Average bet size

daily or weekly

the difference between my serious bets and fun bets is a lot narrower, I can't get any enjoyment out of it if I'm not winning a nice few quid. If I backed a winner at 10/1 that would only cover 1 serious bet's stake I would be disappointed. I bet £6 or £8 quid on fun bets, £15 or £20 (and above) if I fancy something

^ do you have a racing bank. Do you split this between your 'serious ' and fun bets. Do you keep detailed records of all your bets. Which method of  your betting is showing the best return , fun or serious ?

I don't have a 'bank' as such, and don't bet according to the size of 'bank'. I record all bets, what I deem 'fun' bets to me they are 'marginal' bets. Bets where I think I can make a profit but not a big one (less than 10%), the sort if bet where because you could make a small case for backing it I would rather back it than leave it (and then see it win and kick myself). I've never done an analysis of profit by staking, but I'm pretty sure it's the serious ones that make the most profit (I hope so!!).

Where I make by far the biggest profit % is on the place part of e/w bets

bloob,what type of races do you bet e/w?

thx

mostly handicaps, especially where 16+ runners and rarely on horses at less than 10/1. I rarely use the place market on here, but occasionally in markets where only 3 places

I do not have "fun" bets of any description.

Can someone explain to me what a fun bet is or what fun bet you have because i don't understand never had a fun bet

A fun bet is a bet for compulsive gamblers who need to bet on every race regardless if they have a strong opinion or not.

Bloob

Glad to see you record all bets. It's good practice to periodically go through the records and see if there are common denominators that point to losing bets, and the potential for these type of bets to be weeded out in the future.
In addition to stake,result,profit or loss columns, I record :-
Date,race time/meeting. Type ( flat,Aw,hh or H'caps)  - I only bet in handicaps - class of race,distance,no. Of runners.

Its a good idea to record the going also facts

Its been proved recently certain horses prefer different ground , like for example soft


You could add a column for it , also maybe a column for doodling on days racing is cancelled

Used to record Going. Found over time that it in itself wasn't a reason to include/ exclude a bet. Previous records showed that there were more instances than
not, of horses winning on ground they hadn't won on before.

I take from your last sarcastic comment that you don't take betting seriously. Fine, if for you, it's just a hobby.

* if

any serious gambler would know before a bet if the horse can handle ground conditions only a mad man would bet with out that info

whats everyones elses normal stakes

I only lay horses... makes liabilities large...

This thread got me thinking about my average bet size as to be honest it varies markedly. I checked my history for the last 30 days and was surprised by what I found. Total value of bets = £10,600. Net loss of £350. I'm very surprised at the quantity of bets more than anything. First impressions suggest that I waste a ridiculous amount on fun bets. In fact probably the profit from my more serious bets. Time for a re-evaluation. Maybe time to start recording each bet.

£5 Every bet to me is a fun bet.

Telethon mill.

Recording every bet made is essential !

I have safe bets............to pay for my speculative bets

Losing money is not fun so why have a fun bet what are your fun bets and how much do any of you stake on one. imo the only time i have fun losing money is when i play poker with friends once a month and it's only fun losing because i've had a good time catching up, banter...

Recording every bet made is essential !

i don't record anything, the only thing that matters is p&l to me, analysing bets is pointless for me (obv not for everyone but we are all different)

I record which track (and flat/jumps) I've had the bet at and split everything between win and place. I wish I had recorded more about each bet like going, number of runners, class of race. My records go back to 2007 so it would be a huge task to go back and add this. I do best backing at odds between 12/1 and 20/1, my gut feeling is that I do best in handicaps over a mile and further

Mine would be either £7 or about £350 depending on how you look at it.
I don't record all my bets as I only bet on Betfair and they keep a record for me for 3 months in detail and forever in the withdrawals box. I know exactly how much I have won ( not a great deal )on here in the last 7 and a half years.

If your a serious gambler,you must keep a record
of every bet. All my bigger bets are in low grade hcaps
Often I will bet more than one in that race.
I have fun bets at the bigger meetings(Royal Ascot
Cheltenham Aintree}

Interesting to me that the last 3 Sats my main bet has lost.......Ive plotted & schemed to get my money back & ended up in front......as yesterday "Barnet Fair"............Im shure years ago I would chase & prob have a bad day

Nothing less than £100.... usually a bit more though.

I never do fun bets. I occasionally do silly ones when I lose my discipline.

MMM                   Plumbers money

no mate, packed the plumbing in a few years ago...taking home far less these days...but bets remain the same, although not many for 6 months of the year....a lot more for the other 6 months

If your a serious gambler,you must keep a record

key word is gambler, too many think of this place as another avenue to bet rather than looking at a market and imagining that lots of people have left all of their money just lying about for you to pick up

I`ve never understood how people can get hooked on games of chance, like Casino games, Lotto, etc. At least Sports betting is based on logic. People who keep records of all their bets like to think they are superior to other gamblers. As an earlier poster stated, all that matters is Profit and Loss and computer records tell you all that.

mac, if you system bet or keep records for analysing where you can specialise or where you make/lose profit then as a betting/gambling person there is plenty of logic to it, it's just not needed by everyone

Mac

Wouldn't it make sense to record all bets with other stats. Eg. Distance,going,race type ,class of race etc. ?
I have done this for the last six years. An on going review of this information highlights lots of bets with the same pattern that have lost, and vice versa lots that have consistently won. This brings discipline into the choice of bets to make with the aim obviously of making greater long term profits. A profit and loss column tells you wether you're in front or not. But where is it coming from ? Could you be far more in profit by not betting on certain races,meetings,time of the year etc etc ? Without knowing where the profits and losses are coming from is a bit like working in the dark.

If i couldnt have 'Fun' bets...small action bets.. then i wouldnt 'gamble' 'punt' etcetcetc

If i cared about losing money i wouldnt 'gamble' 'punt' 'wager'... money is only money...

Existing along side an amazing sport or having a small punt on a night out watching the world cup etc makes it more engaging.

NOW thats what i believe and you CAN live like this however... i still have to work 37.5 hours..here lays the question 'does my approach need to change to make a 'living' out of sports wagering?? Am i good enough? am i dedicated enough? do i have a suitable approach?

Will the FUN be sucked out of life and a hobby turn into a far more stressful job with more hours and more trauma ??

Whats money without the ability to ENJOY life?

The people i know or have heard of making a genuine living from gambling are GREY and DOUR individuals who couldnt enjoy anything simple or natutal in this life.

I say the more you put into this game the more of your character you sacrifice in order to make it pay.

Fun bets = £10-20 doubles or trebles horses onto a football match cos im watching. (got £15 double 11/2 winner on friday onto Argentina tonight 5/2 and i have absolutely zero f-cking opinion on the match but if argies somehow win then more ammo for the horsey pile for next week. If they dont well whatever im engaged in it cos without the bet i would be flicking channels and not really caring.

Proper bets is progressive staking that ranges from £20 one point to over staking and destroying banks with £300-400 singles when going through purple patch.  Total garbage and amateurish but i feel ive yet to pull the trigger fully on committing to a life and making this game pay.  Purely because of the stress levels. I dunno how to beat it and im not paying with my health.

got £15 double 11/2 winner on friday onto Argentina tonight 5/2


w/d managed to fit  it in

The way to start - and no one will succeed without this  - is a separate racing bank big enough to cater for the long losing runs. You should have already realised what the longest losing runs that your type of betting has endured over at least three years worth of results. Stakes should be a % of this bank. If you numbered a few sequences of losers that stretched to 15 or 20, then I would immediately double this ( as a minimum) from a bank point of view. So that the opening bank allows a single win stake of 1/50 th ( 2%) of the bank.
Any bank less than this , when it starts to reduce with a sequence of losers ( inevitable), the proportion of losers ties in closely with the levels of confidence you retain. A nice fat ' cushion' prevents the doubts/disillusionment from creeping in.
Never bet more than 2%  of the Bank.

The way to start - and no one will succeed without this  - is a separate racing bank big enough to cater for the long losing runs. You should have already realised what the longest losing runs that your type of betting has endured over at least three years worth of results. Stakes should be a % of this bank. If you numbered a few sequences of losers that stretched to 15 or 20, then I would immediately double this ( as a minimum) from a bank point of view. So that the opening bank allows a single win stake of 1/50 th ( 2%) of the bank.
Any bank less than this , when it starts to reduce with a sequence of losers ( inevitable), the proportion of losers ties in closely with the levels of confidence you retain. A nice fat ' cushion' prevents the doubts/disillusionment from creeping in.
Never bet more than 2%  of the Bank.

Highlighting that my aimless fun small action poke is running whereas yesterday my stringent more focused approach i scraped level.

I record every bet and 'try' to really ask myself why I am having a get before putting money down. yesterday was a real nightmare. really facnies faraaj and discussiontofollow but both had manky draws. I knew that If I just walked away from my computer for the day and they both won then it would kill my confidence. so I had them in a treble with lulu the Zulu as ascot (who came second) layed her in running and made a decent profit. so in a sense had a good day. however I did spend fifteen minutes earlier thinking about a $50 double or $25 ew double so in a sense yesterday was an absolute disaster as I could have made my whole year yesterday. its still killing me today

The game is a mind game. Had 10 bets yesterday,8 2nds and 2 winners. A losing day and a very very frustrating day,so near,but yet so far. Today had 6 bets,had 5 winners,a good winning day,recovering all yesterdays losses and a profit on the 2 days.

As said above,have a betting bank and bet to % percentage of that bank. I normally bet 1% or 2%,with a rare 3% bet,and never ever chase.

Good luck all

trd what size bank u try to maintain?

trd what size bank u try to maintain?

£5

lay full bank can go wrong now and then

Celtic warrior

Forget doubles and trebles.The
only way to win on going consistent long term profits is by single win bets  only.

correct.

why dont you people that win consistently sell you information to the tipsters

learner........this is a winners thread..........me and you have no  right to be on it

anyone can win cardiff

elise.......but most of the people on this thread have the game by the boll***s

though i wouldnt like to bet my life on it

I must admit I do £5 'fun' bets occasionally , even though I know I shouldn't etc etc. Usually just if it's a big race on tv and my machine hasn't spat out something to bet on. Or if I'm at a course I'll usually dutch my top 2 for each race unless there's a race where I've got a serious selection.

I don't record the 'fun' ones but my real ones are strictly recorded in a spreadsheet to the history and the headlines summary figures.

plenty of people make profits of some sort, few make a consistent long term income, those that do are normally not gamblers as such, they may have started as gamblers but evolved and will have numerous edges or angles that allow them to turn mouse clicks into cash

if you can find someone that just bets on horses and shows long term consistent profit with no trading, arbing, in running etc tagged on, just straight one horse selective betting then they are a rarity and are probably studying night and day to be able to achieve it (those that record bets might be part of this group)

a tiny percentage win and they all seem to be on this forum..............many of them on this thread..............i would say unlikely

£3.50p. Cheers

some will be, you just have to work out which ones and see if you can pick up ideas as to how they achieve it

obv duncan is a high rollerer

All of my bets are fun bets. How does everyone win on Betfair , surely to have a winner you must have a loser.

2 bets a day £100 a bet, I won't go below that because it would break my heart if I got a 16/1 shot in with £10 on it..

Doing fun bets of £10-£20 on every race when I'm on course I view as part of the days entertainment rather than a money making exercise. I don't generally go on course more than a few times per year.

Average Lay bet of £500 per wager

for me the most important thing is getting the best possible odds, I've got over 10 bookies accounts and betfair. I really don't use betfair that much though, the 5% tax rarely makes it value. If you look on odds comparison sites at the big races when all bookies have priced up then the best book over-round is tiny, you don't need much of an edge to make a profit. With handicaps over 16 runners the over-round on the place part of e/w is usually less than 100% as well