How not to punt - 2009 done and dusted

Hey All,

Firstly - Happy New Year :)

Secondly, I am a very ordinary punter at times and I proved that to myself the last couple of months and in particular the last few days. Two things kill me when I bet, I know it but still make the same mistakes. They are

1 - over confidence - I get on a roll like I did around August where I can't seem to do wrong, so I push it and then it falls in a heap. So much so that the last couple of months have been shocking. I bet too big stakes, I make bets I shouldn't make and I play way too many races (see below). Annoying thing is that as a punter if you have no confidence you will most likely either lose or not bet. So there's a balance somewhere in there that I'm struggling to find.

2 - too many bets - I've just spent the last couple of days cleaning out all my betting accounts betting race to race in the hope of getting back into the winning zone. Of course it didn't work, it never does - there are punters out there that successfully play every race, so it can be done BUT they spend hours rating them etc, without the work it's almost impossible to do - so I need to pick and choose, target my bets - that's the advantage we have over the bookies, they have to field on every race - we don't - I need to realise that.

So, I know what's wrong - question is can I fix it?

I think I can and will have a crack at doing so from next week when I can load a little more money in and start over. In some ways it'll be good to have a week off, clear my head and get a bit more organised. Sure it's frustrating but hey, you need to live with the consequences of your actions and my actions mean that I need to have a week off.

It's a little sad thinking where I was when I started this blog - I had a plan, a system and had done a hell of a lot of work. From there I drifted back into old habits and ended up in the same place I've always ended up. If anyone reads this they probably think I should give it all up and they would probably be right, I would be a hell of a lot better off financially if I'd never had a bet at all BUT it's in my blood, I know the game can be beat and I've seen people do it - I still want to be one of those people. I just have to work out how.

There's another challenge I have - this is going to sound stupid to some, possibly familar to others, but I'm so used to losing on the punt that mentally it's easier if I do. It's what I know, it's familar, it's what I've been doing for years and then somehow that becomes - I don't deserve to win, I need to punish myself for my choices by losing. My psychology 101 tells me it's a learned behaviour, and it is, I just need to "unlearn" it.

So that's what I need to change in 2010 - I need to snap out of the "losing is what I do" mentality and realise that it's ok to win. It's not going to be easy but 2010 is a big year for me, I turn 40 this year - I've been punting over half my life now and it's time to turn it all around, it's time to make it happen. It's time to break the losing habit.

By the way, the tipping thing didn't work out, I missed a few cut off dates and lost interest - might have another go one day, I'll leave the link below, there are some great tipsters on the site, check it out.

Overall from here re this blog, I probably won't be posting my bets like originally did - that's too structured, too organised and in some ways adds too much pressure. I'll post some thoughts now and then though, maybe a tip here and there and go with the flow.

So thanks for reading, keep checking in and I'll let you know how things are progressing - any advice would be welcome.

Cheers and have a wonderful 2010 :)