Anyone going to Tulsa?

[superfecta]

Handicapping contest on Aug 1-2 ,I'm going to be there,anyone else?

[GR1@HTR]

Superfecta,

I’ve never understood why Fair Meadows always have these tourneys during the week vs. weekend.

Question: Do you know if it two one day tournaments or a one two day tournament. Reason being, if they are 2 separate contest I will trot my happy a$$ up there Friday after work and goof off with you. Otherwise, it would be fruitless to make the trip.

[superfecta]

Originally posted by GR1
Superfecta,

I’ve never understood why Fair Meadows always have these tourneys during the week vs. weekend.

Question: Do you know if it two one day tournaments or a one two day tournament. Reason being, if they are 2 separate contest I will trot my happy a$$ up there Friday after work and goof off with you. Otherwise, it would be fruitless to make the trip. One tourney ,two days.Pick 5 races from Del Mar,and 5 from Fair meadows each day.I'm not too fond of it either,but since I was a contender last year(ended up ninth)I'm going to give it another shot.

[GR1@HTR]

I noticed FM has only 3 T-Bred races today...Gues the rest are Q horses? I haven't played that track in a few years but enjoyed the times I did. Good luck and best wishes.

[superfecta]

Went up there,ended up a waste of time.Finished 41st.Total ROI was about $3.30 for every 2.00 invested.What was surprising was how off the morning line was to actual post time odds.I had several longshots bet down to near favorite status,especially at Fair Meadows.Oh well.I guess the good thing was that only $20 separated me from contention,or anose at Del Mar-my pick finished 2nd at more than 10/1.Thats as close as I could get.:(

[Dick Schmidt]

SuperDude,

If you can do $3.30 per $2.00 invested, what do you need contests for? Bet them heavy and walk away grinning.

Dick

[superfecta]

Originally posted by Dick Schmidt
SuperDude,

If you can do $3.30 per $2.00 invested, what do you need contests for? Bet them heavy and walk away grinning.

Dick Dick-I don't have the stones to bet big on one horse,don't know why just can't bring myself to do it(blood rushes in my ears and clouds my thought process).Now if I could be like the winners in the contest(about $6.00 for every 2.00)maybe I would try.Seriously though,I did better last year with fewer winners at higher prices,this year I had more winners at less prices.I was winning more than on average but getting less.I really was doing better than my normal win rate,I don't know why.

[Dick Schmidt]

Superperson,

Theory: the reason you do better in contests is that 1) you are trying and concentrating harder, and 2) you don't have the fear of losing money.

If you could bring the same degree of diligence (or close to it) to your play everyday, you would do just fine. You can make a lot of money even if you only have a 50% ROI. (or even less, I'm told). One way to sharpen your handicapping is to bet just a tad over your comfort level. Fear has a way of doing that.

Try this money management scheme. You know what you are comfortable with. $5, $10 a race, whatever. So make those bets and really try to bear down, get into contest mindset. Then add a buck a week to your bet. A buck isn't much, it isn't really too scary, but it stretches your comfort level gradually. If you are a $10 bettor now, by the end of the year you'll be betting about $25 a race and never have to make a big jump. Remember, you aren't trying to maximize your return, you are trying to desensitize yourself to larger bets. Everyone starts small, and everyone has a limit. I can still remember my first "big" bet. $20 on a frontrunner with a huge pace advantage. The horse came out of the one hole, turned left and tossed P.Val over its head. I was in shock for a week. Then I got over it.

Your contest results show that you are already a really good handicapper. Any return over 20% is professional level play and you seem to be able to do that easily. Well, maybe not easily, but you can do it. If you want to move up in betting and make racing more than a hobby, this is a way to do it. I've had two or three people try this at my suggestion and each found that it was almost painless.

Whatever you decide, good luck with it.

Dick

[Myhorse1_X]

Superfecta:

I live in Tulsa. The two tracks in the contest are Del Mar and Fair Meadows.
The FMT is a hard track to handicap. I would suggest that you purchase a tip sheet from Ryan's Sports just west of 21st & Memorial Drive for the picks at Fair Meadows. He knows the track better than anyone, and you are on your own at Del Mar.

MyHorse1

[Myhorse1_X]

Dick Schmidt:

The way I overcome the fear of betting REAL money is to buy a voucher for $200 at the beginning of the day.
Just stick the voucher in the machine and make your bets the way you want.
It takes away the fear by actually pulling CASH out of your pocket every time you want to make a bet, and besides, at the end of the day when you cash out, you really know if you made money or not.

Off topic----I purchased that little program, or actually leased it. That is the greatest thing since sliced bread!. I tracked the results and figured that you hit one of three bets, (less Maidens), so if you watch the payoffs that pay better than $60, you can make money.
As a test, I did no handicapping at Prairie Meadows yesterday, did my thing, and bingo, made $87.00 doing nothing!. Made 3 bets and won one showing a profit for the day.

No big deal, but on $20 exacta bets straight that the program suggested and watching my odds and profit, you could probably make a buck or so!.
Thanks for the review, I mailed my $25.00 yesterday.

MyHorse1
M

[Dick Schmidt]

MyHorse,

Vouchers are certainly a way to go. I used to buy one on opening day and not see another teller until the close of the meet except to take profits once in a while.

I'm glad you liked AT THE RACES, it is a cool little program, and such a bargain. One thing puzzles me; how are you using it to handicap? It certainly does show winning payoffs, but it shows them for every combination. I never noticed where it favors one combination or horse over another. What did I miss here? If you can handicap with this thing, it goes from bargain of the year to bargain of the century.

Dick

[Myhorse1_X]

Dick Schmidt:

I didn't Handicap. I just set it on "Low 3", and except for maiden races and races that the lowest payoff was below $60, I played those three straight bets.

If I handicap along with the program, I can see that I can do much better at my betting. The program can structure a bet for you if you will let it.

MyHorse1

[Dick Schmidt]

Myhorse,

Thanks for the tip. I'll look at that. You're absolutely correct about the program structuring your bet for you. Now if I can only learn type in 6 different exacta bets in the last minute, I'll be a happy guy.

Thanks again,

Dick