Learning to accept a 20% takeout...

[JPinMaryland]

I keep telling myself it's so difficult to overcome a 20%+ house rake, but then I read about all the winning players here on PA and DelMar and on Derby Trail and I realize I am just letting my bad feelings get in the way of really making a living at this.

It is just an excuse. After all, anyone can pt. to the downside in any activity. Smoking can give you lung cancer. Getting married can lead to divorce. Even drinking water can poison you. when you think about it, dwelling on a 20% rake is just another way of giving you an excuse. An out.

Excuses are for losers. An excuse for not working hard and not believing in my hunches...I want to be a winner and I know I will someday.

So my advice: Stay with it folks. Ignore the naysayers. Dont overanalyze it. Dont dwell on the negative. You too can bring home winners.

[point given]

Please call us, we have an opening in our player services department .

Frank S.

[badcompany]

My advice to you: Start drinking heavily


http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e5/Skorp88/Top10Kid/Bluto.jpg

[Jeff P]

I had a conversation not too long ago with Barry Meadow. He told me something that IMHO was dead on. He told me that as horseplayers we are really in fact consumers.

Walk into a store with the intention of buying a gallon of milk. Milk is pretty much milk no matter where you buy it. The only difference being price. If you don't like the price in Store A chances are you can buy it somewhere else for less. Always seek out the best deal.

There's no reason I can think of why ANY horseplayer has to accept 20 percent blended takeouts. Monopolies are a thing of the past - despite what certain people in the industry might want you to believe.

If you want a better deal - there are always options.

Overcoming a blended take of 10-14 pct is a whole lot easier than 20 percent.


-jp

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[DJofSD]

So Jeff, are you saying stay out of the exotic pools and just make wagers in the win, place and/or show pools?

[Buddha]

So Jeff, are you saying stay out of the exotic pools and just make wagers in the win, place and/or show pools?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the "best bet" is the 12% take pick 3s Sam Houston and Retama have. I don't know if jeff is saying stay out of exotics, but just know what the tracks are taking, and find the tracks with the lowest.

[raybo]

Of course, higher takeouts are not preferable. However, most things in this game, and others as well, are relative.

Should we all be demanding lower takeouts at those tracks where we consider it too high? Yes, of course. But, a track with a higher takeout is not necessarily one you should avoid, unless you are involved in an organized group boycott intent on punishing a track for those higher than normal takeouts.

If your goal is making long term profits from this game, your main concern should be focused on those races, tracks, wager types, etc., where you show a long term edge (positive ROI). If (staying with the thread topic) you show a long term edge at a particular track that happens to have a high takeout on the type wagers where you have the edge then you obviously are overcoming the takeout in some way (usually based on value wagering either by demanding higher odds or by wagering into the exotics, where payouts allow you to overcome your losses, or simply because your methods work at that particular track (or tracks)). Would you make larger profits if those takeouts, on your wager types, were reduced? Yes, of course, but throwing long term profits away simply because the takeout is higher than you believe they should be is akin to "burning down the barn to get rid of the mice".

Focusing on high takeout rates is a negative that shouldn't be allowed to affect the exploitation of an edge. If your edge is only existent at a track (or tracks) where takeout is high, by all means, play that track, or those tracks. On the other hand, if you don't have an edge at any track then you might need to look at your methods. There's a very good chance that your problem lies there, not because you need a lower takeout in order to achieve an edge.

Most of the tracks I play have takeouts higher than the mean but there is no way I'm going to give up 5 of 6 straight years of more than 1.40 ROI. Sure I've tried to play tracks with lower takeouts but I can't produce that kind of edge at them.

So, IMO, takeout rates are relative to the player, his methods, and his edge at particular tracks.

[trying2win]

RAYBO:

In my opinion, you've made an excellent post on this topic of track takeouts! :ThmbUp:


T2W