Multiple accounts are a must: why you need to be price sensitive

Betting on Racing is an app-exclusive daily punting guide from three of the Racing Post's most renowned experts: Tom Segal, Paul Kealy and David Jennings. A new instalment will be published every weekday for the next three weeks.

My mum would have made a good punter because she knows the value of everything. She's forever telling me she's not buying such and such in supermarket A because it's 50p cheaper in supermarket B, and she'd never let the value go unclaimed.

It should be the same with betting, but you'd be amazed at how many people have just one bookmaker account.

I've lost count of the number of times I've told a friend where the best price is on what they want to back but they simply head to their own account and take whatever is available.

It may look as though the bookmakers are all sheep at times, but there's still enough variation in prices, not to mention each-way terms, to make holding multiple accounts a necessity.

Assuming you can keep the accounts open – and let's be honest that's sometimes easier said than done if you're a bit successful – there has never been a better time to be a selective punter.

Almost all firms offer extra places on some races, while plenty offer extra places on loads of races and some offer more places than can realistically be viable for them.

You may have to accept a slightly lower win price (except with the few firms still offering best odds guaranteed) at times, but it's worth remembering that no individual bookmaker has much control over the SP, and if you track what's happening on Betfair it might just be worthwhile taking SP rather than the offered price nearer the time.

Talking of Betfair, their low-margin model means it's always going to be hard to beat their win price, and win punters should always keep an eye on what is going on there, while always assessing the impact of commission.

Keeping an eye on the early shows is important too. There is one firm, Hills, who price up so many races at the 48-hour stage it has to be near impossible for their odds-compilers to have had a proper look.

You can see with the number of price changes that there can be some serious value to be had if you get in early, so it's always worth trying to keep a day ahead with your study.

Monday: David Jennings on eyecatching jockey bookings

Read more in our Betting on Racing series:

Tom Segal: overrated angles and what I focus on when trying to find winners 

David Jennings: the might of Elliott and Mullins - and where they run their best horses  

Paul Kealy: 'Start with the rank outsider and work backwards' - form study tips from the best  

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