DISCIPLINE

Alright Piggies let’s get serious for a moment. It is time to have a chat about discipline and why it will make or break your chances of beating the bookies and becoming a winning punter. Let’s have a look at my punting commandments.

  1. THOU SHALT NOT CHASE LOSSES

  2. THOU SHALT NOT BET MORE THAN ONE CAN AFFORD TO LOSE

  3. THOU SHALT NOT BET WITH EMOTION

  4. THOU SHALT NOT TAKE UNDERS

  5. THOU SHALT NOT MAKE DRASTIC CHANGES

  6. THOU SHALT NOT BET EVERY DAY

  7. THOU SHALT BLAME THE JOCKEY

  8. THOU SHALT TRACK ALL BETS

  9. THOU SHALT REVIEW EVERY BET

  10. THOU SHALL HAVE PATIENCE

THOU SHALT NOT CHASE LOSSES

This one is pretty self explanatory, Bad days are inevitable, they cannot be avoided and they can actually serve you well in keeping you grounded. It is not hard to get carried away when you’re on a hot streak and start thinking you are Sean Bartholomew. Know when to flick the TV off and go spend time with the family or doing something else you love. There is always tomorrow or next week. Clear your head, review your bets and approach your next betting day with a clear head.

THOU SHALT NOT BET MORE THAN ONE CAN AFFORD TO LOSE

Another that is self explanatory, We all joke that we will have to live off 2 minute noodles and baked beans after a bad day on the punt. The fact is if you are living pay day to pay day, delaying bills to have a bet or even borrowing money then it is time to take a break and seek some help. There are plenty of places to get help, you can do a self assessment at Gambling Help Online to find out your problem gambling severity index. CLICK HERE TO START

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THOU SHALT NOT BET WITH EMOTION

This is one of the hardest skills to learn as a punter, I no longer bet on my football teams. Why? because I can’t take emotion out of it and look at the match from a neutral position. Likewise it is very easy to get attached to horses especially those who win on debut at good odds. I learned this hard lesson back in 2001 when I was an absolute mug betting on horse names, colours, jockeys and not even knowing what a speed map was. My logic for my bet was very simple, It was Race 1 at Ipswich and it was just an ordinary maiden. Looking through the field all the horses looked like a bunch of cats that couldn’t win a one horse race except the top weight who was a first starter and trained at the track. Me being young and naive thought this was good enough to place a bet. I looked at the screen and he was paying $51 for the win. Bear in mind this was before online bookmakers and before fixed odds were the norm. I put $10 each way and by the time they jumped he blew out to $91. He won by just under a length in what was a soft win and immediately with over $1000 in my pocket I thought he was the best horse in the world. His name was Moynihan and that was the only win of his 17 race career. I backed him a few times throughout his career not being afraid to throw more than usual on him because of the emotional attachment.

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THOU SHALT NOT TAKE UNDERS

Personally I hate taking unders more almost as much as a loss, there is nothing worse than locking in a price of $5 only to see it blow like a $2 whore and salute at $8. My advice is to frame your own market and look at betting on your horses as soon as the market opens. This is not a viable option for everyone because if you are a winning punter you will not be able to get a decent bet placed until 9am race day when minimum bet laws come into effect. But for the average pig this isn’t an issue. Have accounts with as many bookmakers as possible. every 10c counts in the long run!! Make sure you shop around for the best odds when placing a bet. I recommend https://dynamicodds.com/ & https://www.odds.com.au/

Remember pigs the bookies can promo ban you, restrict your sports bets but they must let you on to win set amounts after 9am, if they do not accept your bet you can complain to the relevant racing authority in that state. Likewise they cannot close your account as a trading decision. If they do make a complaint to the relevant racing body and have it reinstated. Below are the amounts they MUST LET YOU ON TO WIN the amounts below.

VIC NSW QLD SA WA - METRO $2000 WIN $800 PLACE

VIC NSW QLD SA WA - PROVINCIAL $1000 WIN $400 PLACE

TAS - ALL RACING $1000

COMPLAINTS

VICTORIA - https://www.racingvictoria.com.au/wagering/minimum-bet-complaint-form

NEW SOUTH WALES - https://www.racingnsw.com.au/minimum-bet-limits-complaints-report/

QUEENSLAND - http://www.racingqueensland.com.au/corporate/wagering-licencing/minimum-bet-limits

SOUTH AUSTRALIA - https://www.ors.sa.gov.au/contact_us

WESTERN AUSTRALIA - info@rwwa.com.au

THOU SHALT NOT MAKE DRASTIC CHANGES

Stick to the system guys, don’t get angry after a day of terrible bets. Go back evaluate your bets, why did they lose? There could be a number of factors explaining why you didn’t back a winner for the day. It could be a track upgrade or downgrade, a day where you had to be drawn on the inside, leaders may have dominated all day, a freak horse beat your against the tempo, the jockey made a bad decision. The worst thing you can do is totally change up how you anlyse a race because of a bad day. If you are successful more often than not you might not need to change a thing, alternatively a slight adjustment might be made for that track in the future. There is no exact science. If there was we’d all be rich until winners all started at $1.01 because every man and his dog knew they’d win.

THOU SHALT NOT BET EVERY DAY

Just because every day is race day somewhere in the world does not mean every day is a betting day. Some days are just lean on horses to bet on. This could be for a number of reasons including bog tracks, hard tracks, very open and competitive races. Sometimes it is better to log off and do something else instead of wondering why you blew a chink of your bankroll with little to no confidence.

THOU SHALT NOT BLAME THE JOCKEY

I will start this by straight up saying unfortunately it does happen!, we have all been WILLOWED or watched PIKE get a mile back and run a painful 2nd. Jockeys do butcher rides but it is not as common as you like to think. It is easy to write off a loss by blaming the jockey for having your horse 3 wide no cover the trip. But for your long term development you should always be more critical of yourself than the jockey. OK so he was out on a limb 3 wide for the whole race and knocked up late BUT is that how the horse mapped? if your horse isn’t an on speed horse or doesn’t drop back to last and has drawn the car park then chances are it is going to be trapped wide. Jockeys are out there competing with each other and they do not do any other jockeys favours. If they can keep your horse 3 wide they will do it. Jumping on Twitter or Facebook and blasting the jockey for a poor ride and getting the masses of mug punters to agree with you will not help your success long term. The key is working out if if it was your analysis or a genuine hatchet job. You need to have a good hard look in the mirror and keep yourself honest. There’s no shame in putting your hand up and saying “I got that one wrong”

THOU SHALT TRACK ALL BETS

I cannot stress the importance of this enough! this is the number one tool in keeping yourself honest. You will always remember the huge wins and huge losses but the majority of bets in between have a huge impact in your overall success. There is a cracking spreadsheet that can be downloaded here BASIC STANDARD ADVANCED You can set your own parameters and analyse your betting right down to tracks, conditions, classes and so on. It is a must have tool!

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THOU SHALT REVIEW ALL BETS

While on the topic of keeping ourselves honest it is crucial to review all bets whether they are good, bad or indifferent. Obviously reviewing losses would seem the priority but reviewing wins is equally important. Taking positives away from a race day is just as important as taking negatives. You can keep notes in your bet tracker such as “badly held up forgive” or “not up to this class” any note while it is fresh can help when this horse pops up on your radar again.

THOU SHALT HAVE PATIENCE

I’ll end this education post with a quote from the great man himself JAMES BARTHOLOMEW CUMMINGS

“Patience is the cheapest thing in racing, but most people don’t use it”

If you are having a bad run don’t increase your bet size, chase on South African racing at The Vaal and don’t throw your process out the window. Patience and resolve will have you fist pumping and banging winners again before you know it.

SM