Serious investment or playing for kicks?

Do you want to bet to make money, or do you want to simply do it for fun?  In other words, do you really care about what you are betting on as long as you make a profit, or do you only want to put bets into markets you know something about or have a real interest in?

These are really good questions to ask yourself.

The “fun” is in counting up the profit

I have bet on some really “strange” things in my time; Eastern European women’s netball, Hungarian Division 2 football…you name it, I’ve probably bet on it.  Now I do like my footie, but I’m no expert on the Hungarian leagues!  But I really couldn’t have cared a less about this when I placed my bet.  My trust was with a tipster who did know about Hungarian football, and I was placing the bet with the aim of beating the book.

I DO have a strong interest in English Premiership football, but even now, a very small proportion of my bets concern this league.  This is a sport that the bookies are all over.  They take millions of pounds and euros, not to mention yen, yuan and rupees over in Asia, and they therefore pour huge resources into making sure they price up the matches accurately.  To eke out a profit in Premier League football, you really do need to know your stuff.  Creating an edge in these markets is incredibly difficult, and therefore I’d rather be investing my money into markets which are considerably easier to gain an advantage.

So if you don’t like betting on tennis, but you find a tipster with a long-term proven edge in the sport, why would you not follow?  We’re betting simply to make money, aren’t we?

The bottom line is all that counts

The reality is that the bottom line is all that should matter to us.  Yes, of course you must examine the tipster you’re considering following to ensure the practicalities are in line with your own personal circumstances.  Can you get the bets on promptly and secure the right prices?  But if they do, and you can, then whether or not you like the sport you’re betting on really is an irrelevance.

Pre-conceptions are dangerous things.  Pre-conceptions are generated through personal experience.  Just because you find it nearly impossible to identify a horse with four working legs, never mind one that is capable of running fast enough in the conditions to have a chance of winning the race, can’t put you off utilizing the expertise of someone who can.

Let’s face it, an awful lot of people go to work to do jobs they don’t particularly enjoy doing.  But they go anyway, because at the end of the week or month, they get a payslip and money goes into their account.  It’s the same with betting.  Don’t go putting on any blinkers you don’t need to wear.

Betting from February 1st to Friday February 10th

A good start to the month, building on January’s success.

Last Saturday was a spectacular day for Jason James as he nailed a 33/1 winner (Ballythomas – Musselburgh).  The guy’s ROC figures are now at a ridiculously high level for the time he has been tipping commercially.  Extremely impressive stuff.

Elsewhere it has really been a case of solid accumulation.  The only other really notable winner was provided by Racing Service A, again last Saturday, in the shape of Baie Des Iles – 8/1 – Punchestown.  But you know what?  I like solid accumulation. I really do.

Here are the figures for the month:

Chasemaster: Staked 11pts, -2.25pts.

Jason James: Staked 40.5pts, +24.26pts.

Morning Value Service (Lite): Staked 16pts, +2.5pts.

Northern Monkey: Staked 13.5pts, -2.55pts.

Racing Service A: Staked 2pts, +2.5pts.

Racing Service B: Staked 22.5pts, +6.6pts.

Football Service 1: Staked 5pts, +2.04pts.

Pinpoint Golf: Staked 29.25pts, +0.75pts)

February’s performance to date: ROI 21.11%, ROC 2.74%.