Gambling on horses only

[Altair1]

On new years day about 20 years ago I drove 40 miles to finger lakes for a simulcast. I was watching the football games, and there was a guy sitting next to me. I asked him if he was interested in the games. He said; "not since I started doing this" Horse racing effected me the same way. I'm not interested in gambling on anything else. Just wondering if horse racing effected others in the same way.

[Overlay]

The ability to reliably judge the likelihood of race outcomes through the use of recurring performance patterns (as compared to the random outcomes of games of pure chance), and the variety of ways to consistently, profitably exploit that fact offered by the pari-mutuel wagering system (which are an impossibility with games of chance), will always make racing/handicapping the only game for me.

[riskman]

The ability to reliably judge the likelihood of race outcomes through the use of recurring performance patterns, and the variety of ways to profitably exploit that fact offered by the pari-mutuel wagering system, will always make racing/handicapping the only game for me.

You sure do have a way with words. Agree with you, it is a great mental exercise and when you are right in your judgment the reward is gratifying.

[Fingal]

The ability to reliably judge the likelihood of race outcomes through the use of recurring performance patterns (as compared to the random outcomes of games of pure chance), and the variety of ways to consistently, profitably exploit that fact offered by the pari-mutuel wagering system (which are an impossibility with games of chance), will always make racing/handicapping the only game for me.

Ditto. Bottom line betting on a horse race is the same as any other bet. It's a 50-50 proposition, aka either you win or you lose. And betting on most sports pays that way. But in horse racing you get ODDS on that 50-50 chance. So for a 50-50 proposition which should pay even money for that same type of risk I can possibly get a return of hundreds or thousands of percent ? To paraphrase Dick Mitchell, you don't want to play fair games. You want to play in an unfair game where you have the advantage.

And if you are a fairly decent selector, odds are the advantage.

Horse race betting was the greatest thing ever invented.

[BombsAway Bob]

Ditto. Bottom line betting on a horse race is the same as any other bet. It's a 50-50 proposition, aka either you win or you lose. And betting on most sports pays that way. But in horse racing you get ODDS on that 50-50 chance. So for a 50-50 proposition which should pay even money for that same type of risk I can possibly get a return of hundreds or thousands of percent ? To paraphrase Dick Mitchell, you don't want to play fair games. You want to play in an unfair game where you have the advantage.
And if you are a fairly decent selector, odds are the advantage.
Horse race betting was the greatest thing ever invented.
Since TVG came around the only thing i bet on has Four Legs!
Lay 11/10 to sit for +3 hours watching a football game,
only to see your "w" become a "L" in Garbage time? El-Paso!

[thaskalos]

I gambled exclusively on the horses for over 20 years...but was then introduced to the world of online poker...from which, I made the transition to the "live" games.

I currently play no-limit holdem "live", at an Indiana casino, 4 nights a week...after the early day's races are over, of course.

[RaceBookJoe]

You sure do have a way with words. Agree with you, it is a great mental exercise and when you are right in your judgment the reward is gratifying.

Which is why I always call it investing...makes it sound much more classy and professional. I wont bet on anything with 2 legs...even if a few of my "investments" ran like they only had 2 " :) rbj

[Hoofless_Wonder]

In the early 80s I started betting on football through a buddy of mine, and expanded into harness racing which I preferred. Then a couple of years later I started playing the thoroughbreds, and it was like moving from checkers to chess. Since then, no less than 80% of my annual bankroll is on the ponies, though for a while I did play hoops which was profitable back in the early 1990s.

Today it's 95% thoroughbreds, 1% jugheads (harness), 1% quarterhorses, and maybe 3% football. No hoops or baseball.

As for online poker, I enjoy a friendly neighborhood nickel-dime game, but I know I don't have the patience for it to be involved in a serious game.

What I really don't get are the people who play the casino games, unless you're a sly card counter who doesn't get caught. The slots are the worst - grandma plays slots.....

[Zman179]

As far as I'm concerned, I no longer wager even a penny on sports. I found that it takes the fun out of watching a game when you're worrying about every play and getting angry about little mistakes.

[Stillriledup]

The best thing about racing is its reputation. If you can wade thru the negative stereotypes to find this incredible chess match of a gambling game, you can really reap tremendous benefits financially and otherwise. If racing had a good/great reputation, some of the smartest humans would be betting on this sport instead of plying their trades in other fields, like brain surgery, rocket science and the like.

Also, if the smartest humans were horse bettors, it would just be that much tougher to beat the game. As it stands now, the game is beatable, you're not betting against a ton of smart people, you're betting against a small amount of smart people and a lot of dummies. Unfortunately, the dummies have, for the most part, gone away and only the smart people are surviving. The whales are eating the whales these days, in the old days there was enough guppies and fish to go around for the whales to enjoy, now, they're eating each other.

So, we need more guppies to enter the pond.

Guppies, where are you? :jump:

[thespaah]

On new years day about 20 years ago I drove 40 miles to finger lakes for a simulcast. I was watching the football games, and there was a guy sitting next to me. I asked him if he was interested in the games. He said; "not since I started doing this" Horse racing effected me the same way. I'm not interested in gambling on anything else. Just wondering if horse racing effected others in the same way.Horses all the way. I dobet small amounts on sports just have some action. I do fairly well at it. Strictly recreational though.
However horses are a passion. I work hard at my handicapping.
Casino gambling is fine, but I don't go out of my way for it. Example....The first time I went to Mohigan Sun with a couple of friends, they played table games, I went to the racebook. I made money.

[thaskalos]

Guppies, where are you? :jump:They were eaten up by the sharks.

[Learned Hand35]

I really am considering moving on to other forms of gambling after the larceny in the 9th at Mountaineer tonight.

Of course, that is what I get for betting bush league tracks.

[Rico8812]

I really like horse racing, but I find it easier to make money playing poker and betting on sports.

[Actor]

The ability to reliably judge the likelihood of race outcomes through the use of recurring performance patterns (as compared to the random outcomes of games of pure chance), and the variety of ways to consistently, profitably exploit that fact offered by the pari-mutuel wagering system (which are an impossibility with games of chance), will always make racing/handicapping the only game for me.
That's precisely what attracts me to the game.

I once bet on a chicken race at the county fair. The next year they switched to turtles.

I bet on Bobby Fisher in the Fisher-Spassky match. Even though Bobby won I did not collect because of the "spread." I still don't understand the concept.

[Actor]

So, we need more guppies to enter the pond.

Guppies, where are you? :jump:

The guppies would rather swim in the casinos.