How much do you make or lose from gambling each year?

[charlieTully]

Been a gambler for over 20 years, the vast majority of those years I was the classic mug punter betting on anything and everthing, doubles , trebles, lucky 15's on horses, dogs, tennis, footie, reindeer racing any fecking thing really. Had some decent wins in that time but overall I'm sure I lost thousands upon thousands never had the courage to work it out... Anyway 3-4 years ago I had a Paul on the road to Damascus moment and changed my whole outlook on betting.I realised that I was just gamblin for the sake of having a bet rather than for any enjoyment, backing horses blind without even studying form etc

The two main sports I would follow (GAA apart) and would think I know a bit about  are soccer and golf and both are ideal for betting if you are disciplined enough. Golf lends itself to exchange betting (backing to lay or vice-versa) I would usually back 5-6 guys at start of tournament based on current form, how they have done at a certain course before or sometimes such a hunch, all with the purpose of laying for a profit at some stage of the 4 days. Usually u will lose 1-2 straight away, be able to lay another couple to cover the cost of all bets and then hope to have 1 in contention on Sunday when the real money is to be made.

Football betting can be profitable if u stick to singles rather than the big accums that most people do. Itend to look for a price that I think is wrong and might go 3-4 weeks without a bet til I get one. Tonight was an example Man Utd drifted to Evns as a result of what I thought was an over reaction to a defeat by Besiktas last week so I had a decent bet on them. As it turned out United were poor and they were probably lucky to win but the theory was right and I got a few quid.

I have several other systems that I'll not bore ya with right now but the moral of my story is that after years of being a mug punter I am now able to show a modest profit at the end of a years punting (well I have done this last 3 years anyway)

P.S. I still miss the thrill of waiting on that last minute goal to fill a ten team accumulator sometimes

please excuse the naivety but could you explain the betting to lay thing, i dont really understand it, i bet on the golf a lot but usually just each way.

[Denn Forever]

If you just bet on horses ridden by a particular Jockey e.g. Frankie Detori, Ruby Walsh would you come out on top over a year assuming no injury to jockey?

[maldini]

i put £1 on a tricast on the virtual horse racing about 8 months ago, and won £816.00

[thewobbler]

If you just bet on horses ridden by a particular Jockey e.g. Frankie Detori, Ruby Walsh would you come out on top over a year assuming no injury to jockey?

Assuming you're talking about level stakes all year long, you would lose approximately one large fortune.

The only way to make money backing a jockey is to latch onto the best young prospects as they come through, then get as far away as you can once the bookies start factoring his ability into their prices.

[David McKeown]

I suppose it depends why your gambling, I used to play a lot poker a few years ago and was quite successful and made a fair amount (to supplement income) then the us ban came in and it became much more difficult so I stopped playing.  I was always more interested in the fun of the game than the money.  At the same time one of my mates was making a very good living playing online (much better than me) and was buying a house when still at uni, but unlike me when the game changed he kept playing as he was much more interested in the money and his income dropped substantially,added to this he used to be on all sorts of sports, which I never did and he began struggling to make any kind of living.  My mate took a job recently and has started to cut back on the poker as he losses were become substantial.

[dillinger]

Used to hit fruit machines a lot untill i got into on-line poker. Win on average £25 a week. Fairly low stakes, play 2 nights a week. Never touch roulette, cant been a machine in the long run. Nice to win a few £, but thrill of the game is the thing.Not touched a machine since, really is a mugs game and i was one of the mugs