I have been betting for long enough to know that making money from sports betting is about far more than just picking lots of winners. Sure it helps if you go on a run where you can do no wrong but trust me on this one, your luck will turn and you will go through a patch where you could not back a winner in a tennis match between Martina Navratilova and Roger Federer. 

After a great start to 2009 I have been on a dismal trot of late and wisely after giving back perhaps a bit more of my profits than I was comfortable with I cut back the size of my bets and battened down the hatches to ride out the storm. 

There is usually a point where you hit rock bottom after which things begin to improve and I believe and hope that I reached that turning point this past weekend. 

Having backed England to win the Ashes and taken long term interests in the Cheetahs and the Bulls in this year’s Currie Cup I was hardly in jovial mood on Saturday afternoon with the English set to go one down in the opening test, the Cheetahs having lost at home to the Griquas and the Bulls trailing by 13 against the Lions. 

I also took a Tour de France bet in stage 8 where I needed Pereiro to beat Moreau in the stage. It was basically a coin toss with both priced at 9/10 but a bit of quick research suggested the Spaniard was the betting value and I invested accordingly. 

No sooner had I switched on the coverage than I heard Phil Liggett say that it had just crackled over race radio that Pereiro had abandoned the Tour. My bet had lost and I never even got a run for my money.

Trish walked into the room shortly after and commented on my sad expression and I confessed that I just had no idea where my next winner was coming from; my form could simply not get worse.

As the Bulls battled back to win I could feel the doom lifting though and on Sunday England duly saved the first test and I won money on the Tour and golf which suggests to me that I am on the way up again. Bookies be warned.

This article first appeared in the Citizen CitiGaming section on Thursday 16 July 2009 

Brent Graham is a blogger on www.goodforthegame.co.za and presents a sports betting radio show every Saturday morning at 07h30 on 1485AM Radio Today or Channel 169 of the DSTV Audio Bouquet. 

You can follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/brentgraham or get on his mailing list by dropping him a line at brent@goodforthegame.co.za

Goodforthegame will be posting betting previews on every Tour de France stage as well as the Currie Cup, Tri Nations and the Ashes.