Money Management Question-

[PaceGuy]

I'd like to throw a question out there. I'm interested primarily in the opinions of the serious player- those who primarily bet horses to make a living. Here goes:

How do you handle your money in terms of an individual day?

I have enjoyed a fair degree of success recently employing the following strategy: In the event that I find myself significantly ahead for the day (even if this occurs very early in the day) I will "LOCK UP" 75 percent of the amount that I am ahead for the day and not make a bet for any reason that will drop me below that 75 percent level. If I manage to win a bet or two after "LOCK UP" then I recalculate my new LOCK UP amount at 75 percent of the new daily high and go from there.

On that rare day when everything I try is working, I just keep recalculating the LOCK UP amount after each win and just keep on winning. That is the rare day.

On almost all other days after LOCK UP has occurred, I find myself either reducing my bet size in relation to bankroll to do this, and ocassionally passing on some nice plays late in the day that I might otherwise have played. But the end result is that I always end up taking home almost all of my profits. I also find that winning days now seem to outnumber losing days.

On days when I can't cash a ticket it's just simple percentage of bankroll for each play.


Are any of you others managing money in this way? Or do you feel that a straight percentage of bankroll approach is best, no matter how much money up or down in a day you happen to be?

[Lefty]

I don't make my living betting horses but I think you have a great idea.

[Tim]

PaceGuy,

I learned the lessons of session money managment in the blackjack and craps world. In that arena with it's fast action the money rules are simple. The more you are ahead the more you bet. The more you lose the less you bet. End a winning session when you give back a percentage of your top and a losing session when you lose your session pot.

Most of the time with horseracing I use a flat betting unit but I know what you mean. Every once in a while I hit a soft spot where the gods decide to give away money. When that happens it's rock and roll. I press as hard as I can and quit if I lose 20% off the top. When I'm on a run like that I don't pull the plug at the end of the day. I'll stay with it the next day and will continue to press until I lose the 20%. The game is to let the gods decide where the top is.

Tim

[Molock]

PaceGuy

You said: "I press as hard as I can and quit if I lose 20% off the top." I do a lot of casino gambling so I'm fascinated by your method and am interested in possibly trying it out on next week's trip to Reno. Are you saying if you go on a run and are up $50 and then lose $10 you stop ? Same goes with being up $100 and quitting if you lose $20 after that? All the "experts" say quit while you're ahead, but I keep wondering, how do I know if I'm not going to make a comeback? How much of my profit should I be willing to lose before figuring my luck's run out and move on?

Don't think I'm being sarcastic, I really really like your idea.

[TonyK@HSH]

Paceguy,

The first thing I should say is that if something is working for you-- don't change a thing. Each of us have our own styles and will only be successful if we are comfortable with a wagering strategy. That being said, you were looking for 'other' money management ideas so here we go...

1) I use a session concept where only a percentage of my total bankroll is considered 'working' at any given time. This is not an original concept, if fact the basis of my current practice came from the writings of Dave Schwartz in the early 90's (or around that time).

2) Within each session, I use a very mild progression which is different than the ideas presented by Tim. I want to stress..mild progression!!!

3) I also feel it's important NOT to view your wagering success in the number of winning days. I play through my session period. I've been ahead many days and went home losing (for that day). I instead review my plays at the end of a session which could be as short as a race and could be as long as weeks (seldom that long).

Since incorporating these guidelines (almost rules) into my money management I have realized dramatic improvement in my bottom line.

Hope this helps

Tony

[GR1@HTR]

TonyK,

Could you explain/elaborate further on mild progression.

Thanks!
Gr1

[MikeH]

The ability to sense streaks and play into them is a trait that few people have. (I don't.)


And I'll repeat a concept that has been mentioned a lot here on this board: what works for one person might not work for another.

I have a friend of a friend that is a banker who manages her bank's international money positions. She goes to Las Vegas once every several years with a $10,000 (?) bank to play craps. She starts each day with a certain amount, and, if she taps out, that's it for the day. But she is able to sense the hot and cold of the table and bet heavy when it's on, and immediately grind to a halt when the table gets cold. The are very few people with this type of control.

I'm not a professional gambler, and I only know two people that are. One goes to the track with a set amount each day. The other makes very few plays, but he has an intuition in him that tells him when to push, and when to hold back.

[PaceGuy]

TonyK,

Could you elaborate on what you use to define a session?

Thanks!

[TonyK@HSH]

Paceguy and GR1,

Let me try to answer both questions with one note. But first I 'd like to stress that this approach works for me and my mental makeup. It may not be for everyone.

The best way to approach these questions is to state that by a session I mean that only a portion of my racing bankroll is at risk at any given time. For me, I use 15%. For example, if your BR is $1000 the session amount would be $150. I play with this $150 until it either triples or is lost. This $150 is not the amount of your bet...instead consider it a seperate bankroll or session. Our friend Dave Schwartz has some excellent material on this concept.
Within that session I manage the BR with a mild progression type method. As usual, I probably make it more difficult than it has to be. But a simple explanation would go something like this. I make 1 unit bets until my loses equal the equivalent of 6 units. Once this threshold is reached, I add 1 unit to my bet (making it a 2 unit bet). Because I'm now making 2 unit bets I won't increase my bet again until the loses equal the equivalent of 12 additional units. If I continue to lose, the each additional increase of a unit would come at the equivalent of 12 more units. What this means is that I increase my bet size in a slow rate after a loss or series of losses. And conversly, my bet size could decrease after a win.

Hope this helps and don't hesitate to ask if you have any more questions

Tony

[GR1@HTR]

Interesting TonyK, I have been toying with what I thought was a mild progression (increasing wager by 1 unit after loss) but I guess in your terms it would be an aggressive progression. On the HTR board we are tracking SAR wagers. So far betting every race at SAR (all but 2 or 3 cards) using a mild progression, it has shown an ROI above 1.50 (1.00 breakeven). In real life wagering on this over the last couple of weeks, I have had excellent results as well. But it has been over a very small sample though. Only time will tell if it continues to work. But in the mean time, I am enjoying it...