Board Player

[misscashalot]

:confused: am I the only one here who selects horses by
playing the tote board either primarily or exclusively?

[GameTheory]

:confused: am I the only one here who selects horses by
playing the tote board either primarily or exclusively?Anderon does that (posting his selections seconds before the race sometimes). I think Tape Reader also does?

[misscashalot]

Anderon does that (posting his selections seconds before the race sometimes). I think Tape Reader also does?
Thanks yep thats the mark of a board player.

[BlueShoe]

:confused: am I the only one here who selects horses by
playing the tote board either primarily or exclusively?
Not at all. I am what might be called a semi-board player.:) In previous posts have often commented in depth on the topic of betting action. In races in which I have a strong pre determined selection tote action is ignored. It is in races in which there is no strong opinion, and which originally was to be passed, that may pick up a play off of the board. Betting action is much more complex than most think, it is far more than just the sharp late drops. Most players ignore or only casually observe it, including most here on PA. Just for the heck of it, a few years ago, for two weeks, did not buy a Form, program, or newspaper, only played runners getting supposedly non public smart money. Showed up at my otb site every day with only a notebook, and for several hours stared at the terminal and made notations. At the end, showed a small profit. The problem was, it was a terribly boring, tedious experience, just crunching numbers, rather like an accouncting clerk in an office. Really missed the handicapping. So, definately do tab the tote, and do use it to pick up a few extra plays on those days when there are many races in which have no real opinion.

[netbet]

With all the different sources feeding money into the pools at various times, I don't think you can get an accurate read of the tote any more.

The action from the Whales can sway the odds in an instant.

I do tend to select a top choice then have 3-5 "alternates" depending on the field size...then make a determination of who I want to play based on the odds...but even this is hard to do at many tracks with the constant changes in odds.

[pondman]

Only watch it to make sure the odds are high enough for me to play. I assume the crowd is wrong the majority of the time.


Which pool do you play?

[raybo]

The tote board is what I use for go-no go decisions on my superfecta wagering. I have to see odds spreads in order to qualify a super wager.

Late odds drops on a single horse doesn't affect my expected payouts much, as the drop causes others on the ticket to go up in odds.

[Tape Reader]

My homegrown software is 100% off the tote, but I'm more of an observer than a player. This would change if I had an auto-bet system as I do not care to sit in front of a computer all day.

[Ray2000]

I have my home grown software (Excel Macro) watching the place pools at 3 or 4 tracks (DR Z with my line) and buzzing me if any potential bets appear 2 mins to post.

Like tonite, I'll be watching the Pens :)

[Tape Reader]

In My Opinion, some recent theories on tote board analysis are incorrect.

Examples: Late money is smart money. Not so. Late money is by computer guys nailing down an overlay.

Different feeds into the pools make it too difficult. Not so. Computer power more than compensates for this.

Smart money pounds the odds too late. Not so. I think that the truly smart money is the person that sees something about this animal that may bring improvement, and decides to risk just a few dollars--but at very high odds.

One needs to bet late to avoid getting shut out playing the tote. Not so. I often bet at 5 MTP.

Whales crush the tote board. This is the most valuable info for betting "big balloons" only. The Whales are only trying to break even and then collect the high rebate. In so doing, the short price horses are going off at less odds than they should, and the long price horses are off at higher prices than they should.

Knowing that I only need to make more than $18.00, on nine two dollar bets, is a chance I'm willing to take.

[BlueShoe]

In My Opinion, some recent theories on tote board analysis are incorrect.

Examples: Late money is smart money. Not so. Late money is by computer guys nailing down an overlay.
One needs to bet late to avoid getting shut out playing the tote. Not so. I often bet at 5 MTP. Pretty much agree with these two points, but not totally. Late money can be smart money sometimes. As does TR, often have a tote play at 5 mtp. Perhaps my favorite tote play is a runner that gets heavily bet early, with way out of line pool ratios, that then drifts up sharply in price in the late betting after the wise money is all in.