G,day Victor,Sorry about my depressing contribution.I'm basically a hobby punter too.It's probably the reason that after over fifty years I still enjoy the racing scene and manage to keep my head above water.

I became a Don Scott devotee too,and with good reason.He showed a lot of us a new and realistic approach to punting.I would be the last person to knock his methods because I still very much admire his work.

Unfortunately when his methods became universal the value disappeared.Digging up those juicy hidden 8/1 shots stopped happening.Basically because everyone was finding them and they turned into 3/1 pops.

As we both agree,it's possible to put a lot of effort into ratings and discover that all you have achieved is to mirror the betting market.Once I realised that I was consistently doing just that, it became clear that my time could be better spent.

If you look at my post on the "Original Retirement Staking Plan" you will see that our results are remarkably similar.My strike rate is 29.4% and my average dividend is a fraction over 3/1.Basically I'm achieving that result by following the betting trends on the more fancied (high rating) horses and relying on a lot of personal experience to analyse the swings and drifts in the betting.

That really brings us back to the question of value,particularly in relation to horses in the 2/1 to 5/1 range.I dont intend to promote any betting organisations I will leave that to the people who are paid to do it.But when you see your that your selection has paid 2/1 on your State TAB and another outfit has paid 3/1 on the same horse it's pretty clear what the alternatives are.

I would dearly love to think that someone from the NSW government read the comments in these forums,because if they did they would realize that they are responsible for their own downfall.

Anyway mate, keep your percentages where they are and dont be discouraged.

If I can make a suggestion.Read the other posts in this thread and they will lead you to some of those longer priced winners which are impossible to find by using ratings.

Good Luck,,Good Punting