So, I quickly (well, not that quickly if I’m honest — about two or three weeks!) realised that I should be doing more than just backing these horses in singles. I could see loads of big-priced horses getting backed, some at the same time, but several across the three hours (and around five race meetings) I was sat watching Oddschecker.

So what did I do? I started to perm them together — doubles, trixies, and the likes.

WOW! This was unbelievable. I was landing winning perms on a regular basis. Not all winning, but often all placing — and at massive odds. This was spectacular. I was getting more winners than I’d ever had in my life. In fact, I probably had more winners during that first three months than I’d had during my life before! It was that good — just following the money.

And what made it even better was that I could literally do the same bets again.

Back then, William Hill never priced up their races until around 10:00 a.m., and they didn’t copy the other firms. So, horses that had already been backed right in from, say, 33/1 into 12/1, Hills would still open their odds at 33/1!

So I’d put the same bets on again, knowing these horses would eventually get smashed in just like they had elsewhere. Sometimes I’d even use bigger stakes, depending on how much the prices had already come in.

My betting life really couldn’t get any better… or could it?

My Biggest Wins

I had loads of wins during this time, but two stand out — one with Sporting Odds and one with William Hill.

The Sporting Odds bet was only small stakes — I think it was about £2.50 each-way double — but the odds were 66/1 and 50/1!

Both horses won, at around 16/1 and 20/1 SP, and I picked up just shy of £10,000 from only £5 in stakes!

That Sporting Odds account didn’t last long before it got seriously restricted. The lads at Sporting Odds must’ve thought I was some kind of genius pulling out two winners at those odds. But the truth is, I knew very little about reading form — all I did was watch the money!

💙 William Hill — My Hero

The other big one was with good old Will Hill! This one was even madder than the last bet, and I only put it on because Hills’ odds were still available at 10:00 a.m. when all the others had already been smashed (Silly Willy).

They don’t do it now, of course. These days, if a price is cut anywhere, Will Hill and the rest follow like sheep when they release theirs. Maybe it was me and my big bet back then that taught them a valuable lesson!

The bet consisted of four horses — I wish I could remember their names like I could for years after, but sadly, I can’t anymore.

I do remember the odds though! I did bets something like:

• 4 x £20 each-way singles,
• 6 x £10 each-way doubles,
• and a £2 each-way 4-fold.

So, effectively a Yankee — but with tiered stakes.

The odds were roughly 25/1, 20/1, 16/1, and 12/1, and yep — they ALL WON!

Not one of them was picked from studying the form — every single one was picked because they were being backed. They obviously went off much shorter than the odds I’d taken that morning.

The total winnings came to just shy of £47,000. I’d actually worked it out as a fair bit more, but what I hadn’t realised at the time was the dreaded Rule 4s — and there was about 25p worth of them!

But who cares? I’d done the bookies over well and truly.

Not long after, I got a polite letter from William Hill telling me my account was being closed as it was “no longer viable, and regrettably, a trading decision has been made to close it.”

I wish the bookies were that polite now!

👉 Next chapter: Over 200 Accounts Restricted/Closed