Betting Tips from Professional Gamblers like Dave Nevison

Professional gambling. Plenty of everyday punters would love to give it a go. In fact, it's a subject matter which captures the imagination of many gamblers who fancy they can beat their bookie. 

High-Class Equine has many a varied professional gambler stories. You can read highlights here with this article: Top 10 Professional Gamblers in the UK. 

But what are we to make of these pro gamblers? I read an article mentioning Harry Findlay who was very much in the limelight not so many years ago. He was a larger than life character and big gambler. Was he an investor? Well, he was declared bankrupt in 2013. So, perhaps, that answered its own question. 

We have seen gamblers who clearly made a lot of money within their expertise. I'm sure readers will remember Terry Ramsden. A man from very humble beginnings who became a multi-millionaire with his company Glen International. When his Japanese stocks crashed and his betting losses were totaled there were few winners. He was made bankrupt in 1992 with debts of £100m. Terry was quoted as saying that betting was his hobby. It was an expensive past time when you consider he made colossal bets up to £1m. 

Quote: A spokesman for Ramsden said that his client was confident of settling with both J Investments and Hoodless Brennan. "Both cases are in the hands of his solicitors," he said. Ramsden made his fortune transforming investment firm Glen International. At his peak the bond trader, who left school at 16, reportedly owned two helicopters, a Gulfstream jet, 27 cars, a dozen houses, 120 racehorses, a 30 per cent share of Chelsea Football Club and the whole of Walsall FC. But when the Japanese market collapsed in 1987, so did Glen International and Ramsden's fortune. Ladbrokes alone was owed £58m.

Dave Nevison is another professional gambler who I suspect was much better at media than actual winning bets. He had years of winning but his biggest success was reminiscing his gambling stories which saw two publications including A Bloody Good Winner & No Easy Money written by Nevison and the excellent wordsmith David Ashforth. 

Nevison's interest in gambling has turned into a role of a pundit these days. No doubt it offers a guaranteed return rather than betting. 

It is interesting to note that reading many professional gambler stories they have very contrasting approaches. You can find opposing views from Phil Bull to modern successes such as Patrick Veitch. 

What does this tell us? 

There is no right or wrong approach. What most of the very successful gamblers detailed is a niche. For Phil Bull it was something as simple as a stopwatch and recording of times. Clearly, these gamblers worked tirelessly to learn their craft. The discipline of betting in its practice is as important as the knowledge and insight of the selection itself. In that I mean it is important to reinforce a positive approach without bad habits. I would go so far to say that some of the best gamblers and biggest winners didn't enjoy the thrill of the betting at all. It was a means to an end. It was work. It wasn't about fun. Betting as a professional is a business that winners take seriously. It isn't about being the best. It is about being that little better than most and for some that led to incredible riches.