Bad book bad

[kev]

Maybe you all have asked this quesiton before, but here it goes. What is one of the worst handicapping books you ever read?? I don't think I have any, that I would say was a joke. Now there was some method and system type of books that has already been throwed away for years now. Back in the early days and me starting out, there was one that said something like.....take post 1-2-3 and 4-5 and I think 9-10 and bet the lowest odd horse in the 1-2-3 and also ducth another low odd horse in post 4-5-9-10.

[dav4463]

Regal Murray wrote one that simply involved looking at lengths behind and betting the horse that has been running closest to the front or winning in its last four races.

[Overlay]

To put a positive spin on your question, I try to find something of value in any handicapping book which I read, but the book that proved to be the greatest challenge to me in that regard was a paperback title by R. Randolph Reynolds that was called either The Complete Handicapper's Manual or The New Complete Handicapper's Manual . It wasn't so much what he said (or didn't say), but the style in which he wrote, and particularly the intermittent lists of miscellaneous handicapping tips scattered throughout the book (for example, one to the effect of, "Avoid thinking too much. When you have thought too much, you have zigzagged yourself out of a winner. Just accept the mathematically-calculated ratings and believe in them."

[delayjf]

I'd have to say the biggest disappointment was Bradshaws book "the Matchup". Didn't tell me anything I didn't already know.

[thelyingthief]

i have to agree, bradshaw's book was the worst. unlike the preceding reviewer however, who learned nothing new, i learned that bradshaw knew nothing that he had learned.

[NoDayJob]

:D Mike Warren's, "System of the Century"---in fact anything with Mike Warren's name on it, including his passport and drivers license. :D

NDJ

[andicap]

Book doesn't mean "system" I would presume so "The Dot System" released in the 1970s would not qualify. Huge ad campaign and I sent away -- he based it the choices of public handicappers. You put "dots" next to the choices of each handicapper and the ones with the most dots was the choice.

As for real books.

Nick Borg's "Off the Charts" was the worst I have read in the last 10 years. I got absolutely no new ideas out of it. But in fairness to Nick I stopped picking up every single new book a while ago.

(The others have blissfully faded into memory.)

I would agree, tho, that Bradshaw's was awful. Terribly written, a million typos. Murky explanations on most of his concepts and examples which often didn't make sense in the context of his theory.
I'd say Bradshaw's may not have been the worst but was certainly the most disappointing considering my expectations.

[JackS]

Books or methods that contain "rules" and the authors statements "always do this" and "never do this".
I like to see books that contain words like "prefer" and "careful". I like to see many statements that pertain to reality like "know your own track" and "come to terms with yourself and understand your own abilities"
You can usually get a sense of the authors own abilities within the first few pages if ridiculous rules and statements are or are not made.
Some of these guys may be good hcp'ers but its their inability to explain their methods based on their own intuitions that leads them to the conclusion that all readers must conform to RULE 1,2,3 etc.
Overly involved books written by good handicappers can be almost as bad because we either fail to get the point that the author is trying to make, or the whole thing is so tedious that we quickly lose interest trying to understand and the book winds up putting us to sleep.
It seems it really does take a skilled handicapper who is also a skilled author to produce something that is truelly worthwhile.

[BIG RED]

:D Mike Warren's, "System of the Century"---in fact anything with Mike Warren's name on it, including his passport and drivers license. :D

NDJ

Are you sure that was from Warren. I beleive I have a copy, published by HeritageHouse, but by a different author. This little book wasn't to bad, I still have it, to lend to new ones getting into the game(with many others) If it had Warrens name on it, I never would have purchased it.

[NoDayJob]

Are you sure that was from Warren.

Yup, this turkey was published by the Baltimore Bulletin, Inc., Md. (c) 1976. Another turkey is "Smart Is Better Than Lucky" published by Gould All-Day, Inc. N.Y. (c) 1977. I got these gems when I bought a big racing library from a broke handicapper in the early 1980's. Total trash!

NDJ

[NoDayJob]

Book doesn't mean "system" I would presume so "The Dot System" released in the 1970s would not qualify. Huge ad campaign and I sent away -- he based it the choices of public handicappers. You put "dots" next to the choices of each handicapper and the ones with the most dots was the choice.

:D This beauty was included in a racing library I purchased. This is one of the reason's the punter sold his collection to me for about $0.02 on the dollar. You name it, he bought it and actually bet money. Suuuuuckkkker! :D

NDJ

[midnight]

Mike Warren (real last name is Lasky) has long since moved on to the much more lucrative sports tout ripoffs. He uses the same techniques that Jim Feist, Stu Feiner, Ron "Coach" Bash, Johnny DeMarco, Kevin Duffy, Jack Price (Marc Meghrouni, et. al.), Eddie "Professor" Horowitz, etc., use. He may still be doing the horses, too. Worthless people as far as I'm concerned.

[MooseDog]

This sleaze bag found even bigger fish to fry than sports bettors...

Mike Warren (Michael Lasky) also founded the Psychic Friends Network, which you might remember from the Dionne Warwick infomercials. According to several articles I read, rough estimates of the net income of PFN were $100-144 million a year.

However Warren was said to boast that every day he woke up he was $1 million richer, which would peg income at over $300 million. PFN eventually filed bankruptcy but don't cry for Mr. Warren-Lasky, I'm sure he managed to save a few bucks.