Do you set yourself targets with your betting? Do you say to yourself: “£X is how much profit I aim to make this year”? I kinda do, and I kinda don’t.
I do in the sense that I have a certain amount of money, my betting bank, from which I set realistic targets in terms of how much growth from that bank I hope to make through the year (50%). So I have an ambition – an annual ROC figure of 50%.
However, the trouble with betting is that once you have been careful and conscientious in terms of getting on, securing the best possible prices, etc., the actual outcome is completely beyond your control. Over the long term we’re trusting that the tipsters we follow are identifying where the prices we’re taking on our bets hold value and should in fact be priced shorter than the bookmaker. But within each individual bet there is no telling if a flukey last minute own goal, or a dart thrown by our player to win a match finishes 1mm to the outside of the wire instead of 1mm to the right before his opponent closes out the game. We are helpless. Which is why setting targets – as opposed to having ambition – is something I try not to do.
We’re talking subtle shades of grey here, aren’t we, between having targets and ambition? My ambition is to have 50% bank growth over 12 months. Is that not a target? Possibly, but in my mind if I have a target then I’m saying that I have control over whether or not I hit it. An ambition is more a real hope I achieve it, but at the same time accept that there are so many things out of my control that the ambition might not be realised.
Which brings me to the Sports portfolio. Growth is slow at present. We have Sports Service 2 and Scottish Football Income Booster steadily chipping away at the losses that have come from an initial poor start to the year. Sports Service 1 is going through a slow phase in terms of turnover. In other words, it’s a bit of a grind. It feels like if I set a target, then I’m adding to the pressure. But when I look at the total ROC of these services to date (10.78%), then my ambition of 50% bank growth is still alive. A couple of strong months, and I’d be right back on track.
Sports Service 1 (30pt bank): Staked 19.75pts, +6.295pts, roi 31.87%, roc 20.98%, High: 7.295pts, CDD: -1pts, Max DD: -1pts.
Sports Service 2 (40pts): Staked 41pts, -4.734pts, roi -11.54%, roc -11.83%, High 0pts, CDD: -4.734pts, Max DD: -6.564pts.
Scottish Football Income Booster (100pts): Staked 82pts, -6.337pts, roi -7.72%, roc -6.33%, High: 4.394pts, CDD: -10.731pts, Max DD: -17.984pts.
The Poacher (40pts): Staked 194pts, +16.286pts, roi 8.39%, roc 40.71%, High: 19.068pts, CDD: -2.782pts, Max DD: -9.645pts
*ROI – Return On investment, ROC – Return On Capital (ie. bank growth), CDD – Current Drawdown, Max DD – Maximum Drawdown
