Everything the Bookies Never Told You

I. The problem

You back the favourite, it gets beaten. You cash out, and your horses win without you.

You take an each-way bet to be safe, the horse runs third, and you still lose money on it. You put four horses in an accumulator because the return looks lovely, and the same one lets you down every time. And the one month you start getting it right, the app offers you £1.38 on your next bet.

None of that is bad luck. It's how the game is built, and it was built by people like me. Every price has a margin in it. Every type of bet carries a different amount of it. Nobody on the other side of the counter is ever going to explain that to you, because it's their living.

"A punter who does the sums is the only punter the ring was ever afraid of."

II. What's inside

42 chapters. Six parts. Everything I saw from my side of the board.

Every chapter has a story from the ring, the facts, a worked example with real numbers, what to do about it, and the uncomfortable bit the bookies would rather you didn't know. The facts come from the official sources: the Gambling Commission, the Tattersalls betting rules, the British Horseracing Authority.

Part 1 · The other side of the board (9 chapters)

How a bookmaker prices a race, the overround, why the favourite is never as safe as it looks, the longshot tax, what really moves a price, how the starting price is made today, taking a price and Best Odds Guaranteed, Rule 4, and the small print.

Part 2 · The bets that empty your wallet (9 chapters)

Each-way and its traps, good and bad each-way races, extra places, accumulators, Yankees and Lucky 15s, cash out, boosts and offers, ante-post, forecasts, Placepots and the Tote.

Part 3 · Reading the racecard (10 chapters)

The card line by line, the going, weight and ratings, race types and class, distance, course and draw, trainers and jockeys, headgear, form figures, steamers and drifters, and how to price a race yourself.

Part 4 · The big days (4 chapters)

Cheltenham, the Grand National, Royal Ascot and the Derby, and Irish racing. No tips: what to ask about every runner, and where the once-a-year money goes wrong.

Part 5 · The bookie and you (7 chapters)

Why winners get limited, with the regulator's own figures, what never to do about it, the exchanges, tipsters and systems, the betting shop, affordability checks, and the great coups.

Part 6 · Keeping your head (3 chapters) and appendices

A budget, a bank and a record, the habits that cost the most, and when it stops being fun. At the back: the full Rule 4 table, each-way terms and what the odds really mean, a glossary of ring talk, and where to get help.

III. What this book isn't

No tips. No system. No promise that you'll win.

I spent forty years watching men with systems, and the only thing their systems ever did reliably was keep me in business. Most punters lose over time, and I won't pretend otherwise. What this book does is show you where your money goes, so the money you spend on racing buys you more understanding and fewer nasty surprises.

How it usually goes

The favourite, because it's "safe"
Each-way on a short price, for the "insurance"
A big acca every Saturday
Cash out when the nerves kick in

What this book shows you

How to turn any price into a chance, and spot the margin
Which bets carry the heaviest margin, and why
How to read the card and price a race yourself
Rule 4, BOG and the small print, before they bite

IV. Who wrote it

A bookmaker who stood in the ring for forty years.

I started at seventeen as a lad for an old bookie with a pitch, a board and a voice you could hear from the far rail. I ended up with my own pitch and forty years of cold mornings at Newmarket, Derby days at Epsom, Septembers at Doncaster, and Cheltenham every March, when we earned our year in four days. I've taken bets from dukes, plumbers and trainers' wives, and I've seen what the bookies know and the punters don't.

I'm not here to call my old trade crooks. I'm here to show you the sums.

V. The book

Pay once. Every future update is yours.

£39.99£19.99

£39.99 is the regular price. £19.99 is the launch price, while the book grows.

42 chapters in six parts, plus four appendices
217-page PDF and an EPUB, with a photograph for every chapter
Delivered by email straight after payment
No copy protection, on all your devices
Pay once. No subscription.

Get the book · £19.99

VI. Questions

Before you ask

Is this a tipping service?

No. There isn't a single tip in it, and there never will be. It's a book about how betting works: the margins, the rules, the bets, the racecard and your own habits.

Will it make me a winner?

I can't promise that, and anyone who does is selling you something. What it will do is show you where the bookmaker's margin is, which bets cost you most, and how to read a race properly. That means paying less for your hobby, and understanding it far better.

I only bet on the big days. Is it for me?

Yes. There are chapters on Cheltenham, the Grand National and the summer festivals, and on the each-way terms, extra places and offers that matter most on those days.

Is it about British and Irish racing?

Yes. The rules, the starting price, the regulators and the help lines are British and Irish. Racing in other countries works differently.

What format is it?

A PDF laid out like a printed book, good for reading on a screen or printing, and an EPUB for e-readers, tablets and phones. Both arrive by email straight after payment, without copy protection.

What if I don't like it?

Write to me through the contact link on the purchase page and we'll sort it out.