rooburger,

I'm afraid the above doesn't really mean much as an indicator of punting success. There are plenty of rich people who like to punt. Kerry Packer was a big punter [in Casino terms, a 'whale'] .....also, overall a big loser who certainly never made his money from punting, just like most other rich people who punt.

Seeing well off people getting a few good collects doesn't mean much either. You can't possibly be shadowing the guy you mentioned every time he punts and if he was a serious winning punter he would be doing it a home on a computer and telephone chasing better odds, not at a TAB. If you know him and he tells you he is a winning punter ....well anyone here a losing punter??? See, not many hands up [if any].

I lose, not much but overall I average out at being in front 1 year in 3 and I think that's not a bad effort. I punt for pleasure and can afford my modest overall % loss and in return I get a lot of enjoyment from the game. I do have periods of success though where I think I've got the game cornered ...then reality kicks in with a losing streak. It's easy to beat a race, but it's another thing completely to beat the races. It's a negative expectation game [with or without a calculator]. The odds are well against us.

Punters will let you know [very loudly sometimes] when they are winning, but generally keep their losses quiet. Whether someone is wining or losing long term is a hard one to work out. Also, punters are often bigger lier's than fisherman. What we do know is that 95% [possibly more] of all punters lose long term and that probably holds true even for members on this forum :-)