In the betting world many naive, novice punters searching for the impossible dream of making money without working for it, find there are so many ways to the poor house and not quite so many ways to earn money without hard work.

There's no magic formula, but good money management, sound selection methods and bit of luck are the essentials of successful punting.

So, we thought a useful article would be to compile a list of general betting advice in the form of Do's and Dont's from people who have been there, done that, got the T-shirt and learned from their mistakes. Mistakes are fine in gambling so long as you learn from them. We will offer a few tidbits of advice to help you learn from the mistakes of others. These Dos and Donts which while in no way will guarantee you success, at least might limit the damage!

1) DON'T CHASE LOSSES - This is at number 1 for a reason, it is probably the quickest way to the poor house. Typical scenario, you lose some money and in a desperate effort to get it back as quickly as possible, you dive in with rash illogical bets on impulse at the soonest opportunity and in a bid to get back in black you find yourself in an even worse position. Best and most important advice here is never ever chase losses, it's much wiser to take time out and let the red mist clear. Chasing is a mug's game, almost always done as a result of emotion and trying to recoup too quickly. Never bet when you are emotional, take a break for a day or two and come back calm and with your clear, disiplined head on. The best way to recover from a loss is in a slow, calculated manner, waiting for the right opportunities, and doing it bit by bit, not trying to do it in one large "all or nothing bet".

2) DON'T BET IN EVERY RACE - There's too many betting opportunities nowadays. You are going to do much better if you can specialise in a particular type of race or sport. Concentrate on what you know and do some research on particular events and try and spot trends in the stats that disagree with the odds. This is basically looking for the value that will give you that all important edge.

3) DON'T BE INFLUENCED BY OTHERS - Don't let the forecast SPs, comments of tipsters, numpties on betting forums or the views of the racing press influence you BEFORE you have studied the form for a race yourself. Your "value" is not to be found through following the herd.

4) DON'T BET ON IMPULSE - many a profitable day has gone off the rails by making bets you never originally intended. When a punter is winning it is easy to start making silly bets. Never think 'I am playing with the bookies money' now as a reason to bet willy nilly. It's your hard earned profit and it can just as easily be wiped out by getting over confident and doing daft bets in an attempt to play up your winnings. Again emotion can often dictate here, try and stay calm and hold on to the profit. It is often better to simply walk away if you've had a good day as by this time, you could be betting under the influence of emotion and you could easily get carried away and think you are invincible.

5) DO RECORD ALL YOUR BETTING ACTIVITIES - For many punters it is very easy to forget the losers and remember the winners. Research clearly shows that there is a huge gap between most punter's perceived success and their actual performance. Recording all your betting is very important to know your current position and keep you disiplined. You will learn many a lesson as you key in the losing bets and see them in front of you in black and white. You can also spot trends in your betting and see where you do well and where you don't do so well and adjust your betting accordingly. A simple spreadsheet will do the job or even better, you can open a tipster account on Betfinder and record all your betting with that. You can analyse your betting performance and you can also win some risk-free cash playing against other Betfinder users. It's easy, and fun too!

6) DO RESEARCH YOUR BETS - If you are betting without doing any research then it's time to stop and think. Betting blindly on the advice of someone else or by picking your selections at random is 100% gambling. Research takes time and effort, something which a lot of punters aren't keen to put in, but these type of punters are ultimately doomed or have a gambling problem. If you research your bets yourself (taking others opions on board as a basis for your own research) then will you gain much more satisfaction when your selections win and you can learn more from your mistakes.

7) DO SET YOURSELF LIMITS - Set aside a gambling budget to play with and also set the amount you can lose in a month. This way your gambling won't spiral out of control. Once you reach your maximum loss for a month, stop. If you set your monthly budget in advance and stick to it, it will just be another monthly expense that you have accepted you can afford to lose. If you win then all the better. Betting can be a lot of fun if practised sensibly.

8) DON'T TAKE BAD ODDS - The difference in the betting odds between bookmakers can be quite substantial, sometimes as much as 50%. So always make sure you get the best odds available by checking the odds on Betfinder first ;) Getting the best odds is a very simple process and means you are maximising your potential return. It will mean having lots of different betting accounts with online bookmakers, but it will definitely improve your bottom line, which has got to be good.

9) DON'T BET MORE THAN YOU CAN AFFORD TO LOSE - This one should be higher up the list as it's one of the golden rules. If you can adhere to this one then you can't go far wrong. Most punters aren't professionals and do it for the fun and excitement or simply to make a sporting event more interesting to them. Think about how you would feel if the bet you are about to place lost. If it would seriously upset you then you should not be making that bet, you should be prepared and able to wave your money goodbye and still be happy. Other people spend money on their hobbies, so see this is an expense of your hobby. You should still bet with confidence but be well prepared to see your money disappear, any winnings is a bonus.

We will leave this article open, and will continue to add to it. If you have any rules of your own that you think should be added then please contact us. You can comment on this article in the Betfinder chat forum.

If you think you or someone you know may have a gambling problem you can visit the GamCare website www.gamcare.org.uk or call their confidential helpline on 0845 6000 133.

Have fun, play sensibly and good luck!