| By :
David Duffield
Whenever I ask a punter what they need to become a long-term winner, almost invariably they answer 'more winners and less losers'. But very few ever touch on another part of punting that is at least as important as your winning strike-rate and the factor I'm talking about is getting better odds about your selections. Did you know that getting 20% better odds can double your profits? Finding value is the most important ingredient in being a long term winner. That value may be obtained by betting only when you can get an overlay, which basically means getting a price that is greater than the horse's true chance of winning the race. For example getting $2.10 or more about a horse that has a 50%+ probability of winning. Another form of value betting is making sure that you always get the best available price. To do this online you need a number of different bookmaker accounts, or to do it in person you need to go to the track and chase down the best odds between bookmakers and the tote. To prove our assertion that 20% better odds can double your profits, we will use the example of Average Joe who went to last Saturday's meeting at Canterbury and was content to just put his bets on the tote. Joe had six bets for the day, putting $50 for the win on each. He had two winners from those six bets, getting $4.90 for Acey Ducey and $2.80 for Forensics. So overall he won $85 for the day. Had he chosen to take a closer look at the prices the bookmakers were offering, Joe would have done even better. Right before the jump he could easily have backed Acey Ducey at $6 and Forensics at $3.60. Had he shopped around between the tote and the bookies, Joe would have won $180 for the day, which is more than double the profit he achieved by betting tote only. His profit on turnover improved from 28% to 60% just by taking the time to get the best available odds. The above example uses an on-track scenario, but the same principle applies to the stay-at-home punter. There are myriad online betting options and any punter who is serious about maximising their returns really should make every effort to get the best available odds on their selection. Odds comparison sites (both free and paid) make this process quite straightforward. So next time you back a winner, make sure you ask yourself whether you made every effort to get the best odds available, because every time you do it will mean extra money in your pocket.
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