Following the fluctuating fortunes of Aston Villa, Warwickshire CCC and the England cricket team has provided the perfect grounding for the ups and downs of punting. I specialise in football betting and my approach follows the three Rs – research, research, research. Basically I try to apply the principles learnt though years of horserace betting (not very successfully, I might say) to football.

Form, ratings and stats count much more heavily for me than opinion. The advantage with football betting is that the number of matches per week is much more manageable than the horseracing programme, making it easier to stay on top of the form and look for those little edges that lead to profit. My one golden rule is never to force a bet even if I have spent a long time on research.

Perhaps my shrewdest bet was getting long of the GB medal performance at the Sydney Olympics, when the input of lottery funding had not been factored into the odds and I had a little inside knowledge that the cycling team would perform above expectations. When Jason Queally struck gold in the velodrome on the first day, I was on my way.

I’ve had many more not-so-shrewd bets, and it’s that constant battle between your best and worst instincts that, for me, provides the excitement and challenge of betting.

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