What's your favorite type of wager?

[grandstander21]

Do you prefer win, place, and show?

Do you like to go with straight exacta, trifecta, or superfecta, or do you prefer to box them?

Do you go for the multi-race bets like daily double, pick 3, pick 4, or maybe even pick 6?

Also, how often do you play the pick 6?

Let me know what you think.

[lamboguy]

my favorite is 2 part, i like to bet on the bridgejumper and against him. both have their plus's. when you are on the bridgejump you know what you are getting before the race starts and you never pay the breakage. when you bet against the bridgejump you have the opportunity to step in when someone makes a mistake going for the small money. in this day and age, boy do they make plenty of mistakes, enough of them to overcome the takeout and breakage.

[therussmeister]

I play exacta, tris, and supers, but I never box more than two horses, which of course means exactas only. I also play show bets.

[upthecreek]

A winning one! :lol:
Rolling DD & Pick-3's

[affirmedny]

Exacta pool consistently is the largest of all at just about any track and race.

[Donttellmeshowme]

Pick 4 Pick 5 and Pick 6 for me

[Tom]

I like 1 unit to win, 3 units to place on 9-2 of higher.
Otherwise, I bet win.
Sometimes exacta, but a minority of the time, and sometimes doubles.

I grew up on doubles. When I worked the 3-11 shift back int he 70's, a guy from the city would bring in a Batavia program and I would play a couple of doubles every night. Harness was the big thing in Rochester back then, among the older guys.

I hardly ever play supers or tri's or pick 3,4,5,6

[Stillriledup]

I would say Tri's

I lean towards verticals vs horizontals because w horizontal bets, you have to be right 3, 4 or more times in a row, I've found it's hard to be right ONCE let alone 4 times.

[Overlay]

Even with the larger payouts that the more involved exotics can produce, and the complications that can result from last-flash odds changes, I still favor wagers where I can have at least a ballpark idea before I bet of what the return might be if I win (er, excuse me...I meant when I win). ;)

I can also be selective about exotic combinations (without having to box multiple horses), since my handicapping gives me an indication of the fair payout for each individual combination.

[ultracapper]

95% of my bets are W/P. Every once in awhile, maybe 5-10 times a year, I'll make an exacta bet.

I have put less than $300 total into P6 pools in the 33 years I've played this game. I haven't made a P6 bet in probably 8 to 10 years.

[thaskalos]

My play used to be 75% vertical exotics and 25% win wagers. It is now 95% vertical exotics and 5% win.

[ManU918]

Daily Doubles = 40%
Pick 5's = 30%
Pick 6's = 20%
Win = 10%

[EMD4ME]

Main Bet: Pick 5

Late Pick 4 is Silver Medal Winner

Pick 6 IF I like the sequence

WIN betting when there is a prime play (prime play can be a 10/1 I really like or a 3/4 horse like Marking who was a mortal lock :lol: last time out)

DD if I have opinions in 2 consecutive races that are prime plays or offer extreme value.

Pick 3 ONLY WHEN I love 2 races OR I like all 3 races (maybe hate 1 fav or 2 favs or if there are 2/3 prime plays in ONE SEQUENCE)

Will sometimes play exactas IF I have 2 opinions.

Will rarely play TRI's.

Do play dime supers as action bets OR when I have 3 opinions in a race or when a unique situation occurs (5 speeds and 3 closers on a closers track-key the 3 closers in sups)

Grand Slam-If I have an opinion in the feature AND don't like at least 1 fav to hit the board in show races

Parlays-IF there are horses who I find that are rock solid to hit board-WPS parlays.

Bottom line-LOVE ME those horizontals

[olddaddy]

Doubles , pk3s and straights on the longies.

[River11]

Horizontal bets all the way. I can't grind it out, need the occasional big score to stay ahead.

[raybo]

Pyramid structure Superfectas (1 w 23 w 234 w 2345 - add horses for contentiousness, larger fields, larger pools). My reasoning for this ticket structure: more horses have the ability to finish 2nd than 1st, 3rd than 2nd, and 4th than 3rd, common sense basically. I also play win bets (and an occasional exacta) but only as monetary support for the Supers.

[Ocala Mike]

Not one of the options, but I like exactas back-wheeled to a longie, with some win money on the longie.

Just had a rough beat in the 1st at WO today, $5 win on the :10: , and a $1 exacta, ALL/ :10: . Got beat a dirty nose for the place and a >$600 exacta for a buck. Horse paid $20 show.

[no breathalyzer]

Win Place Show/ Doubles/ Pick 3 I like to see the horse before i bet on it

[thespaah]

Do you prefer win, place, and show?

Do you like to go with straight exacta, trifecta, or superfecta, or do you prefer to box them?

Do you go for the multi-race bets like daily double, pick 3, pick 4, or maybe even pick 6?

Also, how often do you play the pick 6?

Let me know what you think.
I am hung up on vertical exotics. Mostly exactas n trifectas.

[lamboguy]

Not one of the options, but I like exactas back-wheeled to a longie, with some win money on the longie.

Just had a rough beat in the 1st at WO today, $5 win on the :10: , and a $1 exacta, ALL/ :10: . Got beat a dirty nose for the place and a >$600 exacta for a buck. Horse paid $20 show.you are an excellent player, you will get more than your share of big ones.

[Ocala Mike]

Thank you, lambo.

I came up with MARCH last night at Del Mar, and collected $172.40 for the back wheel, missing the win by a head (but better off). Had extra with OM, but still good.

[Cholly]

Not one of the options, but I like exactas back-wheeled to a longie, with some win money on the longie.

Just had a rough beat in the 1st at WO today, $5 win on the :10: , and a $1 exacta, ALL/ :10: . Got beat a dirty nose for the place and a >$600 exacta for a buck. Horse paid $20 show.

I'm also strictly a long-shot player...usually structure my bet 1/2 to win, and 1/2 in exactas under the two or three shortest priced horses in the race. My reasoning is that if my steed can't beat all the 5-1 to 9-1 horses, he wasn't that much of a find anyway.

Do your records indicate I might be playing this wrong?

p.s. and may I congratulate myself for Post #700, which I will take to be an auspicious number?

[ReplayRandall]

p.s. and may I congratulate myself for Post #700, which I will take to be an auspicious number?

Only if you're a member of Pat Robertson's "700 Club"..... :cool:

[lamboguy]

Thank you, lambo.

I came up with MARCH last night at Del Mar, and collected $172.40 for the back wheel, missing the win by a head (but better off). Had extra with OM, but still good.i wish i did that last night with Toner's horse, i be win and place on him, he run second to a maiden and the exacta paid $1900. there was no way in hell that i could have ever come up with the winner!

[Ocala Mike]

there was no way in hell that i could have ever come up with the winner!



Exactly. and there are many races like this such as the 8th at Del Mar on Sunday. The 2nd horse was certainly playable, but got beat by a 60/1 shot. I had an also ran, so no matter.

And, for the OP who asked about the efficacy of just putting the longie under the two or three short prices, I don't have records on this but if you want to hit home runs instead of doubles, you have to swing for the fences and do the ALL.

[Robert Goren]

I prefer win betting. There are times when a show bet makes sense. If you wager large amounts of money, Pick 6 with large carryovers can be profitable depend on the rules. The bet is nearly extinct now, but at one time I made money betting Quinellas. For reasons that would take up a chapter in a book, boxing exactas is not nearly as profitable. As a general rule I do not like betting into pools where I have no idea what the payouts are going to be. With win betting, although I may not know the exact payout, I can make an educated guess. With wagers like pick 4s or supras, I have no idea what payout will be. I tried to play with the math, but have never been able to come with a formula that I thought did a good enough job to bet on.

[grandstander21]

These are some really interesting choices, guys. I feel the same way about WPS and multi-race bets.

[barahona44]

As the great Al Davis said "Just WIN, baby !".

I'll also put a place bet on occasión on a good overlay ,i.e a 5/1 ML going off at 15 or higher .

[DeltaLover]

As the great Al Davis said "Just WIN, baby !".

I'll also put a place bet on occasión on a good overlay ,i.e a 5/1 ML going off at 15 or higher .

A 5-1 ML going off at 15-1 is usually dead meat rather than an overlay

[BELMONT 6-6-09]

The win bet is the bread and butter for me: and the carefully chosen select value minded exacta box the cherry on top of the cake. Can't pass up the win money by going exclusively for the exotics.

[ultracapper]

A 5-1 ML going off at 15-1 is usually dead meat rather than an overlay
No kidding. Run for your life.

[raybo]

I'll also put a place bet on occasión on a good overlay ,i.e a 5/1 ML going off at 15 or higher .

That "might" be an overlay, but only if the morning line maker didn't mess up, which they often do in individual races. Over time, they may be pretty good at predicting the public's wagering, but in individual races they can be no better than many players, and if you're a good handicapper of individual races they probably aren't as good as you are at assigning a probability of winning (or placing). What you said, assumes that the morning line maker is much better than the public. That seems absurd to me. My understanding is that many morning line makers employ the use of oddsline templates. That can hardly be as accurate as the entire public analyzing every factor known to man. The law of large numbers alone would prevail most of the time.

[raybo]

The win bet is the bread and butter for me: and the carefully chosen select value minded exacta box the cherry on top of the cake. Can't pass up the win money by going exclusively for the exotics.

Neither can I, even though the win money profit pales in comparison to the exotics money profits, it is great cash flow support for the exotics, which is where the majority of my profits come from.

[barahona44]

A 5-1 ML going off at 15-1 is usually dead meat rather than an overlay
To each his own but I went 5 for 20 (3 win-place and 2 place) today on this type of bet (triple the morning line of no more than 8/1) which I admit is much higher than average but the payoffs are worth it. For 40 dollars, I made 107.60. It doesn't always work, I've been shut out quite a few times but it provides a nice cushion for my more normal win bet.There's tracks I rarely use this on because they're chalk factories like Turf Paradise, Fairgrounds or Finger Lakes.It's strictly a value play and since it's often a last second decision based on the odds,it's hard to advance handicap,especially if you're playing quite a few tracks.

[sharkie187]

I use to enjoy playing parlays but I cant find the parlay cards anywhere at SA or Turf Paradise.

[Cholly]

Not one of the options, but I like exactas back-wheeled to a longie, with some win money on the longie.

Just had a rough beat in the 1st at WO today, $5 win on the :10: , and a $1 exacta, ALL/ :10: . Got beat a dirty nose for the place and a >$600 exacta for a buck. Horse paid $20 show.
Being a longshot player, how to best cover those when they run 2nd is of interest. After OCM’s post I’ve checked my “data bank”, and will quickly posit it is too specialized and too small, so any conclusions are compromised. But it’s what I have.

I only play the three NYRA tracks + CD & GP; I only play allowance races, and I only play horses in the odds range to 10-25 assuming an 8-horse field--the odds range gets adjusted depending on field size. Over a four year period, I have made bets on 691 horses, and these wagers are the entirety of my data bank. I reviewed to compare results if I had covered the longshot in three different ways: 1) $20 wagered to place. 2) $20 wagered as an “exacta back-wheel”, with each other horse in the field covered in the top spot in equal denominations. 3) $20 as follows: $10 exacta under the favorite, $6 exacta under the 2nd favorite, and $4 exacta under the 3rd favorite.

The returns for these $20 wagers would have been:
Place wager $13,985
Straight exacta backwheel $11,707
10/6/4 exacta wager $11,438


$20 win wagers on these horses would have returned $16,694. So actually it appears that attempting to cover my longshots running 2nd by a place wager is underlaid, and their use in the bottom half of exactas is wildly underlaid. I’ve wondered if these horses are underlaid or overlaid in the horizontal wagers. I’m pretty sure they are covered fairly in doubles, but it has been my suspicion longshots are underlaid in the Pick 3’s, 4’s, etc.

Maybe somebody has info on that, or a database that contradicts what I have found...

[Ocala Mike]

I'm not altogether surprised by your data, Cholly. Win betting only if you have the stomach and bankroll for long losing streaks with longshots is the way to go. I also think you get the benefit, possibly, of a lower takeout on win betting vs. exacta at some venues.

[azeri98]

I like win bets, exactors, triactors and 20 cent supers, it depend on the race and what my bet will be. The larger the field the more likely I am to bet a tri or super, in a small field the payout isn't worth the risk of a tri or super.

[EMD4ME]

[QUOTE=sharkie187]I use to enjoy playing parlays

Don't let Mr. Stauffer hear you say that ;)