I don’t do a great deal of in running betting myself. Why? Because I’m terrible at it.

I’ve tried it in the past and failed miserable. I wasn’t prepared and didn’t do enough research and jumped right in the deep in.

That’s what this article is about. In-Play betting can be a great way to make a profit, if you know what you’re doing. The biggest mistake I made was simply betting on the basis of what I had seen during the match or tournament.

For example I remember Andy Murray getting injured in the French Open against Michael Berrer and thinking, quick have a bet on Murray to lose, he looks like he’s done for. The market was well aware of Murray’s injury and so I was never going to get a good price. Rather than wait to see how he reacted I just bet on impulse. So what happened? Murray limped around for a bit and then started hitting winners from all over the court. He thrashed Berrer.

If you’re going to bet in running try to gather as much information as you can. Questions like.

• Can a tennis player keep his nerve when serving for a set or match?
• How do certain golfers react when leading tournaments & will that bottle it?
• Will a team continue to play this poorly during the whole game or are they just having a rough spell?
• Is Andy Murray ever really injured when he holds his back of yelps out in pain?

Well at least I know the answer to the last question. Unfortunately I had to lose money to find out. If you know how certain players will react in given situations then you can predict the future. I was surprised so many people were writing off Bubba Watson after his poor showing on Saturday. He’d already won the Masters before and I knew he would be much more comfortable as a co-leader than holding a 2 or 3 shot lead himself, less pressure and it helped him perform to the best of his abilities.

My advice would be bet on your favourite sport. If you like watching tennis then bet in-play on tennis. The knowledge you already have from previous experience of watching matches will probably already put you in a good position.

You need to have your wits about you as well. When betting in-play you don’t get time to sit and ponder a bet. Sometimes it’s a matter of seconds in order to get the best odds.

In running betting is not for me, but if you are prepared, then you can certainly make a nice profit. If you are considering betting in play on tennis then Tennis Ratings is a good person to follow on twitter and offers some valuable insight.