Mug Betting in Horse Racing

Bettors work against the odds to come out on top, only to discover that their accounts have been closed by the bookmakers, who are unhappy or suspicious about their winnings. The key to solving this problem and keep your horse betting account open is mug betting. You may have heard this phrase before.

While it doesn’t sound like much, it can be an essential part of your strategy for gambling on horse racing. You not only need to know what a mug bet is but also when and how to use them to maintain a winning account running. 

What is a Mug Bet

When we define mugging in a horse betting sense, we mean making a bet without using promotions or bonuses in a bid to look like a regular bettor. You may be asking yourself, why would I do that? It’s no secret that bookmakers do not like their customers winning often.

The matched betting strategy, which you use to guarantee a profit, is something they particularly frown upon. To cover your tracks, why not engage in a bit of mug betting? You can get banned from bookies for winning too much, so be aware of that potential risk. 

What does Being Gubbed mean

The gubbed meaning is a gambling term for when you have your betting account restricted or even closed. If horse racing betting sites catch you, they will move to limit your ways of making a profit and mitigate their losses. If these find you only to be placing bets on horses when there are offers attached to the races they’re running in, then that will be flagged as suspicious.

You may be limited to only taking the starting price (SP) of racehorses or the size of the stake you can wager. Without being careful, you could end up losing eligibility for all betting offers and promotions. Being gubbed is the last thing any bettor wants to happen to them, so you need to do all that you can to keep your account open and restriction-free.

How can I Avoid Having my Horse Betting Account Shut Down

The simple answer is to play the monitor bots at their own game. When trawling accounts, these are looking out for bettors who only gamble where there is an offer. Perhaps it’s only using free bets or gambling in horse races where the bookie pays out on an extra place.

By mug betting, you aren’t necessarily betting when the odds are in your favour, or promotions are on your side. No automated process can draw the definitive conclusion you are utilizing matched betting in horse racing if they are hidden well enough among other wagers.

To borrow an age-old metaphor, the best place to hide a tree is in a forest. That is what you should do to protect yourself from the risk of having your betting account from being gubbed.

When Should I be Mug Betting on the Horses

The short answer is in conjunction with matched betting. That is probably a little too simplistic. If day-to-day horse racing is something you like, then engaging with that makes sense. For most bettors, however, placing mug bets is best done in and around the major horse races and events of the year.

Famous horse races attract the most attention from the public, where there are higher numbers of casual fans, and thus real mugs betting on them. We’re talking about the Grand National, Kentucky Derby, and so on. Big horse racing festivals also create a heightened period of interest in betting on this sport from a wider audience.

You can look like a mug bettor a lot better during the Breeders’ Cup or Punchestown Festival than on an average day of horse racing. The racehorses going to these festivals are indeed high profile, so it is easier for you to blend in with all that gambling going on.

How Often Should I do it?

That is the crucial question, and the answer is relative to the amount of betting being done. The more promotions and bonuses you use when gambling on the horses, then the more often you need to be mug betting. You will not be short of options to place horse racing bets, as there will be many opportunities throughout the year.

Big festivals in this sport attract the best racehorses and more extensive attention than just day-to-day bettors. If you bet on horses regularly, then it follows that you will place a lot of wagers during top events. Be wary of a surge activity around these events because you will need to place plenty of mug bets to disguise your activity.

Where Can I Mug

Does Mug Betting Work in Horse Racing

You can make it work through careful study of horse racing form, statistics, and trends. Remember, placing a mug bet doesn’t mean that it will automatically lose. The primary goal is to shield your activities. There is a danger of mug bets backfiring on you, though. If your wagers keep on winning, then you can end up banned from bookies for winning too much anyway.

That is precisely what you are trying to avoid. While mug bets can be a double-edged sword in that scenario, nobody can be right all of the time. You are going to need a few losing bets in there to look like a mug punter.

Everyone wants to back winners, but there are times when you shouldn’t. The key is to make sure that losses don’t eat too much into the profit you are making. Mug bets are a careful balancing act. There needs to be both wins and losses to keep you free from suspicion. 

A risky strategy you can follow is to take a look at the rapid odds changes. Market movers in horse racing exist because a lot of people believe (or don't believe) a runner will win. You can back a favourite that was originally priced at 3/1 (4.00), for example, when the odds rise up to 8/1 (9.00). It will look like you are going for higher value and not mug betting.

Mug Betting Tips in Horse Racing

There are several approaches you can take to mug punting. Since we're talking about using your money to appear more of a gambler, every bookmaker has numerous possibilities for you to choose from. Check out the list below of some of the most popular:

⏩ Follow your favourites: Everyone has a favourite horse, jockey, owner, and/or trainer. Show loyalty to these, even if it means falling off a gambling cliff when placing your mug bets.

⏩ Avoid value: This might go against the grain of smart betting, but take a shorter price for a horse than is available elsewhere. 

⏩ Bet on the favourite: As about two-thirds of market leaders lose horse races, this is another excellent way for you to come across as a mug punter.

⏩ Try multiples: Horse racing accas and combination bets off small stakes can still return something but not be a win overall. You look like a mug if your multiple bet returns at a loss or breaks even.

⏩ Back a drifter: Horses that are weak in the betting suggest market confidence is against them. If you bet on them regardless, it makes you appear like a mug to those surveying.

Why Does Mug Betting Matter

It might not be desirable, but mug bets have their place in your overall horse racing betting systems. Nobody has said that a mug bet has to be an ill-informed one. It’s just betting on an occasion where you are risking your cash stake without the insurance of offers.

You cannot hope to engage in matched betting for the long term without the support of mug punting as a means to that end. Accounts do get closed down if it is blatantly apparent that you have been involved in this activity.

The name of the game is to obscure that picture and make the purpose of your gambling less clear. Mug bets disguise what you are doing, so that is why they are important.

Is There Value in Utilising a Mug Betting Strategy

That isn’t something that should be disputed. It is about keeping your betting account open, despite engaging with matched betting, which the bookmakers do not like. There is nothing illegal or unethical about it; they just don’t want outcomes where you cannot lose.

The purpose of mug punting isn’t profit, although it could be an unintended result, but the preservation of an unrestricted account for gambling. You want to look like a mug when betting rather than someone taking the bookies for a ride.

To do that, you have to know how and when to put mug bets on. Gambling around major horse racing festivals with so much wider focus on them can help you to blend into the crowd. Making mug bets won’t necessarily earn you money, but it will increase your chances of remaining free to bet on horse racing.

List of Bookies to Engage in Mug Punting