Surely obtaining the best value is paramount to a punter's success and profit?

The problem is the TAB is like a box of chocolates, you never know what the final dividend will be.

Betfair is doing so well because of the less takeout = lower market percentages.

Even a $100 a week punter is turning over $5,000 per annum.

A quick review of TAB vs SP even shows that the shorter end of the market (say first four in line of betting) is favourable to the SP prices, while the longer priced horses (bolters) are more favoured to the TAB prices.

Then we have Betfair and IAS which are even better in some instances.

It's just shopping around for the best deal.

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Here is what Lidsey Gallagher [Brisbane's leading rails bookmaker] had to say recently about 'Top Fluctuation betting':

'There has been a lot of hype and advertising from bookmakers as they compete to outdo each other by offering bigger and better incentives to attract new clients. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course. It's the way of the world these days as the strategies traditionally used by mainstream business are picked up by the smarter operators in the racing world.

However, punters should keep their wits about them and look beyond the hype to make sure all is what it appears to be in relation to some of these "appealing offers" to punters.

For example, I am amused at times by the fuss that is often made about top fluctuation offers, especially when IAS from Darwin has a runner at each major track in order to flatten prices prior to the price being sent out when they are committed to particular horses.

If they've laid a horse heavily at top fluctuation (remember top fluctuation bets usually have to be made at least 30 minutes before the race, before on-track bookmakers start betting on the race), the runners knock the price off as soon on-track bookmakers put their prices up so that the first official call that is relayed off the track is much lower than the price taken by the runners.

In the defence of IAS, at least they don't sack clients if they win like Sportingbet and others; they just quote shorter odds and if accepted, have the opportunity to bet back at better odds on the track. Consequently, when larger winning bets are placed with them at top fluctuation, the top fluctuation price may not reflect the best price that has actually been bet on course'.

I'll add another general comment.

Wagering on horses here is still in the Stone Age.

With an online broking account one has access to live prices, market depth etc. of every listed company on the ASX and with the click of a mouse can place a buy or sell order literally for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Punters should have online access to live prices from the betting ring from all bookmakers fielding at each meeting on one convenient screen/desktop and be able to select the bookmaker, odds on offer and place their wager.

Amen to that Neil.

I was once juggling 5 accounts [not just TAB either] trying to make sure I got best prices. In the end I just threw my hands up in the air.
I now just run two and ignore all the hype floating around. Sometimes I get best prices, sometimes I don't .......that's racing.

Dear Crash.
"Show me a bookie [or anyone else] who will do a fexi-bet trifecta?"

One mob that does 1 cent Trifectas is Betezy.

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Cheers.

some great debate ,this is what we like on the forum.
no wonder this site has stayed while others have fallen.

Bhagwan, I.A.S. does !