A NAP is a tipster's single strongest selection of the day — the bet they are most confident about. It is their top recommendation, typically staked at maximum confidence. The term is deeply embedded in British betting culture and is found in every newspaper's racing section and on dedicated tipster websites.
The NAP convention allows followers to filter a tipster's output and identify their best single bet without necessarily following every selection. Tipster competitions — common in newspapers and on betting websites — rank competitors by their NAP performances, with points awarded for successful NAPs and deducted for failures.
A good NAP record is a useful quality indicator for a tipster. Some tipsters can post mediocre overall records but excel with their best-confidence selections. Tracking NAP win percentage and return on investment (ROI) separately from the full selections gives a clearer picture of where a tipster's genuine expertise lies.
The NB (Next Best) is sometimes listed alongside the NAP as the tipster's second strongest selection of the day. Together, NAP and NB give followers two tiers of confidence to act on. Some newspaper columns also include a third selection simply as a "good thing" or "best bet" without a specific ranking term.
Example
A horse racing tipster publishes their selections for a Saturday card. They list eight horses with brief analysis, but highlight one — Star Attraction in the 3:00 at Cheltenham — as their NAP. This is their maximum-confidence pick for the day, recommended at a higher stake than the other selections. Star Attraction wins at 5/2.