Race betting staking plans: plenty of info how good ??

[kiwi steve]

I havn't had time to digest these staking plans but would be keen to hear your thoughts on a couple:

STAKING

Most investors would agree that how you place your money is every bit as important as what you place it on. To put this another way, once you have made a selection (by whatever means) you now have a responsibility to yourself to make your investment work for you.Level stakes are the most common means of investment: you just bet the same on every horse. This is a “time-honoured” method of betting and most of the time will not get you into much trouble (provided, of course, that your selections do the right thing!). However, level stakes can usually be improved upon by judicious staking.One of the most popular staking methods that I have ever devised is listed below as Plan 3. It is very easy and very safe. You decide at the very beginning what percentage of your bank you will place on each selection and you never vary this percentage amount. You must make your percentage very small. I recommend 1% and sometimes even 0.5% of the bank. The choice remains yours and depends on the type of selections you make. You always bet to the highest point your bank has reached. So if you start with a theoretical bank of $500, your initial bet is $5 (1%) and you never go below that figure, even if your bank is showing a loss. This is because you have allowed yourself 100 bets (1% of $500 is $5, and you get 100 of those even if you do not back one winner).When your bank rises to, say, $750, you will be betting $7.50 (1%) on each selection. Again, your bets will never go backwards: you will always bet 1% of the highest point the bank reaches, and consequently you will always be able to have 100 bets.Using 0.5% you would always have 200 bets. It does seem to me that in the case of single bets, 1⁄2 % is just too safe and too slow. One hundred bets will usually be enough to tell you whether your current method or system is going anywhere. However, there will be systems (for example where favourites and short priced selections occur) where you can raise your stake level.When you are introduced below to the Level Logical Progression Plan, you will see how a recommended “brake” can be applied, so that you can always remain comfortable with your betting levels. Needless to say, you don’t just go on forever- you can arrange this plan so that you enjoy using it, and so that the stress in your betting virtually disappears.

HOW MUCH TO BET
How much should you put away as a bank? Only you can answer that, but I suggest to you that the bank must be viewed in two quite different ways.The first way to view your bank is to have a very frank discussion with yourself as to what you can afford. Any level of investment which makes you feel uncomfortable, or which is going to impinge in any way on your standard of living, is a threat and you should avoid it. Besides this, you can rest assured that your betting will be influenced by your nervous state. So bet within your limits, knowing that if you make the right investments then the profits will come, and you will be able to increase your staking as you become more affluent.The second way to view your bank, and this is just as important as the first, is to remember that you do not need to have your whole bank available to you on day one. Hopefully, you will never invest more than 4 or 5 percent of any system bank on any one day. If this holds true, and you set your limit at 5% maximum for any day, your bank will survive regardless of any occurrences, for at least 20 betting days. As long as you know that in the long term you can financially support the bank you have established, you do not need to have your entire bank available.
This second way of viewing your bank is very important because it allows you to make bets at reasonable but not impossible levels. For example, if you are able to afford $50 per week for your racing investments, then theoretically you can set your bank at an annual figure of $2600. On this basis, 1% of $2600 would be $26 and this could be your first bet level.On the other hand, you can start at 0.5% and make your first bet $13. On this basis, with an average of perhaps four bets per week, your annual bank will allow you to have 200 bets (always). If the bank rises above $2600, then so will your single investments rise above $13, and they will never decrease- you will always have 200 bets in your bank.The staking recommendation comes down to two rules: 1. Only ever bet what you can afford, and 2. Always base your betting on your long-term expectations.WHAT FOLLOWSA comprehensive set of staking plans is provided for you here, covering many different requirements. The best policy is to make sure you can work them out on paper before you put your money down. If you have past selections for a favourite plan of yours, apply the staking plan that interests you and ask two basic questions:1. Is it more successful than level stakes?2. Can I operate it within my comfort zone?If the answers are both “yes”, you have probably got yourself an appropriate betting tool.You are encouraged to forward to us any ideas you may have; we’re always seeking innovative and new methods of investment.

THE STAKING PLANS

1. LEVEL STAKES
The obvious staking plan- but nonetheless a plan. Bet the same amount on every selection. Ensure before you begin that you have determined the percentage of the bank you wish to bet, and stick to it.This is the oldest method and, some would say, still the only one to follow. The choice of how much to invest, as always, is yours, but if you don’t win with this one, you probably won’t do very well with any help from a progressive betting plan. It is ESSENTIAL that you bet level stakes where the strike rate is very low, as you cannot guess where the next winner is coming from. If you do decide to bet level stakes through, do yourself a favour and consider Staking Plans 3 and 10 as well. When they can be applied, they represent outstanding modifications of level stakes betting.
2. THE GRADUAL INCLINE
This is a most conservative plan, designed to gradually incline in the right direction without ever creating problems with your staking level. Bet level stakes, increasing your original stake by 10% at the conclusion of a WINNING DAY. Never regress in your betting. Only increase your stake when the day before was a winning one overall. And only increase by 1/10 of the original stake. This may seem tame to some bettors, but it is a classical example of living to fight another day. Below, you will see a plan (Plan 3) based on increasing stakes by a fixed percentage, the stake being always determined by the bank level. This Gradual Incline, however, takes no notice of the increase in the bank: it requires that there simply has to be one. The increase in the stake that results from this bank increase may appear quite small, but it remains extremely safe.
If, for example, you commence with a bank of $1000 and an initial bet of $10, you remain on the bet of $10 until you strike a winning day. At the end of that day you recalculate your betting for the next day as $11. You never regress, but you must wait for the next winning day before you progress by another 10% of your original stake, that is to say, another $1. Remember you go up by 10% of the original bet, that is, by $1.You will appreciate that after 10 winning days you will have increased your bet to $20. While this is a 100% increase, it is only the equivalent of one full unit (from $10 to $20). You are only increasing your bets by 1/10 after each winning day- that is to say, 1/10 of your single unit stake. Ten winning days will see you moving from one full “staking unit” to two full “staking units”. So the progression is indeed quite moderate, it is a gradual incline.

3. LEVEL LOGICAL PROGRESSION
Bet a specific percentage of the highest point your bank reaches. Never go back, even if the bank falls. If you bet 1%, then you will always have one hundred bets in hand, betting this way. This is The Optimist’s personal favourite and is outlined in detail in the introduction above.Following what has been written in the introduction, we might consider the situation where a bettor establishes his devisor (the percentage he will bet of his bank) at 2 1⁄2 %. This is well above the 1% used previously, but still allows for 40 bets to be made in any sequence. The argument for raising the percentage is that betting at 1% would take too long for the bank to climb significantly. This is a decision only you can make. It depends on your system and its likely percentage of winners, and of course their prices.At 2 1⁄2 %, it would be wise to establish a reserve bank. Imagine that this reserve bank and the original bank both commence at $1000. It is another way, in reality, of giving yourself double the number of chances; it is a kind of insurance policy. You can afford to bet 2 1⁄2 % because, at least in the initial situation, it is really 1 1⁄4% of your total bank. To start with, you will really have 80 and not 40 bets in hand.Assuming things go well, your betting bank will eventually double (forget the reserve bank for the time being- it is merely there as insurance). When the original $1000 bank reaches $2000, apply a level and logical progression security brake.This brake secures for you 50% of your profits each time your bank doubles. At this stage, you take $500 of your $1000 profit. This $500 is profit which leaves the scene. You can put it into your holiday account, do whatever you want with it.You then regard your revised bank as being at $1500, and you bet your 2 1⁄2% of $1500, staying with 2 1⁄2 % of the highest point the new bank reaches. When the bank gets to $3000 (that is, it has again doubled) it will have made another $1500 profit. Again you take 50% of the profit ($750) and you start again at a bank of $2250.By now you have collected $1250 in profit and you have probably realised that you have covered your entire bank. Your bank was $1000 and you are well ahead of that: you are betting with profits. Your entire remaining bank of $2250 is sheer profit.You could at this stage, if you so wished, take another $1250 profit and go all the way back to square one. But having got this far, and given that your entire bank is now profit, it is probably logical to progress, with one thought in mind: what is your optimum betting level?This logical and controlled progression continues until you reach the betting unit with which you are comfortable and satisfied. This is the optimum betting level for you and it is the level above which things start to get clouded. It will differ for different people and only you will know your level.Should you exceed that level, you have a choice: stay on it (not above it), and bet level stakes (clearly you are following a winning system and you have already subtracted significant profits), or draw a line under everything and start again. Go right back to a $1000 bank and a $1000 reserve fund.
This would mean the declaration of an extremely satisfying profit, insuring yourself against losing any of it, and putting the original banks back into play. But those new banks will be merely a part of profits. Where profits are concerned, there can be great satisfaction in “taking the money and running”.

4. THE SNOWBALL
This is quite complex staking plan and if you prefer very simple plans, you can give this one a miss. However, it can be very rewarding and lead to rapid profits, if you can find the winners.Bet as follows: 2.2.2.3.3.4.4.5.5.6.7.7.What this means is that your first second and third bets are all two units, then you make two bets of three units each, two bets of four units, two bets of five, one of six units and two more bets at seven units each. This totals fifty units for twelve bets. A high win strike rate system is recommended here. The win strike rate is the percentage of wins you get from your bets. For example, if you have 100 bets and you get 21 winners, your win strike rate is 21%. If you have 100 bets and you get only 10 winners, your win strike rate is 10%. This is not very high and would not be suitable for the Snowball staking plan.Now we move to the details of the Snowball concept.If at any stage a winner is backed at 4/1 or better, deduct the STAKE for that bet and divide the REMAINING PROFIT by 3.This profit is invested on the NEXT THREE SELECTIONS EQUALLY (one third on each) AS WELL AS HAVING the usual bet in the sequence. This is the SNOWBALL effect.For example, you strike a 5/1 winner at the sixth bet (4 units). You receive 24 units, less your 4 unit stake, a profit of 20. That 20 is divided by 3, and 6.50 (nearest dollar if you like) is placed on the next three bets, along with their normal stakes of 4,5 and 5 units. So they’d have $10.50, $11.50 and $11.50 on them.Comment:This can add up, and really SNOWBALL if you strike a handful of winners. At the end of the series of bets, simply go back to Bet One, and take whatever is still travelling on the Snowball with you into the next sequence.

5. STOP AT A WINNER FOR THE DAY
As soon as you are in front for the day, stop betting. That’s it! There many plans that depend on this staking plan- while it may seem too simple to warrant inclusion, British pros often still recommend it. They say there is nothing so good for a punter’s confidence than to make the desired profit for the day and then shut up shop.It will always remain a matter of opinion.

6. DOUBLE UP
Bet level stakes, UNLESS your selection won its last start on today’s track over today’s distance. In other words, unless it is a course and distance winner and a last start winner.In your form guide, that selection will have a C alongside its name if it has won on that track at that distance. If it is also a last-start winner, you add 100 per cent to the stake. If that makes you nervous, add 50 per cent.Many systems that are involved with last start winners fail in the long run, because they blindly follow winning horses: this staking plan identifies a very crucial factor and advises a double bet when it is detected in a selection.

7. THE ACTIVE/PASSIVE PLAN
This one is easy. It is a spin-off, in a way, from Plan 3’s 50% concept.You separate your bank into two equal parts (e.g. 40 and 40 for a bank of 80). Now you save the PASSIVE 40 for emergencies, and bet with the other ACTIVE 40. You bet 2 units per selection for 20 races. If the ACTIVE 40 bank gets to 80 (i.e. it doubles), you declare a 50 per cent profit, take out 20, and start again with a 60 active bank and bets of 3 units (again following a 20-bet sequence).If the 60 bank doubles to 120, you take 50 per cent of the profit (30) and start with a bank of 90, and continue with bets of 4.50.Each time the profits are creamed off, they go into the passive, waiting bank. So, when the active bank gets to 90, the passive bank will have soared to 90 as well (40+20+30), and whatever happens from now on, you cannot lose!

8. FIVE FIFTHS INSURANCE
This is a good one from an old but faithful staking book. Your bank is 100 units. You take a fifth of that. That’s 20. You take a fifth of that. That’s 4. The other four-fifths (16) are bet for the place, while the one-fifth (4) is bet to win.The bet is, therefore, 4 by 16. Whatever the bank, you divide it by five, then by five again. That second lot of fives is split “four for the place and one for the win”.Do NOT use this plan with ANY system that does not show a 20 per cent or more win-strike rate.

9. ONE BET SAFETY
The bank is 90 units. The bets are 2.4.6.8.10.12.14.16.18; making 90 for a nine-bet sequence.Clearly, this plan expects a lot of winners. At any stage, to cut even, one winner at 4/1 will do trick. Except for the final stage, 7/2 is the maximum required to cut even. More than that, at any stage, produces a profit for the entire series.This concept is best applied to systems with a very small number of selections and a high strike rate. Longer priced favourites might be considered for inclusion.

10.STATISTICAL ASSUMPTIONS
This is an excellent plan if you are prepared to make the extra effort.Base your expectations on past performances. Check the WSR (win strike rate - it may be 20 per cent, which is one in five, or one fifth). Check the Price Average (divide the total returns by the number of selections, then deduct the selections total again, to eliminate the cost of the stakes).Example: Bank 100.Win Strike Rate: 20 percent - this is one in five, or one fifth.Price Average: 13/2 (say, 30 winners returning 225, less the stake, 30, is 195. Divide this by 30, your win total, and you get 6.50).You are anticipating a winner at the rate of one in five. The cut-even point would be to get one winner in five at 4/1 (100 back for 100 out, in every 100 races), but you are aiming to get one winner in five at better odds than that, and do a little better in profit (with minimal risk) by betting to what you know has happened in the past.
Multiply the average price by the fractional strike rate: 6.5 x 1/5 = 1.30Your bet is not one unit, but 1.30 units. This is designed to improve previous profit results over 100 bets or more, based on what HAS happened.You can calculate this for any of the systems. A small extra investment might be as logical as a level stake outlay!

11. THE MONEYMAKER
This plan works on the premise that you are seeking a set return on investment, and features the following: 1. It is extremely safe. 2. It can be continuously profitable. 3. It is flexible enough to be adapted to most requirements. 4. It is very easy to operate and monitor.With a staking plan of this strength, you can be confident that you are not stepping into ‘the unknown’ when you set out on your betting plan. You can rest assured that the staking plan will boost your profits, not batter them.THE RULES1. Set your profit level requirement. (In this case, for the purposes of explanation, we are setting a 20 per cent return on investment.) Virtually any percentage figure can be used, but the higher the figure, the greater the risk.2. Start with a basic unit investment and progress up the scale only when you are not achieving your predetermined profit. Flat-stake betting continues until the profit balance is less than the profit required.3. The progression scale is based on a 20 per cent rising scale, in line with the required 20 per cent profit. Any progression scale can be used, so long as it is a strict percentage progression, like 5%, 10% and so on PROGRESSION SCALE (at 20% profit demand) ($5 base unit) BET NO. STAKE BET NO. STAKE BET NO STAKE BET NO. STAKE 1 5 11 12 21 30 31 74 2 6 12 14.5 22 36 32 89 3 7 13 17.5 23 43 33 107 4 8.5 14 21 24 52 34 128 5 10 15 25 25 62 35 154 6 12 16 30 26 74 36 185 7 14.5 17 36 27 89 37 222 8 17.5 18 43 28 107 38 266 9 21 19 52 29 128 39 320 10 25 20 62 30 154 40 385Remember that you are seeking a 20 per cent profit on total investment. You only rise up the scale if you have not achieved this. As soon as you have made 20 per cent (or more) profit on your total investment, you return to bet No. 1, and stay there until your total profit drops below 20 per cent on outlay.REQUIRED BANKThis is a mild, conservative progression and the bank can be limited to 75 times your base bet. We have assumed a $5 base bet, thus your required bank is $375.
Let’s look at a theoretical workout: Bet Stake Placed Lose Win 1 5 Lost 5 - 2 6 Lost 6 - 3 7 Lost 7 - 4 8.5 Lost 8.5 - 5 10 Lost 10 - 6 12 Lost 12 - 7 14.5 Lost 14.5 - 8 17.5 Lost 17.5 - 9 21 Won3/1 - 63The bank now stands at: Staked $101.50, total return $84. You are still losing $17.50, so you continue the progression: 10 25 Lost 25 - 11 12 Won5/1 - 60The bank now stands at: Staked $138.50, total return $156. This is a profit of $17.50, or 12.5 per cent on outlay, so the required 20 per cent has not yet been achieved, so the progression continues. 12 14.5 Won3/1 - 43.5Bank now stands at: Staked $153, total return $214. This is a profit of $61, which represents a total of 39.86 per cent profit on turnover. Therefore, you have more than achieved your 20 per cent profit on turnover, and you go back to level-stakes betting at $5 per bet. You maintain this level-stakes approach until your profits go below 20 per cent of your total outlay. If that happens, you start the progression again.In the example above, we allowed for a run of eight losers at the commencement of the progression. Do your own tests on ‘paper’ and maybe allow for losing runs of 10 and 15. They will demonstrate how effective this plan is, even under the pressure of a long run of outs. The plan is at its most attractive when you are dealing with a high win strike rate but lower dividend expectations. This is a highly attractive plan for favourite backers.

12. THE $16 BANK PLAN
There is a belief among punters that one should minimise losses and maximise profits. This is a wise approach to all betting.The aim of this staking plan is to keep the punter’s personal risk to a minimum, but gain the maximum benefit from winners backed. This can be accomplished by making very small bets with the player’s own money and large bets only with money won.The system may be used on or off the track. A unit can be any amount from, say 50 cents upwards, but for the purpose of explanation we will make the minimum bet $2.We will first explain the method using a total capital of $16. This is a straight-out play. All bets are made WIN only.Here is the scale of bets if you had six bets and they all lost - First bet, $2; second, $2; third, $2; fourth, $3; fifth, $3; sixth, $4.If you should lose six consecutive bets you start again with $2 and continue as before. Now there are three rules to explain how you are to wager when you have hit a winner, and this depends on price. Let us take this one step at a time, and the first step is the bright one- when we back a winner returning a profit of more than 12 units.
Whenever we back a winner at such a pay-off, we deduct the amount of the stake and divide the actual profit into three parts, regardless of the size of the bet.The first part is one-sixth of the amount won. The second part is one-third of the amount won. The third part is one-half of the amount won.Thus, if we won $30 on one bet we divide 30 by six then by three then by two, which would give us units of $5, $10 and $15 respectively. We will now explain how these units are to be invested. The easiest way is with figures showing an actual play.First bet, $2, LOST. Second bet, $2, LOST. Third bet, $2, won at 9/1. Profit on the bet is $18. Now we make the division to the nearest dollar (1/6th, 1/3rd. one-half) and we have three units of $3, $6 and $9. These now become our units of investment.Fourth bet, $3, LOST. Fifth bet, $6, Lost. Sixth bet, $9, WON at 6/1. The PROFIT on this 6th bet is $54. We again divide to ascertain the new betting units, which are $9, $18 and $27, to cover the possibility of three more bets.Seventh bet is the $9, which is LOST. Eighth bet, $18, WON at 10/1. Again we divide the $180 profit, and the three units are $30, $60 and $90.Ninth bet, $30, LOST. Tenth bet, $60, LOST. Eleventh bet, $90. Now if this bet lost we would have used up our three units and would return to our starting wager of $2. If the 11th had won we could call it a day and start afresh, or we could again divide and carry on with three new units. THE PROGRESSION ALWAYS STOPS WHEN YOU WIN TWO SUCCESSIVE BETS. Had the ninth bet won we would have begun all over again from $2.RULE 2. When you win at 3/1 you can continue on as if you had not won at all.RULE 3. When you win at 3/1, but your winnings are LESS than 12, you make your units two, four and six.

13. THE WORKING ACCOUNT PLAN
Most staking plans require substantial capital backing. One that does not call for more money than needed for one day’s betting is the Working Account method, first developed more than 60 years ago.It calls for bets to be made on a flat stake with an increase for FOUR races after backing a winner. On a good day, or during a winning cycle, the plan can run into worthwhile profits because it calls for the reinvestment of returns from winning bets.The method is safe and sensible because, over a period, there is a built-in limit to the amount a player can lose; there is no ceiling to the percentage of profit which can be gained. This is wise-money betting in the best sense as it provides for money management.Against the possibility of profits you have the security of not being able to lose more than a flat stake on the number of races on which you intend to bet.Say, for instance, you bet in $2 units. Your flat stake is always $2, so on a programme of eight races you stand to lose $16.With this method your stakes increase for four races every time you back a winner, irrespective of price.At the second race you might back a winner at 4/1. You deduct your original stake of $2 and divide the $8 return
on the next four races. So for the next four races you will have your base bet of $2 per race plus $2 from your second winner.In race three you strike a winner at 2/1. You pocket your stake of $2, plus $3 from the extra bet, and then divide the $4 on the next four races, so on races four, five and six you will have your base bet of $2, plus $2 from the 3rd race winner, plus $1 from the fourth race winner.On race seven you will have your base investment of $2 plus the $1 played up from race three, plus of course any extra money from races four, five and six. This system can be carried on from meeting to meeting, and during a winning run your working account will grow appreciably. With this method you are simply playing up the returns from winning bets, and backing yourself to find at least one winner in every four races on which you operate.If you are carrying on from meeting to meeting the system works best if you carefully select the races on which you bet. In this way you will pass over a lot of losers and probably come up with a higher percentage of winners. And it does not matter at what price the winners start.The aim is to keep your working account working and growing for your ultimate benefit.Should your working accounts grow too large you can always cancel them out by pocketing the winnings, and start again with the same or a slightly increased base stake.

14. A DAILY BANK METHOD
One cardinal rule of betting is to place a limit on losses, with no ceiling on possible profits. Those who employ such a policy will always be in control of their betting and will avoid much of the grief which can come the way of the haphazard or compulsive punter.There are many loss-limit staking methods. The one we deal with here is for the race-to-race bettor, or the person who may decide to restrict himself to a predetermined number of bets in a week, or month.The operation is simple. First decide just how much you can afford to lose, and your betting unit. The size of each wager is determined by dividing the number of betting opportunities into the “bank’s” balance, but there is an added rule to cover the final two bets IF you are winning.EXAMPLE: There are eight races on the card and you are going to have a base bet of one unit on each race-and a unit can be any amount from 50 cents up.Let’s say you decide to bet in $5 units with a bank of $40. For the opening wager you divide eight (the number of races) into $40 (the available capital). This calls for a stake of $5. If the horse loses, capital is down to $35 and the number of races left is seven. Seven into $35 again means a wager of $5. We will say this horse wins at 5/1. You gain $25, which takes the bank’s balance to $60. Now there are six races remaining so the next wager is $10-six divided into $60. You continue in this way- adding profits to the capital, or deducting losses, while as each race goes by the divisor is reduced by one.The time to take stock of the play is when you arrive at the second last and the last races. Should you be losing then you carry on as above because, even if the results still go against you, it is not possible to lose more than your starting bank.However, it would be most unwise to follow this procedure if you were winning when the seventh and eighth events were coming up for decision. If you struck two losers using a divisor of two or one you would not only erode all profit, but also the starting bank.
The wise course with only two races to go is to bet one-fifth of the bank’s balance. That is, you then use a divisor of five. Even with two losers you could still finish with a nice profit while one or two further collects would add to the gain.This system can be employed for backing one horse a race to win, each way, or multiple betting. It is also a good system for those who favour the place tote and bet only on runners which stand out as strong place propositions. The strength of the play is that you know in advance that you cannot lose more than your daily bank, yet there is no limit to what you may win. It is one of the best of all the “loss limit” progression plays.

15. THE PLACE-GETTER
If operated with common sense, this approach can produce a steady annual profit. There is one paramount rule that should be followed by place bettors. You don’t back a horse which you feel MIGHT be placed. In practically every race there are a number of runners which MAY fill a place. The wise course is to wait for a horse which SHOULD WIN, then support it for a place.The percentage of collects will be much higher; the possible chance of a long run of outs is reduced while a succession of smallish dividends will more than offset an occasional large one.The rules are simple. You use three betting brackets. You can bet in units to suit your capital. On sound selections a bank of 200 units should be more than sufficient. For the purpose of explaining the method we will make a minimum bet of $2. The brackets are: A B C 2.00 4.00 8.00 6.00 12.00 24.00 18.00 36.00 72.00You start by playing the A bracket. If at any time you back a placegetter paying $3, or better (for $2), in other words 2/1 ON or better, the “A” is completed and you start again. If you back a placegetter at shorter than 2/1 on, you repeat the bet.Should you strike three successive losers (non-placegetters) or the $18 bet misses, you move to the “B” bracket unit you have a collect with your $36 bet.When in the “B” bracket your $4 bet is repeated if the odds received are less than 2/1 on. If a $4 bet loses, you go to $12. Should you hit a dividend of 2/1 on or better, you go back to $4. If a $12 bet loses, you move to $36. A win here at 2/1 on or better sends you BACK TO THE START OF THE “A” BRACKET.Should the $36 bet in the “B” bracket miss, you then transfer to the “C” bracket and continue the same betting method as with the “B” bracket, so a win with the $72 wager means you start all over again with the $2 bet.SAFETY RULE: When the third horse in either A or B fills a place at less than 2/1 on, don’t repeat until you add up the investment and return columns. If the series is showing a profit to that point it could be safer to accept it and return to the original stake. It does save you getting into the higher brackets. If your capital is adequate and you want to play strictly to the rules, by all means do so.

16. DOUBLE PENDULUM STARTING PLAN
This is also known as the Round Robin. It calls for a series of mixed doubles over one meeting or a series of meetings, and can be played on as many races as you wish. The bets can be straight out, each way or place tote.
For example, suppose you fancied three horses in different races and they are Red, White and Blue. A Round Robin is the maximum number of doubles possible with the number of horses selected.In this case the most doubles possible would be three-Red all on White, Red all on Blue and White all on Blue.If you decided to cross double four horses it would call for six doubles. Five horses in mixed doubles call for 10 couplings, six horses 15 doubles, seven horses 12 doubles, and eight horses 28 doubles.Providing your selections are solid, this is a powerful method of play and even on the place tote can build up to substantial profits.Say you pick out five ‘certain’ placegetters and you decided on $1 mixed doubles on the place tote. If all were placed there would be a worthwhile return irrespective of how small the dividends.We know one man who operates the place tote pendulum in spans of a maximum of eight weeks. He decides that in eight weeks he is going to pick the eyes out of the programme and find EIGHT CERTAIN PLACEGETTERS and complete a series of mixed doubles embracing eight horses. This means he would eventually have 28 doubles. His sequence of base bets would be in the ratios of seven units, 6,5,4,3,2,1. He bets in $5 units. So on his first day of operation he would have $35 place tote on his selection. If it ran a place and paid, say $1.40 he would collect $49. This would call for an extra $14 to go on each of his next seven selections plus his base bets.His total outlay of his own money for these eight weeks of play would be $140. If each of his selections filled a place he would cash in 28 doubles. If the average dividend was only $1.40 he would win over $130, while if only half of his selections were placed he would be square. But, by picking out the best place bets at each of eight meetings, he would probably always come up with a much better than 50% collect average.Selecting one certain - or near certain - placegetter a meeting is perhaps the easiest assignment you could set a student of form, especially if you were ultra-conservative and refused to have a bet if you came to a meeting at which there was no stand-out place investment. But what about coupling two horses each race throughout the programme?This is a well-known staking operation. It requires a fairly large capital and can be a big winner on good days although it is not as safe as place play.We will assume you are betting on seven events on the programme in $1 units. The minimum capital required to link two horses a race for each of the seven races would be $42. FIRST RACE: You would invest $6 on each of your two selections. SECOND RACE: Invest $5 on each selection. THIRD RACE: $4 on both selections. FOURTH RACE: Put $3 on both selections. FIFTH RACE: $2 on each selection. SIXTH RACE: $1 on each selection. SEVENTH RACE: No base investment.The rules for coupling up are quite simple. If one of your selections wins at 7/2 or under, you place an extra two points (in this case $2) on each selection in the remaining races.If the price of a winner is 4/1 to 6/1 inclusive, you have $3 on each of the remaining selections.If the winning price is 7/1 or linger, the bet on each subsequent selection would be four units, or $4.
So if you struck the winner in the first race at 3/1 you would outlay an extra $2 on every subsequent selection. Then, if you had a 4/1 winner in the second race, you would place an additional $4 on each selection in the remaining five races, and so on throughout the day.The original (or base) bets are made on every race with the units carried on from winners added to the stake.With this method of betting you would have to make careful selections with a sprinkling of well-priced winners.The system was devised for operation on individual programmes. A better plan would be to spread the bets over a series of meetings as with the place operation explained earlier.For instance, instead of betting on seven RACES on one day, you wait for meetings in which you can find a race you can select ‘in two’ and spread the wagers over a maximum SEVEN meetings.You may find one suitable race one day, and perhaps two, or even three, the next.This approach would step up your winning average and provide you with a better chance of success.A way in which to test the possibilities of this staking plan would be to try it on paper. Go back over past results and use the first and second favourites, or the top two in the popularity poll. This would provide you with some indication as to whether the plan would work successfully on reasonable selections, especially those which at times bring in a fair price winner.

17. THE RESERVE FUND WAGERING PLAN
Many punters seek a staking plan with the type of bet to be made (straight-out, each-way or place only) left to the race-by-race judgement of the investor.Most systems call for one means of staking but “The Reserve Fund Wagering Plan” can be employed in all three ways according to the best value. It can also be used for multiple betting providing you do not invest more than the number of units laid down by the rules.This plan was originally designed for play on solid selections and, providing you bet only when you feel the chance of a collect is better than the possibility of loss, it can run into good money.When you come to a bettable race, decide the type of bet likely to produce the safest investment. You may have to invest 10 units. This can be staked straight-out, each-way, place tote or, if you consider there are, say, three chances, you can save on two of the runners and invest the balance of the 10 units on your prime fancy.The Reserve Fund Plan is a combination of flat stake betting and slow progression, and with a high percentage of winners it can make capital grow fast and with safety. It is based on the premise that when the operator is making a profit he should set aside part of it after each winning bet, for two reasons:1. To provide a fund for use in the event a losing streak wipes out the original starting capital, and2. To permit the punter to increase the size of his bets from his profits after a series of successful investments.You begin play with a starting capital of 100 units. This amount is entered on the Play Chart in the first column, under “Capital on Hand”.The starting bet is 10 units on the first horse played. When the result is known, further entries are made.If the first bet is on a winner, 20 percent of the profit is put into the Reserve Fund, and the balance of the profit is added to the “Capital on Hand”.
If the first bet is a loser, naturally nothing is added to the Reserve Fund or the Capital on Hand, and 10 units must be deducted from the Capital on Hand.The operator continues to be 10 units on each selection, adding 20 per cent of the profit on each winning wager to the Reserve Fund, the balance to Capital on Hand, until the Reserve Fund total reaches 20 units. At this point the amount in the Reserve Fund is added to Capital on Hand and the amount of the wager is increased from 10 to12 points.Play continues as before, the operator always adding 20 percent of the profit on each winning wager to the Reserve Fund, the balance to Capital on Hand, until the Reserve Fund has again reached 20 (original units), at which point it is again transferred to Capital on Hand and the wager is increased another two, from 12 to 14 points, and this procedure is kept up, the betting point always being increased by two every time the balance in the Reserve Fund reaches 20.That is all there is to the betting plan. It provides a sound basis of flat stake investment with bets increasing according to capital growth. Do not use it if you are just going to have a bet for the sake of making one. This is a plan for the person who gives thought to selecting and strives to make betting a business more than a gamble.It is left to the individual as to when he wants to stop increasing, withdraw his profits and start again on the same or an increased bank.

18. THE SIX POINT PLAN
The Six Point Plan has been around for a long time. Few people use it. And yet it is one of the easiest methods around to enable you to win on a consistent basis. There really is no great risk attached to its operation, because you can introduce a built-in safety brake if things threaten to get out of control.Professionals regard it as the soundest of all target-staking methods. It’s been played in Australia for more than 50 years, but seems to have been more popular in the 30s and 40s than nowadays, when punters seem more impatient than their predecessors.The aim of the Six Point Plan is to win six betting units every time the punter backs a winner, or winners, whose odds total six. The target figure decides the opening bet. Example: If you were aiming to win $6 altogether, the opening bet would be $1 because the DIVISOR is six. So you have six divided into six, which equals a bet of one unit. The betting action is just a matter of simple division of the DIVISOR into the TARGET figure.To explain the action, we’ll work to a target figure of $12. To work out your bets you use the divisor of six and the target of 12. The opening bet, then, is $2 (12 divided by six). If the opening bet lost, the objective would be increased by the lost $2 to $14 and you would then divide six into 14 to get the total of the next bet.Rounding off, your next bet would be $2.50. Let’s assume your bet lost again. You now have a target of $16.50 and this is divided by six so your next bet would be, rounded off, $3. Let’s assume the worst and we have this horse losing. Your target now rises to $19.50, which again is divided by six to get your next bet, which is, rounded off, $3.50.Good news! You get a winner at 2/1. That means you have won $7 of the target of $19.50, which reduces the target to $12.50. You now have to drop your divisor by two points (the price of the winner) and this now becomes a divisor of four.Your next bet, then, is $12.50 divided by four, which gives you a vet, rounded off, of $3. If this bet won, say, at 3/1 you would have a profit of $9 coming off the $12.50, leaving you only $3.50 to get to complete the Six Point Plan, with a divisor of 1. At this point you can simply rule off that particular section and begin a completely new Six Point target and divisor.
Should you strike a losing run which seems without end, you can easily halt any rapid rise in stakes by introducing the Safety Brake. The divisor may be six when you strike a slump which has taken the target figure to, say, 60, meaning a bet of 10 units next time. All you do now is bring in a new divisor to add to the present one, and a fresh target. This means a new target of 12 (added to the current 60) making 72, and a new divisor of 12.Your next bet, then, would be 72 divided by 12, equalling six. If you were still not happy you could even bring in a third divisor of six and a third extra target of 12, making your set-up now a target of 84 divided by 18, meaning a next bet of, say, $4.50.You can also introduce new divisor/target figures when your current divisor has, say, dropped to two, with an objective, say, of $5. This calls for a $2.50 bet. Whenever the divisor is lower than three it is sensible, to protect your capital, to bring in a new divisor and objective, as this prevents stakes rising too rapidly in the event of a long losing run. Divisor Target 2 5Bring in new divisor 6 12New divisor/target 8 17 As you can see, you now have a new divisor of eight and a new target of 17, giving you a next bet of, say, $2. Why do we bring in this safety brake? Because, with a divisor of only two you strakes could climb too steeply and the situation just might become fraught with panic on your side.The good thing about the Six Point Plan is that it provides, through the safety brakes, for a common-sense approach. Also, you MUST win in the end! On any reasonable set of selections, you will eventually back winners whose combined total odds will wipe out the divisor and produce the desired profit.

19. ONE IN TEN AT 4/1
Progression betting has good and bad points. Opinions will always differ. Well, here’s yet another angle on progression and one that should deeply interest any punter who likes the idea of breaking square on just one winner in 10 bets! (Who wouldn’t like that idea?).If you can get your selections to a point where they do not run into horror losing streaks, the following plan will be most useful. If, over a period of years, it has become apparent that your winners fall in a certain price bracket, and that you can, say, pick one winner in five, at an average of 4/1 or better, then you simply have to be a candidate for this progression approach.There is a simple step-by-step staking plan, and you should never get into too much strife. The recommended staking steps are as follows: 1-1-1-1-2-2-3-4-5-6.This means a total outlay of 26 units over 10 bets. If you have five bets a week, that’s two weeks’ action. Each loser takes you onto the next stage in the progression, but if you strike a winner and a profit is shown then you rule off and start a new series.If you do not win by Bet 9, you really are having a bad trot and it might be wise to just pull up sticks there and then, and start again, although some of you will want to have a final fling with the 10th bet of six units.At the various stages of this progression plan, a win would return 400%, 250%, 66%, 25%, 40%, 25%, 36%, 33%, 25% and finally 15%. If you strike a winner at less than 4/1, you simply keep going with the sequence, unless, of course, you find yourself in profit, in which case you end the series.

20. THE OPTIMIST’S MODIFIED “ONE IN TEN” STAKING PLAN
There is a twist to the One In Ten betting method: It’s the 4/1 double. This time we are aiming to get a double at 4/1 in 10 selections. That means in 20 bets, really, as we will be trying to get two horses to win for us. We will use the All-Up method, or you could use the Daily and Extra Doubles chosen by your TABs. It depends very much where you believe you can find the best value chances.Can you find two winners- one at evens and one at 6/4- on a programme? Can you do it ONCE in 10 tries? If you can, you can land a 4/1 double- and any better odds will see you travelling even more sweetly. At evens, the bet becomes two on the second leg and at 6/4 you get back five units for your original one unit bet, and that means a profit of four units.You can test this idea with a staking run of 1.1.1. then 1.5, then 2,2,3,3,5,5.Take the fourth bet as an example. Say it returns a 4/1 double. Since the bet is $1.50, the return would be $7.50 ($6 + the stake of $1.50). This is a profit on the series of $3, for an outlay of $4.50. That is in fact 66%- not at all bad.The gentle progression allows you to make ten investments spanning twenty very short priced horses (probably all favourites). Say the final bet wins at 4/1 the double. The return would be $25 ($20 + $5 stake). A tiny profit is still struck.The idea of trying ten times to find an evens and a 6/4 chance to couple, and failing every time, seems to me unlikely. Furthermore, you could take four of the bet series above, each at 25 points, and have a 100 unit bank- one for each of four venues, every weekend.There would be times when you hit all four, and a few times when you managed no doubles at all. But overall, you would make a maximum forty bets, in four venues, over ten betting days or more.My suggestion? Every time your OVERALL bank increased by $25 (on one dollar units), I would redistribute it across all four venues and resume on level terms.

21. MULTIPLE BETS
Multiple betting is best done using a separate bank and restricting your outlay to a moderate percentage of your larger overall bank. It is difficult to make a recommendation, as situations will differ, but certainly one recommendation must be set in concrete.This is the recommendation that you do not resort to treating multiple bets as lottery tickets. Of course on Melbourne Cup day most of us will have a “fling.” Clients of TAB Ltd may decide to take a handful of mystery first four, or trifecta, tickets on the big race. But for the rest of the year multiple betting must be regarded as a serious part of your winner-finding activities: you must never allow it to eat away at your other profits. They are too hard to come by.Two of the most popular multiple bets are the Yankee and the Canadian. The first involves selecting four horses and the other involves five horses. Sometimes the Canadian has been called the Super Yankee.The idea is to couple up all selections in doubles, trebles and four or five horse accumulators. They can be for win or place or a mixture. You can take them with some TABs and with some of the larger bookmakers, especially on the Internet. You can also take them in fixed odds bets, ahead of time. For example, the TABs will be offering Yankee options on the Caulfield Cup, Melbourne Cup, Cox Plate and VRC Derby.The requirements for a Yankee are 11 bets: six doubles, four trebles and one four horse accumulator. The Canadian will require 26 bets: ten doubles, ten trebles, five four-horse accumulators, and one five horse accumulator.A Yankee bet is a combination of doubles, trebles and one accumulator. The total cost for $1.00 units is $11.00, and the bets are distributed as follows:
Assume four horses A, B, C and D.Doubles Trebles AccumlatorA & B AB & C ABC & DA & C AB & DA & D AC & DB & C BC & DB & DC & DTotal bets 11.Strike the jackpot and you can win big money, but remember to restrict your betting in this potentially hazardous area. It is worth remembering that a Yankee selecting four winners at $3 (2/1 each) returns the quite remarkable dividend of $243 for $11. Have a dollar on each of these horses individually and you would receive $12 for an outlay of $4.Should a day occur in your betting year when you fancy four short priced horses, you should not lose sight of this chance of making a killing. Your chances of doing so on short priced horses are immeasurably higher.$243 may not seem like a fortune, but it is what you get for backing four 2/1 selections in the Yankee (and it is more than 20/1). Selecting four horses at 10/1 would produce a fortune, but the probability of all four winning is enormously reduced.Therefore, for a balanced Yankee, we believe you should at least include a couple of short priced horses because they have a much greater chance of returning you a dividend.To provide one final example of how you might insure yourself in a Yankee bet, imagine that your four selections are returned at 2/1, 3/1, 10/1 and 50/1. Obviously, all racing statistics will tell you that those first two selections have a much greater chance of success. Say they win and the other two don’t.You will outlay $11 and receive back $12. A double at 11/1 is the result of picking a 2/1 winner into a 3/1 winner. The logic is very clear here, and, as the saying goes, nobody ever goes broke by taking a profit!

22. BETTING EXCHANGES
The enormous effect of betting exchanges in other countries is likely to have serious repercussions for Australian betting strategies.A betting exchange is like every other monetary exchange: it is a kind of stock market based on future opinion. At its simplest, a betting exchange allows you to bet that a horse will either win or lose a race. It allows the punter to become a bookmaker and to lay odds against a horse winning.For example, if you believe that a horse can win a race and I believe it will not, I would not normally back the horse, but you would (other things being equal). But I might be prepared to bet you that the horse will not win and you might be prepared to bet me that it will.This is just like the deals you do with your bookmaker or your TAB. Of course the real situation is more complex than I just described, because you will want odds. So let’s say that I offer you 3/1 and the best you can get on the TAB is $3.25 (9/4). I am offering you a better price than your TAB.If we are both members of a betting exchange, you can go to the relevant race on the betting exchange website and see what price is being offered about your horse. I can go there and see whether I would be prepared to offer that price or even more. Say that the best price being offered about your horse is 5/2. I offer 3/1 and you snap it up. We have done the deal.
Only the winner of our arrangement pays the betting exchange. If you win your bet you pay them 5% of your profit. Similarly if you lose your bet, I have to pay 5% because I have won the bet.Clearly the huge advantage for the punter’s staking is this 5%. The TAB takes an average of 16 to 20% from every dollar you put in. The betting exchange takes 5%, and only when you win. Obviously if the markets settle in much the same range, a 5% deduction is greatly preferable. Not only that, but you are not charged anything if you lose your bet (except of course for your stake). To really grasp the principles involved here, you must recognise that the tax component is built into every bet you make through normal channels: you cannot avoid it. A betting exchange offers professional and serious punters the opportunity to retain and invest anything up to $15 additional in every $100 they outlay. Further, it offers anyone who wants to be a bookmaker the chance to be one with the only additional expense being 5% of their net winnings.Morally it is a tricky question, and one for other people to sort out. So far as staking is concerned, it does represent a viable option, as evidenced by the enormous response in other countries. How might we stake if we bet with the betting exchanges? Provided that they can accommodate our level of betting, there is nothing whatsoever to stop us from supporting horses in exactly the same way that has been recommended above (for example using the Level Logical Progression process - Plan 3). Or, for that matter, several of the staking methods which have been outlined. However, if we turn bookmaker, we must assume a very low level of profit from a high outlay. This is the classical “profit on turnover” situation that all bookmakers work under.If I turn bookmaker (see example above) and I offer you 3/1 on your selection, I am saying that I believe your horse has less than a 25% chance of winning. That is, I am giving you one chance out of four, because I believe your horse has perhaps really only got one chance in five or maybe one in six of winning the race.The odds should be with me anyway, if this is just an isolated bet, because we both probably agree that the percentages are in favour of the horse NOT winning. Even if you think it should be a 2/1 chance, that means you think it has one chance in three of winning and two chances in three of losing.It is very difficult for someone who has spent their entire racing life betting on horses to change the whole way they think here. However it is a very healthy experience. As the bookmaker, you must stake according to how wrong you think the punters are. On a betting exchange it is most unlikely you will get any takers, if you offer odds that are below those offered on the TAB. Why would anyone bet with you?So you would probably be best advised, if you want to be the bookmaker, to use this following simple staking plan and stick to it like glue. This is a whole new area, and the first rules are more akin to a safe “anti-selection” method, then comes the advice as to staking under this method:STAKING AS BOOKMAKER ON BETTING EXCHANGES: 1. Identify a race where you believe there are three or more strong chances.2. If you believe that one horse is justifiably and clearly favourite, write its name down or mark it clearly.3. Check the TAB favourite thirty minutes before the race. If it is your marked selection, delete the race.4. If it is not, continue as below.5. Identify the odds of the established favourite on your TAB. 6. Only consider offering odds on a race when you have also established that there are two or more horses other than the favourite that are listed at 11/2 ($6.50) or below.
7. Go to the betting exchange.8. Offer one ten-cent increment above the TAB odds. (If it is $1.90 on the TAB, offer $2 on the exchange). 9. Never offer odds of more than 2/1 ($3). 10. Always offer your odds on the favourite- and never on any other horse. Remember that it is a horse you do not believe should be the short priced favourite.11. If no takers when you check with five minutes to post time, increase your offer by another ten or fifteen cents (your choice).12. Remember your ceiling price of $3.13. Still no takers, no betting transactions for that race.You are backing your judgement here, but not so as to lose a fortune if you are wrong. Really serious staking, as a betting exchange bookmaker, can be extremely dangerous for the novice. You must know your horses and know your percentages or you will be taken to the cleaners. This staking plan is something on which you would put your own limit as to how much you can lose (this is all part of betting exchange technology and you cannot be claimed for more than your limit). For example if you indicate in your agreement that you are prepared to lose $100, and you have set your price at $3, the exchange will not allow anybody to back the horse with you for more than $33.Progressive staking as a bookmaker on the exchange would require the same kind of nerve that you have observed in every other bookmaker. While your staking plans all hold good when you are backing a horse to win, the idea of backing it to lose, that is, of being the bookmaker, is quite different.Betting exchange staking plans associated with long price winners might look like a quick way to make a fortune. After all, you do not expect a 100/1 selection to win. If you are bookmaker and this is the only horse you have taken a bet on, and it wins, you have lost big time. A hundred units, in fact.The advantage of the plan outlined above is that, on single horse wagering, you are going to be right some of the time, and the most you ever pay out is twice what you can make (less the small take by the exchange). If you are a smart picker, and you can identify the false favourite, you may well have an advantage here.