Multi-Strats Banana Software

[timtam]

I just browsed on ebay and came across a computer program I haven't

seen in a decade. Its Multi Strats from Banana Software. I remember

seeing this item advertised in the Daily Racing Form in the mid 80's.

I just was wondering if anyone on this board either used this program or

heard about it. It just took me down the path to memory lane when I

saw that item I forgot all about it.

[crestridge]

I believe Jaguar knows something about this software, if my memory serves me correctly. How about it Jag?

[Speed Figure]

Use the search on this board.

[Lefty]

Where did you find it? Did a search under Horserace handicapping software and came up with 5 items but not this. Please pointme to it.

[bigmack]

Where did you find it? Did a search under Horserace handicapping software and came up with 5 items but not this. Please pointme to it.
Left - Dust off your floppy drive. I haven't had a floppy on a computer in years.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Multi-Strats-Horse-Racing-Handicapping-System_W0QQitemZ370001537872QQihZ024QQcategoryZ429 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[wes]

I have the dam thing and no way to use it. Never received a 2000 update for the program. I understand there were a few copys out that would work. Make sure it's one of them befor purchasing at any price.

wes

[Jaguar]

Timtam, Dr. Sengbush was in the middle of a massive(and judging from the preliminary outline, brilliant) upgrade of Multi Strats, when he suddenly died.

His programmer, who had been taking deposits for a program he apparently had no intention of developing, or producing, kept the deposits.

So, yet another fraud was committed upon the then hapless horse handicappers of the world.

Between absolutely crazy programs, which cause a better to go broke waiting for a "once a year" winner which pays mountains of money and half-written absurdities which only pick favorites- the horse handicapper is carefully picking his way through the software thicket, dodging the thorns.

By the way, have you noticed a curious phenomenon regarding the relationship between relatively high-powered, almost charismatic developers that actively conduct expensive seminars- and poor quality of their programs?

The axiom seems to be: Take a Zilch program, sell it for $600-$1000, run 3 or 4 seminars over a 4-year period, issue a costly(but worthless) upgrade shortly after conducting each seminar, and buy your mother a small condo in West Palm.

Oh, how we computer handicappers yearn for an integrated package, a big comprehensive macher, using A.I....I hope I live so long.

Next year, I buy J Capper and hope for the best. At least the developer is a very sincere, honest guy- what a breath of fresh air!

All The Best.

[equicom]

I have always felt that the main problem is that most of the developers are just people who know a lot about computer programming but not so much about horses. I believe that to write a really good handicapping program, you need to be able to process more than just the numbers. I never met a horse with a college degree in calculus; did you?

Handicapping software should use math, of course, but it should also take other factors into account as well, especially the "human factors", and there are many other variables that must be considered.

So I think the biggest tip-off as to the quality of the software is how much the developer knows about racing and horses. When you attend one of these expensive seminars, go up to the guy and ask a few pointed questions that any good horseman should know the answer to. And if he can't answer you or becomes evasive, then you could probably guess that he's more of an accountant than a real track hound.

[Gibbon]

...computer handicappers yearn for an integrated package, a big comprehensive macher, using A.I.... All-Ways (http://www.frandsen.com/whatsnew.htm).

Linear and non linear regression….
Inferential, applied and mathematical statistics….
Neural net and AI.
BTW: racecom’s genetic algorithm is a bust!

Learning curve? Out of the box defaults work {lose} as well as any. Stipulating artful paceline selection. Otherwise diligent; occasionally agonizing study required.






_______________________
My advice to the unborn is, don't be born with a gambling instinct unless you have a good sense of probabilities. ~ Jack Dreyfus of Dreyfus Mutual Fund

[Donnie]

I'll keep it short and sweet (since many of you are already aware):

Ken Massa - honest, smart, cutting edge programmer of HTR Software. Cutting edge software? Maybe not, but the ideas behind it are. He is constantly pushing the envelope on the human factors. (AI? Is that crap for real? How do you quantify the myrid of handicapping variables that go into a race. Moreso.... WHY?? Your horse has a fever. The horse next to him has bucked shins. The one on the other side has a trainer who couldn't train his way out of a wet paper bag. And you want software to tell you why the race ran the way it did...???) Free software. You buy the data. (It's actually cheaper than buying one Racing Form each day, but people will argue the "need" for daily purchases rather than monthly. Probably the same people who pull the Form out of the trash after the 3rd race.) Free upgrades...never an extra charge. Seminars are free....he asks for a $20 donation to pay people who do a presentation with him in Vegas every July. (he keeps none of this money for himself!!) Ken typically does his presentation in a T-shirt. When he came in 2nd last year in the NTRA finals, he had to go out and buy a shirt with a collar...he didn't pack one, let alone a friggin' suit!!
No glitz. Willing to answer any questions. 100% approachable and listens to his clientle. Actually listens. Puts their ideas into his software with their permission. Does custom programming. One of the first to make exporting the data into Access or Excel availble to his subscribers.

What more could you ask for? (I know. I know! "Give me the winner in the next race!") ...there is a reason you can find the Racing Form in the trash after the 3rd race. Even Ken will be the first to joke that his newsletter is birdcage fodder. If you haven't checked at least those out, here is a link! http://www.homebased2.com/km/library.htm#newsletters You don't need the program to get something out of the newsletters. Happy reading!

And all the best to all as we limp toward the finish line of this year of 2007!

[Tom]

Amen, dittos, youbetcha, right on!

I once mentioned to Ken That I wanted to somehow collect the race condnitions for the races from the PP sections of the prpgram. Two days later, a customized version shows up in my email with special export function that did exactly that!

The comma chart files alone are worth the $119 a month.
Who buys comma charts now?
How much?
How many tracks?
:ThmbUp::ThmbUp::ThmbUp:

[fight]

ken massa is all and more .god bless km 15years with him.

[Jaguar]

Gibbon makes some good points about All-Ways.

The problem can be summed up thusly: "I asked a man for the time- and he told me how to make a watch".

Handicappers don't have time to wade through 40 screens.

A.I. is important in finding winning patterns and in evaluating the statistical weights of those patterns. I use neural nets every day and wouldn't be without them.

Donnie is right about Ken Massa, a heavy lifter doing good work in the trenches. So is Nathan Miserocchi.

There are some very talented, sincere guys out there that stand behind their
programs.

Regarding RaceCom, sad to say, I believe the developers have taken on new responsibilities and that the program is on the back burner. Disappointing.

All The Best,

Jaguar

[Donnie]

Jag--
excuse my ignorance....is Nathan Miserocchi the developer of EquiSim? I bought that program, installed it but never got around to trully giving it an honest shot. If this is not one in the same, my apologies.

BOL!
-Donnie

[hcap]

Jaguar A.I. is important in finding winning patterns and in evaluating the statistical weights of those patterns. I use neural nets every day and wouldn't be without them.Which ones?

[Lefty]

Donnie, because I don't care to pay 119 a mo for files, don't equate me or anyone else with a person who pulls the drf files from the trash. HTR is a good prgm but i never "cottoned" to it. There are a lot of prgms that do very well with files that cost .50 a file $1.00 a file or $59.95 a month, thank you.

[JimG]

Donnie, because I don't care to pay 119 a mo for files, don't equate me or anyone else with a person who pulls the drf files from the trash. HTR is a good prgm but i never "cottoned" to it. There are a lot of prgms that do very well with files that cost .50 a file $1.00 a file or $59.95 a month, thank you.

Lefty,

Nicely said! Good programs help you get contenders but it is up to the handicapper to sift throught the information. Good programs can be found using bris/tsn data.

Jim

[Tom Barrister]

Jag--
excuse my ignorance....is Nathan Miserocchi the developer of EquiSim? I bought that program, installed it but never got around to trully giving it an honest shot. If this is not one in the same, my apologies.

BOL!
-Donnie

Yes, Nathan Miserocchi is the developer of Equisim.

[Donnie]

Lefty--
I probably used too broad of a brush on that post. My apologies. My game is at a place where I peruse many tracks looking for my plays. Other people focus on one track at a time. And there is NOTHING wrong with that! The cost of monthly subscriptions would be out of line with their intent of layout and expenses. For me I search high and low to strike.

Again, my apologies.

BOL!
-Donnie

[Donnie]

Thanks Tom.
I will have to pull that program out and spend some serious time on my vacation over the Holidays getting my brain wrapped around it. I have heard nothing but good things about it.

[Jaguar]

HCAP, trainers are human and humans are creatures of habit. Some of them do the same- or similar- things, over and over.

With a large enough database, and a strong handicapping program, a trainer's favorite maneuvers can be brought to light before they are written up in the DRF and lose their wagering value.

Any compilation of trainer moves, sometimes called "trainer angles", is a collation of these hooks.

Of course, in the last 20 years most of the tried and true strategies have been attenuated by the work of talented chemists who have spread a drug-induced fog over horse racing statistics.

You can tell when the chemists' have done their work well- when a broken-down 7-year old Claimer goes gate-to-wire at Aqueduct. The shrieking, howling, cursing, and lamentations in the grandstand are enough to convince a visiting Psychiatrist that horseplayers are self-destructive masochists.

Happily, I am not in that group anymore. Having abandoned compulsive, crazy betting some years ago, I am a highly selective- and happy winner.

I have my return train ticket safely in my wallet, a fresh Pepsi in my right hand, and my left hand holds my winning $8 Quiniela ticket in a death grip.

Yep, another terrific day at the world's greatest game.

All The Best,

Jaguar

[GuyMartini]

I bought Multi-Strats in the late 80s and found it rather useless.
The program requires far too much data entry. Every entrant must be entered whether it is a contender or not, AND, you must enter the last 3 running lines for every horse. The output is nothing more than a consensus box rating of various paper and pencil strategies.

[hcap]

Jaguar,

You mentioned using neural networks successfully. I have tried to incorporate NNs in my own stuff. Unfortunately testing long term, I have not found NNs very predictive.

Can you give me an idea of what you use and how? Many thanks.

[Jaguar]

HCAP,

you might find it interesting to take a look at EASY NN, or Forecaster XL. Fairly versatile programs.

The Nets are good at finding relationships in data, and good at assigning weights to various data elements- sometimes a real "eye opener".

All The Best,

Jaguar

[Zaf]

Great Program !!

Nathan is an awesome programmer !!! My 3 programs of choice are :

1) Pacefigures.com CJ is da bomb !
2) HTR , Ken Massa is da bomb also.
3) Equisim , Nathan Miserocchi , da bomb also !!

3 brilliant minds , all 3 helped me to become a winning playa !

These are the 3 programs I use on a daily basis !


Thanks Guys !

Z

[Kelso]

1) Pacefigures.com CJ is da bomb !
2) HTR , Ken Massa is da bomb also.
3) Equisim , Nathan Miserocchi , da bomb also !!

3 brilliant minds , all 3 helped me to become a winning playa !

These are the 3 programs I use on a daily basis


Not sure if a response is quntifiable ... but to what extent do you find yourself choosing among 3 different answers to a race?

Does it happen often? If 2 programs say "X" and the third says "Y," do you routinely go with the majority? How much of an average 'capping session do you spend pondering disagreements among the programs?

Very nice, no doubt, to have an abundance of resources in which you have confidence; but how do you handle the contradictions?

Thank you.

[Zaf]

Kelso,

I use Access & Excel to extract the info I need from the above named programs. All three have a function where you can produce comma delimited output files which can be imported into access and then queried. Most of this is accomplished with the use of macros. I take my favorite factors from the programs and condense them, so I do not drive myself nuts trying to run 3 programs to handicap a single race. After running the info through access/excel, the info is neatly condensed and some races can be handicapped in a minute or two. Some races take longer to handicap as they are more complex puzzles. I concentrate heavily on about 15-20 factors which I deem the most important.


Actually, I lean more on CJ's Program & HTR. I really like Equisim also, but
use it much less now for the reasons you stated.(too much information / contradictions).

Z

[Kelso]

I take my favorite factors from the programs and condense them, so I do not drive myself nuts trying to run 3 programs to handicap a single race. After running the info through access/excel, the info is neatly condensed and some races can be handicapped in a minute or two. Some races take longer to handicap as they are more complex puzzles. I concentrate heavily on about 15-20 factors which I deem the most important.


Thank you, Zaf. Very instructive.