Total Novice, need advice please.

[seamo44]

I have been enjoying betting for a month now. I have learned a few things, like how to bet. However, my selections have come from free advice, systems &/or tips. I would like to select my own, but find the information cryptic & overwhelming.
I am going to join win2win once I have the confidence to really believe that I understand what I am reading. Now the question is, is it wise to follow system selections provided, trying to work out a pattern? Or, should I try & work out my own selections & compare to other peoples selections?
Absolutely any help & advice, pointers are welcome. Reading lists are especially welcome, but please bare in mind that I am a newbie.

[tophatter]

The main thing is getting the mindset right which is the discipline and staking side of things. You need that if you follow anyones systems or devise your own. If you do any systems you dont pick and choose, the system does that.

If you are picking your own horses they are called method bets and those come from working form and the like out. Every system should have its own bank, and method bets should be treated the same and have there own bank too.

[Profit Seeker]

Hello there! I joined myself a few months back. If you haven't a clue on how to read form, or even if you have, you need a bank or 2 to follow any systems the site offers. The advice is that you don't fiddle with the systems or try to spot trends, as the systems are trends themselves that can't really be bettered, so I'm led to believe. So you follow them blindly, usually betting to a % of your bank, not usually higher than 5%.

There's plenty of tips on here on how to pick your own winners, but you can't beat just diving into the Racing Post (paper or internet) and reading the form. I had to work out all the abbreviated words myself, it doesn't take too long. My first ever days betting I somehow got it into my head that forecasts were the way to go, and was picking simply those names I liked! Amazingly I won a few hundred hitting 2 forecasts with horses at like 25/1 and 12/1 etc, of course beginners luck!

By the way, forecasts are 1st and 2nd in the race. It usually works out the odds of 1st X the odds of 2nd, so a 10/1 and a 12/1 will be somewhere around £120 to every £1 you stake.

[seamo44]

[QUOTE=tophatter]The main thing is getting the mindset right which is the discipline and staking side of things. You need that if you follow anyones systems or devise your own. If you do any systems you dont pick and choose, the system does that.

Thanks for that. I have been following Gordons daily ratings in the free bet area. His selections over the week are awesome. I had a bank of £10 & used 10p as a point. Following tips & Gordons system selections, it has swelled to £12.30. The tips have drained it as Gordon has added. I have been disciplined, even resisting the loss chasing temptation.

[seamo44]

There's plenty of tips on here on how to pick your own winners, but you can't beat just diving into the Racing Post (paper or internet) and reading the form. I had to work out all the abbreviated words myself, it doesn't take too long. My first ever days betting I somehow got it into my head that forecasts were the way to go, and was picking simply those names I liked! Amazingly I won a few hundred hitting 2 forecasts with horses at like 25/1 and 12/1 etc, of course beginners luck!

Thanks. I have been looking at RP over the net. I will buy it & maybe select a runner of my own. If I am crap at selections, I can always carry on leeching! :yikes:

[tophatter]

I would not worry too much about been a poor picker of winners because the truth is most people are!

You can be the best picker of winners on the planet and still be a poor gambler. If you stake properly and are selective enough then you can turn a profit without been prolific.

For example some people get a 50/1 winner and still lose over the year. If you stake properly and was lucky enough to get a winner like that then you should be looking at a yearly profit if you can pick up winners reasonably regularly. The mug punter will say something like i have just won 50 points and im going to put half of that on the next horse - that means im 25 points up even if it loses. No - you are 25 points down!

[seamo44]

as per usual, it's a case of commonsense & planning. I agree the mindset is the real test. I am luckily a disciplined kind of person, I have been tempted to chase losses but managed to resist.
What do you say about the tipsters that charge? It would appear info available to the members & this forum is all one would really need.

[presto]

i would be very wary of tipsters.
they are tipster's NOT proffessional gamblers. and make there living from tipping and not betting.
i am sure there are quite a few good tipsters out there, but i wouldn't part with my hard earned unless i was convinced of there service, or reccomended by someone who i trust.

the info on this forum is great (more 'better' info) is available to members, - members also have a hidden forum section (commonly refered to as 'upstairs'). but the downstairs section is great too.

the members here have been around for a long time - so that says something about the info on offer to members. - though you shouldn't feel obliged to join the members bit. - have a good look around the forum. read everything - theres a lot of good info available. and maybe chose one of the free systems to start - this will give you experience in operating a 'bank'.

[tophatter]

I honsestly believe it is all here. You can get free info and tips on here that some people would charge a good sum for and the I doubt you could get as many selections and systems anywhere at a cheaper price than WIN2WIN racing club supplies. Then you have also got good Tipsters on football and racing who contribute for enjoyment in the forum.

[Profit Seeker]

And if you follow my mythical lays you'll be quids in in no time :laugh

[podtog]

Just like to echo what the other members have said that cannot be overstated too much and that is having a bank to work with with the correct staking, if you dont have this in place to begin with you will fail even if you are good at picking the winners or have a system/s to pick them for you. Good luck.

[seamo44]

Ok, I think i have a bank. It's the stake plan part that seems to cause civil unrest! Is there a 'simple' way of staking? Also, if I just bet a fixed ammount regardless of odds, say £1, is that wrong?

[bigcumba]

Betting a fixed amount of your bank is fine aslong as it's not too big a % of your starting figure - it's also a good way of buildingin a safety bet - if you're doing well and your bank has doubled, you can then think about upping the stake - but don't double it - just up it by 50%, so the safety net gets bigger. So staring with a £100 bank and £1 bets till you get to £200 then staking £1.50 and so on....

[GlosRFC]

Besides, it's worth coming along for the free quizzes too :D

[samantha1303]

When's your next one then Glos?
I aint done one for ages, and I usually miss Ada's

[bigcumba]

When's your next one then Glos?

It's a daily quiz Sam - click the link in Glos's sig... :)

[GlosRFC]

I'll try to come up with a few more...been thinking about a few tricky sports questions :)

[seamo44]

Thanks all of you. I have been following advice & researching all over the place. The info here & over the net for free is a job to keep up with, but well worth reading. I got myself a RP publication & that has really helped as well . I have started to make a bit of a profit (see selections in fun bets). Thanks again.
Seamo44

[wb]

Hi seamo,

good to see you have made some profit. have you started to lay horses yet?

also, if you have not opened a betfair account, you should, as the odds are usually much better. I know that I was comfortable with the couple of bookies accounts that i had, but at the end of the day, in this game, if done right (and im still learning), profit margins are usually small but steady, so anything to maximise it is worth it. Betfair should definitley be an option.

As regards reading the form and learning about horses, it can be very daunting to us beginners. Sometimes you read and read, but dont understand some of the key words and terms. so here are a is a thread about different races etc. that I started the other day.

http://www.win2win.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=32922

and here is a link to Channel 4's A-Z of horse racing

http://www.channel4.com/sport/microsites/R/racing/guide2racing/glossary_ab.html

[seamo44]

Thanks for the links & advice. I am not sure about laying bets. I will have to tinker with it in time. Right now my stakes are so low, that it's not worth going to Betfair, as they have minimum of £2 stake. Until I feel sure I can make my betting money last a week, I will stay in the pence stakes. Right now, my stakes are around 25p/point. That has grown from 20p/point.