Using financial investment techniques to maximise betting syndicate profits

Discover the “10 Golden Rules of Sports Betting”

 

Using financial investment techniques to maximise betting syndicate profits

Whenever I have to explain my job to people who have no idea what I do – and that’s quite often! – the best illustration I can use is that of a stockbroker.

These City traders use their expertise, market knowledge and experience to find their clients the right stocks, companies or commodities to profitably invest in.

Just as I make use of my near 30 years in the betting industry to steer punters onto the No.1 golf tipping service, or the most profitable horseracing syndicate or to show them how to make money from soccer betting.

And there are clear similarities between the two spheres of operation.

Both with the same goal in mind… making a consistent, long-term income, or profit, for our members/clients.

So drawing on this parallel approach to cash generation, I’ve spent some time looking at the white-collar world of financial services, to create what I consider to be the “10 Golden Rules of Betting” of investment when it comes to tipping services and betting syndicates.

In other words, listing the benefits of using financial investment techniques to maximise betting syndicate profits.

Because there are significant lessons that any semi-pro backer or amateur punter can learn from the multi-million pound/dollar finance houses of the City. Lessons which will undoubtedly make you a better syndicate member, and a more profitable sports trader overall.

So here’s the list, 1-10…

1. 1. Choose the right options to start with

New York based investment company Merrill Edge describe it this way…

“Investments are the building blocks of a portfolio, so a little homework can go a long way.” 

And for investments read betting services.

This homework stage is absolutely critical. You can’t build a house without solid foundations, and the time and effort you invest in choosing the right service to start with is well worth it when you reap the rewards of your labours further down the line. So make a real effort to locate a successful horseracing syndicate or a profitable football tipster – it will be time well spent.

The team at Merrill Edge go on to say…

“Assess your risk tolerance. Consider your asset allocation. Choose the right investments” 

So the best way to secure the biggest long-term profits from your membership of a tipster service is to select the right one(s) to begin with… choose wisely, and this means after doing the appropriate level of research.

And this process means checking out the credentials of the information source, seeing past results, assessing your required bank size, understanding your own risk profile, querying anything about the operation you doubt… a standard checklist that every would-be syndicate member should be familiar with.

2. Give your investment time to bear fruit

As the world’s leading financial investor, and frequently name-checked entry in my writing, Warren Buffett, puts it…

“Assess your risk tolerance.The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient.” 

Point being, when you join a betting syndicate, demanding an immediate return on investment is unrealistic.

So if said the Golf Insider, or a particular soccer advisor, makes a profit season-on-season, or year-on-year, to judge them over a short-term period like a week, or even a month (or two) makes absolutely no sense at all.

It’s the equivalent of baking a cake for 15 minutes when the recipe demands fully 45 in the oven… and then you wonder why it doesn’t taste so good!!

Time must be allowed to pass, and a representative number of bets have to be seen, before any meaningful judgement can be made about any investment opportunity.

Billionaire (note this word!) Buffett is no fool in this respect, and his words are a constant reminder that the journey to success is often more of a marathon than a sprint – which is no bad thing in itself, if you understand this from the outset.

If you’re serious about making your betting pay… then time, dear Reader, is your friend. Not your enemy.

3. If you are considering a change, think things through first

We all know the saying… “err in haste, repent at leisure”.

Timing is a critical factor in the decision-making process, and something that on so many occasions costs people a bucketload of money. A phenomenon which is summed up in four words… “temporary emotions, permanent decisions”.

Because it’s often the case that the greater the speed involved in making a decision, the greater the impact felt by way of its consequences.

Far too often I see members make decisions (usually to quit a service) based on knee-jerk reactions… after one bad result, or one poor week’s trading.

Their investment choices are not thought through and, to keep the proverbs coming, they cut off their nose to spite their face.

Because if they’d taken the time and effort to look at the long-term picture, they would realise that all investments (whether in a betting syndicate, as well as any blue-chip company) will ebb-and-flow over time. Understand this and you’ll be less likely to throw in your hand just before the market corrects itself and all previous losses are recouped… with interest!

Remember these words…

“Quick decisions are unsafe decisions.” 

So wrote the famous Greek financial commentator Sophocles – well, 5^th century playwright to be exact – but you get the point!

4. If a service or investment fails don’t get mad… get smart

Or to put it another way, as Benjamin Graham, the American investor and economist, and the man dubbed  “the father of value investing” wrote…

“Wall Street people learn nothing and forget everything.” 

A point echoed by Laura Stover, president of the Bryan Investment Group, an US-based financial planning firm … “Much success can come from past failures.”

Point being, you have to put any experience, good or bad, into perspective. Then you can learn from it, and apply what lessons you’ve learned to your decisions from that point onward. This applies to assessing money-making opportunities as much as pretty much anything else in life.

That said, it’s a pause-for-thought-and-reflection process that people often need reminding of, as they fail to take heed of what has gone before, and forever run the risk of making the same mistake twice – which is CRIMINAL!

So determine if a membership didn’t pan out as expected because of a lack of time, shortage of funds, a spell of bad luck, too many near misses, just plain poor advice (as simple as that!)… isolate which of these applied to your experience, and then seek to avoid it in your next membership.

Don’t forget… every day is a school day.

5. Get back in the game

One real estate development website that I was looking at said this about bouncing back from any financial letdown – in this case, one that could come about if you bought the wrong house…

“Don’t sit around feeling bad and sorry for yourself… instead, get back in the game and start searching for your next house. The more homes you invest in, the better seasoned you’ll become, not only at making smart decisions but also at being able to quickly identify what properties have good potential… Stop avoiding real estate investments for fear they’ll turn out bad.”

And it’s a great point. Because you’re in betting to make money, and you don’t go swimming without getting wet. There will always be some risk involved, some potential setbacks along the way.

Calling again on our new friend, and money making expert, Benjamin Graham. He wisely said…

“Successful investment is managing risks, not avoiding them.” 

So learn from your experiences, but don’t let them stop you doing something that you enjoy, and can make you good money – that would be the biggest mistake of all that you could make.

6. Don’t rush to catch-up

A real bugbear of mine…

I see members panicking, or simply getting carried away, and over-staking all the time.

They either start a membership with all guns blazing, fully expecting to hit the motherload in their first half dozen bets…

Or they suffer a bit of a losing spell, and start piling on bigger and bigger stakes, chasing losses, and hoping to get back to parity way too quickly.

As the Belarusian-American money expert and author Gary Vaynerchuk summed it up…

“When you chase money, you are going to lose.” 

And seeing as the entrepreneur’s estimated net worth is around $160m, it’s advice I would categorise as pretty reliable!

Remember, making money, and earning a significant amount of cash at that, takes time. And whilst a hugely aggressive staking plan might pay off every once in a while, it isn’t the sensible strategy advised by professional betting advisors, as much as stockbrokers and City analysts.

And this advice is never more important to take than after a loss (as much as a big win).

At all times, keep a steady hand on the tiller and don’t get drawn into lumping on over-staked bets in an effort to make up lost ground or to try and double-up while on a winning streak.

Sorry to sound like a spoil sport… but as I’ve said before, this race to betting riches is more of a 10k, than a 100 yard dash.

7. Diversify

This practice is an old friend of ours (see my previous blogpost on the benefits of diversification – click here).

This is what I recently read on the US social finance website sofi.com about the advantages of spreading your risk…

“Putting all your eggs in one basket is a risky investment strategy… depending on your appetite for risk, you may want to avoid this strategy. Instead, most investors choose to diversify, spreading the risk among many investments.

For example, this could mean investing in some combination of stocks, bonds, real estate, a personal business, and other asset classes. This way, if one investment fails to perform, it will only make up a small percentage of overall assets and therefore won’t have nearly as much impact on a portfolio.”

It’s Page 1 of the “Common Sense Manual of Financial Planning” but it still needs repeating… in a portfolio of investments, one badly performing stock, bond, company (or betting service) will not drag you under.

But if ALL your money is in this one place, then you run the risk of winning big (yeah!)… however you could lose everything (boo!).

Any stockbroker worth their salt would advise you to spread your money around, same goes for any interests you may have in the betting world.

I would strongly advise membership of at least two or three services, even if you focus most of your attention on just one. For decades the financial world has shown this to be a tried-and-tested investment practice if you want to profit long-term.

8. Keep your long-term goal in mind

Always remember, you’re in this game to make money.

Yes, you’d like to make a lot of it, and you’d prefer not to have to wait to get it… but be realistic.

As someone once said… “You want to have fun, get yourself $500 and go to Vegas” but if you want to make some serious dough, then stay at home and bide your time.

I like this quote by the inspirational speaker Tony Robbins…

“No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress, you are still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying.” 

So never feel as though you’re not getting to where you want to be, because every bet is another step along the way… either in terms of wealth or experience, and preferably both!

And if a modern day US life-coach doesn’t come across as a compelling enough authority on this subject, heed the words of the industrialist and creator of modern car production, Henry Ford…

“Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” 

You will get there, and you will make money, if you stick at it.

9. Don’t get ahead of yourself

I’ve wheeled out some impressive keynote speakers in this article and I’ll continue my list with some words from arguably the biggest of them all, Microsoft magnate and multi-billionaire Bill Gates.

This is what he has to say about winning…

“Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.” 

This sentiment echoes several of the points I’ve touched on earlier. Betting success, like making money with your broker, is a wonderful feeling. And when we’re winning, and on a hot streak, there comes with it a certain feeling on invincibility… this next bet WILL win.

But that’s not always the case. It’s vitally important, as Gates hints at, to stay grounded and realistic about what success you’ve had, and what winnings are in the bank.

[Flipside… however bad a run you might be on, things will improve. Results will always return to the mean, so every losing run will have a corresponding streak of good fortune and profitable returns]

Taking advice from another man of high learning, take note of the message from the man who gave us “War & Peace”, Leo Tolstoy…

“The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.” 

So don’t be tempted to rush.

You will always be presented with opportunities, but you can only take advantage if you still have the resources (i.e the betting funds)… so stake wisely and when these good things come along, you won’t miss out.

10. Try and enjoy it

Investing money in stocks and shares, the same as betting on sports, can be somebody’s whole world. It is the start and finish of their working day. It can be 100% of their income.

And if the Stock Market tanks, or a run of horses get beaten, then it has very serious implications for their future financial well-being.

But for the majority of members I deal with on a day-to-day basis, while betting and winning money is important (of course it is!) a winner on the football, or a golfer getting placed… it won’t mean the difference between there being food on the table or not, or their mortgage being paid.

So bear in mind this whole process should be seen as a means of entertainment and enjoyment, as well as making some profit along the way.

As Jim Cramer the host of Mad Money on CNBC put…

“As long as you enjoy investing, you’ll be willing to do the homework and stay in the game.” 

And I agree 100%. If you enjoy it, you will do your “homework” and you will “stay in the game”. In other words, you will organise a bank, locate the best source of information, stick with a service through thick and thin, stay patient, and re-invest your profits.

It then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy as more enjoyment leads to better and shrewder betting, and so bigger profits.

And at the end of the day if your betting creates “enjoyment” and “profits” then isn’t that the win-win that we’d all like to achieve from our financial investments – betting and/or investing.

Happy and successful punting everyone!

 

OPINION: For me, I have always enjoyed betting on sports more than putting money into the financial markets. Why? Because from my perspective, betting gives backers a visual and emotional spectacle that seeing a stock rise by 2p per share never can. Never will. So despite there being any number of parallels that link the betting industry and the world of finance and stockbroking… when push comes to shove, I will always side with betting because it triggers those key human emotions in a way that playing the FTSE 100 or Dow Jones can’t replicate. But as these 10 Golden Rules of Betting illustrate, that’s not to say we bettors can’t learn a thing or two from the world of finance – and if you stick to this list of guidelines then you can also bring a bit of the Warren Buffett “X-Factor” to your own investments.