Mo,

Do you mind if I give you a bit of advice and constructive criticism?

Don't have to take any notice if you don't want to. I don't actually consider myself to be any sort of expert really, but I'd like to help out if I can.

I personally think you have to find a betting plan that suits you and stick to it!!! That's it. Simply concentrate your betting only on what you're good at, bet conservatively and stick to your plan.

Here's an example. Who did you pick in last year's Brownlow medal??? Chris Judd at about $6 or something, wasn't it? Now, who did you pick in this year's Brownlow medal??? Right. Ben Cousins who you picked out when he was also about $6 a few months out. Now, if you had simply concentrated only on the Brownlow medal over the last couple of seasons, you'd have done pretty damn well, wouldn't you? Okay, I don't expect you to restrict yourself to betting on just one event per year, but that's just an example of what I'm talking about. Look at your past betting activities. Work out what you had success with and more importantly, work out what you didn't have success with and think about why you lost with those bets. Get rid of all the impulse bets and any bets where you aren't totally confident you've sorted out the form. NEVER bet just for the sake of having a bet. Keep a certain amount of money per week for gambling (perhaps that $35 you were talking about), and if nothing takes your fancy, don't bet!!! Simply put that money aside for some other week when you are really keen and want to bet $70. Better still, put it in the bank!!!

Here's a few things I noticed about your AFL bets in the Punters comp. (I assume, that unlike me, those bets were pretty close to bets you made with real money) Firstly, you insisted on taking multis hoping for bigger dividends. Well, I personally think that for someone like you, it would be better to go for regular wins instead of going for a higher dividend. I mean, why should you penalise yourself just because you could only pick 2 out of 3 instead of 3 out of 3. Another thing which I think is dangerous is your method of putting all your eggs in one basket. Several times I noticed that your overall tipping was good, but it all came badly unstuck because you went heavy on one losing team and included them in all your multis. Big mistake in my opinion. So, here's what I'd suggest for you when betting on the AFL. No more than 2 legs in any multi, but preferably try to stick to single bets. Perhaps try to have 3 bets per weekend at odds of around $1.75 to $3.00 and try to average 2 wins out of 3.

I realise it's not AFL season now though, and that seems to be another problem for you. I noticed last year when the Football season finished, you went into the Greyhounds in a big way and that didn't seem to work. Similarly, this year, you seem to have had a go at the gallops, despite apparently not betting seriously on the horses for quite a few years? That in itself is a problem. You shouldn't just rush in and bet on any sport without being right up to speed with all the form. You can't take shortcuts when it comes to betting. If you want to bet on the gallops, why not just watch them for a little while, work out some selections and see how they go without actually outlaying any big money. Perhaps just have $2 each way on a couple each week until you're more familiar with the horses. That would be a good way to start.

Anyway, hope all of that rambling helps in some way.