An Investment Approach
At The Edge Betting, we adopt the mindset of an investor as opposed to a 'punter' or 'gambler'. Horse Racing is exciting, and a very enjoyable addition to an investment portfolio, but the excitement of watching a horse win a race is only a happy sideshow to the real goal - bank growth.
Is betting as an investment 'earned income' or 'passive income'?
This is a good question and it probably falls somewhere between the two. It is passive income in the sense that we are investing a bankroll and after all of the ups and downs we hope to grow this bankroll year on year. However, unlike investing in the stock market, it is not a 'set and forget' scenario due to the simple fact that we actually need to place our bets each week (i.e we are 'active'). One impact of this is, we see the results in realtime. When we have a share portfolio, and the market drops in a given day or week, we are unlikely to react to that movement (often we are never aware of it!). With betting, we see the good and bad results as they unfold and we are much more likely to have an emotional response to it. We therefore need to be psychologically prepared for the ups and downs of betting in order to be successful over the long term.
Psychology of Investing
We place having the right mindset and understanding of risk as very high when trying to make an additional income from betting. There are many books written about the Psychology of Investing, and a similar mindset is suitable for the Psychology of Betting.
Recommended Books on Investing
The Most Important Thing - Howard Marks
The Sceptical Investor - John Stepak
Fooled By Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
The Behavioral Investor - Daniel Crosby
Thinking in Bets - Annie Duke