UK Horse Racing Tips

Profiting as a professional gambler – or even a casual one – is often a realm of fine very margins. Just look at essentially unwinnable, in the long term at least casino games (with the exception of poker). Even with games like roulette on a one zero wheel, with a tiny 2.7% house edge, that slight margin can soon drain your bank balance if you play for long enough!

With horse racing one of the best ways of reducing the bookmaker edge is by improving your ability to spot value – it’s a key factor. There’s no one way to go about this, as it’s a skill that comes with time and experience. Trial and error, especially when your money is on the line, can certainly prompt a meaningful learning environment for those of the right disposition (as in those, who like to analyse form, physique of horses, follow certain trainers and so on, rather than those drawn to the rush of a big win). But beyond that it can help to try to examine where else you can extract a slight advantage.

One dead cert way, if you’re diligent and organised enough, is to take advantage of bookmaker bonuses and free bet offers. The betting world is such a competitive environment and as such bookmakers try their damnedest to bombard you with enticing offers. Some of them run into triple figures with the odd catch, others offer a legitimately free £20 or £30 bet. I mention catches because there are certain ‘offers’ that are anything but, as you have to gamble x times your stake before you can withdraw your winnings. It’s typically a figure that they clearly decide you’ll have lost your original state by the time you’ve gambled, rather than ever benefiting from the bonus. So really, it’s important to separate supposed “free bets” from actual genuine free bet offers or those with few catches at least.

Most of these offers are essentially introductory offers for new customers, but it’s worth pointing out that some bookmakers do offer ongoing bonuses and incentives too. One bookmaker I joined would often call me from time to time with a free £50 bet here and there if I waged the same amount. It was clearly an effort to prompt me into bigger and regular wagers but if you’re disciplined enough and just take advantage of these freebies it does effectively tip the scale in your favour.

Some gamblers go a step further and combine these introductory and ongoing offers into an approach called Match Betting, where they lay off their free bets, often on a betting exchange, and take the profit at essentially no financial risk to themselves. This can certainly be effective, though I wouldn’t call it ‘betting’ as such, it’s more like a money management approach where you best take advantage of these free bets. Utimately, whatever your approach is, the take home from this is that it’s important to try to make the most of these opportunities to diminish the bookmaker’s edge. Your betting bank may well thank you for it!

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