46zilzal
01-14-2008, 05:27 PM
I have had a hearing problem of some time due to working around loud trucks for many a year in my youth and suffered nerve deafness in my right ear. Talking with an otolaryngologist one of the very first things he noted in our interview was that many people in need of hearing aides are in denial about it. It is only when it gets really noticeable that people actually admit the problem and address it.
I think that is a malady rampant amongst the racing crowd PARTICULARLY in the gambling side of the coin. I recognized it in myself, QUIT the active part of the game, studied a year's worth of opportunities (using races I had already handicapped and did not recall the results but used my same choices) and discovered it is an entirely different discipline in knowing the best times to hit it hard and in new ways that I had not considered in finding the best way my style can equate to money. It takes discipline of a different sort since you are often wagering upon horses that you KNOW will not win. I felt I had a PhD in handicapping with a 7th grade education in making the most of the skill.
It was a real eye opener.
I have always said that you could take many a competent handicapper, give them the TOP five finishers listed alphabetically, in randomly selected fields of ten that have recently raced, and the vast majority of them would lose or make very little money with that information.
It is an admission many cannot accept akin to my nerve deafness. Accepting both insufficiencies while there is time to fix them is the key to self-improvement.
I think that is a malady rampant amongst the racing crowd PARTICULARLY in the gambling side of the coin. I recognized it in myself, QUIT the active part of the game, studied a year's worth of opportunities (using races I had already handicapped and did not recall the results but used my same choices) and discovered it is an entirely different discipline in knowing the best times to hit it hard and in new ways that I had not considered in finding the best way my style can equate to money. It takes discipline of a different sort since you are often wagering upon horses that you KNOW will not win. I felt I had a PhD in handicapping with a 7th grade education in making the most of the skill.
It was a real eye opener.
I have always said that you could take many a competent handicapper, give them the TOP five finishers listed alphabetically, in randomly selected fields of ten that have recently raced, and the vast majority of them would lose or make very little money with that information.
It is an admission many cannot accept akin to my nerve deafness. Accepting both insufficiencies while there is time to fix them is the key to self-improvement.