If I'm such a great 'pro' punter....

Last Updated: 22.10.2025

Wednesday, 22nd October 2025

If I’m such a great ‘pro’ punter….

Who won the Nick Pullen Trophy 2025?

In ATC today….

If I’m such a great ‘pro punter’ why even bother to tip at all?….

…. it’s a good question….

…. and you’ll find the answer inside….

Oh…. and if you really need a winner….

Read on….

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It takes all sorts to make a world….

…. and we get all sorts of punters coming on to the ATC service….

Some stick with me for the long haul….

…. others come and go…. and then come back again….

…. whilst some don’t stay long at all and never return because – for one reason or another – the way I play the handicap betting game doesn’t suit them….

No problem. I get it….

…. but what I’ll never get are some of the comments, statements or questions that come into the old email box time and again….

Like this one, for example – which I hear more often than you’d think – usually just after sending out a selection….

“…. but will it win?”

I always go back with the same reply – who knows….

…. which generally proves to be a source of consternation to the punter concerned….

…. because they think I do know…. or that I should know….

But the simple fact of the matter is that nobody knows which horse is going to win a horse race – not for sure….

…. nobody – not the owner, not the trainer, not the jockey, not the big mainstream newspaper tipsters, not the TV pundits, not other punters, and certainly not me….

Nobody knows – not for sure….

We’re taking about half-ton animals made of flesh, bone, blood and guts, running around a field….

There’s no way of predicting for certain which will run fastest between tapes and post on the day – not for sure….

…. anything can happen – and probably will….

…. and the result ain’t written in the stars – no matter how much some punters want to believe that to be so….

You might get a G1 horse in a handicap from time to time – who will win if it all unfolds as it should….

…. but even then it’s no sure thing – it’s not nailed on. Not really….

A stumble coming out of the stalls…. getting trapped in a bad position at the wrong time…. clipping heels…. the horse getting out of bed on the wrong side….

…. there are 1001 ways for any horse to get beaten even when – in theory – it’s the best horse in the race by a mile….

Nobody knows….

…. anybody who thinks they do is wrong….

…. anybody who says they do is a liar….

…. anybody who thinks anybody does – for sure – is deluded….

This is a game of opinions, and that’s all any of us ever have – an opinion….

Here’s another one….

“If you’re such a great pro punter, why do you give out tips instead of just backing the horses yourself….”

Nick Pullen ain’t no pro punter….

I never have been, I’m not now – and I never will be….

And I’ve never claimed to be a pro punter – anybody who thinks different, let me know and I’ll put you straight….

I don’t want to live that life. Never have. It’s a tough gig….

Look at how many so-called ‘pro’ punters you see working on TV or writing columns in newspapers….

Why are they doing that if the pro punting is going so well?

Just this week – after a load of fanfare and build up – the Racing Post unveiled a new columnist….

…. a pro punter nobody had ever heard of six weeks ago whose apparently made ‘millions’ out of the game….

So why is yet another pro punter – whose been putting the bookies to the sword for years – writing a column and sharing all his secrets (and – I’d assume – his selections) with the Racing Post’s readership?

Why?

Is he getting paid? Or is he just doing it out of the goodness of his heart? I think we should be told….

In my mind the term “pro punter” is grossly overused these days….

…. it’s just a meaningless slogan trotted out by every Twitter cowboy, every podcast bod, and every wannabe big shot trying to make a name for himself in betting circles….

Everybody wants to come off like the new Harry Findlay. It’s pretty boring….

I think the whole thing’s gone full-circle. Loads of people pretend to be pro punters to ramp-up credibility – but end up losing precisely that commodity because the claims they make are essentially bullshit….

Me? I know who I am. I know what I am. I’m strictly recreational – and I don’t make no bones about it. I just like playing the game and cracking the puzzle….

…. and I’m fortunate enough to get paid to share my thoughts. End of….

Here’s another….

“You should back more winners than you do….”

Perhaps I should. And I will try to do better….

…. but let’s remember what this column is all about….

If it were all about the number of winners I back, I wouldn’t be so keen to avoid the most fancied horses as a matter of default….

…. because the fancied horses win an awful lot of races….

From the start of the 2010 flat season to the present day there have been 1913 C2 handicap races run on the turf flat in Britain in which 12+ runners went to post….

…. in other words, exactly the type of race I target in ATC….

851 of those races – or 44.4% – were won by horses sent off in the top-3 in the betting….

…. in other words, exactly the type of horse I automatically disregard when putting up selections in ATC….

I take the view that readers don’t need me to tell them that the most fancied horses in the race have a pretty fair chance of winning….

…. I assume they can figure that out for themselves….

Instead, I do my best to figure out which horse is overpriced and can run a much bigger race than the market believes….

Natural consequences of that contrarian approach include putting up plenty of losers…. and enduring losing sequences that run a bit longer than might be comfortable for some….

But the proof is in the pudding….

…. and we get there in the end….

Since the start of 2023 – backed 1pt e/w at advised prices (easy to get) – ATC selections have produced a betting profit of 359.2 points….

More winners would be nice – that’s for sure….

…. but it’s not like we’re out at sea on a sinking ship….

Finally….

“I really need this one to win…”

If you really need one to win….

…. you’re probably playing with money you can’t afford to lose….

It’s true what they say – desperate money never wins….

…. and if you really need one to win….

…. you probably shouldn’t be playing at all….