5. Discipline
07 Deadly Mistakes to Avoid 
/ Betfair Education / 26 September 2008 / Leave a comment
"Lack of discipline will undermine your progress"
Why do most punters still lose even when they use a good racing system patiently? They lack the discipline to follow the system religiously to the letter. The one thing all good systems have in common a clear set of rules to follow, leaving you no room to second guess your decisions, or even worse let the element of human emotion get involved.
Emotion will undermine your long term plan. Now I'm not suggesting that you have to have a heart of stone to succeed, but if something doesn't fit the criteria of the systems rules, no bet simple as that. The minute you cross the line and ignore the rules you will lose money and that's a fact.
A professional punter has clear, concise rules that he follows religiously, that is what separates him from the losing punters. If a system has been proven to work long-term stick to it and don't make any changes. Unless in a rare situation when something in racing changes, which makes a particular rule redundant.
On occasions we will all suffer from the odd lapse of discipline; after all we are only human not machines; but be aware of these errors of judgment. Betting regularly on the wrong type of horses that are being talked up by the racing journalists is the quickest way to the poor house.
When it does happen don't punish yourself learn from it and move on. Ignore hype and rumor about horses, sometimes it is justified but usually not. If you stray once too often it can leave holes in your betting bank, and also lead to bad habits creeping back in.
For a more in-depth explanation of emotive gambling see the chapter on emotion.
This series of articles has been written by Jonathan Burgess, a Betfair Accredited Trainer and author of www.false-favourites.co.uk. As an experienced punter, he has some wide advice to share, however his advice and opinions represent his personal views and not those of Betfair.
