How To Win Money Betting Horses
Jan 14 2015, 7:01 AM
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One of the UK's biggest horse racing festivals, Cheltenham, will get under way on March 10 and boast some of the finest four-legged competitors in the world.
However, with the betting likely to be extremely competitive this year it can be tough getting a handle on which horse you should be betting on.
Horse racing, like many sports betting pursuits, is littered with "experts" offering complex systems that will guarantee you a win. However, in reality, the majority of the strategies are no more effective than relying on blind luck.
Learn About EV
Fortunately, while it's easy to get bogged down in the mire of betting advice, there is one guiding light for novice sports bettors: Expected Value. Commonly shortened to EV, this mathematical concept basically refers to the likelihood of an event occurring over an infinite number of trials. As a professional gambler, the idea isn't to simply pick a winner every time (although this would be great). The goal is actually to make +EV (positive expected value) decisions at all times.
By making +EV decisions, a punter will essentially guarantee themselves a profit in the long run. Adopting this mindset is crucial for any gambler because results won't always go your way. Even if you bet on the favourite in every contest, it doesn't mean you'll win every time. Fortunately, if each of these bets were +EV, then it wouldn't matter because it means you've made the best decisions possible.
So how is this relevant to the 2015 Cheltenham Festival? Over the course of a major horse racing event there will be a number of high-quality races and that means it can be tough to pick a winner. Because many of the horses are evenly matched, it's likely you won't be able to win every race you bet on; regardless of the Cheltenham tips you've been given.
However, if you can look past the money and focus on making +EV decisions, then at the end of the festival you'll be able to walk away a winner. Of course, making a +EV decision isn't easy and you need to look at everything in the news surrounding the race, not just current form of a horse or a race's vital stats. Obviously you need to understand all the race data, such as the length of the race, the number of runners and the track conditions, but you also need to consider your overall approach to betting on horse.
To give you some insight into how you should be preparing for the 2105 Cheltenham Festival, here's some vital horse betting skills you need to master:
Stick to Your Limits: Bankroll management is a key skill that every horse racing bettor should master. In general, you should never wager more than 10% of your bankroll in a single betting session. Breaking this down further, each specific bet should be no more than 2% of your bankroll.
Going Long Can be +EV: Although long shots, such as Gold Cup 250/1 outsider River Choice, are statistically unlikely and aren't usually +EV in pure betting terms, they can be +EV bets for small stakes punters that want big returns. Although you'll need to do your homework in order to find the best long shots, they can be profitable gambling options when the margins are tight during Cheltenham.
Singles Are Best: Having said that long shots can be profitable, it's important to use that strategy sparingly. In reality, singles are the way to go in the horse racing world. Accumulators may offer you a greater return on your investment, but they are notoriously tough to win and are, therefore, best avoided if you have a fledgling bankroll.
Follow a Trainer: Anyone who regularly indulges in horse race betting will know that certain trainers dominate the sport. Whether it's Jonjo O'Neill, who recently ended his losing run, newcomer Richard Hannon in Europe or David Hayes in Australia, a trainer's reputation will often precede a horse and it pays to know which stables produce the best runners. Although this isn't always a reliable marker when judging a race, it will certainly help you distinguish which horses stand more of a chance than others.
This year's Cheltenham Festival is set to be another classic event. Between March 10 and March 13 the best jockeys and trainers will compete for some big prizes and if you can play your cards right then you could make some serious cash as well. Take our tips and fuse them with your own knowledge of the sport and Cheltenham 2015 could be seriously beneficial for your bankroll.
One of the UK's biggest horse racing festivals, Cheltenham, will get under way on March 10 and boast some of the finest four-legged competitors in the world.
However, with the betting likely to be extremely competitive this year it can be tough getting a handle on which horse you should be betting on.
Horse racing, like many sports betting pursuits, is littered with "experts" offering complex systems that will guarantee you a win. However, in reality, the majority of the strategies are no more effective than relying on blind luck.
Learn About EV
Fortunately, while it's easy to get bogged down in the mire of betting advice, there is one guiding light for novice sports bettors: Expected Value. Commonly shortened to EV, this mathematical concept basically refers to the likelihood of an event occurring over an infinite number of trials. As a professional gambler, the idea isn't to simply pick a winner every time (although this would be great). The goal is actually to make +EV (positive expected value) decisions at all times.
By making +EV decisions, a punter will essentially guarantee themselves a profit in the long run. Adopting this mindset is crucial for any gambler because results won't always go your way. Even if you bet on the favourite in every contest, it doesn't mean you'll win every time. Fortunately, if each of these bets were +EV, then it wouldn't matter because it means you've made the best decisions possible.
So how is this relevant to the 2015 Cheltenham Festival? Over the course of a major horse racing event there will be a number of high-quality races and that means it can be tough to pick a winner. Because many of the horses are evenly matched, it's likely you won't be able to win every race you bet on; regardless of the Cheltenham tips you've been given.
However, if you can look past the money and focus on making +EV decisions, then at the end of the festival you'll be able to walk away a winner. Of course, making a +EV decision isn't easy and you need to look at everything in the news surrounding the race, not just current form of a horse or a race's vital stats. Obviously you need to understand all the race data, such as the length of the race, the number of runners and the track conditions, but you also need to consider your overall approach to betting on horse.
To give you some insight into how you should be preparing for the 2105 Cheltenham Festival, here's some vital horse betting skills you need to master:
Stick to Your Limits: Bankroll management is a key skill that every horse racing bettor should master. In general, you should never wager more than 10% of your bankroll in a single betting session. Breaking this down further, each specific bet should be no more than 2% of your bankroll.
Going Long Can be +EV: Although long shots, such as Gold Cup 250/1 outsider River Choice, are statistically unlikely and aren't usually +EV in pure betting terms, they can be +EV bets for small stakes punters that want big returns. Although you'll need to do your homework in order to find the best long shots, they can be profitable gambling options when the margins are tight during Cheltenham.
Singles Are Best: Having said that long shots can be profitable, it's important to use that strategy sparingly. In reality, singles are the way to go in the horse racing world. Accumulators may offer you a greater return on your investment, but they are notoriously tough to win and are, therefore, best avoided if you have a fledgling bankroll.
Follow a Trainer: Anyone who regularly indulges in horse race betting will know that certain trainers dominate the sport. Whether it's Jonjo O'Neill, who recently ended his losing run, newcomer Richard Hannon in Europe or David Hayes in Australia, a trainer's reputation will often precede a horse and it pays to know which stables produce the best runners. Although this isn't always a reliable marker when judging a race, it will certainly help you distinguish which horses stand more of a chance than others.
This year's Cheltenham Festival is set to be another classic event. Between March 10 and March 13 the best jockeys and trainers will compete for some big prizes and if you can play your cards right then you could make some serious cash as well. Take our tips and fuse them with your own knowledge of the sport and Cheltenham 2015 could be seriously beneficial for your bankroll.
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