Author: lpaton80

When I started out in this game 20 years ago people always used to say avoid accumulators. They are for mugs. That common misconception could not be more wrong. The reality though is that for most punters accas are terrible value and just extrapolate losses. Accas are pretty simple in terms of whether they are … Continue reading 97. Accas

I am often asked about the traits that make someone suited to being a successful punter. Something I have seen time and time again is the ultra competitiveness of the people involved. Very often it isn’t about making money but effectively winning against the competition. I have seen so many examples in sports betting, DFS … Continue reading 96. Competitiveness

Following on from Tweet 94 (Margins) it makes sense to talk about Best Price Percentages (BPP). BPP are the individual outcomes of a market added together to give an overall total for the market in question. It is expressed as a percentage. 100% is the baseline for a neutral market. If the number is under … Continue reading 95. Best Price Percentages

Its really important you understand the margins you are up against in any form of gambling. This takes many different forms depending upon where you are betting and what you are betting on. If you cant overcome the margins you wont win at this game. On the exchanges those margins are overrounds on prices, commission … Continue reading 94. Margins

It seems inconceivable that we are on Tweet 93 and haven’t talked about bookmaker restrictions in more detail yet. We have talked about things like Stake Factoring (Tweet 18) but not restrictions. When I first started in the game twenty years ago I was so naïve.I always believed that finding an edge was enough to … Continue reading 93. Bookmaker Restrictions

I guess this tweet applies to life as much as betting for a living. It can be pretty difficult to quantify what success actually looks like. It is not as simple as saying I have made ‘x’ from betting so it has to be viewed as a success. There are so many factors to consider. … Continue reading 92. Success

This would only be for recent years but it is also incredibly relevant today and you will see why later in the tweet. It is not the bet that made the most money but was definitely one of the most satisfying. It incorporates a lot of the info in the tweets I have talked about. … Continue reading 91. Favourite Bet

Long Term markets are always a fascinating exercise in bankroll management and the opportunity cost of that bankroll. I would start by saying that longer term markets tend to be priced up more inefficiently than matchday/raceday/tournament week markets. They can often provide some pretty soft opportunities as the bookmakers are often very slow on the … Continue reading 90. Long Term Markets

There have been some pretty crazy technical glitches over the years that I remember from my Betfair days. Everyone assumes that all the software works perfectly but on occasion there are gremlins in the system. The real question if you do spot one is whether you will get paid.The most famous example was horse racing … Continue reading 89. Technical Glitches

One of the problems I find in this industry is overwhelming apathy towards it. Day in day out, all you read about and see first hand is an industry that is completely broken on every imaginable level. It literally becomes about making money, freedom and the enjoyment sport brings. Every level you look at (I … Continue reading 88. Apathy