making punting pay blog Archives

A new betting blog arrived on the scene recently entitled ‘Making Punting Pay‘ and similar to our Bet Diary here at SBC, it features weekly posts from one punter discussing exactly how he is doing exactly that – making his punting pay by using tipsters.

His punting year runs from the 1st July to the 30th June and last year he posted a profit of £10,395.28 so he clearly must be doing something right!

After reading a few posts, I reached out to find out more and ask if I could interview the punter behind the site to find out more. He kindly agreed and below you can read my Q&A with him on his blog and his quest to make profits with tipsters.

It is worth pointing out that prior to reaching out for this interview, I had no idea who this punter was and although it turns out he is a Smart Betting Club member, that is the only connection between SBC and his blog. He writes it 100% independently.

An Interview With The ‘Making Punting Pay’ Blogger

1. Hi MPP, Can you tell about why you decided to start your new blog and what your goals are for it?

I’m a keen reader of Rowan’s Bet Diary and shortly after joining the Smart Betting Club a few years ago I became aware of his earlier The Portfolio Investor blog. I decided to sit down and read it from start to finish over the course of a few weeks and the things I learned were invaluable.

For me it’s probably been the best source of information I’ve found for anyone doing this sort of thing and being able to relate to situations and see how Rowan dealt with the practical side of things was extremely useful. So I suppose I’m hoping that by starting my own blog, others will find this half as useful as I found Rowan’s.

I’m also hoping it’ll help me maintain discipline to reduce the number of mistakes I make, but I’m also quite excited about how things will develop over the next few years so being able to share that with others will be nice.

2. Many readers will be wondering how much time you spend betting on a daily or weekly basis and exactly how you juggle this with your family life and work commitments?

It’s tough to put an exact figure on the time spent betting. Placing the bets doesn’t take up a lot of time at all, maybe approx. 3 hours over the course of a week give or take. I also keep accurate records of all the bets placed, deposits and withdrawals, checking winnings have been credited correctly etc. which probably amounts to another 3 hours and I also like to find out the result of each race by watching the replays which adds another couple of hours.

So when you add all of that up I probably spend around 8 hours per week betting, but that’s not taking into account everything else betting related i.e. reading articles, checking twitter, thinking about the portfolio etc. but those things are inevitable since it’s an interest of mine.

I try to keep disruptions to family life and work to a minimum but clashes are inevitable around the time emails come in if you want to achieve best prices, however once bets are placed I try to ensure betting doesn’t affect my normal day.

Having a good smartphone assists with this and allows you to bet on the move with email notifications and betting apps and also allows you to watch replays and check scores etc. to avoid the need to sit down in front of the laptop each night.

3. Have you ever worked out what your ‘hourly rate’ would be if you took your profit tally from last year (£10,395.28) and divided it by the amount of time you put in?

I’ve never thought about this but if I use my 8 hours per week figure then I make the equivalent of £25 per hour betting. Not bad for being tax free!

I make the equivalent of £25 per hour betting. Not bad for being tax free!

4. There are many ways to make a second income these days, so what to you is the appeal of following tipsters and betting to do this?

There may be many ways to make a second income but I can’t think of many that provide the ability to build your bank as quickly as this. The added bonus is that it’s an enjoyable hobby and I get to make money while enjoying the sports that I’d be watching regardless.

5. In your first post, you shared your profit figures in your journey so far, whereby it was noticeable how between January 2015 and January 2017 you made a loss. What is it that changed for you in 2017 as you went from posting an overall loss to making improved profits?

The turning point was actually the start of 2017 although the first 6 months of that year were spent steadying the ship. Before that I was naive and joined too many tipsters in a short space of time without having a sufficient betting bank. I had won a bit of money with one or two services and thought that the easiest way to increase my profits was to join more services which ultimately was my downfall.

I was naive and joined too many tipsters in a short space of time without having a sufficient betting bank

A few suffered drawdowns at the same which led to my bank going bust. This also meant I could no longer afford to follow the tipsters I had paid for meaning I also pissed the subscription fees up against a wall.

At the start of 2017 I decided to start over again with a modest bank and carefully selected one service to join and rebuild things. Fortunately things seem to have worked out but I’m still aware of the mistakes I made and I’m cautious not to fall into the same trap again.

6. Do you mind sharing a little bit about how you choose the tipsters you do? What do you look for before you join a service?

It’s a variety of things really. Firstly, I like to follow tipsters who specialise in sports I enjoy as I like to watch my bets unfold when possible. I can’t see myself following a cricket or American Sports service any time soon!

Secondly and most obviously, a tipster has got to have a proven long term record and offer good ROI (Return on Investment) and ROC (Return on Capital) potential to make it worth the effort.

Other things such as tipping window, odds availability and workload also come under consideration and I also like to analyse historical performance to try and identify potential ways in which I can tailor the way I follow a tipster in an attempt to generate higher ROI/ROC or even just to simplify the bet placement process providing it doesn’t impact profitability too much.

A tipster has got to have a proven long term record and offer good ROI and ROC potential to make it worth the effort

There are two services in my current portfolio that I follow differently to the official advice. One I bet win only rather than each way due to historical performance informing that a higher ROI and ROC can be achieved, and another who I follow to level stakes since historical performance indicates smaller drawdowns which means stakes can be increased leading to higher ROC potential.

7. What has been the biggest challenge for you in following tipsters to make a second income?

The biggest challenge I’ve faced is re-programming myself mentally after busting my betting bank. It took a bit of faith to continue and allocate new funds after witnessing how easy it was to lose money doing this if not set up correctly.

I went from following 8 guys down to 1 so my betting activity reduced dramatically and at times it felt like I was moving at a snail’s pace going nowhere fast. This is when I realised that it’s a long term game with success built on solid foundations rather than expecting instant success.

it’s a long term game with success built on solid foundations rather than expecting instant success.

8. How about dealing with bookmaker restrictions as I can see from some of the tipsters you follow (at least those I recognise) that you seem to be choosing those who quote fair odds in markets lesser affected by this issue. Is this a deliberate ploy on your behalf and what is your plan for countering restriction issues?

This is by far the biggest issue for anyone having a molecule of betting success. I’ve worked my way through a few pseudo accounts but have reached the point where I no longer see the point in continuing to do so as you’re closed down before you’ve had a chance to make any profit these days.

I’ve still got one original account that has remained opened, I expect due to being a long term losing account for years so that combined with the introduction of firms offering a minimum bet liability have been a god send.

I also try to split stakes and not bet more than £50 on any account and have also learned to be more patient and not worry if advised prices aren’t available with the firms I can bet with…you’d be surprised how many tips drift back out to the advised price on the exchange nearer the off.

This is definitely something I consider when choosing tipsters to follow and can see my betting activity becoming more exchange orientated going forward.

9. Finally, what are your hopes and goals for the blog and your betting moving forward?

I noted your own personal bets made a loss of £3107 last year – do you intend to stop these and what plans do you have for adding in more tipsters and/or increasing stakes in the future?

I haven’t really given much thought as to where I want the blog to go. I think what I’m doing is interesting and I’m sure others will enjoy reading about the ups and downs and will be able to relate to my experiences.

My friends and family enjoy a bet but none take it too seriously so being able to interact with people with similar interests via the blog will be good.

As for the betting…I’ve actually just published a blog post about my targets and long term goals etc. where I touch on this sort of thing. I do have an idea in mind for what I see as the ideal portfolio which will involve adding more tipsters and increasing stakes over time, but I’m in no rush to do this.

It’s important that I reduce the risk as much as possible and only increase stakes or add more tipsters when my betting bank allows

It’s important that I reduce the risk as much as possible and only increase stakes or add more tipsters when my betting bank allows. With regards to the personal bets…I don’t intend to stop them completely but I do intend to reduce the number of bets and size of stakes. I want to try and remove the temptation to throw on daft bets while watching the football and learn to enjoy the game without having a bet. However, I don’t think there is anything wrong with continuing to place the odd lucky 15 using the tipped horses in an attempt to win the jackpot or throwing on a Saturday football accumulator for interest while watching the scores provided stakes are kept under control.

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A £25 an hourly ‘wage’ from betting – an interview with the punter making it pay