about with, and bought some more systems (a lesson I should have learned), and spent seven or eight months on a roller-coaster of winning and losing. Now I see where the possibilities are in Betfair and have a structured approach that is close to being boring.

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

I am definitely a punter, and an old-fashioned one at that. I love backing horses to win, and there’s nothing more exciting than watching your selection romp home (well, there are more exciting things, but I’ll stick to talking about horses). I’ve tried trading, with mixed success, but have never really managed to predict the market moves with enough accuracy to make it worthwhile. To me backing horses (in the broadest sense of the term) is about winning more than you risk, and doing it in large sums. Trading for the odd point or two is not for me. I can see the attraction, but it takes away the fun of racing. The same applies to laying. I’m not psychologically equipped to risk £80 in order to win £10 – I’ve never really been an odds-on backer and laying is the ultimate odds-on.

The only times I could be described as a trader is I occasionally lay a horse off in-running over fences when the impact on my winnings is less than 5% and there are still a couple of fences to jump. There’s a certain satisfaction when you’ve got a free bet position and your selection throws off its jockey at the last while 20 lengths clear. The only other trading I do is on football. I always take a lay position on the draw (when the market shape is right) and back it off when the home team scores (that sounds as though I’m always right, but I only do it on televised matches and so far have a 100% strike rate). The only losing football bet I’ve made is backing Mick McCarthy to get the sack after Sunderland lost to Brentford in the FA Cup. As always, when you think you’re stealing easy money you get it wrong.

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

I’m going to be completely honest. I’ve lost several hundred times more than I’ve won. If I’d never backed a horse, and never practised any of my other vices, I’d be richer than I am now – considerably. But hope springs eternal, and I do believe (after 40-odd years) that I have the mental attitude to make money. Ask me again in two years time.

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

I’ve been down the betting bots route and have posted a Blog on the Web site with my reviews. I think they are most useful for traders, and if that was my style of betting I would certainly go for either STW or Bet Angel; both fine pieces of useful software.

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

Never ever think you know better than anyone else. If you have a staking plan (and everyone should, even if it’s level stakes), stick to it. When you’ve had three or four winners on the trot, don’t think you’re invincible and start betting beyond your means. Probability theory works, understand that and everything will fall into place. In pure monetary terms that little lesson cost me £1,000 backing a stupid odds-on shot because I couldn’t pick a loser on the day – at least until that one; backing it at many time my normal stake. Similarly, never chase losses. That one once cost me £500, because I was desperate to get out on the day.

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

In one phrase ‘enjoy it’. If it stops been a pleasure then you’ll never make money at it. I could probably fill a book with advice (but lessons are best learned the hard way). I will avoid all the obvious and go with this – learn to distinguish between the negatives and the non-positives. If a horse has never run over a mile and today’s race is a mile then that is not a negative, it is simply a factor that should be taken into account. The same applies for all the other things the ‘experts’ talk about as being negative in a horse’s form. The only true negatives are when a horse has proved, several times, that something is against it, be it going, distance, course, or jockey.

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

To answer this properly you have to define tipsters. There are newspaper tipsters, and the ‘pay me lots of money because I know better than you’ tipsters. Yes, I’ve used both. Newspaper tipsters are forced into making a selection in every race. It would be instructive to know which horses they intend backing. Newspaper tipsters are a great source of information, if you learn when they are correct they can be a profitable source of income. Many years ago the was a tipster in the Daily Mail who made three selections a day (I think). If one of those was a Henry Cecil horse, you could back with a fair degree of confidence. If it was an unraced Henry Cecil horse you could safely double your stakes.

I don’t want to tar every tipster who charges with the same brush, there are good ones out there, but I would always ask the question why they are not simply backing their tips themselves if they are so good. It’s a free market economy out there; if everyone wants to back the same horse then the price will shorten, and possible profits will be reduced.

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?

I’ll assume you don’t want me to talk for hours (and I will given the chance}, so I’ll just say this. If you are certain that your selection procedure (be it for backing or laying), or your trading strategy is correct then stick with it, if you flip-flop between systems, methods, or plans then you will lose. You may lose anyway, but it’s less annoying when you lose in a structured manner. If you aren’t certain about your selection procedure or your trading strategy then why not just me your money instead and cut out the middle-man?

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