Friday 6 May 2011

Dinosaur!

Yesterday I talked about what appears to be a sham masquerading as a service. Tonight I will concentrate on a service that provides information collated and delivered by utilising the skills of someone with an impeccable background.

Many of you I'm sure, have heard of or have come across Dave Renham. He is a big mover and shaker behind the Punter Profits service, is a frequent author of articles produced by Smartersig, and is the analytical power behind the Racing Trends service. And it is Racing Trends that is the focus of tonight's blog post.

If you have read any of this week's posts, you will have seen me mention the possibility of introducing some laying into the portfolio. It was Mat Hare at his constantly insightful blog (The Secret Diary of the Professional Gambler) that unwittingly pointed me in this direction. Reading about how his portfolio has been constructed made me realise that in the interests of balance, I really did need to consider introducing a laying element to my own betting.

However, things are rarely that easy, and here is a confession. I am a gambling luddite, a betting dinosaur - I like my traditional back bet. It took me a while to get used to gambling online! Laying to me is like visiting France with basic GCSE level French and trying to converse with the natives in their own tongue. You get by, but only just, and not with a great deal of confidence that you know what you are doing.

This is where Racing Trends come in. I have the opportunity to follow their daily laying advice and will be so doing from tomorrow. Then, each week, I will give you an update on how it's all been going. My initial stakes will be minimal but with a fair wind shall grow over time. Of course if things do, as hoped, go well, then I can be your live guinea pig as it were, and you can look at the service yourselves to see if it is of interest. I can see the advantages of a reliable laying service to anybody's betting provided the service providing the lays can really walk the walk.

I will tell you now that the strategy I adopt will be the one that is easiest for me to follow. Results will be recorded at BetFair SP. I will be laying the place, for a fixed liability. This means that no matter what the odds of the horse to place, the maximum that I can lose is the pre-set liability. You can read more about the various strategies available and see graphs of results by clicking on the 'Racing Trends' link top right, under the "Excellent Reads" banner. Have a look. See how I get on. Draw your own conclusions.


Today's Action

Only racing to get excited about today.

4PA tried a repeat of yesterday's successful strategy, concentrating on the front of the market but in just the two races today. The first pick was successful (Hurricane Fly - Punchestown - 4/6) which was backed on it's own, but it was also doubled up with So Young which finished unplaced.

PJA NH carried on from where it left off yesterday, picking just the one horse which duly obliged (Premier Grands Cru - Aintree - 13/2).

I really felt for Wayne at Northern Monkey. He gave four today, three of which finished second by distances which included a head (at 9/2), and a short head (at 9/2). No damage done on the day, but a serious case of what might have been.

A disappointing day for ProBandit who wasn't able to find a winner from three system bets, and a similar story from On The Nose from two selections.

Saving the best until last, Winning Racing Tips had a superb winner (Creme Anglaise - Ascot - 9/1) tonight. This service has really produced the goods recently after a fairly lengthy flat spell. Have to bear this in mind when looking at what is happening with ProBandit at the moment.

4PA: Staked 2pts, -0.333pts.
PJA NH: Staked 0.75pts, +3.307pts.
Northern Monkey: Staked 4pts, -0.362pts.
ProBandit: Staked 1.25pts, -1.25pts.
On The Nose: Staked 1.5pts, -1.5pts.
Winning Racing Tips: Staked 0.7pts, +3.78pts.
Financial profit on the racing of £189.04.

Friday 6th May: Staked £317, +£189.04.
Week to date: Staked £1,658, +£752.16.
Month to date: Staked £2,018, +£800.29, roi 39.65%.

Right. All this talk of dinosaurs, I know your all thinking the same. All together now...Open the door, get on the floor, Everybody walk their dinosaur, BOOM BOOM ACKA LACKA BOOM BOOM...

5 comments:

  1. Good to see you back on the profit trail Rowan.

    Laying..... Be very very careful. It is absolutely vital that you get the correct price as the margins are so small.
    Following a service very rarely produces a profit as too many people try to get the same price.
    Much better to try to find your own lay selections if you can but its very time consuming and alot of time spent at the pc.

    Also very tempting to chase losses if you start a day badly so keep this in mind.
    Best of luck

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  2. Cheers, Alan.

    I'm not making anything of the profits as yet. It's been much better over the last two/three weeks but we all know (and half expect) it all to come crashing down around our ears at any time. Saturday today - has the potential to do this sooner rather than later, I guess!

    Regarding laying, I feel very similar to you, and that's why I've never really been interested in laying. But, I can also see that in the interests of balance, it might be a positive to introduce a bit of it. I simply haven't the time (or nouse) to find my own. Playing to very, very small stakes though and I'm not counting this in the official portfolio balance. The profits or losses will be minute and I'm playing with separate money anyway. It's more to see if there is any potential to introduce it properly into the portfolio a few months down the line. I just thought that there may be others out there who look at laying in the same way I do (with trepidation) and can follow to see what happens.

    If it doesn't work out, it really will be nothing gained but very little lost.

    Have a good day, mate. Not sure which services you're following now, but whatever - fingers crossed the weekend is kind to us.

    Rowan

    PS. Feeling nice and refreshed?

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  3. Sorry - just as an amendment to that last bit...I will be following the Chasemaster lays and that will be accounted for in the overall profit and loss figures.

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  4. Well,
    Im following 3 new services at the moment, superstition prevents myself from mentioning who they are haha and im watching closely my all time star performer R Vaughan, who has had a torrid time(Like many)this year but is starting to show signs of recovery, 4 would be about my limit, time constraint wise.

    May has given a small profit so far but as i said before any profit this year will be a bonus.

    You seem to be very level headed with your betting and the support of your wife will be fantastic during your losing spells.

    Yes, the laying is a tricky business. If i had the time each day to try and lay off every bet i put on i would but i dont so i dont even think about it.

    Amazing what a week or two not thinking about betting does for your stress levels. Must admit i enjoyed April so much, not betting, that its got me thinking that i may make this my last year. Who knows tho, if i run up a decent profit from now to dec my mind may change again.
    TC Mate
    Hope family are well

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  5. Ahh, Man of Mystery, eh? (lol!).

    Whatever those services are, I hope they perform for you mate.

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