It might seem that having a portfolio of betting strategies might seem to be a perfect answer to minimising risk but…
Are there inherent risks involved within a Portfolio Betting Strategy?
You might think that it was a sensible, grown up (and maybe a bit boring) road to riches?
But I have to tell you, there can be risks to splitting your betting funds across a number of systems.
Having said that, it’s almost certainly the right thing to do…
As long as it’s done properly?
So, I’ll start off by telling you a cautionary tale before moving on to explain how, in my humble opinion, you ought to set up a portfolio of systems to ensure long term profitability.
A Cautionary Tale…
In October of 2011 I launched a website called www.PrecisionBetting.com
It’s still going strong now.
I intended that it would use a portfolio of systems to select the best 3 selections a day and pass those on to my subscribers to profit from.
Well, all started very well; October 2011 was a very profitable month but…
As I developed more and more micro (or niche) systems to add to the portfolio, it became more and more difficult to select the best three selections each day.
PrecisionBetting.com quickly became unprofitable….
I reacted by developing (and testing) more and more micro systems to add to the portfolio.
The more systems there were, the more difficult it was, each day. to select the three best selections (some days there were multiple. but different, selections in the same race!)
Ultimately I decided to develop a ratings based methodology for PrecisionBetting.com which has gone on to great success!
It, in itself, became a stand alone service known as FocusRatings.com
But I’ve been a bit wary of portfolio systems ever since.
The Right Way To Do it…
Of course, there’s a right way and a wrong way to do anything; generally (at least, in my experience), the right way takes longer but the wrong way always costs more.
The right way to design and implement a betting portfolio would be to examine your attitude to risk, to evaluate the possibilities that are available to you, to decide what proportion of your portfolio be focused on growth and what proportion on income and, finally…
What markets you want to play in.
What is a portfolio?
Broadly speaking, a portfolio is a collection of financial instruments selected & grouped in such a way as to minimise risk and maximise the overall investment strategy.
“Think of an investment portfolio as a pie that is divided into pieces of varying sizes representing a variety of asset classes and/or types of investments to accomplish an appropriate risk-return portfolio allocation.”
Read more: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/portfolio.asp#ixzz2BuKFhik9
Thus, a betting portfolio is just an arrangement of systems and tipster services that, when combined in the right proportions, can produce your long term aims (whether they be growth, income or, more commonly, a mixture of both.)
The aim would to be to avoid putting all your eggs in just one basket or over aggressively focussing on just one part of the market.
At the same time, you need to manage your money (boring, I know!) so that you don’t expose your betting bank to the risk of total loss.
But, before you can do any of that, you need to ask yourself…
What are your long term aims?
I hope that you are betting for fun – if you’re not enjoying what you do, then why do it?
At the same time, I also hope that you are betting intelligently with the aim of consistently making money from betting.
Each and every one of us will have a different idea of what our long term goals are but they will all be influenced (to a greater of lesser extent) by the following factors…
a). Age : I’d like to make money to put aside for my retirement.
b). Disposable Income : I’m currently working so I have a regular disposable income.
c). Risk : Whilst I am not risk averse, I prefer to clearly identify and manage the risk components of my portfolio.
d). Income : It would be nice to have a £100 profit each month that I could take out so that I could take out the Missus for a romantic meal every now and again.
Once we know what our long term aims are, we can then start to think about…
Designing a portfolio…
In a betting portfolio I would like to emulate the sort of financial investment portfolio that I might be encouraged to set up if I visited a Personal Financial Advisor.
He (or she) would probably advise me to…
a). Own property – renting means giving your money away.
b). Invest in a broad range of blue chip companies for steady long term capital growth.
c). Have a Fixed Interest element such as Bonds or long term cash deposits and
d). Spread the risk of additional market speculation by buying managed funds or unit trusts.
In horse racing betting terms, I would envisage something like…
a). A Banker System : A system which might not be very exciting but will consistently, over the long run, make a regular profit. Perhaps a system based on backing odds on favourites under certain circumstances and when value can be got.
b). A Reliable Tipster Service : After all, if you were investing the money that your late Aunt Edna left you in her will you’d probably employ the services of an Independent Financial Advisor, wouldn’t you?
c). A Suite of Niche Systems : You may have your own special system for 2 year olds in June & July (I know that I have) and you may have noticed certain trends that allow you to pick winners over the the hurdles at Kempton Park.
d). A Longshot System : What greater enjoyment could there be than to use your skill to select a 20/1 outsider and then see it win?
e). Fun Bets : We need some fun bets too. A daily accumulator add fun to your betting and…
Occasionally,
A nice payday.
Play to your strengths – know your limits!
If you happen to be pretty good at picking winners over the jumps then perhaps that’s an area to bias your portfolio towards; you can always select a tipster who does well on the flat to balance things out?
If you enjoy picking higher price horses in handicap races, perhaps it would be worthwhile buying a (or developing your own) system to handle boring but important Banker Bets?
You Betting Portfolio should be an extension of your Betting personality but…
With additional services and controls built in to cover your bad points and emphasise your good ones.
Be cost aware!
If a tipster service costs £100 a month then you need to be betting pretty big stakes to be able to earn enough to pay the fees.
If you rely on your own systems, don’t forget the cost of subscription to FlatStats, Proform or HorseRaceBase.
Do you subscribe to the RacingPost.com?
How much do you spend on books about Horse Racing each year?
Do you always get on at the best price?
And finally…
Having a portfolio is only one half of the equation…
And probably the easiest half to determine!
Once you have a portfolio of systems and services set up you then need to Manage Your Betting Bank!
But that’s a post for another day.
Breaking News…
The System Builder at Intelligent-Betting.com is now up and running.
I’ve still got a few tweaks to implement but…
It is free to all; you just have to be a free (or paid) member of Intelligent-Betting.com
One of the things that I’m going to add over the next few days is for paying members of Intelligent-Betting.com to be able to create systems, save them and then, automatically, receive a daily email with any system selections.
If you are interested in trying out your own strategies…
Go to Intelligent-Betting.com, find the System Builder and have a play.
But I do warn you,
It’s highly addictive!
As always…
My kindest regards
