Betting Portfolio Management

The subject of financial investment is such a wide andprice (both in time and money), to obtain the required
varied area. We all know (or should know), thatinformation to pursue a career in their chosen field of
investing surplus funds is a sound idea; nothing newendeavour.
there. If you make the decision to invest, whatThe thing with sports/horse racing is that punters
investment options do you have?expect wealth and success to come to them while
1. Property - unit, house, holiday house, commercialthey are doing nothing to improve their skills. I believe
property, a managed property investment fund etc.this is largely due to the fact that they do not
2. Shares - stock options, different stock investmentunderstand what they are up against and how tough it
sectors such as small capitalisation mining companies,is for your average casual punter these days to turn a
international or local share funds etc.profit.
3. Fixed Interest - bonds, convertible notes, fixedAnyway, back to the purpose of this article. It is well
deposits etcand truly possible for anyone to become a successful
The above are your major investments categories inand highly profitable gambler.
which you may be looking to invest.As we saw above, there are two choices that you
These are the 'traditional' type of investmentscould make. One requires years of study to develop
however there are other investment areas which arethe required specialised knowledge to allow you to
just as, or more profitable than your main 'stable' ofbecome successful; the second option can be thought
investment options. These alternative investmentof as being the easier path.
options include tree crops, vintage cars, wines, art,Just as you may well pay a financial advisor for their
other collectables and also sports betting and horseadvice, you have the option to pay an expert in
racing!gambling for their betting advice. Doing so will leave
As the majority of people do not understand theyou as purely a manager of your investments.
betting industry, they generally scoff at the idea ofIf you have ever been to a financial advisor, you will
sports/horse race betting as a legitimate investmentrealise that they love their pie charts and love to talk
option. That is because they have only been exposedabout diversification and asset allocation. They split
to one side of the business, the entertainment side. Ofyour total investment wealth up into different areas
course gambling is generally painted in an ordinary lightwith the aim of reducing risk.
in the media where it is linked to family break downsWell consider doing something similar with gambling.
and suicides. The perception among those whoThere are a number of excellent sports/racing
haven't been enlightened is that if you bet often, youservices which show high returns and have been
must have a gambling problem!showing high returns for a good period. You may like
"If the truth be known many who play the stockmarketto build a portfolio of gambling investment options
are the biggest gamblers around."based around the good services. How you allocate
They are never labelled gamblers, nor do they believeyour resources for the different services you may use
that they are gambling because their gambling vehicleis up to you. For example your gambling portfolio may
is not horses but shares in companies. They like tocomprise of two horse racing approaches, two tennis
think of their random and uneducated decisions asapproaches, one AFL, one NRL and one Super12's for
being an 'investment' rather than a bet. In this light, it isexample.
OK to lose money because 'it is an investment'. ManyAfter sourcing your betting information from a service,
are simply betting on the price of a share just theyou have the task of managing your portfolio to
same as an uneducated sports bettor who makes amaximise the rate of growth of your bank and to
decision on the likely outcome of a game.minimise your risk. For those that take the time to look
The purpose of this article is to show that gamblingat the possibilities of sports betting investment, you can
can be a serious and profitable business as well as aunderstand why it makes a lot of sense from an
fun pastime. I decided to write this article afterinvestment angle. You invest your money for a whole
speaking with a good mate of mine who happens toyear in say the stockmarket hoping for a standard
be financial advisor to 'high net worth' clients. You may10% return. You can make that on every single dollar
be surprised and interested to note that he seesthat you outlay in some sports!
sports betting as playing a very important role in hisInvesting in a conservative manner can easily see you
investment portfolio. He knows very little about sportsdouble your original investment capital within one year.
but he sees it as a very serious business and heReturns unheard of in other 'traditional' methods of
follows our selections 'to the letter'. (Not that he wouldinvestment and yet contrary to what most believe it is
tell his clients that he invests in sport as I am sure theyunbelievably safe if you find a reliable source to
just wouldn't 'get it'.)purchase your advice from.
The similarities between the more 'traditional' typeIn sports betting you can use mathematics to calculate
investments and gambling are many. We are all playingvery accurately worst case scenarios and no, that is
the same game, which is to . . .beat the market andnot generally a total loss of starting capital. We have a
optimize our total wealth.simulation program available on the website which you
Financial markets such as the stockmarket arecan access from the following link Punting Ace
generally efficient and represent the general view ofSimulation Program which will give you an excellent
the aggregate of those that invest into the market.idea of what you can expect to achieve based on
Investing in any financial market (including the sportscertain criteria.
betting market) raises financial questions involvingWe also have programs which will simulate your
decision making under uncertainty. Many of those thatprojected performance based on certain bankroll
play such markets simply do not understand just whatsettings. To simulate a year of our tennis package,
they are up against.select the following link Punting Ace Tennis Simulation
People go to financial advisors for advice on how toor to simulate a year of our AFL betting package,
best invest their money. They are thought to be theselect the following link Punting Ace AFL Simulation.
experts. They have been to University and haveSummary
completed courses through the Australian SecuritiesIf you are not happy "putting all your eggs in one
Institute to become an advisor. It is the same withbasket", why not consider sports betting as an
other specialised services, such as doctors and"alternative investment" similar to tree crop
solicitors. People recognise the specialised knowledgeinvestments or hedge funds. Any prudent financial
that these guys have and understand the value ofplanner will explain to you the benefits of diversifying
paying such experts for their opinions.across a number of different markets and investment
I believe the reason to why more aren't successful inproducts. Indeed, investment products such as options
gambling is that the majority of punters have no ideaand instalment warrants (and to some extent margin
what they are up against. They believe that they canlending), are designed to "enhance" your overall
beat the game with no specific specialised knowledge.portfolio returns and as such, traditional investment
There is a price you have to pay to gain theadvisers may allocate a "percentage" of your overall
knowledge and experience required to becomeportfolio to these products.
successful.With risk adjusted returns far in excess of "main
This is very similar for both traditional investmentstream" investment products, why wouldn't you apply
advisors and also in the gambling field. Some advisorsa percentage of your portfolio to sports betting? As
are better than others, as are some investments andyour financial adviser will agree, sports betting is not
some investment funds are better than others. Somecorrelated with any main stream investment markets,
investment funds make excellent returns for theirand indeed given the disappointing recent performance
clients however, on the other hand, the majority can'tof the stock market (with the exception of last years
even beat the average based on the returns of the 'Allreturn of approx 25%) the current investment markets
Ords' index!are awash with products that are non-correlated to
I can see myself starting to get off track here.the stockmarket. For example, hedge funds, tree
Professional gambling is not for everyone, however Iinvestments, caravan park property trusts and chicken
truly believe that it is within reach of everyone. Nowfarms (yes that last one is actually true). Therefore
there are two ways in which you can make a livingsports betting should at least be considered as part of
out of gambling.a prudent "diversified" investment portfolio.
1. You can spend years studying mathematics andSport Betting Investment Steps
learn the ins and the outs of your chosen betting field1. Decide from day one that you have the discipline to
to hopefully build the skills necessary to makefollow your plan through and that you will operate in a
consistent profitsbusiness like fashion and will keep records and the like.
2. You can pay those that have trodden the path2. Find a reputable information provider for your
above for their specialised knowledge and skill andselections. Remember the goal is for you to be only
then focus your attention on becoming an astutethe portfolio manager. You don't want to have to
gambling portfolio manager.come up with the selections; leave that to those that
Both methods will provide very similar betting results.have proven track records and are experts in their
Gambling is like any other profession. You simplyfields. You may wish to start by looking at
cannot become successful without truly applying3. Decide on how you will divide up your total starting
yourself and spending the time (and the money), tocapital over the information provider(s)/sport(s) which
learn and become proficient. (Contrary to what mostyou have gathered.
'retail' punters would suggest). It is no different to a4. Now follow through with your plan setting aside time
financial advisor who studies commerce at universityfor constant reflection and self evaluation in an attempt
and then completes a Diploma of Financial Markets atto maximise your returns whilst minimising your risk.
the Securities Institute. They have paid the necessary