Hopeless at maths.
 

Hi there all.
I have been investing on the punt for two weeks now ( Mid week and weekend ) and have exceeded my own expectations on how I would go.
I now have $ 105. from my origional bank of $ 85.
I ONLY BET THE PLACE - though I have picked Jim Cassidy to win on two occasions - decided not to bet and he had won at good money.
My theory is to double up on my winnings each bet.

The question is;
If I bet $ 4.00 @ 2.10 I return $ 8.40 which is half what I put in return.
To double up I would have to be looking at a return of at least prices in the
3.00 range, eh. My initial placement the the double return.

is this right ?

regards, Calceti

Yes, but that would be a 200% profit on turn over, best advice i can give right now is to record your bets, venue, class,price, amount bet, profit, distance or what ever other info you think important.

This way you can take a look in a months time and see how well you do in different races or classes, you will also have accurate figures to work with, use office excel if you have it so it can do calculations for you.

Thank you Shaun for the info. I tell ya even for the small amount I bet - under $10 - it is still nerve racking. I have taken note of your comment on record keeping and I keep the print outs of the form I download from racingandsports site too.
Patience is the key.
Bit like driving in Sydney traffic.

Regards.

Hi calceti
 

A huge welcome to the wonderful world of the punt!!

You've done well by selecting a class jockey like the pumper. He loves the big occasion and is extremely experienced. You'd do a lot worse than just waiting for his rides and cherry picking those that you feel are the best value.

Shaun has given you some excellent advice and I'd like to add a few more tips:

- You don't need to be a mathematician but you do need to understand how bookies run their books. I won't go into it here but look up as much as you can and understand that generally, the early prices offered will be unders.

- If backing for the place, look for WINNERS, not placegetters. When I started on the horses, I was much like you, I loved the place bet, however over time I realised that I was getting lots of 4th's and 5th's because I was looking for 'value' in the place market, INSTEAD, of picking the best runner who I felt was also the BEST VALUE, then backing for the place.

- In regards to doubling up place bets, realise that you must be making a profit at level stakes FIRST, otherwise you will simply be doubling your losses. Your strike rate will also come downas a result of doubling up.- Realistically if you're good at picking value, you'll make 2-6% POT on your place investments. Anything more than that and you're a GOD!! :)- I'd recommend choosing the fixed odds races put up at the start of each day, or sticking only to Metro races if you're going to bet places, due to the higher liquidity in the market. I hope this is of some assistance calceti and BEST OF LUCK!!!

Thank you for your wise advise The Schmile,
I have chosen this time around to take this a bit more seriously and to see how far I can go.
I do like your Chinese proverb - all that and persistant patience. The hardest thing is trawling through the archives... there are some great lessons to be learnt here... and I am sure my maths will improve, given time.

So once more thank you and best of best wishes.

A pleasure calceti!
 

The best thing you can do is ask questions, so anytime you need advice, fire away.

Good luck for tomorrow!!

J. Cassidy seems to have a nice book of rides. Cosmic Endeavour in the first at Eagle Farm could be anything. I rarely bet in 2yo races but will watch with interest.