Time and again punters talk to me not about how to select their bets but how to place them. It seems, if their experiences are a guide, that punters believe they can zero in on the winners, but they can't pinpoint the best way to bet them.

It's an old complaint. Years ago, I recall my father and his punting pals rueing the fact that they couldn't manage to get it right-the big amounts on the winners, the little amounts on the losers! Today, the problem persists, despite the huge amount of information readily available to the 1992 punters.

P.P.M. over the years has attempted to guide its readers into proper money management, and we know we've had a positive effect on a significant proportion of our followers. The flow of 'thank you' letters is evidence enough of that.

But there are always new ideas to latch on to, and fresh plans to consider, whether for protection of assets or expansion of same! The method I call the Weekly Whiz is one that many punters should find advantageous to add to their betting attack.

Now, with many staking plans, the rules call for an increase in stakes after losers. This is very much so with progression staking. The theory is that by upping the stakes an eventual winner will recoup all the losses and give the punter a small profit. All this is fine but the problem can be that losing runs are too long and when a winner arrives it's at a miserably small price! The theory gets bogged down.

Many times, you'll find that the sequence reaches a point of no return where the prospect of actually recovering losses vanishes. The method I am now going to explain works in a completely different way with your stakes gradually diminishing while prices increase. Beginning to get the picture?

I believe this approach can overcome what are quite fundamental problems with the usual progression staking formulas. If you want to work it as I suggest, you will operate on a day to day basis with betting rounded off after a week (thus the name the Weekly Whiz).

You have to pick one horse each day of the week (or as many days as you wish to bet on). You must ensure that your selections are sensible ones. Don't just pick any old horse-pick a strong, logical contender after studying form and any other angles you can think of which might provide you with an edge.

Price is all-important. To start with you look for a horse priced at 2/1. For the next two days you look for winners at 4/1, or thereabouts. The bets for the next two days are chosen from horses priced at about 6/1. These price requirements remain the same despite what winners or losers you back.

Okay, let's zip through what I mean with an easily set-out example, with the prices required and the amount of stake required, with a 'unit' being any amount you wish:

Monday 2/13 units
Tuesday 2/13 units
Wednesday 4/11.5 units
Thursday 4/11.5 units
Friday 6/11 unit
Saturday 6/11 unit
The obvious question, I suppose, is why not chase a 6/1 winner immediately? Well, my answer is just as obvious; it's far easier to find a 2/1 winner than a winner at 6/1! You want to win as early in the week as possible.

Let's look at what might happen under normal staking plans: If you lost early you would be faced with the choice of raising your stake or selecting a higher-priced winner. We all know the dangers in progression betting so we adopt the more cautious approach of seeking winners at higher prices while reducing our risk on the money side of things.

The Weekly Whiz is simply that: You arrange your bets mathematically so that you can cut back on your risk without letting go of the chance of profit.

In essence, what I am suggesting is that you attempt to find the easy winners first so that you have cash in your pocket for later bets on horses at better odds. Don't worry about reducing stakes as the week progresses, whether you have won or lost; if you've won then you are chasing more profits and can sustain a loss, but if you've lost early then you are limiting any later losses along with the chance of recouping early losses and gaining late profits.

The actual mathematics of this plan enable you to clearly see in advance what you stand to win or lose. With only one winner from six bets you will have a maximum loss for the week of four units, or possibly less. If you find two winners-a not unreasonable expectation-there'll be an overall gain of between three and seven points, depending on which horses get up.

Three winners guarantee a profit of more than 10 units, possibly much more. Four or more winners? Well, the profits will be rolling in!

Here are some examples of what can happen:

EXAMPLE A
Monday, 2/1; Bet 3; Return Nil.
Tuesday, 2/1 (Ist); Bet 3; Return 9.
Wednesday, 4/ 1; Bet, 1.5; Return Nil.
Thursday, 4/1 (Ist); Bet 1.5; Return 7.5.
Friday, 6/1; Bet 1; Return Nil.
Saturday, 6/1; Bet 1; Return Nil.

Total outlay: 11; Total Return: 16.5; Profit: 5.5 units.

In Example A you have backed only two winners from the six bets, one at 2/1 and the next at 4/1, but they have enabled you to clear out with a 5.5 unit profit, which is a profit on turnover of 50 per cent.

EXAMPLE B
Monday, 2/1; Bet 3; Return Nil.
Tuesday, 2/1; Bet 3; Return Nil.
Wednesday, 4/1; Bet 1.5; Return Nil.
Thursday, 4/1; Bet 1.5; Return Nil.
Friday, 6/1 (lst); Bet l.' Return 7.
Saturday, 6/1; Bet 1; Return Nil.

Total outlay: 11; Total Return: 7; Loss: 4 units.

One winner only but you have lost only four units. A win by any of the other five bets would have put you into profit.

EXAMPLE C
Monday, 2/1 (lst); Bet 3; Return 9.
Tuesday, 2/1 (lst); Bet 3; Return 9.
Wednesday, 4/ 1; Bet 1.5; Return Nil.
Thursday, 4/1 (lst); Bet 1.5; Return 7.5.
Friday, 6/1; Bet 1; Return Nil.
Saturday, 6/1; Bet 1; Return Nil.

Total outlay: 11; Total Return: 25.5; Profit: 14.5 units.

In this example, we can see that a 50 per cent win strike rate (on two 2/1 winners and a third at 4/1) can steamroller you ahead to a profit of 14.5 units, or more than 100 per cent on turnover. And it isn't in the realms of fantasy to suggest that you could score with a couple of 2/1 shots and a 4/1 chance from half a dozen bets. You won't do it every week but then again you won't have to.

Now a quick word or two of advice about your selection process: You are putting the most amount of money on the 2/1 chances, so it's essential you display care when selecting these horses. You must be looking for form horses, but you have to avoid those horses which are going to start at prohibitive odds.

What you have to look at are favourites around the 2/1 mark. For those 4/1 prospects, it's probably best to study the second favourites with solid., form credentials who are in smaller fields. Finally, how do you find the 6/1 chances? Well, my advice is to look at all the horses in this price category and study their form most carefully.

Check recent form (especially sound placed form in similar class of company), check a horse's history on the track and at the distance, look for a significant jockey switch (apprentice to top senior rider)all the sorts of things that you know, as an experienced punter, you have to look for with any horse.

Now for a quick wrapup:

THE WEEKLY WHIZ EXAMPLE FORECASTS

  1. One winner at 2/1-Loss on week 2 units.
  2. Two winners at 2/1-Profit on week 7 units.
  3. One winner at 4/1-Loss on week 3.5 units.
  4. Two winners at 4/1-Profit on week 4 units.
  5. One winner at 6/1-Loss on week 4 units.
  6. Two winners at 6/1-Profit on week 3 units.
  7. Two winners at 2/1 and one winner at 4/1-Profit 14.5 units.
  8. Two winners at 2/1 and one winner at 6/1-Profit 14 units.

I hope with the Weekly Whiz that I have given you lots of food for thought. I believe it's a bright, cautious staking approach but one which, operated correctly with sensible selections, should enable the average punter to make long term gains.

This method, too, can be used to back your own 'true price' selections. What I mean is you can choose your own 'priced' horses at 2/1, 4/1 and 6/1 and back them if you can secure overlay prices. If your pricing technique is accurate this will enable you to secure far greater profits.

For example, let's look at a possible example:

Monday (your price) 2/1; Price Available 7/2; Bet 3; Return Nil.
Tuesday (your price) 2/1; Price Available 9/2; Bet 3; Return 16.5.
Wednesday (your price) 4/1; Price Available 9/2; Bet 1.5; Return Nil.
Thursday (your price) 4/1; Price Available 7/1; Bet 1.5; Return Nil.
Friday (your price) 6/1; Price Available 7/1; Bet 1; Return Nil.
Saturday (your price) 6/1; Price Available 8/1; Bet 1; Return 9.
Total Stake: 11. Total Return: 25.5. Profit: 14.5 units.

With two overlay winners, you have gained a 14.5 units profit. Even had you secured only one winner 'true priced' at 2/1 with price available of 9/2 you would have made a profit of 5.5 units. One winner 'true priced' at 6/1 with 8/1 available would have meant a loss of only 2 units.

Now for a look at another system-cumstaking idea that concentrates on backing first and second favourites. It's called The Retriever, and it works like this:

Back the 1st and 2nd favourites in Open and Welter races only (there are usually at least two on a normal city programme). You link the favourites (pre-post) in doubles.

Race 1: First Fav. A and Second Fav. B.
Race 2: First Fav. C and Second Fav. D.

The doubles would be: A-C, A-D, B~C, B-D. At 1 unit each that's four units. Should A and B lose, your doubles have failed, so you back the C and D horses in the second race to recover the 4 unit loss, plus make a small profit.

Should A and B win and C and D lose, your doubles are lost so then you move the loss on to third and fourth races (probably at another meeting) and bet in the same manner but at double the original stake. (i.e., two unit doubles).

You can win some good money with this method. For instance, a double of second favourites each at 3/1 would return you 16 units.

By Rick Roberts

PRACTICAL PUNTING - MARCH 1992