Today we have the first article from a new contributor, Nick Hardman. Nick will be bringing us a punters diary feature in the coming weeks but, today, he's gone back to basics with Part 1 of an in depth look at one of the most key aspects of successful punting - mindset.

Welcome Nick and over to you!

 

THE KEY TO SUCCESSFUL BETTING

PART 1 – A successful punters mentality

It is estimated that only about 1% of all punters make consistent, long term profits. Why do you think this is? Are they expert for…

As promised last week, I've got another interesting (and hopefully profitable) stat for the Aintree Festival which commences on Thursday of this week.

Peter Bowen is something of an Aintree specialist and I would have been keen to flag him up as one to keep on the right side of last week,  were it not for the fact that he was on one of the coldest streak I've ever seen him go through.

Prior to Pension Plan putting his nose in front last Thursday, Mr Bowen had not had a single winner in 2013 from 5…

I hope everybody is enjoying the first day of the Easter Break!

I’ve spent this morning enjoying some time off from the daily stress of racing - although this afternoon I’ll have to plough into some prep work for the 6 meetings tomorrow and the 7 on Monday!

God knows how the jockeys and stable staff handle the relentless racing calendar we have these days – they scarcely get a day off all year long and when they do, the following day ends up twice as busy!  I’m guessing that bad weather cancellati…

Looking back over this years festival from a punting sense, the best thing I can say about it is that it's over!

While not a blood bath ( I did in fact turn a small profit, thanks largely to backing Rajdhani Express at 25/1 on Day 1) it certainly wasn't the financial triumph it has been over the last 10 years or so.

A lot of my selections performed well without actually winning - and when you are an aggressive win staker like myself, that can be a particular form of torture!

When I list the my bets…

Where does the time go?

Cheltenham starts tomorrow and I can't believe another full year has gone by - I must be getting very, very old!

Just a short post today, dear friends , with the info on how to enter the MYBP Cheltenham Tipping Competition.

As last year, I'm running it in conjunction with the Telegraph Fantasy Cheltenham Competition - I think it's a serious test of horse racing knowledge and tipping ability, it's free to enter and it offers some fantastic prizes. With me adding some addition…

Make Your Betting Pay has seen rather  a guest posting frenzy over the last couple of weeks ( as befits the lead up to the greatest race meeting in the world!) and today we have an exclusive article from one of my favourite racing thinkers, Ben Aitken of Narrowing the Field. Over to you Ben:

 

NTF Festival Files: Jonjo O’Neill – How to profit from Jonjo’s runners at the Cheltenham Festival…

It’s almost here! Although we National Hunt fans have been talking about it since…well…the last one finished …

Note from the editor: Connor Gallagher returns today with a look at some key numbers to keep in mind when betting at the Cheltenham Festival:

What history tells us about the Cheltenham Festival

Year after year misinformed punters recklessly steam into short-priced jollies - horses that have been talked-up as so-called “good things” in the build-up to the Cheltenham Festival - only to be met with disappointment on the day.

Of course, no losing bet comes without an element of frustration, especial…

Welcome once again, dear readers.

Today we have a detailed analysis of tomorrow's Betfair Hurdle from Connor Gallagher of trendsbetting.co.uk - I've been negotiating with Connor to come on board for some time now and I'm glad to say we will be seeing a lot more of his work on Make Your Betting Pay in the coming months. Enjoy!

Take it away, Connor:

 

OK, so first things first, who am I?

Well, my name is Connor Gallagher. I’m 20 years old, and I’ve been earning a very healthy full-time income from bett…

I’ve had a bit of man flu for the last week or so and I don’t think I’m alone in that – there’s been some unpleasant stuff going around.

Worse than that however, is the general malaise/lack lustreness (pretty sure that's not a real word but I don't care) I’ve felt since the turn of the year.

Hard to put my finger on what exactly has been wrong but I’ve not really felt like doing very much. The overall feeling hasn't been improved by the weather and the lack of racing it's caused but it's not a goo…

The Welsh National is finally upon us and the tips are in. It's all fairly close at the top and just about anybody can win the competition. Very good luck and a big thank you to everybody taking part.

  …

Nickname	Current Points	Welsh National Tip
wja1966	8.38	Teaforthree
eric d loon	8.38	Sona Sasta
lowerfarmbike	8.38	Giles Cross
Mr Forgetful	5.5	Universal Soldier
chula	5.5	Teaforthree
Minmore Sandy	5.5	Master Overseer
harrygee61	5.5	No Selection
Arn07	5.5	Universal Soldier