I picked up both books, and plan on reviewing more as time allows, but my intention or ultimate goal was to educate myself. I am still working through Puntology and have to say that I like it. It does have a bent more towards British racing but much of it is very relevent no matter where on the planet you live or what sort of racing you fancy. The ultimate goal is to become a professional gambler at the end of a year’s time and the funny thing is that the author, Michael Wilding, knows human behavior pretty well and includes a simple betting system in the beginning of the lessons since I think he figures that you’re going to want to get up and running as quickly as possible. From there he helps you to refine or create your own betting system tailored around your own interests. What I found was that, for myself, I wanted a system that was a little more granular or detailed…I wanted more in depth knowledge of some of the statistics that many of us use in handicapping a race or even remove some of the key elements of the beginners Puntology betting system that weren’t relevent to racing here in the US…that is why I picked up some books to supplement my education, so to speak.

I was actually surprised to find that the Beyer figures that so many speed handicappers live and die by that are posted in the Daily Racing Form aren’t as accurate as they might seem! It definately is a large endeavour to create your own charts but it made sense after reading these books…and what better way to create a signifcant edge than to be able to have super accurate speed figures that nobody else is privy to… (other than those that might also wish to create their own charts, which is highly unlikely in this day and age of a public that demands immediate gratification!)

The long and the short of it is, Puntology is great and it will give you a wonderful education and make you a Grade I punter within a year’s time…there is no question about that…but why not do some “extra credit” stuff to ensure that you have a signifcant edge over the rest of the punters out there and ensure that you are solidly a part of the 2-5% of punters who make money and are successful instead of hoping and praying that you aren’t a part of the remainder that fill the pockets of the upper eschelon?

Try telling your family that you’re going to quit your job and make a living punting. Go ahead!…tell them that you either have a system that is earning you more money than you’re making going to work every day and see if you don’t wind up on a morning tv show where your loving family has an intervention with you, telling you that they are worried about your sanity…at worst. At best, your family and chances are your mates will tell you that you’re nuts. That if it was that easy everyone would be doing it and that you shouldn’t quit your day job.

But what if you actually COULD learn to be a successful punter? If you could hone your punting skills to the point that your betting bank was slowly growing instead of shrinking on a monthly basis. What if before long your betting bank had grown from a hundred pounds or dollars to a thousand? What if on a weekly basis you were clearing an easy 100 to 200….more than if you had a part time job. How long would it take before you took your punting to the next level? Enough money to pay the bills every month and three months worth of funds in your bank account for those losing streaks that are bound to come along….how would it feel to not have to live paycheck to paycheck? To have the security of basically having your own business…and a business doing something that you love!

Personally, I can see myself waking up each morning when I want and not at the urging of my alarm clock…no grueling drive to work each morning or commute back at night, realizing that more than half of my time is spent doing what someone else wants me to do when they want me to do it…basically slavery to a job that I despise. I can imagine the freedom of going on holiday when I want, where I want and for as long as I want.

Is this just a pipe dream or can this be your reality? It is honestly up to you…how hard are you willing to work?…will you take the time to find a system that works for you or create your own system?…will you have the patience to wait for your betting bank to grow and make safe bets along the way and throughout your career as a professional punter? Can you treat this like a real business and put in the time to grow your business slowly but surely? Will you continue with your ‘education’ just like any successful professional?

The fact is that close to 95-99% of all punters lose money. What makes you think that you can be amongst that elite 1-5% that don’t? What is going to separate you from the crowd? Is it going to be a superior betting system or will it be your patience, character and determination? Everyone has access to the same information and betting systems…it is all in how we use this information and these tools that will keep us in the money in the long run. We won’t win every bet and every day won’t be filled with big wins but as we hone our skills and become wiser…and with patience…we will become a member of the elite who quietly make a handsome living at their leisure while enjoying time at the track or by betting on a few select races each week.

For most the dream of making a living betting on horse racing is just that….a dream…but people just like you and me DO make a handsome living doing just that. Day in and day out they quietly wait for their race…they see opportunities and with the skill and precision of a successful stock market trader they place their bets and receive income. If you listen to the crowd you will never live the dream…but if you dare to dream it you can live it.

Visit our main site, Horse Betting Systems, to read our reviews of popular betting systems and books to see what might suit your betting style and keep from getting ripped off. I assure you that, just like the races, not every system is a ‘winner’ and there are quite a few folks out there wanting to separate you from your money. Basically…anything with a rating of three stars of less is not good….we got sick of these guys trying to hack our site or sending us nasty emails so anything three stars or less is bad….four or five stars is good. Get it? And good luck!