The most amazing thing about many systems and staking plans is probably that they are usually so very simple.

A plan that rocked the nation nearly two years ago was The Dark Horse, yet its heart was so simple that when purchasers started to read what was in front of them they could hardly contain their glee. There was absolutely nothing to go wrong, and the darn thing kept on making profits.

A good plan will do that. The staking plan included with that plan boosted profits remarkably and yet it, too, was such a simple little device. In deference to those who purchased the system and are still working it, I would never reveal the nature of the staking plan, except to say that they are still writing in telling the Editor how well they are going.

The Five Per Cent Plan is as easy as ABC, and it is applicable to virtually any reasonable system that you have. I am going to use some of the results from the Statsman-designed Hyper Horse to show you how profits might be boosted by this simple idea.

Naturally I am not going to provide the plan itself, and believe me, you could try for six months from what I do give you and you would never crack the system itself. This is so that we uphold faith with those who purchased the plan.

However it is a plan that proved its capacity to find winners, regardless of the track conditions pertaining, unless the track is actually heavy, when the plan has been found to be less successful and therefore subscribers are advised against using it under such circumstances. I am simply starting at the very beginning of the overall test period, listing the animals as they qualified in Appendix C of the Hyper Horse Book, and showing you how profits might be increased with no real risk. In fact I am choosing an absolutely poor place to start with a series of losers!
But I will tell you what, when this plan hits it hits like something right out of the ordinary, and it keeps on doing it.

So long as you have a plan that can make a reasonable profit on level stakes, then Mr Five Per Cent should generate money for you. What is done is to increase the bet whenever a winner is struck, so the bet is always at 5% of the highest point of the bank. The plan did not begin with a bang at all, as you will see. It began with a series of losers, although many were near-misses.

This is good for us now, though, as it clearly demonstrates how we might have to wait for that big winner, regardless of how safe overall our plan is.

RULES

  1. Establish your bank (say $100).
  2. Always bet 5% of the highest point it ever reaches.
  3. Do not ever lower the bet.
  4. This means that even if you are showing a temporary loss you are still betting 5% of the highest point that the bank reached (don't forget that, it's the essence of everything).
  5. Retain a reserve bank of twice the si of the original, to be brought into pl only if an abnormally long los sequence demands it.
  6. Always be prepared to decla dividends if

    (a) The stakes get higher than you f comfortable with, or

    (b) The profits are so high that you a happy to take some of them a reward yourself, or

    (c) You have made a nice profit a you lose your nerve.

Frankly if (c) occurs you are better to go back to the beginning, take the money and start again small. If the plan is a good one you will go forward again.

CALCULATING FIVE PER CENT ON THE CALCULATOR
This plan makes life very simple if you are at the TAB during the day, or at the races. Just add your profits to your previous bank and multiply your new bank by 5, hitting the % button on your calculator (i.e. $345.60 x 5 [hit %] and it will immediately show 17.28.)

You round up to the nearest dollar if the figure in the cents column is 50 or more. Here it is less so you go back to the previous dollar and your next bet is $17.

WORKOUT

Selection No.ResultBankNext Bet
195.005
290.005
385.005
480.005
575.005
670.005
765.005
860.005
9WON347.505
10342.505
11337.505
(N.B.: There were three starters in the one race, one of which won at big odds ... hence the bets on each were for $5. I am keeping the stakes at even dollar figures, so the next bet is $17, not $16.87)
12320.5017
13303.5017
14286.5017
15269.5017
16WON317.6017
(N.B.: The stake does not go up as although there is a winner the bank is not at the level where we calculated the $17 bet)
17-300.6017
18-283.6017
19-266.6017
20-249.6017
21-232.6017
22-215.6017
23WON445.0517
24-423.0517
25-401.0517
26-379.0517
27-357.0517
28-335.0517
29WON394.4517
30WON409.8517
(N.B.: Again, although there were two wins, the bank has not yet hit its highest point so we remain with the $22 per bet).
31-387.8522
32-365.8522
33-343.8522
34WON394.4599
35WON473.6524
36WON596.0530
As a matter of interest Bet 39 won at 6/1, and Bet 46 won at 50/1.

A quick calculation demonstrates that the bank would then grow to $2268.50.

Betting with a bank of $1000 would have returned $22,685.

My recommendation would then be to draw a profit. In fact it might have been advisable after the first big win.

Money is money and risk is risk. When you hit the jackpot there is wisdom in taking at least some of the money and running! This is what I mentioned earlier and I have always been a great believer in avoiding heart attacks.

After all, the bank is registering a 2158% profit after less than 50 bets and only a fool (or maybe a man who doesn't really need the money?) would continue to escalate when a mighty profit is there for the taking.

ANOTHER ALTERNATIVE
This would be to increase the bank by a significant proportion and release the rest to other pursuits (e.g. a nice holiday, so that you always retain profit generated).

The bank might be re-established at $500, with a reserve of $1000. There is then a spare $700 or more for a week away at the seaside, tax free, and your bank still intact for another assault.

As a matter of fact the Hyper Horse system found another 50/1 winner on Bet 72, which followed wins at 15/1 on Bet 71 and 7/4 on Bet 70. There were five other bets on the way to Bet 70, so things stayed the way they were expected to.

It is not the only plan in the wide world, and so long as you have one that can withstand 60 losses to start with (and God help it if it cannot!!!) you are well on your way.

BONUS ... THE SECURE SYSTEM
Here is a very tight plan that you can use in conjunction with the plan above. I call it the SECURE SYSTEM and it manages only one or two selections in a weekend, because it is so demanding. But it is very attractive when combined with a staking plan such as Mr Five Per Cent.

RULES:

  • The horse must have won at least 20% and placed at least 40% of all its races.
  • The horse must have had at least 10    starts or at least three wins (or both).
  • The horse must have been placed first to fourth at all of its last four runs OR
  • The horse's form total for the last four starts must not be greater than nine (e.g. 4221 = 9)
  • The horse must not have won more than two of its past four starts.
  • The horse must not be trying for a hat trick of wins (i.e. three on end).
  • The horse must not be carrying more than 57kgs nor less than 52 kgs before claims are made.
  • The horse must not be drawn wider than barrier 10 before scratchings.
  • The horse must have won at the track (T) and over the distance (D).
  • The horse must have raced in the past 21 days.
  • The horse must have won under the prevailing track conditions (e.g. heavy).

By Jon Hudson

PRACTICAL PUNTING - SEPTEMBER 1989