How much do you bet?

[tomario]

As i just bet for fun and to make a profit of course. I only bet what i can afford to lose. If i am having a good week i bet more, but when my initial wad (usually £20 pw ) is gone it's gone.
I think it's important, if you do have a big win with an online bookie that you cream off a large proportion of it to your bank account asap. As i have the tendancy to place bigger bets than normal and can fritter it away.
The 2 or 3 days it takes to get into your bank account is a good cooling off period. Plus if you win big with small stakes why get greedy? Just stick with what your used to.
After all you don't see a poor Bookie......... do you!

[martinallen72]

limit myself to about 10-15 pounds a week. maybe will have a tenner a day for Cheltenham and the such like,

[merlin]

The one piece of advice I would give anyone is that if you can consistently double a fiver, then you'll be rich one day. My point is this:

An acorn can grown into an oak.

But do not play with an oak tree unless you know how to grow one from an acorn. That way, if the oak tree ever falls down, you'll only have lost a fiver - and while you'll be mighty pissed, it's better than losing your hard earned (I've been there and it's not worth it!).

The only way to possibly win in this 'game' is to at first lose in my opinion - it's the only way get the knowledge, discipline etc. If you can stay in the game for long enough to become astute then you might just work out how to grow a might oak.

[Roger Green]

You are so right Merlin...if you have not learnt how to lose, and sufered the emotional as well as obvious financial pain, you will find it very difficult to obtain that vital ingredient for winning..in fact ,the magic ingredient!...Discipline!!!

[turfline]

Nice peice Merlin, i would also add to that about Planning, i have a tank planned out for my main bets(50) and my tank for my recovery tank(25), then i have the next three betting months planned out ( Meetings /Top races/ travel/expenditure on papers/raceform etc.).I have a racing Chart a log and dedicated amount of time to racing each day.
I also have RUK and ATR and several E.Mail addresses on almost 20 hours a day, plus many other items for punting and all this from an acorn.

[jonski]

It might have been covered, I have not read every post on this thread, there are a lot.
But what if you bet in play where you may be trading, the figures bet can be huge, as you are betting win, lay etc.
E.g Bet £10 at 3.0 win on football, my team scores odds go down I lay £10 at 1.5. Have I bet £20 or nothing per this survey.

Agree totally on the oak/acorn scenario, you have got to suffer some hard to take losses to become a better bettor.

[OlbgDeleted66932]

I put 1000+ due to my laying draws 'system'. The liabilities are around the £200-£400 mark and I did 13 of those on Sunday and 7 the previous Sunday.

I dread to think what the actual figure is!

I've gone from a tenner on mug accy's a week to a maniac in the space of a couple months.

[Betfairalfie]

I've gone from a tenner on mug accy's a week to a maniac in the space of a couple months.

Well done bos - My (unsolicited ) advice is BANK IT. Start again at small stakes. If your Powers are that good you will soon fill the bank up again. But if you are just a mere mortal like 99% of us your be grateful you banked.

Be Lucky

[OlbgDeleted66932]

I've cashed out £1500. £1000 yesterday and £500 a couple weeks back. I left £1500 in my account which was bumped up to £2000 thanks to some rather good tips by you know who!

Two weeks ago I hit two big losses laying draws... £700 in less than 24 hours, but I have shot up since then, making all this profit, nearly £2500 from a deposit of a tenner, seriously!

£10 on unquoted score Liverpool v Arsenal (UCL) @ 24/1
£25 on mamlook @ 25/1
£25 on mamlook @ 6.5/1 ew

that accounted for half of it then built it up from there.

The £700 loss hit me hard and I have learnt from that, I hope I have anyway. I am very protective of my roll now, but I know hitting two consecutive draws in that system or a bad week on the horses could hit it hard.

Should things continue on the up and up, I will certainly be making regular withdrawals. I can't see me needing a bank of more than £2000. I think £1500 is fine.

[NickS8]

Usually 10, not more ...

[Callingnumber6]

This is such a difficult subject to address it almost requires a different thread. There are two distinct disciplines involved in being a successful punter in my opinion.

The first is to choose your area of expertise. Refine your technique. Be brutal in your assessment of your ability. Establish your success rate.

The second is to know how much to bet..........and this is always the one that finds you out.........

I know individuals who can find winners for fun and cannot understand how they constantly lose. I also know individuals who are at best average at their ability to find winners and yet are incredibly profitable bettors.

I like to think I fall into the latter category but in reality I am still in the former group. I am firmly of the opinion that the difference is position sizing and 'bottle'. For example I would never have a monkey on a 7/1 shot on the basis my judgement is flawed and I must have missed something. So the token score nets a nice meal out but not the new telly. The latter category would not hesitate to pile in.

Finding winners is logical; bankroll management is psychological. The difference?? Psycho.......and Alfred Hitchcock made a film about that....