Tuesday racing summary

Ouch! Today the account took a knock for more than 10 points, as I drew a complete blank. OK, let's get this said (draws a deep breath) - All five of my back-to-win bets were unsuccessful, and my lay bet won! There, said it, and nobody died.

Apologies if I sound a little flippant, but days like today happen. They have happened plenty of times to me in the past, and worse besides, and I will experience many more days like today before I hang up my betting boots.

What do we need to learn from today? The most important thing, I feel, is that today underlines the importance of operating with a big enough bank-roll. Personally, I maintain a 200 point betting bank. So although a loss of 10 points is still painful, it doesn't worry me. I will still sleep soundly tonight. This afternoon's results will not have me panicking and thinking I might need to re-think my methods. I will maintain my discipline. I am confident my methods return a profit over a prolonged period of time, so if it isn't broke I will not be looking to fix it.

Now if I had just blown half my bank-roll in a single day, then I may have reason to panic. Having a big enough bank allows you to think clearly, and remain disciplined.

Ironically, a new member asked me today if he could use £100 stakes with a £1,000 bank. I think today shows that would always be unwise.

It is purely academic, but I shall give the reasoning behind my selection to oppose today. Since winning off a mark of 55 and subsequently rising to a mark of 60, Scamperdale had failed to win. To win at Wolverhampton today he would have to return a career-best performance. His last two runs were not those of a rapidly improving horse, so I was prepared to lay him. He did return a career-best performance - just getting up in the shadow of the post - and cost me 5.5 points.

Tomorrow is indeed another day, and we shall re-group to fight on.