We have all had amazing runs punting at the races. Pick up the form guide and the winners seem to 'jump off the page!' Confidence is a wonderful thing.

On the other hand during a bad run of punting, one almost dreads looking at the fields. Instead of a horse jumping off the page, all you see is a maize of horses, appearing almost like the squares on a blank lotto form, with any donkey likely to salute.

System betting, on the other hand, takes away the 'human frailty' element of betting. There is a methodical resume to go through before a horse is selected, and this resume never changes, irrespective of the financial situation. Naturally I am talking about systems using level stakes betting each week.

However for this to occur one must have total confidence in the system. This is where the research is required, and importantly with any research, be totally honest with yourself. Do not fudge the figures in any way to increase your confidence, just do more research, if that is required.

Don't be a smart alec and go on a racing forum and gloat (like I did) about your system. Apart from Murphy's law that often takes you out; you also have that 'human frailty' thing come back into play. That happened with an old bloke like me who should have known better.

As a result I am going back to my professional ways and not posting my tips here. Its then just a contest between me and the bookies, and not a third party who I am trying to impress.

I'll still go in the tipping contest here and as my system rarely picks horses over 6/1 so I can have a punt with no chance of losing!

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When I want to understand what is happening today or try to decide what will happen tomorrow, I look back... Omar Khayyam-1099