Do bookmakers have a preference when it comes to punters, and if so, what sort of punter do they prefer? A glib answer would probably be – ‘a losing punter’. However, bookmakers do classify punters and they have types they like and types they don’t particularly like.

You can really divide punters into two groups – those that bet with their head and those that bet with their heart. Bookmakers prefer the latter of the two. Those that bet with their heart will often back the same team every week, no matter their form, or the price on offer. Liverpool fans, for example, have lost a lot of money this season, and much of it at very short prices.

Punters that bet with their head are certainly least preferred of the two, but bookmakers still don’t mind taking them on. It’s a challenge. Here you have a punter that studied the form, looked at the odds, and made a decision on who they are going to back, and how much.  The online bookmakers don’t mind them winning occasionally either; it’s what keeps them coming back for more.

So what sort of punters doesn’t a bookmaker like? A bookmaker certainly doesn’t like the cautious punter, the one that analyzes the form, looks at it from all angles, then decides to give that event a miss and to look elsewhere for a bet. For a bookmaker, if the punter isn’t having a bet, then there’s no chance of winning their money.

That makes the answer to our question fairly simple. What sort of punter does a bookmaker prefer? One that’s willing to make a bet, of course!