Successful betting is about spotting and evaluating patterns of behaviour (unless you have inside info or in certain circumstances, a significant time advantage). The most common patterns of behaviour being the basis of modern form books.

In horse racing for example, a horse’s natural inclination to prefer a certain type of going or direction are important elements in the decision making process. A horse’s natural preference to race left or right handed is down to a combination of its conformation, injuries and the ability of the person who broke the horse in. A preference for a certain type of going is down to injuries gained and or conformation.

There are easily spotted patterns of behaviour from trainers. Certain jockeys are used when a particular outcome is desired. Class of race, distance and course used are all patterns repeated time and time again.

To remain ahead of the game, the more obscure patterns need to be identified and taken advantage of. The one big advantage punters have over Bookmakers is that they have to bet on every race. Individuals can specialize. This is the key.

Winning punters know these patterns and can spot them regularly. They can then accurately predict the correct odds and take advantage of any market inefficiencies.

In horse racing, stick to certain sections of the industry. It could be 2yo’s, hurdlers, h’caps, top weights, sellers or a small selection of jockeys or trainers.

Look at how trainers beaten favs fare over the following few races. There are trainers like to get there horses to win a couple of races after it has been a beaten fav (for obvious reasons). Think laterally, dig deep. Another example is of a trainer who occasionally travelled horses from East Sussex to Perth. An obvious "long distance traveller" selection you would think, except from the fact he used to holiday nearby and liked to have a runner or two for fun. Now it becomes a potential laying opportunity.

In soccer, pick a few teams to follow. Choose lower ranked leagues (both in the UK and Europe). Bookmakers and fellow punters are less knowledgeable about these leagues so errors are much more likely to occur. Get to know how they perform when certain players are missing, read the local newspaper for your chosen team’s local town. Ladbrokes or Hills are less likely to know that “Team A” in the Slovenian 1st division only average 0.2 goals at home when their star forward is not playing. These are patterns to be taken advantage of.

To decide what area to specialize in, have a look at your punting past and find where you were most successful. This should point you in the right direction.

Good Luck

Admin