Dick Schmidt: A great one has passed.

[Dave Schwartz]

I just heard that my dear and longtime friend Dick Schmidt passed away this morning.

Don't know any details beyond that right now.

Boy, could I tell you stories. (And probably will.)

[Speed Figure]

Pace makes the race! RIP Mr.Schmidt!

[thaskalos]

Shocking news! I held him in the highest regard as a handicapping author...and always enjoyed his posts on this board. May he rest in peace.

[ReplayRandall]

I just heard that my dear and longtime friend Dick Schmidt passed away this morning.

Don't know any details beyond that right now.

Boy, could I tell you stories. (And probably will.)

Sorry for the loss of your friend, Dave. One of his last posts involved Dick's input, dealing with a program you were working on. Dick gave some solid advice in this post:

http://www.paceadvantage.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1899044&postcount=97

[johnhannibalsmith]

Sorry to read this. He didn't post much lately it seemed but I always enjoyed his level-headed views.

[PICSIX]

RIP Dick, I just received this email from Larry Velardi of 4X-LA:

"Friends,

It is with deep sadness that we send word to you that we lost our beloved Dick Schmidt today. Dick was a fighter, big on perseverance and patience, but early this morning, he lost his 4-year long battle with bone cancer. He was 71.

A quick background on Dick will give you some insight into his singular personality: insurance salesman, cab driver, horse racing handicapper, helped write a handicapping book that still sells on Amazon.com, found 4X-LA and knew he'd found home. His cab driver's hat still hangs in his trading room to this day as a memento of where he started and how far he’d come.

And some words that suit Dick to a T: witty, fine sense of humor, smart, very talented, capable, intelligent, excellent command of the language, perceptive, erudite, well-read, casual, nonchalant, skilled in so many things, relaxed, easy going, genius, gentleman.

And some comments on and memories of Dick from other members of our club:

"... clear and transparent, very elegant, air of royalty"
"... fearless when it came to pulling the trigger on a trade"
"... ruthless in stopping out a losing trade"
"... oh well, I got stopped out again"
"... gave freely of his knowledge and support"
"... he loved trading, wasn't in the least afraid of it"
"... he loved talking about trading with other traders"
"... if you just sit in front of the computer the trades will always come by"
"... he had trading psychology down pat"
"... he knew the ebb and flow of trading... wave washes in ... wave washes out"
"... his energy was such that it smoothed out the rough spots in our meetings"
"... he put the Asian session on the map … he was responsible for bringing Active Trading to us"

We too happily remember what we call our famous "Dick-isms", moments and comments that were unique to Dick (Dick was nothing if not colorful, to say the least). To Dick, a big move wasn't just a big move. It was big drama, "price came thundering down" or "price shot up to the moon", or "God Almighty Dog! That ought to get it done!" And if he saw that one of his trades was going the wrong way, he'd kill it immediately and say "… it's better to cut it off now than to end up gnawing off my fingernails up to my elbow hoping it'll turn around!" And if he was pondering getting into a trade, he'd say "… sometimes you have to turn your head a little and hold your mouth just so in order to see the setup".

If you were ever fortunate enough to listen to a Dick broadcast, we're pretty sure the words "effortless", "natural", "intuitive", and "genius" came drifting through your thoughts as he simply and unflinchingly pulled the trigger on each trade. These broadcasts we not just Dick taking trades. No, they were "clinics" on trader psychology. Dick was a great teacher, repeatedly demonstrating emotional stability, cruising through sessions with confidence and poise, getting hit time after time, but maintaining an even-keel through it all. He proved it week after week: stick to your trading plan, don't veer from it because of a bad trade or two (or three or four!).

It was extraordinary, like watching water roll off a duck's back. Patience and consistency for Dick were the key, those two, and of course, mercilessly killing his trades if they went even 5 pips against him. He truly knew that nothing works all the time and was happy to dip his toe in the water, knowing that if it didn't work this time then it wasn't ready and he'd just wait until it was. And we all saw it time and time again: he’d dip in, cut it off, dip in, cut it off, dip in … He kept coming back, no change in his demeanor, no frustration, no revenge. He'd just say "...enh, that's trading" and in a few minutes he'd make it all back plus 20 more.

What did he know that we don't? What could he see that we can't?

Dick was fully centered on trading, a natural calculated-risk taker. It was easy to see that this giant of a gentle man was doing something that he loved. He was in his element and relished every second of it - teaching, sharing, trading, and especially talking trading with trading buddies over dinner after a meeting. And in all these years he never once hesitated to show us how he did it - this magician wasn't afraid to show us his secrets. As ill as he was in his last year, he gave free classes in his home to anyone who would come. Generosity was in abundance, as were patience and kindness, qualities everyone knew well who knew Dick.

One of our members called him "Larry's punching bag". But his feathers were never ruffled nor his hackles ever raised because he knew all comments between him and Larry were purely light-hearted jest. And besides, he could easily and effortless crack wise to render Larry completely speechless - not an easy thing to do. And during all that, he was happy to share the limelight, a gracious gentleman.

It was a supreme treat to have known him and we were blessed to have him as long as we did. We lost a giant of a man today who leaves an even bigger hole in our hearts. No one will ever fill the void left there by his passing. He can never be replaced because there simply is no one else like him. Our hearts are no longer the same for having had Dick in them.

In honor of his passing, our October 9th meeting will be changed, no forex. Just a simple "gathering of the faithful" as Dick put it, to share our thoughts and memories of him and to remember the passing of this gentle giant.

So we leave you with this: his Skype profile tag line...

"The race is not always to the swift nor the battle to the strong, but that's the way to bet." ~ Damon Runyon



God's Speed, Dick. We'll see you when our trades are closed out too."

[Vinnie]

Dave:

I am so sorry to hear the news of your dear friends passing. Unfortunately, I never got the pleasure of meeting Mr. Schmidt, however, I know that he was a truly remarkable and brilliant man that will be dearly missed by many people who were so blessed to have known him in life.

Rest in Peace Sir....

[v j stauffer]

Losing a friend affiliated with something we love is especially difficult. I truly enjoyed some of his thoughts.

"you're supposed to lose 70% of the bets you make " shows that Mr. Schmidt clearly "got it".

In addition to your personal loss it's clear racing in general is weaker today.

So sad.

RIP

[lamboguy]

Losing a friend affiliated with something we love is especially difficult. I truly enjoyed some of his thoughts.

"you're supposed to lose 70% of the bets you make " shows that Mr. Schmidt clearly "got it".

In addition to your personal loss it's clear racing in general is weaker today.

So sad.

RIP
weaker is not the word for it! this year in Saratoga they wrote nw2 life for $16,000. i remember the days when there was no such thing as conditioned claimers in New York or Miami at all

[Elliott Sidewater]

In the time that I was a teaching member of the Sartin Methodology, Dick Schmidt was the glue that held that organization together. He was the editor and frequent contributor to The Follow Up, and the man who opened, moderated, and closed every Saratoga seminar.

He was a great teacher, a dynamic speaker, and had a great sense of humor.
If I had to pick one word to describe Dick, it would be practical. The last time I saw him was probably 1993, and I believe he had a young child at the time. Years later, he generously offered to teach me how to trade on the Forex. I should have taken him up on it.

For years people laughed at a salutation I stole from Dick and used on all my work e-mails:

In theory, practice is the same as theory. In practice, it isn't.

This is a sad day...........RIP Dick.

[JimG]

Very sorry to hear of his passing. I always enjoyed his contributions and learned much from his experience when conversing on the old HSH board.

Jim

[v j stauffer]

weaker is not the word for it! this year in Saratoga they wrote nw2 life for $16,000. i remember the days when there was no such thing as conditioned claimers in New York or Miami at all

15 years ago anything with a condition attached was blasphemy at any of the big time venues.

NYRA, Florida in the Winter, Kentucky, So. Cal.

Now the secretaries could never fill a race card without them.

Sad sign of the times Lambo. Sad time indeed. :(

[cj]

Bummer...Dick was a clever guy with a great sense of humor.

[SAL]

Sorry to hear about this. I only met the man once, but I remember he was a smart guy with a great sense of humor. RIP

[Tom]

I met him a few times at Sartin and Pizzolla a seminars.
Great guy.

Rolled out of bed at the crack of noon every day.

He was a good teacher, and I owe him what I know today about record keeping, discipline, and goal setting at the track.

RIP, Dick.

[PaceAdvantage]

Very sad to hear this. I paid immediate attention to every post Dick made here on this site, whether it was on racing, or in recent years, trading the financial markets.

My sympathies to those who knew him personally...I never had that honor, unfortunately...

[Greyfox]

I enjoyed many of the articles he wrote regarding concepts attributed to Sartin and others. Dick Schmidt was a good teacher in that he could express ideas in a straight forward plain manner.
My sympathies are extended to his friends and family.

[Nitro]

Sorry for the loss of your friend, Dave. One of his last posts involved Dick's input, dealing with a program you were working on. Dick gave some solid advice in this post:

http://www.paceadvantage.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1899044&postcount=97
Sorry to hear about Dick’s passing. May he R.I.P.

In my former life as a handicapper, I regarded him as someone who always came across as a real pragmatist exemplified by the candor he expressed for this game.

Thanks for the link to that post ReplayRandall. I especially enjoyed reading his take on intentions in item #3. A truth that many unfortunately ignore.

[punteray]

Met Dick back in the '80's during the Sartin days. Nice guy RIP.

[JustRalph]

Years back exchanged emails with him. Talked guns n horses. He asked me to make his avatar for him. Still using it.......

RIP

[betovernetcapper]

He was a person with solid opinions. I liked him. RIP

[Dave Schwartz]

Dear Friends of so many years,

Some of us have known each other for so long, going all the way back to the days of Prodigy. Please forgive me if this seems... out there a little, but I am really feeling the loss today and I would like to say more than just "Rest in Peace, Dick." I guess I just want you to know what kind of man he really was.

Back then (in the Prodigy days) there were so many personalities. LOL We even had love-hate relationships with a few.

Dick was one of those personalities.

I realize that many of you knew Dick, but my guess is you didn't really KNOW him; know who he really was. I'd like to tell you about who he really was.


Dick Schmidt: Horse Player Extraordinaire
First, he was completely the real deal. Well, he wasn't always the real deal, but he became precisely that.

I remember the exact moment when he became the real deal. He was doing a live seminar in Las Vegas with Michael Pizzolla billed as "The Masters Class." It was to be a week of handicapping, Wednesday through Sunday for (as I recall) $500 per person.

There were so many signups that they scheduled a 2nd week to accommodate all the players.

At those seminars, one of the "rules" was that Dick & Michael would share their picks publicly before each race. Dick told me that he was going to start with $200 and bet 10% of bank in each race. That was Tuesday night.

On Sunday night he called me and said, "You are just not going to believe what I did this week." He was absolutely giddy with excitement as he explained that he had followed the betting plan of 10% per race and had run the $200 into $12,000!

I remember a precise quote from him: "You're just not going to believe this, Dave, but I bet $1,600 in a race today!" He had singled a horse, win-place. That horse won but in the last couple of races his BR rolled back a little.

Still, $200-to-$12,000 was quite amazing without any giant hits. It was just slow, steady plodding... gradually beating the game.

You see, before that Master's Class, Dick was, basically, a $5-$10 player. That week forced him out of his comfort zone, never to return.

In the 2nd Masters' Class, he started again with a $200 bankroll. Dick admitted to me that he was somewhat relieved to be shrinking the stakes a little but once again committed to 10% of bank.

Just to prove that the first week was no fluke, by the end of that 2nd week, the $200 had become $10,000!

When we spoke after those two weeks, I found that it was a different Dick Schmidt I was talking with. He had lifted himself to new levels.


Dick Schmidt: The Generous Man
I am a big player in this story. The year was 2002. The previous 4 years had been pretty difficult for Beth and I. Our horse racing business was really not doing very well. So much so, that Beth had gone back to home child care to generate income to help us.

After losing everything, and rebuilding for a year or so, we had finally come back to the point of being able to buy a home again. And given up the child care, thank God. (That whole story is entertaining, but you'd have to come to Reno to hear it.)

The brand new house was 30 days from completion and closing and we were still about $20,000 short on the down payment. Out of the blue, Dick calls and says, "So, you're buying a new house. My guess is that you could use a little extra money. Would $6,500 help?"

This was the real Dick Schmidt. A truly generous man, who, despite being almost frugal when it came to spending, would simply step up when it was necessary.


Dick & Tom
Tom Hambleton was one of Dick's best friends. He genuinely cared about Tom. The latter stages of Tom's life was very difficult. While several of Tom's friends attempted to do right by him, it was Dick who sent money most often.

Of course, Dick would never say, "I sent Tom money." It was Tom who would tell me that Dick had gifted him once again.


About the Level of Dick's Generosity
(I cannot tell you how I know this or even the complete story, but I know it to be true.)

Someone close to Dick had made a horrible investment. I believe it was one of those real estate deals that ultimately turned out to be a pyramid scam. Not only had they lost all their money, but had leveraged their assets as well.

When the smoke cleared, they were at risk of losing everything, including their home. Dick opened his wallet and gave them... GAVE THEM... $30,000.


I could go on for an hour with Dick Schmidt stories. LOL - Admittedly, some will have to stay out of print. I thank you for indulging me this time to share this.


Rest in Peace, Dick Schmidt. We will miss you.


Regards to all,
Dave & Beth Schwartz

[Calif_Eagle]

I have "Pace Makes The Race" in my handicapping library, both the original Hambleton - Pizzolla - Sartin - Schmidt version and the later one revised and written w/o Dr. Sartin. I did not know any of them personally but nonetheless; it's so very sad to realize that 3 of these men have now passed. May God bless all three and allow them to RIP.

[098poi]

My condolences Dave

[Red Knave]

Unbearably sad news. Condolences to his family and his numerous friends. He will be missed.

[reckless]

He answered every silly email I ever sent to him. He was quite helpful and generous with his time. I often told him that his writings in The Follow Up was as helpful to my success as was the great Phase III program itself which I bought from Pirco.

RIP, Dick Schmidt.

[pandy]

Dear Friends of so many years,

Some of us have known each other for so long, going all the way back to the days of Prodigy. Please forgive me if this seems... out there a little, but I am really feeling the loss today and I would like to say more than just "Rest in Peace, Dick." I guess I just want you to know what kind of man he really was.

Back then (in the Prodigy days) there were so many personalities. LOL We even had love-hate relationships with a few.

Dick was one of those personalities.

I realize that many of you knew Dick, but my guess is you didn't really KNOW him; know who he really was. I'd like to tell you about who he really was.


Dick Schmidt: Horse Player Extraordinaire
First, he was completely the real deal. Well, he wasn't always the real deal, but he became precisely that.

I remember the exact moment when he became the real deal. He was doing a live seminar in Las Vegas with Michael Pizzolla billed as "The Masters Class." It was to be a week of handicapping, Wednesday through Sunday for (as I recall) $500 per person.

There were so many signups that they scheduled a 2nd week to accommodate all the players.

At those seminars, one of the "rules" was that Dick & Michael would share their picks publicly before each race. Dick told me that he was going to start with $200 and bet 10% of bank in each race. That was Tuesday night.

On Sunday night he called me and said, "You are just not going to believe what I did this week." He was absolutely giddy with excitement as he explained that he had followed the betting plan of 10% per race and had run the $200 into $12,000!

I remember a precise quote from him: "You're just not going to believe this, Dave, but I bet $1,600 in a race today!" He had singled a horse, win-place. That horse won but in the last couple of races his BR rolled back a little.

Still, $200-to-$12,000 was quite amazing without any giant hits. It was just slow, steady plodding... gradually beating the game.

You see, before that Master's Class, Dick was, basically, a $5-$10 player. That week forced him out of his comfort zone, never to return.

In the 2nd Masters' Class, he started again with a $200 bankroll. Dick admitted to me that he was somewhat relieved to be shrinking the stakes a little but once again committed to 10% of bank.

Just to prove that the first week was no fluke, by the end of that 2nd week, the $200 had become $10,000!

When we spoke after those two weeks, I found that it was a different Dick Schmidt I was talking with. He had lifted himself to new levels.


Dick Schmidt: The Generous Man
I am a big player in this story. The year was 2002. The previous 4 years had been pretty difficult for Beth and I. Our horse racing business was really not doing very well. So much so, that Beth had gone back to home child care to generate income to help us.

After losing everything, and rebuilding for a year or so, we had finally come back to the point of being able to buy a home again. And given up the child care, thank God. (That whole story is entertaining, but you'd have to come to Reno to hear it.)

The brand new house was 30 days from completion and closing and we were still about $20,000 short on the down payment. Out of the blue, Dick calls and says, "So, you're buying a new house. My guess is that you could use a little extra money. Would $6,500 help?"

This was the real Dick Schmidt. A truly generous man, who, despite being almost frugal when it came to spending, would simply step up when it was necessary.


Dick & Tom
Tom Hambleton was one of Dick's best friends. He genuinely cared about Tom. The latter stages of Tom's life was very difficult. While several of Tom's friends attempted to do right by him, it was Dick who sent money most often.

Of course, Dick would never say, "I sent Tom money." It was Tom who would tell me that Dick had gifted him once again.


About the Level of Dick's Generosity
(I cannot tell you how I know this or even the complete story, but I know it to be true.)

Someone close to Dick had made a horrible investment. I believe it was one of those real estate deals that ultimately turned out to be a pyramid scam. Not only had they lost all their money, but had leveraged their assets as well.

When the smoke cleared, they were at risk of losing everything, including their home. Dick opened his wallet and gave them... GAVE THEM... $30,000.


I could go on for an hour with Dick Schmidt stories. LOL - Admittedly, some will have to stay out of print. I thank you for indulging me this time to share this.


Rest in Peace, Dick Schmidt. We will miss you.


Regards to all,
Dave & Beth Schwartz


Wow, that is quite a testament to his character and talent. Sorry to hear that he passed. May he rest in peace.

[Topcat]

oh no! ,very sad, its the same day my younger cousin died of cancer so its a tough week. Can't help but think it they are the best of us. I hate this part of life.

I just listened to Dick over at 4xlosangeles last month. Prayers and condolences to family and to you Dave and all his close friends. My only regret is that I didn't spend more time with him.