This page serves as an archive for the regular Pearls of Wisdom quotations which appear on the home page. Each entry gives a different insight into the professional approach to betting.

.....Pearls of Wisdom...No.1.....

The main difference between a professional punter and an amateur is that the professional spends less time and effort looking for winners and more time looking for prices. That is the aspect of betting on which you must concentrate if you are ever to become professional. SteveJ

.....Pearls of Wisdom...No.2.....

The best bet in a race is not necessarily the most likely winner. Given two options on the roll of a dice, 'any number over two' and 'any number below three', the first option is the likeliest winner, but, at odds of 2/5 and 5/2 respectively, it would be the worst bet of the two. SteveJ

.....Pearls of Wisdom...No.3.....

Sequences, both good and bad, are an unavoidable part of betting. Yet, whatever your current sequence may be, it does not in any way affect the chance of your next bet. The fact that you have won your last seven bets does not give your eighth any more or less chance than it already has. SteveJ

.....Pearls of Wisdom...No.4.....

The next time that you are tempted to bet a big priced runner each-way remember that a 20/1 runner-up, when supported each-way at fifth odds, pays only the same as a 6/4 winner. Under such circumstances a stake of one point each-way would return you just five points for your total outlay of two points, equating to odds of 6/4. SteveJ

.....Pearls of Wisdom...No.5.....

The effect of additional weight is greatly negated on tight horse racing tracks. The horses are continually running around bends and never get into the prolonged straight gallop where extra weight would tell. On such tracks we would therefore expect those at the top of the handicap to do well, and that is the case, as can be seen from the results of the Topweights System. SteveJ

.....Pearls of Wisdom...No.6.....

He will price up the race himself before the markets open.....if he can't get the price he wants he won't even have a penny on, no matter how much of a good thing he thinks the horse is. Terry Ramsden describing the key to the success of legendary punter J. P. McManus.

.....Pearls of Wisdom...No.7.....

Don't worry about losing sequences, expect them. Provided your bets are made at a bigger price than they really should be you will come out on top. A couple of 7/1 winners at either end of a losing sequence of 28 will return just as much as the same series of 32 bets, all made at even money, with an alternate win-lose pattern, and comprising losing sequences of no more than one. SteveJ