Having a punt is part of Australian culture. Whether it’s a bet once a year on the Melbourne Cup or trying your luck every weekend because you just love it, it’s something that many Australian’s do.

So why is it so ingrained in our culture? Well there’s many reasons and I’m not here to tackle the history of punting but lets just say that most people have their first bet for the thrill of it, the fun, the excitement!

It’s that very reason that draws so many of us to love a punt, but only 2% of us will ever end in-front, that’s right, 98% of punters are losers! Now I’m sorry if that’s you and i mean no offence but there is good news, you don’t have to be a loser anymore!

A packed betting ring full of hopeful punters.

For most punters it’s recreational and some it’s a full-time wage, so what separates the winners from the losers?

Bank management: The single most important aspect of punting is bank management. You might think that form analysis would be the most important but without the cash you’ve got nothing.

And seeing as a lot of professional punters are selling their tips these days mainly due to not being able to get a bet on (see our MBL article for more on that), and many punters are following these systems and not even doing form, bank management has never been more important, in-fact for those following a system it’s the only thing you need.

From a long-term punter deciding to make the change and stop donating, to a young savvy up-and-comer wanting to grow something small into something far greater, bank management is something that all successful punters have to master.

I’d love to give you “5 steps to mastering bank management” but it’s a personal journey. Some are born with it but most learn the hard way.

You are in the minority if you have never chased your tail after a bad day on the punt and for some of us this process gets repeated many times before we finally learn.

As humans we tend to learn by doing the wrong thing first and punting is no different. Personally i went around and round on the merry go round for years before i was so sick of my hobby costing me money i was ready to change. I had good form analysis and i was backing lots of winners, but still losing.

The thing that can be the hardest to change is taking your social hobby and treating it like a business, no more 2am 6000m jumps races in the UK and no more going to the track with $500 and happy to “have a go”, you have to be disciplined!

At the start it can be hard, especially on a big Saturday when the norm would be beers and bets on most races, but as you watch your punt bank grow it will be full steam ahead.

LUKE MURRELL’S ALL TIME PROFIT – BASED ON $100 UNITS

Taking a long-term mindset is the key. A lot of punters I’ve met try and turn $200 into $1000 on a Saturday and lose the $200 they started with.

If that same punter, assuming they had good form analysis, staking or a system to follow, had bank management skills they would could go to bed that night with either $250 or $150 and have the same mindset, not effected by a loss and more importantly not sitting up spending their profits.

I’ve seen many punters over the years subscribe to one of our systems and even after being given all the relevant info still can’t get their head around bank management, they spend their profits or bet too large and wipe out their bank, as i said, it’s a personal journey and the faster you master it the quicker your bank will grow.

So regardless of if you are an astute form analyst or following a professional betting strategy, bank management is boss and needs to be fully mastered before you have any chance of success.

To better understand the difficulties faced by punters when starting off read our variance in punting article.