If you think of a professional gambler who comes to mind?
It may be one of the modern generations while the purists look back in nostalgia to a time when Phil Bull put the fear of TIME into the minds of unsuspecting bookmakers. If they had time to take his bet - he was odds-on to win.
In many ways, Bull is recognised as the true Professional Gambler. Born on the 9th April 1910 in West Yorkshire, the son of a miner and schoolteacher would one day educate bookmakers that they weren't the only ones with a right to win cash at the races. He enjoyed gambling as a schoolboy recalling how he bet on a Derby winner. He used his love of mathematics (a graduate from Leeds University) to create a time-based equation to pick winners! He went on to create Timeform. He plied his trade for 30 years and a familiar figure at racecourses up and down the country. In today's money, it is estimated he won £5M.
But what would Bull say to would-be punters today? What would be his 5 tips (those do's and don'ts) which make the difference between winning and losing?
1) Treat winning and losing the same - long-term profit matters.
2) Never bet more than you can afford to lose. Don't try and win a fortune in a day.
3) Don't follow tipsters.
4) Never bet ante-post unless you know the horse is going to run.
5) Don't bet each-way in big fields or handicaps.