Horse Race Betting - 10 Golden Rules

When using any horse racing system or horse racing tips, here are ten rules that will put more money in your pocket and keep it out of the hands of the bookies.

1) Never bet more than you can afford to lose.
That should be blindingly obvious - but sadly too many amateur punters just take a risk, hoping that this one will be the big win they need. The only way to stand a chance of winning over the long term is to have a consistent plan and to use a dedicated betting bank that contains no more money than you would be prepared to lose entirely in the worst of circumstances.

Once you start staking amounts you can't afford to lose your judgement will inevitably be affected. Also, there's no thrill in putting your financeal future, or even your family's financial future on the line.

Decide on the maximum wager you feel comfortable with. It doesn't mean you have to be happy to lose it. Just that you can afford to lose it if the worst should happen. Otherwise your betting will go nowhere.

2) Remember there are no certainties.
If you study probability you will learn that absolutely NOTHING is impossible. No matter how big a cert something looks, never bet your last penny on it. Scientists only talk in probabilities. It is regarded as highly unlikely that the moon will crash into the earth tomorrow - but it is not impossible. The odds of winning the UK national lottery are 14,000,000 to one - but almost every week someone wins it. However much you may feel you are on to "a good thing", only ever commit a small proportion of your available funds to it. When things go wrong - as sometimes they WILL then you will live to fight another day.

3) Be flexible in your approach
There is more than one way to win in betting. An approach that works for one punter may not work for another. Experiment to find the approaches that work for your betting and then spend enough time with them to let them work over time. At the same time, however, do not close you mind to other possibilities. There are many approaches you can study to back, lay, trade, arbitrage, bet in running, use software to enhance trading or staking. Among the free systems we'll send you from freehorseracingsystems.com you may well find two or more methods that, when combined together, give you the magic edge.

4) Keep a record of your bets
Keeping records is ESSENTIAL. You can start to build up a picture of the bets that work for you and those that don't. Without keeping records you are shooting in the dark. Of course it's tough to have to write down those painful losing bets when you'd prefer to forget them, but if you want to make a long-term success of betting you need a record of your failures as well as your successes. If you can use a spreadsheet such as Microsoft Excel or similar then that can help you to easily analyse profitable statistics. If not then at the very least a dedicated paper notebook should be there to do the job.

5) Don't bet on emotion
Betting on situations when you have an emotional envolvement is to be avoided at all costs. It should be obvious, but never bet on your favourite soccer team just because you are desperate to see them win. Your bets should be guided by the VALUE that you can get from a win. Not just what you think is the likelihood of a win. The most successful punters have no emotional involvement in the outcome of a sport. If you want to watch a race or a match for the enjoyment of the game then do that without betting on it. It also means you won't have the possibility of a double disappointment if your favourite team loses and you also lose a bet.

6) Bet only in situations where you think you have an edge.
If everyone else knows what you know then you can be sure the prices for your "sure bet" will be at their lowest. You may make a modest profit this time but betting this way over the longer period will never bring you a consistent profit. Look for horse races or other bets where you think the odds on offer are more than they should be for the true likelihood of winning - call these "Value Horses" - and you'll have profits to be proud of over the longer term.

7) Don't let strange results throw you.
As I said in part 1, there is no such thing as a certainty. So you need to make sure you are not thrown by turnarounds you were not expecting. If you are following a really good race horse that gives you great expectations and he meets an unexpected defeat, don't let that one event put you off backing him in the future. Week in week out, favourites that have been beaten last time out come home on their next outing. It infuriates punters, but they only have themselves to blame. Take time to analyse an unexpected defeat and you may well see that a good opportunity is still just around the corner whilst the less wise majority have given up on him.

8) Look for situations where others are betting emotionally.
I said in part one that you shouldn't bet with emotion. However, there are opportunities when you can see that others are doing exactly that.

In times when everyone is looking for instant gratification there are plenty of times where punters are too easily deceived by a single good performance. Often the press will start writing up the chances of a two year old racehorse for the following year's Derby or Guineas after only one or two good performances. So punters will then start backing ante-post on emotion only. On race day however, you may well find better value with other runners.

On soccer, London teams are often at shorter prices than the should be simply because so many of the country's fans live in the capital and will emotionally back their home sides. You can profit from the folly of others.

9) Plot a strategy
Get a strategy and stick to it. Don't bet on whims. That doesn't mean you should be inflexible but do bet in a structured way.

If you place small bets for fun on weekdays then at least try to take your weekend bets as a serious business with heavier wagers. Better still 'though, cut out the "fun" bets altogether. Ultimately there's far more fun in consistently winning than haphazardly losing.

10) Enjoy your betting
To put it another way - just know when to STOP. Keep a check on yourself and always try to be honest if you ever feel that betting is running away with you. A long losing run tells you you should change your system. If you've followed the other rules 'though you won't gave got into a situation where you are painfully losing money. Be prepared to stop and take stock. Betting should be a pleasure - but not an adrenaline rush. If you ever feel you need councelling help to get back in control, take it sooner rather than later.