Tips/Picks: how do you feel about them?

[thorobasePA]

This forum has some pretty smart, sophisticated gamblers who play regularly. They pay for lots of data, invest in handicapping software and generally follow the sport very closely.

I'm sure there are many others on PA who are like me, who maybe don't look at PPs on a daily basis but certainly read the racing headlines, visit forums, watch and bet the big Graded races and would consider themselves educated fans.

And then there are the new fans who are trying to learn and navigate through the maze of data racing presents in attempting to decipher the winner of a race.

For these 3 groups, do you think picks/tips have much of an impact?

Do you seek out picks from other players you respect for a race you are interested in, or just focus on the market itself? Do you give picks, perhaps to other horseplayers you know, or maybe family and friends? Regularly or only when asked?

Here in Ireland, sooner or later if you talk about horses you end up getting a tip about some "sure thing", whether requested or not. Plus, for the general public who don't follow racing, tips are basically the desired contact they have with racing - the prospect (promise?) of significant financial gain.

I'm interested to know how people feel about them.

[Skanoochies]

Everytime I yap about a horse to my friends, it undoubtably runs up the creek. Or some smartass come out with"If he wins I`ll eat it."

As far as tips go, I`ve had tons at Hastings park over the years, and if I had bet them all I`d be as skinny as a Bay of Fundy shad. :lol:

[point given]

Your choices to vote on seem skewed , so i didnot vote. I rarely give or take tips, but will consider it on occasion depending upon the source and how i view the race.

[JohnGalt1]

I did not respond to the poll, because most players lose and in addition, their reasons for playing the horses sometimes don't make sense.

If someone asks me who I like in a race I tell them, because they won't bet it to win and may not win anything even if it wins because thee don't catch it with their other horses in tris and pick threes.

But the MOST important question they DON'T ask is WHY I like my selection.

If my selection is racing fit, classier and faster than the rest of the field, he should run well and can be played with confidence if the odds are acceptable to the better.

If it's one of my few angle plays and is 12-1, it MAY run well, or not, but should not be played with the same confidence, but will have a higher reward if it wins.

The person asking should know which reason I have, but at least they know I don't bet a horse named Uncle Bob's Revenge because I have an uncle Bob.

[kenwoodall2]

I'll share my picks with whoever wants them, mostly it is my brother!!

[thespaah]

It's usually a social situation at the races anyway. So my friend and I usually ask each other which horses we like and why.

One went like this at Saratoga last year.
I was kind of scratching my head trying to toss some horses out of my exotics.
This was an Alw/Opt claimer NW2X 3 &up....I see that the shipper had done pretty well at his hime track then I look like two or three back and noticed the horse had shipped away to another track on a superior circuit and won.
Same deal this time. Same horse and the regular rider came with.
So I ask my buddy what he thought. He said he'd have never spotted this.
Short version, we made a good amount of coin on that race.
It's that type of cameraderie I like to engage in at the track.

Flip side. Years ago I used to attend the races with a friend who was an excellent handicapper. He would NEVER tell anyone which bets he was going to make. In fact he HATED it if we got on the same teller line as he.
Now that's crack in the sidewalk superstitious.

[raybo]

I never share my selections for any race I intend to wager. First, the reason is obvious, especially if you give out good wagers. Word gets around.

Second, most players asking for picks are not intelligent wagerers and won't leverage the picks the way they should.

Third, you could give someone several winners in a row, but, give them a couple that don't make it and that player you gave those winners to will disappear.

In short, it's the old saying again, "You can lead a horse to water, but, you can't make him drink".

I also do not seek picks from anyone, other than my handicapping partner of 30+ years. If we can't figure it out, then we won't wager.

[therussmeister]

25 years ago, when I was making my first trip to the track, I decided to never listen to anybody's opinion on any race I intended to bet. About 15 years ago, when I thought it was time to get really, really serious about this, I decided to stop all socializing at the track. I haven't given a selection in 15 years, and haven't received a selection in, well, ever.

[Greyfox]

I never discourage anyone from playing "their pick" no matter how improbable its win chances may appear.If someone asks my opinion, I will tell them what I am playing. Otherwise, I'm not one to walk around giving advice.
My contenders are chosen before the race. My plays are usually made after I see the Post Parade.

[fmhealth]

Tips spelled backwards are what they're worth.

[raybo]

Tips spelled backwards are what they're worth.

True! :lol:

[Stillriledup]

I don't give out tips, but i'm asked for them from time to time. I don't ask anyone who they like, i believe my own information is better most times. I'd rather have information (for example, if a certain horse had throat surgery after his last race and its not in the drf) rather than picks.

[Hanover1]

If we are discussing one from my barn, I usually either like our chances, or they may need one. Its better than a rude comment, when heading to the paddock. I never discuss reasons/wagers while standing in line, as I may be holding someone elses money. Around the bar/house, I will freely discuss choices however.
From my vantage point, tips really mean nothing, as we learn to watch the horses we are up against on a regular basis, and can do our figuring after consensus views on what we have observed to that point.
The best tips I have found, are the ones in the DRF that indicate to me a horse is ready to fire.

[thespaah]

Tips spelled backwards are what they're worth.
When I hear the words " hey my buddy got a tip on a horse today..." I listen with both ears closed.
Tips....:sleeping:

[Hanover1]

When I hear the words " hey my buddy got a tip on a horse today..." I listen with both ears closed.
Tips....:sleeping:
But that line worked so well in countless RKO films........

[shouldacoulda]

I don't like giving my picks because I don't want to feel responsible for someone else's loss. If it connects you might not be able to shake them. Kind of like feeding a stray.

I did get a pointer if not a tip from Andy Serling and Jason Blewitt once. I had 2 horses selected and wanted a third for a triple. As I was looking at the book (I was in an OTB) they started to review the race. Both agreed on the same horse. It filled out the triple. That's about as close to getting a tip as I get.
Mainly because when I go to OTB or the track, I don't engage in conversation much. Some will try to strike up a conversation with me, but it usually starts with a sob story of a bad beat. That's when I politely smile and walk away.

[Johnny V]

These days I rarely ask someone whom they like and I do not generally like it when someone asks me the same. Now there are just a few fellow players who take the game seriously and who do the work that we will sometimes discuss a race together, but not often.
I have actually grown to resent the people who do no work and come to the races unprepared and ask me what horse I like. I have done all the work and put the time in and they think they can reap the benefits of that for nothing. I just tell them I don't like anything. I never ask anyone who they like anymore, not even just to be sociable.
I never bet on tips. I have not cashed a few because of it but I have saved a lot more by passing on them.

[thespaah]

I don't like giving my picks because I don't want to feel responsible for someone else's loss. If it connects you might not be able to shake them. Kind of like feeding a stray.

I did get a pointer if not a tip from Andy Serling and Jason Blewitt once. I had 2 horses selected and wanted a third for a triple. As I was looking at the book (I was in an OTB) they started to review the race. Both agreed on the same horse. It filled out the triple. That's about as close to getting a tip as I get.
Mainly because when I go to OTB or the track, I don't engage in conversation much. Some will try to strike up a conversation with me, but it usually starts with a sob story of a bad beat. That's when I politely smile and walk away.
I don't buy inot that. Now of course I will not offer nor will I give my selectins to to total strangers. I do this only with friends.
We are each reposnsibel for our own actions. SO if I wewre to give a recomendation to a stranger( never do, but for purposes of this discussion) and the horse's performance was not good, I take nor do I feel any resonsibility toward the recepient of my pick. I did not take his money and bet it for him. He did that on his own.
Personal responsibility.

[thespaah]

These days I rarely ask someone whom they like and I do not generally like it when someone asks me the same. Now there are just a few fellow players who take the game seriously and who do the work that we will sometimes discuss a race together, but not often.
I have actually grown to resent the people who do no work and come to the races unprepared and ask me what horse I like. I have done all the work and put the time in and they think they can reap the benefits of that for nothing. I just tell them I don't like anything. I never ask anyone who they like anymore, not even just to be sociable.
I never bet on tips. I have not cashed a few because of it but I have saved a lot more by passing on them.I am with you on that.
Of course I am normally with friends. If we are in a group with rookies and one them asks who I like, I will give them tips on how to read the PP's.
If one of my buddies is pouring over the PP's and scratchiong his head, if he asks, I will help.