A Q and A with Amy Harper of Lay, Back and Get Rich

Hi Amy, and many thanks for joining us this month, first off would you start by telling our readers a little about yourself and your background?

Hey, thanks for the opportunity to ‘meet’ your readers!

I’m Amy, 30-something years old and hailing from the South West of England. I had no interest in anything to do with betting until my cousin convinced me to start matched betting. I was saving for a deposit so I could buy a flat and she said that it would be easy money. She was right!

I made around £1,500 pretty quickly, switched to reload offers and then the gubbings started. By then though I was hooked and I started searching for other ways to make a second income from betting.

I’ve been running laybackandgetrich.com since September 2017. I had very little idea about the technical side of running a website when I first started, so I’ve had to learn a huge amount. Mainly how to fix my site after I do something wrong! It’s been a fun experience though and I really enjoy it.

Would you say that you have a “typical” working day, and how would you describe it?

I definitely have a typical working day as I still work full-time! I bought my flat, so now all my savings are going towards an early retirement. Nothing flashy, anything before the age of 65 will do.

I just want to have some control over my life and money makes the world go around, so here I am. I think I’m making good progress, I’m happy with how it’s going anyway.

What do you think of the world of sports tipping in general and what do you think people are in search of when it comes to their hunt for a successful tipster?

I think there are two fundamental problems in the tipping industry:

1. There are too many poor tipsters and outright scammers
2. Punters expect far too much, far too quickly

We’ve all seen plenty of scams I’m sure, so that’s not going to be breaking news for anyone. Insider knowledge direct from the stable? Yeah right. It gives all the honest people a bad name and an extra hurdle to overcome.

It’s fairly easy (I think) to spot these scams. The best way is to put the tipster’s name along with “review” into a search engine and then read a few of them. If there are no reviews or they’re reporting poor results, be cautious. If fewer people fell for the scams, they’d soon go away.

Finding an honest and profitable tipster is just the start of it though. There are so many punters who don’t have a clue about variance or bank management, so even a profitable tipster doesn’t make them any money.

A lot of punters sign up for tips and immediately expect winner after winner with no losing runs. At the first sign of trouble, they cancel their payments and move on to another tipster. Then another. Then another. In their mind, a losing run means a bad tipster and they would rather lock in the loss and move on rather than apply sound bank management and wait for the good run on the other side.

There’s a huge need to educate punters about all of this, but I think there are many who would still refuse to believe it!

Do you regularly bet yourself? What style of approach do you take to your betting? What do you think of staking plans, loss retrieval systems etc.?

I do bet regularly, using my “Rollingstone” system. It’s a method of managing a portfolio which employs “Start Up” systems, “Ramp Up” systems, then “Duck and Cover” options for when I hit a bad patch.

The idea is that the “Start Up” system gave me a bank to work with, now I work on growing it nice and steadily over time with the “Ramp Up” systems. Whenever I hit a bad patch, I recover my bank with something from “Duck and Cover”. This is often bookmaker reloads or simple arbs, systems which I can’t use all the time as I’d be gubbed even worse!

It’s a simple system based on patience and a long-term plan. I know that I’m not going to retire next year, but if I could retire in 10-15 years then it’s all been worthwhile.

I have explained Rollingstone in more detail here – https://www.laybackandgetrich.com/rollingstone-betting-system/

I’m not much of a fan of staking plans. I’ve trialled a few Martingale systems and they all seem to be one bad run away from disaster. Even if they do recover after a bad run strikes, you need nerves of steel to bet with massive stakes and that’s far beyond my comfort zone.

What attracted you to the world of horse racing and what do you enjoy most about the sport?

I wouldn’t say that I’m a big horse racing fan, I’m not even very knowledgeable about it. The attraction for me is the extra income and I rely on tipsters and systems to do that.

I fully intend to put on a posh frock and go to the races one day, but I’m not expecting anything more than a fun day out. Maybe I’ll get hit by the bug and start studying form myself, but there’s a LOT to learn and I’m quite happy following others.

What traits do you think a good racing tipster should possess and what do you think the average punter is looking for from a tipping service?

I think the average punter is looking for honesty and a profitable long-term record. Most experienced bettors will deal with variance through disciplined staking, so the ups and downs are expected and the focus is on long-term returns. Inflating results though gets on everyone’s nerves!

The one big thing that I see letting tipsters down is communication.

They’re quick to email about winners, but if someone new to betting needs some advice on staking or variance, it can take days to get a response. More attention to customer service would go a long way.

New and old punters alike can struggle to make a success of their betting. If you could give them just one piece of advice to improve their profitability what would it be?

My one piece of advice would be to stop jumping from tipster to tipster. Find one you trust and stick with him or her. If you’re confident with the long-term track record, stake sensibly and then there is no need to worry.

Abandoning ship because of a bad run is similar to investors selling during a stock market crash. The FTSE drops and so they sell quickly, locking in a bit of a loss. Then they wait for the market to recover a bit and buy back in – sometimes at a higher price than they sold at!

There have been numerous studies to show that “timing the stock market” cannot be done by the average investor and that you’re better off just hanging in there, safe in the knowledge that it always goes up in the end.

I believe that the same applies to tipsters who have proven their worth over time. They’re not TRYING to hit a bad run, it just happens (to everyone). As long as you stake properly, you’ll come out the other side.

What would you consider to be a highlight of your racing experience to date? Do you have any personal racing / betting experiences which when reflecting back brings a smile, or for that matter any which bring a grimace; you can share with our readers?

Since running LBGR there have been a few awkward moments. I guess the online betting world is still dominated by males, so some of the attention I get over email has been worth a grimace or two!

Perhaps the funniest moment (it made me laugh, anyway) was when a reader thought that the website name “Lay, Back and Get Rich” was some sort of front for “ladies of the night” who “lay back” to “get rich”. I explained that betting exchanges offer Lay and Back bets so you can (hopefully) Get Rich (or at least retire early like me). He couldn’t apologise quickly enough! I genuinely think he didn’t get the name.

Anyway, I changed the logo soon after that so that the “Lay” and “Back” words match the colours on Betfair. Dear me!

What about the gambling industry, is there anything you like to see changed there? Many website forums are full of criticisms of the bookmakers and their treatment of their customers? Is this something you have an opinion on?

I hate the fact that bookmakers can advertise prices, but then refuse to take them from particular punters who they deem are bad for business. Yes, I get that it’s a business and that they have to make money from it, but that’s what the overround is for. That’s their profit margin. If someone is clever enough to spot where the bookies make errors in their judgement, that’s the game – surely.

I’ve received offers from bookies in the past, then been gubbed almost right away for taking up the offers they wanted me to partake in. It’s madness! It’s clear that bookies are trying to attract a certain type of “mug punter” and avoid those who are actually profitable. Personally, I don’t think that should be allowed.

What do you do to relax and unwind? What interests have you outside the world of horse racing?

Because of my life plan to retire early, my main hobbies outside of my day job revolve around Lay, Back and Get Rich, my retirement savings and anything else I can use to get closer to my goal. It sounds a bit nerdy, but I get excited about the thought of being financially independent and not having to rely on a pension which is controlled by others.

Along those lines, I’ve spent a lot of time over the past couple of years learning how to trade football with Goal Profits. It started when I trialled their service for Lay, Back and Get Rich and I really took to the challenge of figuring out trades. I still have a lot to learn, but I’m generally profitable now and it’s pretty addictive!

Completely away from the world of betting, I’ve been learning to play the guitar. I have a long way to go before I can compare myself to Eric Clapton, but I can strum a few chords together now and sing along to myself. I don’t think I’d want to sing in front of anyone else, but who knows what the future holds?

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