Staking Bonanza

Let's talk staking! Serious stuff indeed when it comes to the folding stuff in your wallet. I'm always serious when it comes to putting my money into someone else's hands for 'safe keeping' until I can get it back (hopefully!), and so should you be.

I seek safety but I also look for a method that will enable me to make some steady profits, nothing too grand, nothing too measly. I've used a number of ideas over the years, and I'll share a few of them with you in this article.

The first is one I got onto some 10 years ago, and which quite a few of the P.P.M. team like to use for their betting. You could call it a 'recession breaker' because it conveniently breaks off when certain points are reached, and it operates on the basis of gaining a 20 per cent return, well above low interest recession banking rates!

You seek a set return on investment (20 percent, or whatever sum you like) and away you go. Naturally, there is a set of rules governing the operation of the method and I'll list them for you now.

  1. Set your profit level requirement. Virtually any percentage figure can be used, but it would be silly to set too unrealistic a target. The higher the target the greater the risk, and the greater the task of achieving it.
  2. Start with a basic unit investment and progress up the scale only when you are NOT achieving your predetermined profit level. Flat stake betting continues until the profit balance is LESS than the required profit.
  3. The progression scale is based on a 20 per cent rising scale, in line with the required 20 per cent profit. Any progression can be used as long as it is a strict percentage progression, like 5 per cent, 10 per cent etc.

THE SCALE
($5 base unit)

BET NO.STAKEBET NO.STAKEBET NO.STAKE
151317.5 2562
2614 2126 74
37 15 25 27 89
48.5 16 3028 107
510 17 36 29 128
6 12 1843 30 154
7 14.5 19 52 31 74
8 17.5 20 62 32 89
9 21 2130 33 107
1025 22 36 34 128
11 12 23 43 35 154
1214.5 24 52 36 185
The point always to keep in mind is that you are seeking a 20 per cent profit on total investment. You only rise up the bets scale if you have not achieved this. As soon as you have made that 20 per cent profit, or more, you return to bet No. 1 ($5) and stay on it until your profit drops below the 20 per cent on investment mark.

The progression called for, as you can see, is a relatively mild one. Your capital (bank) can be limited to 75 times your base $5 bet ($375). If you are betting in $1 units, all you need do is bet one-fifth of the sums I have listed above. That is, you start with $1, the second bet is one fifth of $6 (rounded off) and so on.

At some stage, you might decide to increase your profit requirement (though I would consider 20 per cent the ideal target). My advice is to wait until your original bank has increased by 50 per cent (in the example, your $375 bank would need to have reached $562.50). Declare yourself a dividend of half the profits so far gained ($93.75) and place it in a Reserve Fund (for emergency use only!).

Increase your target profit mark to 25 per cent and prepare a new staking scale, increasing each bet by 5 per cent on the previous 20 per cent scale.

Let's look at an example of this staking plan in action (using the tips of Matthew Stewart of the Sporting Globe at two meetings, at Moonee Valley and Caulfield, in February). Incidentally, I chose Stewart's tips because at one of the meetings he failed to pick a winner, so it was a good test of the strength of the staking plan to see if it could overcome this setback.

MOONEE VALLEY

BETSTAKEPLACEDLOSEWIN
A5-5-
B6-6-
C7- 7-
D8.5 - 8.5 -
E 10 - 10 -
F 12 - 12 -
G 14.5 - 14.5 -
H 17.5 - 17.5 -
CAULFIELD
BETSTAKEPLACEDLOSEWIN
I 21 1st - 16
Bank now stands at: Bet: 101.50 Return: 37 Loss: 64.50. You are losing $64.50, so the progression continues.

BETSTAKEPLACEDLOSEWIN
J 25 1st - 75
Bank now stands at: Bet: 126.50
Return: 137. You are now in profit but only 8.3 per cent, so the required 20 per cent has not yet been gained, so you continue the progression, which has now gone into 'caution' mode by reducing the next bet to 12 units.

BETSTAKEPLACEDLOSEWIN
K 12 - 12 -
L 14.5 - 14.5 -
M 17.5 - 17.5 -
N 21 - 21 -
0 25 - 25 -
P 30 1st - 1 56
Bank now stands at: Bet: 246.50.
Return: 323. Profit: 76.50.

You are in profit to the tune of 76.50, which represents a profit on turnover of 31 per cent. You have now more than achieved your target of 20 per cent profit, so now you revert to a flat $5 bet and hold on this until your profit drops below 20 per cent (hopefully it won't!) and then you start the progression again.

As you can see from the example, Matthew Stewart hit only three winners in 16 selections, but they were enough to provide a nice 31 per cent profit on turnover. Had you bet his selections at level stakes, you would have outlaid (at 1 unit each) 16 units for a return of 11.95, a loss of some 4.05 units.

What can this staking plan mean to you personally? Well, it gives you a great chance to get your money management into a semblance of order, just for starters! You know exactly how much is required, you know exactly how much you are setting out to win, you know that everything can be in control at all times.

Only remarkably poor selecting can dampen your hopes! Put yourself into the following situation: You establish a bank of, say, $375. What will you do with it if you follow your present course of betting action? just fritter it away, with no semblance of a plan to your betting?

Too many punters just bet haphazardly from race to race (as we have pointed out so many times before in P.P.M.). A staking plan, like this one, enables you to adopt an entirely fresh and controlled approach to your betting.

You can go to the races, or the TAB, comfortable in the knowledge that you know what you are going to do, and how you are going to react to losses and wins. It is all set out there for you. There is no subjective judgement to be made in regards to the staking, only to the selections.

What you are really doing is injecting some professionalism into your betting. Without such a dedicated and controlled approach you will, in the long run, fail to make money at the races. You will rid yourself of the disease of 'switchitis' if you can summon up the discipline required to stick to a proper and sensible staking plan, whether it be the one I have just outlined, or another one.

If you're a long-time subscriber to P.P.M., why not leaf through your back copies and take a look at the many staking plans we have put forward for your assessment? If you don't like the one outlined here, you are certain to find one that fits the bill in the previous eight years of P.P.M. publication. Good hunting!

By Ted Davies

PRACTICAL PUNTING - APRIL 1993