Bankroll Management and Betting

[Maverick58034]

Hi all,

I am recently new to the forum, but not new to racing. After almost 4 years of playing regularly (3-5 days a week, sometimes more, sometimes less), I figured it was time to see how everyone else "did it".

I was wondering if you all had any methods to avoid the "highs and lows" of racing. And by that I mean, having a great day against having a few bad days in a row. Certianly noone enjoys losing, but it doesn't particularly bother me because I realized early on that you had to take the bad with the good. However, I have recently found my bankroll in serious jeopardy after having some bad days in a row. That being said, my "luck" has not been the greatest (multiple 5 out of 6 pick sixes recently, some lost on the last leg (ouch!)), but nevertheless, I was wondering what you all did to avoid these "downers"? I have considered tailing off my bets, but it seems that when I do that I don't make any ground up, or if I increase only in spot plays I still can't get it going.

Anywho, feedback is certainly welcome

Thanks!
Mike

[dav4463]

I spend at least five times as much time reviewing my records than I do handicapping and betting. By reviewing your records that are unique to your style of handicapping you can find out where your strengths and weaknesses are and tailor your betting to your style of play. You may be best at picking longshots that hit the board and use them as key horses in exotics or you may be better at isolating that low odds horse that is an exotics must. Your own records will tell you what races you are best at and what types of horses that you pick. Compare what you would have won betting win only vs win/place vs exacta vs trifecta for example. See which bets are most profitable for you on a consistent basis.

[WJ47]

I think the toteboard and the actual watching of the races has really made me take a beating lately. Years ago, I worked as a waitress in a Western NY truck stop on the third shift. This one guy used to come in every night and he'd be reading a racing form while he drank cup after cup of coffee. It was always slow on third shift, sometimes I'd go for three or four hours without a customer. So I'd talk to him and he'd tell me stories about what happened at the track. Soon I was interested in the handicapping aspect of it. I thought it looked fun, something to read or do on the long third shifts to pass the time away instead of doing crossword puzzles or reading Sidney Sheldon books. He gave me some basic lessons on what various things in the form meant and I bought a couple of books on the subject, Ainslie's book and a Beyer book.

There was no internet betting or TVG back then (this was when I was young, probably 18 years old, I'm almost 38 now). The local OTB had just started a new telephone betting service called Dial A Bet. You had to go to the OTB and put money in the account in cash and then you could call your bets in via a toll free number. Since I didn't drive, this was a great option because I couldn't get to the OTB daily to bet and we only had a local harness track (Buffalo Raceway).

So everyday after work, I'd have my boyfriend stop at the newstand and pick up the new form and I'd bring it to work and handicap the Aqueduct or Belmont races during the slow periods at work. Right before I went to bed (around noon) after I had the scratches, I'd call Dial A Bet and place all of my wagers for the day. Then I went to sleep and would wake up around 7pm, call Dial A Bet and check my balance. I used to do really well. I'd pick lots of winners. I even won the Pick 6 three times. It was never for a huge amount like $20,000, but they were over $5000, one time $6000. I'll never forget the first one that I won, the horse in the last race that I needed was named Sunshine Ivory! :) Since I never knew what actually happened in the race, I couldn't watch it, I'd go over the result charts thoroughly in the form afterwards. I mean, we're not talking wins that could have made me financially independent, but I was usually ahead of the game and having fun.

So anyway, after I started having kids, I didn't really have time to handicap as much with three kids and I started to lose interest. After 15 years went by and the kids were older, I'm a bored housewife and I saw how everyone was having fun betting the horses online. Youbet and TVG seemed like paradise! Plus I didn't have to pick up a form, I could just download them now. So I started to handicap again. Now I almost always lose! :) But I'm a small better, $2 bets, so I consider it entertainment, just like some go and blow $100 in a casino each week. I watch TVG and have the live odds on Brisbet and I can't seem to do a thing.

My theory is that I just can't handle watching the live odds and hearing the commentators, it warps my judgement. It is so much more frustrating instead of better. Another thing I think affects me is that there are so many more factors to consider now than back then. I never used form, trip handicapping, ect. Plus there is more information in the form that makes my head spin. Years ago, I used to keep records of trainers in a notebook, I used to do good when a trainer named Robert Lake claimed a horse. Now the claim records for each trainer are right in there so keeping records isn't really as profitable. Back then, Lasix wasn't used in NY, but Oscar Barrara and Peter Ferriola were winning tons of races all the time, shamelessly!

I know that most handicappers advise looking for value, but for some reason this doesn't work for me. I'm thinking of going back to the old method and handicapping the form the night before, putting my bets in, and then cleaning the house and checking to see how I did later. Its really horrible, sometimes when I watch TVG, I'll even let the announcers influence who I bet and I'll change bets to horses that I had no plans of betting when I handicapped. The problem is that I love TVG! I keep it on even when I'm not wagering that day, like someone would listen to a radio!

Or maybe its simply that the game has changed alot since I played before. But whatever is the true reason, I used to handicap good and now I almost always end up losing at the end of the day. I don't play exactas, trifectas, or superfectas much. I mostly bet to win, or do some daily doubles or small pick 3s. I almost never play the pick 6 anymore. LOL, I'm lucky now to pick a double, much less 6 in a row. I've also considered that maybe I'm stupider now from years of raising children and just not as mentally sharp as I was when I was younger. But I believe that its the odds and juicy information that influence my decisions, and not in a favorable way.

I've had some long losing streaks and tough beats recently (21 consecutive losses!). I think it makes it worse when it happens and your judgement gets even worse. I wish I knew the solution, I can certainly sympathize with you.

I agree that you should keep records of what races you do better in. You may find that you do good with sprints, but poorly with turf races.

[andicap]

Wow, that's quite a story!

The psychology of betting is a lot of the battle so it's no surprise you're having problems now. I would go back to what you did before because you're more comfortable with it. You can still put in your bets after the scratches and watch the races live on TVG.

One thing I would do, tho, is return to keeping trainer records but in more depth than you probably did before. Knowing that Michael Hushion is good off a layoff is one thing but knowing that (hypothetically because I don't study trainers) he's even better off a layoff when he drops a horse in class or uses a certain jockey or a certain workout routine or a bug rider, etc., will put you miles ahead of people who just glance at the trainer records in the form.

Also, it's amazing how many times I'll see a trainer with a good record on a certain move in the DRF still pay decent money. Some moves get hammered -- Dutrow off a layoff, everyone knows -- but others don't.