The first week of the year has now come and gone and if you have a good old fashioned week-to-view paper diary, you will have turned the page and become well and truly immersed in 2010. Although dogged by the weather and severely restricted betting opportunities, I still enjoyed quite a good week when it came to handicapping horse races. But just because that was a good week, it will not necessarily follow that this week or the next will also be profitable.
The dull side to the coin that is ’making money betting on horse races’, is that you are only as good as your last bet. It’s very easy to say we must look at the big picture and not let any one losing bet upset us, but it remains a constant challenge to stay focused and to keep making good bets.
As a professional horseplayer you can never relax nor allow yourself to get sloppy. Handicapping horse races has been likened to chess and other intellectual sports, but whilst it may be a mind-game of sorts, it also reminds me of running the marathon. Mental fortitude and discipline is a big part of distance running because as the athlete approaches the end of the race, he/she feels considerable physical pain. It requires exceptional mental and emotional strength to push through the pain barrier and on to the finish line, especially when you know that pain is coming.
Betting on horse racing and riding the roller coaster of gambling can be very similar. During the coming months of 2010 I know I will come out second best in more than a few photo finishes. I will dispair as my horse gets disqualified for interference in the home straight. There will be the occasional lengthy losing streak as well. I know this from experience. I know this because it happened in 2009. All these traumatic events, in addition to the mental fatigue of rating race after race and making decisions about each one, will push me to my limits.
Does this sound familiar to you too? Then I’ve made a few suggestions for 2010 to try and make it a bumper year for any aspiring pro-punter who makes the effort to not only undertake these resolutions but also to stick with them.
1. Despite losing a competitive race because my jockey let me down through incompetence, I will not hold a grudge nor let it upset me to the point where I no longer am able to make clear decisions.
2. I will maintain accurate records of each and every bet, and manage my betting bankroll like a professional so that I am more likely to make a profit.
3. I am not paranoid! Though it may appear the whole world is out to get me, I will not take any losing bets personally. Nor will I take any bad racing luck as a sign that life is against me. I am aware that both time and chance, as the saying goes, happens to everyone sooner or later.
4. I will learn to quit when I have achieved my goals, not bet for fun, and to set both win and loss limits.
5. I will remind myself often that betting on horse racing is just one constituent part of my life, and that there are people and other situations in my world that also deserve my time and undivided attention also.
You can most probably think of some other resolutions to make life more enjoyable (and far less stressful) as well as improving your betting skills. Enjoy all your days at the races in 2010.
Further reading:
How do you make money from betting? Just follow Jesus
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