You’re at your computer and checking the racing form for the weekend, the weekend races’ results are finally here. There they are, the four races your newspaper carries each day. They look like fun, how you hope your weekend will be remembered. You’ve chosen, of course, to take your racing bets on the double classics Manchester to Doncaster and York to Penzance. This is where you’ll discover how your strategy can leave you flat broke.
First of all, two simple rules apply to betting on the UK horse racing markets. ‘Don’t deal with emotion’ and ‘Don’t get greedy’. Both of these statements ring true in regards to horse racing and the markets, they are not necessarily related but they certainly bear referring to as two of the most important components that will either make you win, or allow you to lose money, therefore it is imperative you do not get them confused.
A lot of individuals view betting on the horses as a get rich quick scheme, but many are beginning to see it in a more sophisticated light. This is highly apparent with the growth in betting exchanges that offer a host of betting opportunities, and in particular a race betting option.
The key difference between races and bets is the time it takes you to place a bet. You can wait until the early hours of the morning before the start of the race by visiting your local bookies, or you can thaw out by heading to the betting ring in time to place your bet.
By keeping to your schedule, there is one final way to ensure that you are not overcame with emotion in the heat of the moment, and that’s to set aside a small amount of money. This should not be more than 5% of your overall betting bank. Once this has been decided, walk away and make an instant phone call to your bookie or chase your bet across the counter to the exchange.
The pound 6 per cent commission given on a bet above 18 runners/2% on a bet below 18 runners is the norm, so a £10 bet is £10×6 = £6. In scenarios where the commission is lower, you can lower the amount required by placing the bet on one of your first odds after your opening quote. So in this scenario, £6 is the reward for a £10 stake – 5% of £10 is £5.50, therefore £10×5 = £25.50.
If your selection comes in the official place, you have to pay out at the odds on offer, this might be a lot of money if it’s a high price, but if it’s a low price then it’s profit indeed. Fold you lose, or hang on to your pair, only add to your pot, but never pay out more than you need to, it should be a purely a business transaction.
As I alluded to above, you do not necessarily have to bet in exactly the same way in every race. Use your best judgment and one of the most effective betting tips I can give is to research the course, the horses, the jockeys, the trainers and watch the race on television or the race app (ITM). There are so many variables in a race that it’s impossible to form any opinion other than an educated guess.
I am not going to define betting as playing poker to a show of hands. That would be too simplistic and no one Hand dominated the last 100 years of poker. I’m going to stay with betting as I understand it to be a more productive pastime.
If you understand betting to suit your average punter, you can enjoy the process more, know youronson, and less likely to lose your shirt.
Now just that little bit extra… remember this; I didn’t come up with this phrase today. I paraphrased a few others here and it sounds like a hook I used in another post. But the context is crucial, and often overlooked.
I’ve read the sound and feel of the cards being dealt. Now this doesn’t mean much if the cards aren’t dealt correctly. Quite often this actually doesn’t mean anything especially but often reads like this. It’s common to hear a generally weaker hand called the shooter (AK) call out a strong hand like Lower to middle pair.apper (MY) come out with a strong hand like Ace/King.apper (MY) come out with a strong hand like Ace/King. My strong hand, Lower to middle pair, is 2-1.apper (MY) is 2-2. You see the pattern? So, my thinking is that if the table can’t come up with a viable hand to beat my 2-1 down to my lower to middle pair, 2-1 will win a bit more money than my 2-1 hand.
What if the table can’t come up with anything?
