Many readers have asked for further information on the 6-Point Divisor staking plan, which I talked about in the February issue.

The plan has been around for a long time. Many punters, not slaves to level-stakes betting, swear by it. It can provide you with consistent profits, provided your selections are up to the mark.

Basically, the aim is to win 6 betting units every time you back a winner, or winners, whose odds total 6.

You use a Divisor of 6 into your Target. Let's say you have a Target of 120 units. The Divisor, then, is 6 into 120, giving you an initial bet of 20 units.

Let's look at the plan used on the selections of John Barker from the Winning Post formguide at Flemington on January 29.

His first selection is Mannington. The bet is 20 units. Mannington wins and pays $1.60. The profit on the bet is 12 units. This is now deducted from your target figure, leaving you 108 units to gain.

We'll round off the collect to I and deduct this from the divisor, giving us a divisor now of 5 divided into 108, which I'll round off to 22 units. This is your next bet.

Barker's tip is for Fiordland, which loses. The divisor remains the same but you add the loss to your target, which now becomes 130 units, with a bet of 26 units (5 divided into 130).

Barker's next selection is Bush Outlaw, a loser. The lost 26 units is added to the target, which now becomes 156 units, demanding a bet of 31 units on the next selection, which is Panoramic Lad, a winner paying $2.20.

The return is 99 units, giving a profit of 68 units, which is now deducted from the target, leaving a new target of 88 units. Because you won 2 units on the winner (rounded off) you deduct this from the divisor, leaving you with a new divisor of 3.

The next bet, then, is 3 divided into 88 which calls for a bet of 29 units on Barker's next selection, Ekalaka, a loser. The lost 29 units are now added to the target which becomes 117 units with the divisor remaining the same at 3. The next bet is 3 divided into 117 which calls for a bet of 39 units.

This goes on to I Am A Ripper, which loses. The new target is now 156 units with a divisor of 3, calling for a bet of 52 units on the next selection, Pins, which runs 2nd. The lost 52 units is again added to the target, which becomes 207 units divided by 3 for a bet of 69 units.

This is on Barker's final selection, Knight's Passage, which wins at 54.70, for a return of 324. This win gives us the final 3 units we need to round off the divisor and the series is completed.

We have bet a total of $288 and our total returns have been $32, $99 and $324, totalling $455, a clear profit of $167. That's a profit on turnover of some 58 per cent.

Had we bet the eight selections at level stakes, assuming $36 on each, our returns would have been $342, for a profit of $54, and a profit of only 18.75 per cent on turnover. Compare this to the profit level achieved by the 6-Point Divisor Plan at 58 per cent.

Had we eliminated the three really short-priced selections from John Barker's eight races at Flemington, we could have made a much greater percentage profit, betting 125 out and getting back 227 for a profit of 102, which is 82 per cent on turnover.

My advice would be to try to restrict the minimum acceptable price to around 2/1, and also to resist the temptation to bet every race. Pick out two or three good, solid bets each raceday

If you find yourself on a losing run, and you feel the stakes are rising too high, simply introduce a new divisor to add to the current one and introduce a new target as well.

So, if you were on a divisor of 3 and a target of 120 (say), you could make the new divisor 9 and the new target 240. This is known as the safety brake factor.

I trust this clearly explains what the 6-Point Divisor Plan is all about. Another piece of advice, for those who want to play cautiously, is to rule off and start a new series any time you get into profit.

Click here to read Part 1.

By P.B. King

PRACTICAL PUNTING - MARCH 2000