Solid.

So, here we are. Day 2 of the blog. I've had to wait until now to post as there were a couple of bets placed on tonight's football. Mind you, it will be a similar posting time tomorrow as nothing gets in the way of watching my beloved Arsenal! Please remain polite if a comment is made in the box below!

I noticed something in my horse racing bets today that gives me a huge amount of inner confidence that my approach is right; that my racing portfolio is nicely balanced and the services I use are run by people that I can have faith in. When in the midst of a losing spell, I often do this exercise just to reaffirm my belief. As it happens, today amongst nine bets on the horses, I had five winners and a nice return, but it wasn't this high strike rate that I am referring to. No, what I noticed was that of those nine bets, seven had a starting price lower than the price the tip was advised at, one was the same, and one was very marginally bigger (advised at 11/8, SP of 6/4). I know prices frequently contract in the immediate aftermath of the tip being released, as service followers all place their bets, but these price contractions (with the exception of one) all occured in the "live" racecourse market. According to the market, my tipsters are identifying horses at prices larger than their real chance of success. In the long run, this should mean that the tipsters are finding an edge and value is being attained. It's one thing being able to find winners - it's entirely another being able to profit from them long term.

Today's action

Today has been the nice, quietly solid day that I really enjoy. A healthy but unspectacular profit. The sort of day that a properly thought out portfolio should provide on a fairly regular basis. Today has been a Dirk Kuyt of a day - nothing spectacular but a reliable job done.

One winner in three selections for Northern Monkey Punter today, Finn's Rainbow obliging at 11/10, which was a shade higher than the price achieved on the same horse later tipped by ProBandit (Evens). Star of the Day was PJA Racing NH, whose sole tip - Phar Again (11/2) - came in nicely. The success that On The Nose is having this month is becoming monotonous (there is a kiss of death, if ever I've heard one); one selection, one nice 11/4 winner (Do It For Dalkey). Chasemaster also had two bets today, one of which, Featherbed Lane, won at 7/4.

The Sportsman had a winning bet tonight on the goals line in the Bristol Rovers/Walsall game, and Strike Zone had a short priced winner from one selection too. The only blot was one other losing bet I had at a higher stake, which meant that I actually lost a little over a tenner on tonight's footie action. However, only a small dent in the context of the day's performance.

So, as you can see, a quietly effective time was had of it today...

Tuesday 11th January: Staked £241, +£96.68.
Week to date: Staked £525, +£32.71.
Month to date: Staked £6,063, +£571.74, roi 9.42%.

Service views - Pro Bandit

There are a small number of services that I see as being a "core" service. A "go-to" service if there is such a thing, and ProBandit is very definitely one of them. Specialising on the flat, the thing I like about ProBandit is the steadiness of returns. Through their staking system and frequent "dutch" bets, I get the strong impression that bank preservation is important, that there is a strong belief that trying to achieve steady returns (as opposed to spectacular) and to minimise instability, is an admirable ambition to have. Of course, they, like any service, have their hot and cold runs, but the norm is a steady accumulation of profit. That is the reason why I place so much store by them. That approach reflects my own when it comes to gambling.

And on that note, I shall sign off, hoping that tomorrow brings another, boringly solid day!

TPI