Saturday, October 21, 2017

Beating The Machine

Most punters who make a genuine effort to win at the game go through various phases: mug punting, managing to limit losses for a while then eventually getting to the point where winning can reasonably be expected at the start of most years. At the latter stage the difficulties begin- accounts which show profit over time are restricted or closed and you become forced back to the shops. Phone calls to the traders, limited stakes and knockbacks- it grinds you down over time and takes the fun out of it.
At that point you can either spend your energy moaning about your lot on Twitter or try and find another way.
I freely admit that over my punting life, I have struggled to win on Betfair- give me access to 3 or 4 firms' early prices and betting value horses is relatively easy, beating the "machine" is a different matter. Something changed for me in 2017 though and I thought sharing what I think are the reasons might be helpful to some in a similar position.
My shop woes came to a head this year and I made a conscious decision to migrate more to Betfair and have a proper crack at it. The approach is totally different to the early price one however. Spotting overpriced horses the evening before and trying to get on before the value goes doesn't work- by the time there is enough liquidity the price you thought was value the night before may not be there any more.
The first change I implemented was a change of mindset. You need to think of Betfair as a Tote- you are playing against the crowd and it should be just as possible to beat them there as it is to win in other ways.
Secondly the method changes. I now look at the races I'm interested in for the next day and come up with minimum prices for anything from one horse to half a dozen. Then it's a case of either leaving SP bets with this minimum proviso or watching the market live and reacting to the value that's thrown up. This means that I actually have no idea what I'll end up backing until near the off and this takes a little more mental flexibility. The upside is that often horses you didn't really anticipate as bets stick out a mile as value when you've done the requisite prep.
My personal method involves either a full or partial tissue betting to 100% then adding a 50% margin in odds to build in a profit- for example a 2/1 chance would need to be 3/1+ for a bet, and 8/1 would have to be 12/1+ etc. It's important to look at reserves in Ireland as they are often not assessed as accurately. The shape of the race both in how it's run and how they might bet can change a lot if a reserve or reserves get a run.
It's also important to anticipate how the markets and the tissue might change if conditions change before or during the meeting- softening ground, a draw bias on the Flat and so on. Punters without fixed fancies are at a major advantage if they can change tack as races are run.
From taking or leaving Dundalk, for instance, I now wouldn't want to miss a meeting as there are horses with chances trading at insane prices almost every week. Staking is fairly level, but I'm inclined to have another half to full stake on horses which are double my value price or more.
All I can say is that I'm now 80% Betfair and it's paying. I hope this will remain the case- maybe I'll do a progress report at year's end.

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