Fancy yourself as a successful punter? Here are the three key skills you’re going to need

The Racing Post has kindly invited me to be a regular contributor to this guest column slot and, as I decided to “semi-retire” as a professional punter in April, I’m more than happy to share my methods and attitudes.

Of course, there is more than one way to skin a cat so, while I know what works for me, it doesn’t preclude other approaches from being more successful. There are, however, common mistakes that are made which are harming any aspiring punter’s chance of success. In the coming months, I will delve further into these subjects but, in this column, I wanted to start with an overview of some of the techniques that I use and the things that I avoid.

It should be stated straight away that profitable betting over a sustained period of time isn’t easy. In fact, it’s difficult. If you bet regularly as a hobby and you’re breaking even, you are outperforming the vast majority of other punters. But it is possible to end up in front and, if you want to pursue it, it can be tremendously satisfying.