There are few more entertaining figures in the spread betting world than David Buik. A money broker for 31 years with a number of leading City institutions, he became a bookie in the 1990s, alongside a number of other recently unemployed bankers and brokers who were snapped up by spread betting firms.

It was destiny, really - gambling has run deep in his veins for over 40 years.

'Yes, I learned about gambling the hard way back in the early 1960s,' he says. 'I was working as a busboy in the Banff Springs Hotel in Alberta, Canada. I had worked for six months and saved Canadian $3,000, which is probably around £15,000 in today's money.

'Playing five-card stud with a Chinese barber and a Hungarian waiter one night, things got pretty silly with the old drink. The pot built up and built up and when I was dealt two Aces, I put the $3,000 in and lost the lot when my hand was bettered. I had to borrow $10 to get back to Montreal. That taught me a valuable, if expensive, lesson.'

Not one to be undone by a bad beat, Buik has made thousands of forays back into the ring since, his primary gambling passion being the horses.

'I have to have a bet every day. Apart from financial markets, my main gambling passion is horse racing. I'm totally addicted.'

He says he's learned many lessons in his career as a gambler and never, for example, touches handicap sprints: 'The weights go up and down like a whore's draws and it's very difficult to find a winner. I stick to Championship races like the ones you get at Cheltenham, Group Ones on the flat, but also maidens and novice hurdles because I get great information from people I know in racing,' he says.

Buik has also owned 18 horses over the years. His favourite was Course Hunter whose last race was in the 1990 Grand National where he finished 15th to Mr Frisk. He had finished eighth to Rhyme 'N' Reason two years previously.

'Yup, he's 26, slower than a hearse and does a bit of dressage these days. But what a fantastic jumper.'

Straight answers
He's had horses with National Hunt trainer Mary Reveley but learned not to ask her whether his horse was going to win: 'She told me in no uncertain terms that hers was not a betting yard,' he remembers.

Buik also remembers asking one trainer in particular whether a horse he had running at Sandown was carrying much stable confidence. The trainer replied that nothing much was expected and when it bolted up at a huge price Buik went back to the trainer and reminded him of his negativity.

'The trainer said quite plainly that if I wanted information about his runners I should 'put a fucking horse with him',' says Buik.

If you're interested in owning a racehorse and having a bet, Buik recommends sending the horse to a trainer whose owners love putting a big coup together. He cites the stables of Gary Moore, Mark Tompkins, Neville Callaghan and Brian Meehan whose owners 'love a cut at the ring'.

Apart from betting on horses, Buik is also obsessed with the financial markets, indexes, political betting, bid situations and upcoming flotations. Those who subscribe to his daily email service get roughly eight emails a day alerting them to some market move, be it the Footsie or Dow, the US election (see our Special Report in the Daily News section), the flotation of Virgin Mobile, the proposed takeover of Marks & Spencer, or whatever takes his eye.

He believes Cantor's new Spreadfair spread betting exchange (cantorspreadfair.com) will prove as popular with sports punters as its forerunner, Betfair.

'This is certainly the way forward - once the liquidity is there, it could sound half a death knell for the traditional spread markets because the spreads are so much tighter,' he says.

He reckons the service will be of most appeal to the high net worth £15-20,000 a year punters, the City boys who adorn Cantor's client list. It's only a matter of time, he believes, before market rivals IG Index and Sporting Index get involved too. Time will tell, but with Buik behind it, it won't want for passionate support.

DAVID BUIK'S FIVE GOLDEN RULES

1.)If you're on-course, don't have a bet until you've seen your selection in the paddock. You can learn so much about a horse's chances from the way it looks just before the off.

2.) Never bet on an odds-on chance or an even-money chance in a novice hurdle.

3.) Never bet too far in advance. Nobody should be betting now on next year's 2,000 Guineas, or anything else that's more than a week away.

4.) Stay away from handicap sprints. So much depends on the draw and the weights go up and down erratically.

5.) Make sure you have a big bank to see you through the inevitable long sequence of losers - it will come right eventually but you must be patient.