EVERY now and then, I get asked what advice I would give a prospective professional punter. It’s not clear why these questions get directed at me but I can only assume it’s a case that the person asking the question means it for the bloke sitting next to me but doesn’t want to appear rude. People are considerate like that, I find.

These queries are usually posed by email as part of a racing broadcast and the bonus of this scenario is that someone who knows the correct answer (occasionally the fella who asked the first question, if I’m honest) will email to explain. Those of us who have been punting with or without success have heard the same set of golden rules trotted out, and know them off by heart but I was intrigued by a correspondent whose primary advice turned those rules on their head.