For Eddie...

Eddie left a comment on the 'End of Month' review post and asked the question asking how much I have made, in terms of percentage returns, from each service since the midway point of last year. I have outlined the stats further down.

It is always a worthwhile exercise I feel, reviewing the figures and seeing what progress has been made in the past. When things are not going your way and you're in the middle of a losing run (like the one at the moment) I find that seeing positive figures next to monthly totals is hugely reassuring. It helps to gain a perspective. It is oh so easy to get caught up in the 'here and now' when gambling every day.

By the way, I've said it before but I'll say it again...please do leave a comment if there is something you read but don't agree with, or wish to comment generally on, or perhaps something you'd like a further opinion about. Those that read my early posts will know that I don't want this blog to become a running bean counter. There are blogs better than this one that you can read that provide graphs, tables, etc showing the daily, weekly and monthly stats. Also, the SBC do this in a way far better than I ever could, so if you're not a member and you like the stats side of things, go and have a look at their site.

No, what I'm trying to do here is give more of an insight into the constant thoughts that occur when you're using a portfolio, give an idea of how difficult gambling can be to do properly, to talk through mistakes made previously and new mistakes that are being made in the present. I don't think that I can teach as such - I'm certainly not the perfect gambler and although I feel experience over the last couple of years has taught me a lot, I know I still have a lot to learn. What I am is an experimental guinea pig, a lab experiment of a gambler, if you like. Of course, that makes you lot the boffins in the white coats (heh!), and the poking and prodding that seems to come naturally to boffins can take the form of comments and questions that raise areas for discussion. That way, hopefully the blog will stay fresh, and we all just might learn a thing or two along the way.

Anyway, I digress. The stats below cover the period from 1st July 2010 to 31st January 2011. Where I joined a service part way through, I have indicated the month in which I joined. I have left out the couple of services that I have subsequently dropped, but the overall financial results at the end are all-inclusive. I have not detailed the finances committed to each individual service, as staking changed when I became more confident that a service I was "trialling" had a long-term future as part of the portfolio. In the cases of The Sportsman Racing, Northern Monkey Punter and On The Nose, the only stats are those I posted in the end of month review the other night, as I have only followed them since the 1st January. In the case of the football services, the figures cover the period starting when the first selections were given at the beginning of the football season, except Sports Investor which contains a couple of bets from the World Cup.

PJA Racing NH: Staked 200pts, +10.156pts, roi 5.08%.
ProBandit: Staked 195.03pts, +28.626pts, roi 14.67%.
Winning Racing Tips: Staked 100.9pts, -4.322pts, roi -4.28%.
4PA (from 1/10/10): Staked 73pts, +36.684pts, roi 50.25%.
Chasemaster (from 1/11/10): Staked 33.375pts, +2.293pts, roi 6.87%.

Football Elite: Staked 49pts, -0.386pts, roi -0.78%.
Football Investor: Staked 236pts, +3.694pts, roi 1.56%.
Strike Zone: Staked 140pts, +10.884pts, roi 7.77%.
Skeeve (inc. 'Late BSS' service): Staked 376pts, +32.12pts, roi 8.54%.
The Sportsman: Staked 10.78pts, +0.092pts, roi 0.85%.
Sports Investor: Staked 50pts, -1.951pts, roi -3.9%.

The monthly financial returns...
July 2010: -£647
August 2010: +£1,199
September 2010: +£2,510
October 2010: +£1,391
November 2010: +£699
December 2010: +£1,135
January 2011: -£273

So, there we have it, and I hope that answers your question ok, Eddie? The overall roi at the end of January was 7.78%. My target is 10%. At the end of December it stood at 10.41%. Shows what a poor month can do.



Today's Action

Good day for the racing bets today, with only Winning Racing Tips (0/1) and Northern Monkey Punter (0/1) drawing a blank. PJA was the very model of consistency, selecting four horses, all of which were placed, and finding one winner (Mayolynn - Leicester - 4/1). Pro Bandit had a very good day, finding two winners (Primo De Viola - Lingfield - 2/1 and Rubenstar - Lingfield - 9/2), as did Chasemaster with three selections, two of which placed and one won (Lockstown - Newcastle - 9/2).

PJA NH: Staked 3pts, +2.209pts
Northern Monkey Punter: Staked 0.5pts, -0.5pts.
ProBandit: Staked 2pts, +2.75pts.
Winning Racing Tips: Staked 1.2pts, -1.2pts.
Chasemaster: Staked 1.25pts, +1.356pts.
Financial profit on the racing of £153.57.

At last. A sigh of relief. Following a good day on the horses, came a good evening with the footie. Football Investor missed out (0/1), but Shaolin Betting (2/2), Strike Zone (1/1), Sports Investor (1/1 - although only a half win on the Asian Handicap) and The Sportsman (1/1) produced the goods.

Shaolin Betting: Staked 2pts, +1.68pts.
Football Investor: Staked 1pt, -1pt.
Strike Zone: Staked 1pt, +0.7pts.
Sports Investor: Staked 1pt, +0.665pts.
The Sportsman: Staked 0.2pts, +0.135pts.
Financial profit on the football of £281.60.

Wednesday 2nd February: Staked £702, +£435.17.
Week to date: Staked £1,520, +£363.83.
Month to date: Staked £1,349.50, +£404.51, roi 29.97%.

That's better!