The Ramblings of an Investor in the Sport of Kings - Pay for Tipping Services. 23rd August 2011

I have no idea why most tipping services that you have to pay for select anything from three to five or even more horses per race. If one of those horses wins, the tipping service claims great success.

Why not just back one horse per race? That horse being the one that you think will win the event? Or if you can't split your top two, take both. That’s all I do, and I do ok out of the game.

If your form analysis is any good, then surely you can successfully identify the winner in most races with only the one bet per race? If you can’t nail the winner in a horse race most of the time, with only the one bet per race, then perhaps your form analysis is no good. 

Taking three to five horses in a race is not form analysis. It's called having a guess. Anyone  can pick out three to five horses in a race and obtain a high percentage of winners. You can do that yourself; you don't have to pay for that information.

Note: I am not a financial advisor. What you do is up to you and your financial adviser.

This is what I do only:

1.      Select the races that you wish to concentrate on. I only assess open handicaps and above. 

2.      Do your form analysis. In most races you can put a line though half the field as the horses are not up to class of the race, recent form indicates they are not racing well enough to consider; etc. 

3.      Concentrate on the horses that you have left in the field. Back the horse that your form analysis tells you will win. If your form analysis cannot split your top two, take both. 

4.      Manage your betting by treating it as a serious business, the business of making money, and that’s serious. Think investing, not gambling. 

5.      Maintain & manage a betting bank. Keep this betting bank separate from all other finances. 

6.      Start with a small betting bank and grow it slowly, that’s investing.

7.      Bet only 2% of that betting bank per selection – this means that you have to lose 50 races before you lose your betting bank. 

8.   Only bet when your form analysis tells you that your selection will win. You don’t have to bet in every race. To end up in front, you don’t have to be correct all the time.

9.      When your betting bank doubles, take half of the profit and pay yourself. The other half of the profit, add to your betting bank and continue to bet 2% of that, and so on. This approach grows your betting bank whilst at the same time paying you. As your betting grows and your profits increase, look at investing some of those profits into other investment opportunities. 

10.   Keep accurate records of outgoing monies and incoming monies. It’s called a profit/loss register.

Beware – in this game, the conman is everywhere. Therefore:

1.   Stay away from people and advertising which states they have some beaut system or computer program that wins most of the time. Such a selection method has never been invented. 

2.    Besides, if their tips were any good, they wouldn’t be selling them. I suspect they are selling their tips to offset their losses.   

3.   If their tips were any good, then surely they would have made enough money from their tips, and as such, they should now be offering up those tips up for free. There is nothing wrong with helping out others.

4.  If you feel as if you have to subscribe to one of these pay for tipping services, do this. Ask the service to give you a six month free trial. If you end up in front after six months, you will subscribe. That’s putting the ball firmly in their court to prove that they’re as good as they say they are. If they won’t give you a six month free trail, that’s a clear indication that they have no confidence in their own ability. As such, neither should you.

5. Never pass your credit card details over to any tipping services organisation unless you are 100% sure that they are legitimate and you have had your six months free trail, and you’re happy to proceed.

6. Beware of advertising that states they’re the best tipping service in the land. I can assure you the best tipsters don’t operate like that, nor do they sell their services. 

7. I offer my tips for free. I don’t need your money. You can do with my free tips whatever you want. I don’t care. You be the judge on whether I know what I’m doing. My free tips are available from my website at www.racestrat.com.au. I also offer a free email service listing my tips for those of you who can’t access my website at http://bit.ly/qtWaAs.  

No fine print; no catches; just free. It’s called helping others. 

Merely some rambling thoughts, there free as well. Do with them what you wish.

Good Investing

Hayden