A Q and A with Steve G of Racing Expert
Hi Steve, and many thanks for joining us this month, first off would you start by telling our readers a little about yourself and your background?
I grew up in a small village in Lancashire and I’m married with two wonderful children. I’ve been interested in gambling all my adult life, but got into providing professional gambling advice when I released my Midas Method service.
Would you say that you have a “typical” working day, and how would you describe it?
In some senses I have a similar working day to most, I’m at a computer from around 8-5 mon-fri and also Saturday morning working on tipping and I also research potential
future betting strategies. Holidays are difficult for me, as I have to take my laptop and work out the tips each day.
I don’t tip Sundays or Mondays as I think it’s good to have break and refresh for the next week, besides racing on these days isn’t particularly brilliant.
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 it’s got a lot better. There are so many sites and plenty of excellent tipsters to choose from whatever you are interested in. Some really good stuff is out there and
obviously some not so good. I think people want reliability which is what I strive for; no one is comfortable with long losing runs, even if there is profit on paper so I’m always conscious of making the strike rate acceptable as well as profit.
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.?
My life is in gambling so I bet a lot. Although I’m a fairly risk averse person so I take a cautious approach to my betting. I nearly always bet with 100 point banks over the
various systems I have with level 1 point win or 0.5 point each way bets.
What attracted you to the world of horse racing and what do you enjoy most about the sport?
My
uncle owned a few horses back in the 1990s so I first got into it that way. I
just think the sport is so much more exciting and immediate than other sports
which often are a slow burner, particularly too bet on. I also love the fact
that each race is a different puzzle to solve and that it’s a really
intelligent sport in which knowledge is rewarded.
What led you into the world of racing tipsters and what do you feel you can offer racing enthusiasts and punters that other tipsters can’t?
I’ve had various methods and tips services I’ve released starting with the Midas Method. I was doing well with my own
personal bets so was confident I could do well for other people online and it
really snowballed from there. I worked for a bank previously and didn’t like my job and I’m much happier now I’m in horse racing.
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?
It’s actually a tough and difficult job, possibly more than some realise. I
think most good tipsters have good mathematical skills above anything. You can
love horse racing, but if you can’t process stats and
form you won’t do very well. There is also a
psychological aspect to being a good tipster so you have to keep a level-head. Losing runs are tough and it’s important to know when to change the approach and when to not react emotionally to something that isn’t working over the short term but is a sound strategy.
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?
Bet less. Some days the weather is rubbish, or the racing is low quality and you do not want to waste precious money placing bets you really don’t need to place. Some races are harder to read than others too, so if the puzzle can’t be solved simply move on to the next race or the types of race you are most comfortable betting on.
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?
Obviously I’m proud of my record as a tipster and any positive feedback I get or
winning months is always special. Racing Expert is on 16.2% ROI for the year to date and 18.43% since 2016. More specifically when I have released software in the past such as the value tips software this has been an enormous amount of work to both test and come up with this systems as well of the challenge of working with a developer and getting things automated. In terms of a more embarrassing experience, I had a terrible day at Doncaster racecourse one year. In which I lost every bet despite a hefty amount of research, while my wife was up £100s simply betting on the horses with the best sounding names.
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?
The
main issue I have is punters getting restricted. Obviously every bookie has the
right to deny a customer just like any other business, but if say a punter has
lost £1000s for years and then starts to improve and
places a string of bets a computer deems “high risk” and can’t get a reasonable sized bet on?
That is a real scandal. A good bookmaker should be able to set its odds so they
have a balance of winners and losers and they take an edge without the need to
restrict.
What do you do to relax and unwind? What interests have you outside the world of horse racing?
I’m a keen gardener which keeps me busy in the warmer months and I find both
relaxing and rewarding. I also like to play guitar when I fancy a break from racing.
You can find out more about Steve’s Racing Expert service here