5 New Year's Punting Resolutions

The end of a year is inevitably the time that many punters take stock of their punting activities and think about what they hope to achieve in the coming year. If 2007 didn't deliver the results you hoped for then don't panic. In my experience most punters only need to make a few small changes to turn their results around and send them in the direction they want!

With that in mind I've put together my top 5 new year's punting resolutions that are sure to increase your profits in 2008.

1. Eliminate Impulse Bets

You know the one's... those bets you don't plan to make at the start of a day, but something happens to get you thinking about a particular horse and one way or another, you justify to yourself that it's worth betting.

It's highly probable that at the end of a year these bets will return a significant loss, so if you eliminate them your profit will naturally increase. For example, let's say you currently make two of these bets a week returning a 15% loss with an average 2% stake on each selection. By eliminating them from your game in 2008, you will save 31.2% of your betting bank. If you make more than two impulse bets a week then the opportunity to save is even greater.

The message is simple... if the idea to back a horse doesn't originate from your own analysis and normal selection process, then don't bet.

2. Follow A Consistent Betting / Money Management Plan

Quite often it's not the selections a punter makes that prevents him / her from winning, but the inconsistent and haphazard way in which they bet. Chopping and changing bet sizes and betting too much relative to your bank is a guaranteed path to failure and disappointment.

Make a commitment to yourself in 2008 that you will set an appropriate bet size for your bank and selection profile (see previous articles) and that you will stake them consistently, regardless of previous results or your emotions on the day. Stick to either level stakes or proportional betting and forget about the so call "professional staking plans" that promise to increase your profits. In the long-run they will send you bust. 

Ignore this advice at your own risk!

3. Make An Effort To Get A Better Price

Many punters don't realise the difference a few extra cents on each winner can add up to at the end of a year. For example, if you back 4 winners per week with an average stake of $100 on each, then an extra 20 cents on each winner adds up to $4,160 extra profit at the end of the year. That's 41.6 bets in additional profit!

If you make on average 600 bets a year, then that $4160 additional profit equates to 7% profit on turnover. For most punters that is the difference between winning and losing.

You should have a betting account with at least one bookmaker that offers top fluctuation, best of three totes and / or best of SP and tote as well as fixed prices for each race meeting. In addition you should also have a Betfair account which can provide superior prices to bookmaker options on many races.

Make 2008 the year that you finally make the effort to set up these accounts and use them! There's extra money to be made for nothing! 

4. Check The Jockey

Jockeys remain one of the most undervalued yet important elements in profitable betting. There are numerous articles on our site that talk about the importance of jockeys, but to summarise... backing horses with a poorly performed jockey will cost you money, while sticking to those with a good record will enhance your profit. Since the beginning of 2006 (when I started keeping records) those bets I have avoided purely because of the jockey have only won 25.8% of the time and returned a 22.8% loss (2/3 of these were favourites.) That evidence in itself should encourage you to pay more attention to jockeys.

Make it your mission in 2008 to avoid backing horses ridden by jockeys with a poor recent / overall winning strike rate. You will miss the odd winner, but I can assure you that you will avoid many more losers and have more profit to show for it at the end of the year.

5. Keep Records

Every punter knows they should keep records, but very few do, Why? Usually because it takes extra time to enter the details, but more so because they don't want to face the reality of their betting performance.

If you want to improve your betting results then you must measure them, there's no escaping it. Apart from keeping track of your profit or loss, betting records can also highlight where you are most / least successful and provide a good tool to keep winning and losing runs in perspective. i.e. by looking at your past records you will gain confidence that your current losing run can suddenly turn for the better.... and just as importantly that big winning runs don't last forever.  Maintaining this perspective is a key element in betting success.

If you are serious about betting and improving your results then challenge yourself in 2008 to record every single bet you make!

So there you have it, 5 new year's resolutions that have the power to make a massive difference to your punting results in 2008. The challenge for you is to take action and implement them now! Don't settle for a level of success that is well below what you should and could achieve in 2008. Be positive and take control of your own punting destiny... make 2008 your best year yet!

Good punting

Daniel O'Sullivan