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One of the great things about working at Betfair is the number of sporting “encyclopedias” sat around the place – and we mean serious fanatics. Indeed our very own Jack Houghton has just written version one of “The Dummies Guide to Betfair” (click here for more details) But it’s not just Jack, in every department there’s at least one, if not more, knowledgeable punters. So INPLAY thought that we’d ask a few of these “gurus” to impart some of their punting wisdom with us and share which punting books they’ve read that influenced their betting and why they’d readily recommend to others... Jack, Communications A License To Print Money by Jamie Reid As I was about to start doing some work for a betting company, I thought I’d better read something about the industry. I’d been a lifelong punter, but knew relatively little about the history of bookmaking and how the industry had developed. After a bit of searching I came across Jamie Reid’s A License To Print Money. I’ve subsequently re-read it three times and have no hesitation in putting it forward as the best book on punting and racing that’s been written. It’s a mixture of history and personal anecdote. The writing is brilliant, but what Reid does better than anyone else I’ve read is this: he captures the essence of what it is to be a punter. The opening few chapters follow a band of hedonistic men at the Cheltenham Festival and Reid poses the rhetorical question, “What had possessed us to put up with these execrable conditions?” His answer is perfect and sums up punting for me. “This was the National Hunt Festival. The most impassioned, the most competitive and the most spectacularly hedonistic of horseracing’s big shebangs.” The only weakness of the book is that the last update was done in 1995. So much has changed in the industry since then – arguably more change than in the rest of bookmaking history put together. So come on Jamie, it’s time for a new edition... Andy, Telbet Against The Crowd by Alan Potts Some ten years ago as I was going through my betting evolution one book in this arena stands out as making the subject real, understandable and providing some valuable insights into a full time professional punters lifestyle...that book was Against The Crowd by Alan Potts. It’s now one of my books that is always close at hand, has been read, re-read and dipped into on numerous occasions and I am in no doubt it has changed my outlook and practical approach to betting as well as being a cracking good read. The book is written in Potts’ own wry and self-knowing style, and describes how the author came to be backing horses for a living, the methods he uses (or did at the time) and the experience he has gained from 30 plus years’ involvement with racing, giving the would be professional backer a valuable insight into what it takes to reach that enviable position – backing horses – profitably – for a living. All of the chapters are a testament to Alan’s approach to punting and illustrated by examples from his own punting experiences. Refreshingly straightforward and it's the first chapter that I frequently return to where he outlines what he calls the four Cs – confidence, calculation, capital and cynicism – which underpin his methods and now my own too. 
As the book was written in 1995 the punting landscape has changed and evolved since then, of course there was no Betfair back in those days but I’m sure that all punters could learn some valuable lessons from this book if they put the ideas and thoughts in context. Alan has of course written a subsequent book – The Inside Track – which updated his thoughts and is again a valuable part of my punting library to this day. My one regret is that Alan has not had the time or the inclination to write another book which would bring us further up to date with his experiences and methods which, as I know him well, are constantly evolving. Here’s hoping he could provide us with a new list of pubs which feature at the end of Against The Crowd. I can also thoroughly recommend the The White Hart in Ford if you are visiting Bath this year! Steven, Legal Betting For a Living by Nick Mordin Nick Mordin writes about betting systems whilst this may sound a bit dull at first blush, if however you love analysing racing and betting then this book is essential reading. Mordin is responsible for educating many punters about betting theories. His books (this one and the more academic follow up Winning Without Thinking) are therefore an essential starting point for any budding racing enthusiast who takes his/ her betting seriously. Constantly looking at ways to get an edge over the way other punters think Mordin says “you can only succeed by knowing more about the horses you are betting on than other backers”. Arguably the book was ahead of its time as, despite being written before betting exchanges, he rightly points out that in any betting market you are effectively betting against the other bettors. Since the emergence of Betfair that gladiatorial view has never been more evident. All of his systems are based on fundamental principles behind assessing horse races. Whilst not all of the topics covered will be your cup of tea (for example I’ll happily pass on speed figure stuff), there is something for everyone. I still regularly re-read the chapter on “what performance pattern does the horse fit” as this has been the source of numerous good price winners for me over the years. Also, because he explains the rationale behind his theories it gets you thinking about racing and betting theories of your own. While the first half is theory based, the second half brings this alive by betting for jumps season incorporating many of his systems into the bets. Whilst the book on its own won’t make you able to bet for a living it will certainly give you many of the disciplines needed to bet better than the next guy - which in the world of Betfair, is what it’s all about! Alex, The Site Team 100 Hints for Better Betting by Mark Coton As founder of the Racing Post’s influential Pricewise column, Mark Coton influenced a wide range of punters throughout the late 1980s and early 90s with his, at the time, revolutionary ideas on value betting. As well as becoming the first Pricewise writer Coton also went on to write a couple of general betting books, the second of which, 100 Hints for Better Betting remains a key text to anyone seriously wishing to improve their punting, not just on horse racing but across the range of sports betting. The book focuses, as the title suggests, on improving your betting through a series of points, each one of which contains Coton’s commonsense approach borne out of years of frustration at the hands of the bookies. While the 90s book can feel dated , the book’s content is as relevant today to the new generation’s exchange punters as it was all of those years ago. |
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