As a reader of the Racing Post there may be an assumption that you are more discerning than the average punter, shrewder than the rest and well able to take care of your finances. 

For you, betting on racing may be just a hobby, a serious hobby, or something you do with such regularity and success that it funds treats outside your usual spending.

All of this may make you less likely to fall victim to gambling harm but it doesn’t make you invulnerable. There can’t be one of us who hasn’t gambled more than we should and taken risks with money needed elsewhere. 

And you may well be tired of being told to gamble safely or responsibly, to set betting limits, time-outs and all the other tools available to keep your betting in check. After all, this is the eighth year of the betting industry’s Safer Gambling Week and it is now impossible to place a bet without being assailed with warning messages.

So this week the Racing Post is not going to bombard you with tirades of instructions or grim tales about those who have been gripped by gambling. After all, we want you to enjoy betting intelligently, with the best information we can provide.

Instead, we will bring you a little advice every day from our tipping team, the respected voices who guide your gambling. Just as with following their selections, we don’t expect you to fall in with everything they say, but we would be disappointed if you didn’t find some nuggets of wisdom worth remembering.

They, like you, are punters; they understand the pitfalls as well as the thrills of getting it right and Richard Birch, one of the most experienced members of the team, shares his thoughts today.

Betting on racing is a mental challenge, a battle of wits to work out the form and find where the value lies. Good punters do more than that, they assess where things went wrong and why they went right. They should also be looking at whether they are spending too much money or too much time on their betting.

For the good of your health you would keep a check on your eating and drinking; for the good of your wealth keep a check on your gambling.

If you are concerned about your gambling and are worried you may have a problem, click here to find advice on how you can receive help.