Football Service 2 had a bit of a stinker on Saturday.  Five and a half points were staked across six bets.  Only one was a winner.

No-one enjoys following a tipster when they’re losing, but it is always somewhat reassuring when a tipster who is suffering acknowledges poor form and spells out exactly what they feel the reasons are and what they are going to do to reverse their fortunes.  In this respect, FS2 excel.

Come Saturday evening, when all the results were in and had been digested, an FS2 email hit members’ inbox.  After reading the email, I know my concerns had been soothed somewhat.  It was clear that here is a tipster who has seen bad runs come and go in the past and had always recovered strongly from the drawdowns.  The email told of theories as to why form had been so unpredictable in recent weeks, and what the consequences were in terms of betting over the next few weeks.  It also showed an awareness that a bettor must continually adapt to stay ahead of the game, to react quickly to changing conditions, and to have such a depth of knowledge about their area of expertise that they can see why their betting environment is changing.

To be honest, I have been taken a little by surprise by FS2’s recent lack of form.  This is traditionally a strong time of year for this service.  But having received that email, I feel pretty darned confident that it will be churning out the profits again very soon.

So, a question for you.  How may of the tipsters that you follow take the time and trouble to explain why they feel things are as they are when they’re not doing so well?  I’d be interested to hear of people’s experiences.

Portfolio performance for August to date:

‘Main’ portfolio: ROI 10.71%, ROC 4.58%.

‘Broxchange’ portfolio (Football Lay Profits, Football Service 1, Golf Insider): ROI -5.94%, ROC -1.35%

Individual Service Performance

Bet Alchemist: Staked 32pts, +12.175pts.

Racing Service 1: Staked 58pts, +43.775pts.

Football Lay Profits: Staked 89.25pts, +1.71pts.

Football Service 1: n/a

Golf Insider: Staked 35pts, -16.112pts.

MVS: Staked 59pts, -8pts.

Northern Monkey: Staked 42.75pts, +33.204pts.

Football Service 2: Staked 19.25pts, -2.3pts.

Racing Service 2: n/a

Racing Service 3: Staked 58pts, -23.15pts.

The one question I’ve been asked more than any other over the years is, I reckon, the one about whether or not I advise continuing to bet when away on holiday.  Going back to my early days of running a portfolio of tipsters, I would place – or at least try to place – every single bet that came through during my weeks off.  You see, I couldn’t bear to think about potentially missing out on a massive pay day from a tipster, the likes of which might only come along once or twice a year if at all.  As it happens, not once did I come back from holiday thinking the effort and aggravation had been worth it.  And it is effort and aggravation, waiting for emails to come through before heading off down to the beach or out for lunch, never really switching off and certainly not benefiting from the mental break from normal day to day life that a holiday should bring.

So after a couple of years I resolved to just forget about betting when I was away with the family.  Switch off the laptop or resolve to leave it at home, or better still find somewhere with no WiFi to avoid temptation.  Since doing that, holidays are much better, relaxed and beneficial.  The wife and kids, although never saying anything, probably appreciate it too.

Last week however, I came perilously close to missing out big time, but after totting up the weekend’s results and returns I have to admit I had to laugh.  You see, my holiday cottage for the week was a Friday changeover, which meant I was back home Friday evening and back betting on the Saturday.  It was an interesting day.

As I checked the MVS results, I was ruing my luck and wishing I’d gone away Saturday to Saturday – 9 bets, 9 losers.  Yes, that’s right – N.I.N.E.  Typical, I thought.  And then I checked the results for Northern Monkey…

Over 33 points profit.

That’s an ROC of 41.25% – in one day!  A day I could so very easily have missed.  It was a case of wishing I’d travelled back from holibobs on the Saturday to thanking my lucky stars I hadn’t.

There is a small twist in the tale.  Golf Insider also had a 14/1 winner over the weekend.  Trouble is of course, with the bets being issued during the week, I wasn’t on it.  The week really had been a case of you win some, you lose some.

Portfolio performance for August to date:

‘Main’ portfolio: ROI 27.28%, ROC 7.54%.

‘Broxchange’ portfolio (Football Lay Profits, Football Service 1, Golf Insider): ROI 1.1%, ROC 0.17%

Individual Service Performance

Bet Alchemist: Staked 18pts, +14.325pts.

Racing Service 1: Staked 30pts, +51.4pts.

Football Lay Profits: Staked 69.25pts, +8.85pts.

Football Service 1: n/a

Golf Insider: Staked 16pts, -16pts.

MVS: Staked 37pts, -4.75pts.

Northern Monkey: Staked 29.25pts, +28.777pts.

Football Service 2: Staked 12.75pts, +2.21pts.

Racing Service 2: n/a

Racing Service 3: Staked 39pts, -20.95pts.

Yup, between them Bet Alchemist and Racing Service 1 tore it up at the Goodwood Festival last week. I can’t say that Glorious Goodwood is a meeting that strikes me down with pre-Festival excited anticipation in the way that Cheltenham say, does.  I’ve no memories of spectacular wins and sure, the course is obviously set in a beautiful part of the world, but somehow it just leaves me a little cold.

Not now.  It’s amazing what a couple of big winners can do to your mindset.  By the time the winner of the last race on Saturday was being tended to in the winner’s enclosure, I was wishing the meeting could go on in to this week!  I really can’t remember backing many 40/1 winners on the nags, but RS1 tipped one up last week, and how sweet it was when it came home in front.

I feel the need to espouse the virtues of RS1, a relatively recent addition to the portfolio.  Look, I know that banging in big-priced winners is always going to make you feel good about a tipster, and it’s likely that had I started to follow at a time that coincided with a losing run, I’d be feeling a whole lot different.  But that admission aside, there is so much to like about the service.

Interesting write-ups, odds that stand up, bets on races that aren’t going to send the bookies into paroxysms of panic and closing your accounts quicker than you can say “account restriction”.  A weekly update, blog posts and an ‘Eyecatcher’ angle…I do wonder how this service went underneath my radar for so long.  Crikey, it’s even made me warm to the Glorious Goodwood meeting.

No post next week, folks.  I’m away on my holibobs and I refuse to take my laptop.  Nope.  I’m going to take a few books, more bottles of wine, and sit back and not even think about betting.

See you in a fortnight.

Portfolio performance for August to date:

‘Main’ portfolio: ROI 21.63%, ROC 3.15%.

‘Broxchange’ portfolio (Football Lay Profits, Football Service 2, Golf Insider): ROI -16.89%, ROC -0.94%

Individual Service Performance

Bet Alchemist: Staked 15pts, +14.825pts.

Racing Service 1: Staked 26pts, +55.4pts.

Football Lay Profits: Staked 23pts, -0.77pts.

Football Service 1: n/a

Golf Insider: Staked 7.5pts, -7.5pts.

MVS: Staked 19pts, -2.5pts.

Northern Monkey: Staked 19.5pts, -4.023pts.

Football Service 2: Staked 2.25pts, +1.8pts.

Racing Service 2: n/a

Racing Service 3: Staked 26pts, -20.7pts.

After a decent but unspectacular June it was great to see the ‘Main’ portfolio follow up with an excellent July.

There were eight services in action, of which five turned a profit.  Four of those five generated a high return.  Of the three that ended in a loss for the month, only one – Football Service 2 – underperformed significantly.

The star of the July show was undoubtedly MVS (Lite).  I seem to remember that midsummer a couple of years ago was a real golden period for this service and certainly July 2019 has been a month that has produced a rich harvest.  A significant part of the profit was made across just two days of multiple selections that all came in which meant that anyone following the ‘Multiples’ strategy must have been richly rewarded.

I wrote last month of a “torrid” time for Northern Monkey, and so it is really good to report that July has been a much better month for my long-termer.  I could repeat that last sentence for Racing Service 3, and it would be just as true.

Bet Alchemist came good too and is finding some real consistency at present.

‘Main’ portfolio: ROI 18.59%, ROC 10.04%.

‘Broxchange’ portfolio (Football Lay Profits, Football Service 1, Golf Insider): ROI -18.18%, ROC -2.13%

Individual Service Performance

Bet Alchemist: Staked 39pts, +17.625pts, ROI 45.19%, ROC 17.62%.

Racing Service 1: Staked 53pts, +7.15pts, ROI 13.49%, ROC 3.62%

Football Lay Profits: Staked 26.6pts, -3.7pts, ROI -13.9%, ROC -1.85%

Football Service 1: n/a

Golf Insider: Staked 59.5pts, -13.1pts, ROI -22.01%, ROC -3.27%.

MVS: Staked 71pts, +32.75pts, ROI 46.12%, ROC 36.38%.

Northern Monkey: Staked 61.25pts, +19.203pts, ROI 31.35%, ROC 24%.

Football Service 2: Staked 37.5pts, -5.165pts, ROI -13.77%, ROC -12.91%.

Racing Service 2: n/a

Racing Service 3: Staked 92.25pts, +22.937, ROI 24.86%, ROC 16.38%.