The First Flutter
My First Taste of Betting came at a very young age, and it evolved from playing marbles for sweets in junior school. My story with betting didn’t start in a bookies’ shop or behind a computer screen—it began in the playground playing marbles with my first set of friends, we'd play for as long as we were allowed during the school breaks (playtime) and then we'd stay behind after school to carry on, often playing for little sweets like mojos, blackjacks and kola-cubes!
At about 11-years old I went on to secondary school, or the 'senior school' as it was known then, and I became hooked on the thrill of a wager with my mates: 3-card-brag, 7-card-brag, shoot, queenie, blackjack, pontoon—anything that gave us a buzz and a reason to win a few coins (or bragging rights).
Those early games taught me two important lessons that still apply today: the buzz of competition and the need for discipline.
Even then, I realised that emotion and ego were the quickest routes to an empty pocket.
Discovering Racing
It wasn’t until my early 20s that horse racing caught my attention.
Like most punters starting out, I leaned on the experts—following the likes of Mel Collier (Pricewise), Tom Segal from the Racing Post, and Hugh Taylor.
I’d occasionally back my own fancies and had the odd good win, but I quickly saw the logic in following proven professionals.
There was one unforgettable treble: Imperial Call in the Gold Cup and Manchester United to land both the FA Cup and the League.
A £100 bet that flew home—made sweeter by being a lifelong United fan.
Those early winners fuelled my curiosity. Could this game be beaten with brains rather than luck?
Early Lessons That Still Matter
Looking back, those small-stakes games and first racing bets laid the groundwork for everything that followed:
They sound obvious now, but they became my foundation long before Bookies Enemy No 1 ever existed.
What Came Next
Those humble beginnings were about to evolve into something much bigger.
My working life took me far from home and, strangely enough, that journey opened the door to a system that changed everything—born not from spreadsheets or AI, but from a flickering Ceefax screen.
👉 Next chapter: The Birth of a System – How Ceefax Turned Me into a Professional Punter
