It's about making money - 2010 actions

"Typical you get all the time in the year to look at form and then it snows and snows and snows and there is nothing to bet on!" is a comment just texted to me from a friend who is a really good punter and is having a family rather than a gambling Christmas. I think a little differently, this time is the one time in the year that you can clear your mind and look to deliver profits in the year ahead if your an all year round gambler or a good resting time if you just follow the jumpers. I try to only bet on the jumpers and use the summer to improve my golf swing, it works for me as I don't feel any need to be looking at Lingfield, Southwell, Wolverhampton or Kempton - just to have a wee bet - in the prolonged winter freezes. In the clearing ice zone I have examined the way I bet and these are my thoughts - that as I say work with me.

1) Nag Me - I don't do detail , I am a man, its just not what I do or in fact what most men do! This service is cheap and this year has yielded numerous winners for me at some hefty prices 14/1, 20/1, 7/1 etc - yes it has losers but it means I don't miss anything (having said that the BT Click service is useless and you get no notification that is expiring). Take the time to invest especially if you work and don't get chance to read the papers every day(there is nothing worse than looking at the results and thinking ARGHHHHHHHH a missed winner)it works well and as such makes certain that you don't miss those non triers or impressive winners.

2) I only use Betting exchanges or occasionally I will use Corals, the exchanges allow me to function as a trader and that is how I bet everyday. Every stake I place I put a lay up to get the stake back at around 2.12 and another bet under to take profit. I have analysed this and actually I bet more winners than losers so I could just stick with the winning bet, but it is not what I do - I bet value horses to trade and make a profit.The other sods law is that when you don't take the stake back, they dont win !

3) I use a daily stake whenever I start punting , which I then will only add too if I feel I need to - the target is £300 profit everytime I gamble. I will go upto a bigger figure especially if I am behind on a day as I treat the money as pts rather than money - it is just a figure a bit like chips in poker- if you think of it as money it stops you betting correctly

4) I dont listen to tips - from anyone ! I have lots of contacts very close to the heart of racing, to a man they are the worst tipsters you have ever seen.

5) Watching eye - A horse looks a certain way and somehow I have developed an eye that allows me to see when a horse looks well and happy - it works for me 75% of the time - I can't tell you how to get that eye but a happy horse has the air of a strutting athlete.

6) I am not a layer, I only lay when I get a situation that means a horse has to be laid - this will usually be if a horse looks awful or not fit, is far too short a price or if the horse can't go on the ground, Two trips this year yielded two different results, a horse of Ferdy Murphy's was as big as a bus at Carlisle he was a definite place lay at around 2.02 - I hit it hard - but it ran a blinder and ran on to be 2nd - it was the right bet on the wrong day. Same thought process was a Peter Monteith horse at 2.12 in a place market in a staying race at Kelso, the ground was heavy and his form on that was terrible he had to be a lay - he was duly unplaced and I won a good bet. These are extremes but I recently had a Tilt day where I lost a hefty stake, nearly 2/3rds of that was laying horses to be placed or to win at odds I thought were too short - I didn't get one right in 8 bets! and you tend to lay horses for more than you would put on as a win bet ! so when you lose you lose bigger - stay clear!

7) Certain horses by certain trainers are quite simply not off all the time, novice hurdlers up north, short priced horses for certain trainers, certain early season runners, certain Irish owned horses and of courses loads of drifters by certain stables - the trick is follow and learn and create your own strategies I have mine - you develop yours

8) You will have a day when you back loads of winners, everything goes right when it does just make certain that you have the doubles and trebles on !