Horse Racing Tipster Services - Can They Be Trusted?
It would be fair to say that in my many years of horse racing experience, some punters, whether they bet seven days a week or just at weekends, will only bet by using a horse racing tipster service. These punters devote an enormous amount of their time (and sometimes money) in finding someone whom they trust and whose advice works for them, and they follow their advice religiously, believing that they offer an almost "sure bet" every time.
Believe it or not, despite all the hype and unreliable services there really are tipster services out there that do work. Determining which services are both reliable and profitable however, can be quite costly and time consuming.
What To Look For In A Tipster Service
One of the simplest and most effective ways to determine if a service or system really works is to paper test it for a certain period of time and insist that you have a free trial, instead of having to pay upfront. It is my believe that this is the only way that a punter can know if a particular tipster service is credible, reliable and that it will be successful for them.
It is also interesting to note the tactics of some of these racing tipsters, as some services use quite basic principals for the basis of their advice on what to bet on. One such example is whats called the "Martingale" system where every bet is doubled after each loss, until a win is achieved. This is a horse racing system that I do not believe promotes good habits or money management. In my opinion it lacks discipline, both financially and tactically, however many people believe that it works and so use it each and every week.
Some of the many horse racing tipster services that are available, will all incorporate various factors that analyze the best and most likely potential winners. They may conduct a full analysis on a horse's form under certain circumstances, for example; with the jockey that's on board for that given race; where the race is being run; whether it is a left hand course or a right hand course; what the going is likely to be and the horses form against the competition, if any.
There are also racing systems that will be based purely on arbitrage, hedging or other more 'financial based' approaches, which it is fair to say should be a consideration, but by no means the only one.
Easy And Quick Access - But Beware
Additionally, you can find a plethora of websites that are offering tipster services and racing advice. These can range from outrageous promises of overnight wealth to simply increasing your odds of winning by a small percentage. One of the main problems with the tipsters that promise instant, overnight success, is that they can give the industry a bad name, therefore making it harder for the genuine services to provide good, honest information to their customers.
A word of caution too regarding online or software-based horse racing systems; these will tend to follow fixed algorithms that clearly ignore some of the more important factors that should be used in analyzing a horse's form related to the course, going, jockey and so on. Typically these give the impression of guaranteeing a winner, however from my experience of testing such systems, they often are not as reliable as perhaps they would have you believe.
The key, and number one factor in looking for a reliable horse racing tipster service is to test how much profit you are likely to make and this can be done by "paper trading" for a week or so. If a tipster is not willing to let you try their system for free for a short period of time, it may be wise to look elsewhere. There are services available that will allow you, the punter, to try receive their tips and information for a period of time, risk free.