It is tempting when you are winning to place a large amount on one bet, but what has gone before has no bearing on the result of the next bet. It is exciting to put a large amount on one bet, and a bit dull to put relatively small amounts down. Dull, however, is good. It is inevitable you will go on bad streaks no matter how good at picking winners you are, and it is money management that sets apart those who make money over the long term and those that don’t.

So how much should one bet?

If you have a betting balance of £10,000, risking more than £300 per game is too much. If you have a balance of £1000, risking more than £30 is too much. If your balance is £500, don not bet in increments of more than £15. This may seem cautious, especially if you have a small starting budget, but patience in betting is key.

The good news is, YOU ARE IN CONTROL OF THE BIGGEST REASON THAT PUNTERS NORMALLY LOSE. That is NOT the odds you pick, but is they way you manage your money.

Never EVER bet more than 5% of your bank roll and on average bet 2-3% of your betting balance. Don’t bet tempted, even when you are on an amazing winning streak to increase the amount. In an unbelievable season when you pick 60% winners, there will be a guarantee that there will be periods when you success rate dips below 40%, and without the correct money management this period could wipe you out.

If you can show restraint, self control and patience, this system will be the biggest single factor that will bring you long term success against the bookmakers.

Remember if you are on a winning streak and your betting balance increases, so does the size of your bets, as you are using a percentage method and as a losing streak kicks in the bet sizes decrease. A benefit of this is that it is impossible to ever completely wipe out your betting balance.

In conclusion never bet more than 5% of your betting balance on a game, try to average 2-3% per game. i.e. if you are less sure of a result lower your risk to 1% and conversely you are convinced your pick is a certainty you can increase your risk to 5%.

Try grading each bet from 1-5

1 = not sure of the outcome

2 = Quite Confident

3 = Reasonably Confident

4 = Confident

5 = Convinced of your pick

Then bet a percentage based on which group you place your bet, so you are always betting between 1-5% of your bankroll.

Question: What is the reason why bookmakers normally win over time?

Answer: You, the punter,  are betting too much on each game.

This might not be the answer you expect, but is the reason that 98% of bettors do not make a profit in the long term. Would a successful fund manager advise you to put 25% of your savings  into one stock, when it could fail and wipe out 25% of your retirement savings? No. Therefore you must ask yourself whether risking 25% of your betting pool on one bet is sensible, which most gamblers do regularly.

The house edge is in your favour – would you take it?

If I offered you a betting advantage of 10% in a game of chance (i.e. you would win 55% of the time and I would win 45%) would you take it? You would bite my hand off, if you knew your prediction would be right 55% of the time, you would become very rich and never have to think about working for a living again.

What if I said I would give you £500 free bet pot to start your betting off. The sort of free bet offer, bookmakers offer all the time.  Sounding even better, where is the catch?

The only caveat I insist on, you cannot place a bet of less 20% of your betting pot, and you cannot add to your betting pot with your own funds. Something bookmakers do not insist on, but know from experience 98% of punters do anyway.

Still think you would become very rich? YOU WON’T

You would be highly likely to lose the whole £500. Why? over the long term, you will hit your return of 55%. However, over the shorter term, nothing is guaranteed, the same way as you can go on a winning streak of 5-10 wins in a row, think you are the god at betting,  you can just as easily go 5-10 losing bets in a row, therefore wiping out your betting pot if your percentage stakes are too high.

Over the decades most bettors consistently make this mistake, betting half their betting allocation on one premiership game, losing and then having to wait until the next paycheck to top it up.

Of all the betting advice and insider betting tips I have been given over the years, this is undoubtedly the most valuable betting “secret” I know. This why most punters are poor and bookmakers rich.