Pick 3 and Pick 4 strategies

[Figaro]

I'm pretty new to multi-races wagering. Do any of you veterans have any systems you can share to a newbie? :ThmbUp:

[riskman]

Work at being proficient in picking winners before throwing your money away on horizontal bets. Start with doubles if you must, then move on as you progressively improve.

[WaHoo]

I play alot of pick3's
I like to try and single or double in my first race.
what i like to do is the back door system, I divide the morning line into
the pick3 pay offs and if the lowest number is one of my top 3 contenders,
then i'll single , I don't like to single the favorite, unless I have some
high odds horses (8:1 or more) in the next two races and i usually use 3 or 4 horses in the last two legs.
Everyone can pick a winner, but playing the pick3's is about hitting the longshots... Bet a little to win Alot

[Simple Syrup]

If you're playing a pick 4 or 5, be aware of potentially changing track conditions between the tme of your wager and the last race or two. A lot of sloppy tracks can be good or fast 5 races later.

[HoofedInTheChest]

With P3's, i usually use 3 horses per leg, i use the favorite as the first pick, a contender with value, and a longshot. Depending on the track bias and the distance and surface, those three selections can vary. Learning how to read a race and a track is key, understanding what kind of running style that particular race favors will also influence my selections. At Woodbine for instance i don't start playing P3's until the middle of June, there are to many unknowns this time of year, horses that have been sitting on the couch all winter are very unpredictable. I need recent running lines, atleast 2 or 3 before i start investing into the P3 pools, just because a horse ran great last year doesn't mean it will run the same this year. Like Wahoo mentioned, the longshots are the key to success, having the ability to find long priced horses is another issue.

I suggest that you learn every last detail about the track you are playing, i like to keep records on everything, how the weather effects the track, what running styles have success in sprints or routes, trainer angles, the percentage of favorites hitting, etc... it's a never ending learning process, the more you know the further you will go.

If i were you i would practice on paper for awhile, it can become very costly to learn with real money. I am by no means a guru and generally fall on my face more often than not, and i have a really good understanding of the track at Woodbine. With the recent addition of fractional wagering at Woodbine it has become inexpensive to play the P3's, but if you can't pick winners your still pissing away money.

p.s. Always keep the chaos factor in the back of your mind, sometimes racing just doesn't make any sense, and that will bring you big prices.

Good Luck

[sovereign]

I play Pick-4s if feel strong about a favorite's chances and can single him out if he is below 2/1.

[teddy]

Try to key one race for sure... if it looks chalky then key two races and bet it multiple times. Only go 4 by 4 by 4 by4 if all the legs look wide open. Then it can pay off. Usually two of the races you can only go 1 or 2 deep. Use any horse you like very hard if its over 6-1 and not a program pick. Program pics kill prices as bad as if a tvg analyst has your ticket.

[Uncle Salty]

Not necessarily a veteran, but I have slowly been moving toward pick 4's now, after a couple months of testing the bets on paper and finding I could hit this enough to show some profit.

Personally, I try to find a single/key in each race. These usually end up as the favorites/chalk but not always. If I have a race in the sequence with 2 primary contenders, I'll want at least one of them to be around 7-1+ odds, either ML or by my own opinion. I like one of my secondary picks to be in the same price range as well.

If I have more than 2 races with 2 primary contenders I usually pass the pick 4 because that shows that I don't have a real solid opinion of the sequence. Or I will drop it to the $.50 level.

As for making the bets, I basically follow a spreading method like the one advocated by Steven Crist in Exotic Betting, a book you might want to check out if you haven't yet.

I will single two legs and then spread out the other two legs with my secondary contenders. I will also play a ticket with all my singles for a couple of bucks in case all of my top choices win...doesn't happen all that often but it did twice at the SA winter meet on my paper bets (sure, they were all shorter prices, but still...can't help but feeling like a stud when that happens :D ).

I try to shoot for a total ticket cost of $75-$100, which is easily attainable with 4 singles.

But as HoofedInTheChest mentioned, it's a good idea to practice this on paper or go back and do it on some past Forms until you find a method you are comfortable with and fits your bankroll.

[Figaro]

Thank you everyone for your tips and insight. :ThmbUp:





With the recent addition of fractional wagering at Woodbine it has become inexpensive to play the P3's, but if you can't pick winners your still pissing away money.

p.s. Always keep the chaos factor in the back of your mind, sometimes racing just doesn't make any sense, and that will bring you big prices.

Good Luck

This is exactly why I want to start learning how to play 20 cent Pick 3 and Pick 4. I'll start with Pick 3 and am very grateful that Woodbine introduced it to us on May 17th. I would love to win and hit a big score like the 20 cent Pick 4 at Woodbine which its payout was over $25,000 on May 5. Look it up, it was on Derby day when I was at Woodbine.

[Figaro]

As for making the bets, I basically follow a spreading method like the one advocated by Steven Crist in Exotic Betting, a book you might want to check out if you haven't yet.



Don't have the book yet, but when Steven Crist gave a free seminar at Woodbine Racetrack we all received his DVD on the topic for free. However, I loaned it to a friend and he still hasn't returned it since autumn. I didn't even play Pick 3/Pick 4 at the time. At that time, from what I did remember on the DVD it just sounded way too expensive to make multiple tickets so I never bothered with it.

Hopefully, I'll get the video back soon and maybe I'll understand the content more. I'd like to apply its "system" for Woodbine's 20 cent Pick 3/Pick 4. Last year, I just avoided multiple-race wagering because it was just way too costly on $1 and $2 Pick 3 to 6 tickets. It's like in HBO's show "Luck" people have to chip in and pool together with a group to make very expensive tickets to catch these big scores. I'm only learning now that groups buy these Pick 6 tickets together as a team like how office workers chip in for the weekly office lottery pool.

Until I get this DVD back, would somebody here be kind enough to post a short "cheat sheet" version of these multiple-tickets system for Pick 3/Pick 4. Pretty sure I saw a posting of this "system" somewhere in the SELECTIONS. can't seem to find it now, really wish I bookmarked or copied it that day.

[Uncle Salty]

Until I get this DVD back, would somebody here be kind enough to post a short "cheat sheet" version of these multiple-tickets system for Pick 3/Pick 4. Pretty sure I saw a posting of this "system" somewhere in the SELECTIONS. can't seem to find it now, really wish I bookmarked or copied it that day.

Quick version is like this:

First you separate your contenders into A, B, C, and X groups. A's are the logical winners and/or likely longshots, B's are the backup contenders, C's are the ones that probably wont win but you can't really toss out, and X's are throw-outs. Then you build tickets somewhat like this:

Ticket 1: AB/A/A/A
Ticket 2: A/AB/A/A
Ticket 3: A/A/AB/A
Ticket 4: A/A/A/AB
Ticket 5: C/A/A/A
Ticket 6: A/C/A/A....etc.

You can chose to spread it out however you like, but doing it this way will keep it more cost-effective than doing a ABC/ABC/ABC/ABC ticket.

[Figaro]

Quick version is like this:

First you separate your contenders into A, B, C, and X groups. A's are the logical winners and/or likely longshots, B's are the backup contenders, C's are the ones that probably wont win but you can't really toss out, and X's are throw-outs. Then you build tickets somewhat like this:

Ticket 1: AB/A/A/A
Ticket 2: A/AB/A/A
Ticket 3: A/A/AB/A
Ticket 4: A/A/A/AB
Ticket 5: C/A/A/A
Ticket 6: A/C/A/A....etc.

You can chose to spread it out however you like, but doing it this way will keep it more cost-effective than doing a ABC/ABC/ABC/ABC ticket.


Thank you very much, I really appreciate this. Hopefully, I'll be able to put this system into effect sooner rather than later. :cool:

[Robert Fischer]

pk3/pk4 wagers can put a lot of emphasis on the singles. When you can beat a public single, or single a race where the public has to spread, you have a big advantage.

[1st time lasix]

My tip----Try to avoid the publc choice favorite in first leg. If the horse is not vulnerable from the normal handicapping angles in your opinion and is likely to win....then simply try to pass. Nearly every player mentally cannot stand being "dead" after leg one in threes and fours....so the chalk is covered by nearly all tickets. In a paramutual contest...over time you can only overcome the onerous takeout hurdle by having some tickets that most people do not have....thus covering your other losses. If you still want to play and you use that favorite at say 2-1 or below....in my humble opinion you have to toss the favorite in leg two on that ticket at the minimum. Having a pick three or pick four alive when both the favs have won the first two legs is a sure recepe for underlay low payouts. You will not be properly compensated for the true risk you have taken.

[rubicon55]

With P3's, i usually use 3 horses per leg, i use the favorite as the first pick, a contender with value, and a longshot. Depending on the track bias and the distance and surface, those three selections can vary. Learning how to read a race and a track is key, understanding what kind of running style that particular race favors will also influence my selections. At Woodbine for instance i don't start playing P3's until the middle of June, there are to many unknowns this time of year, horses that have been sitting on the couch all winter are very unpredictable. I need recent running lines, atleast 2 or 3 before i start investing into the P3 pools, just because a horse ran great last year doesn't mean it will run the same this year. Like Wahoo mentioned, the longshots are the key to success, having the ability to find long priced horses is another issue.

I suggest that you learn every last detail about the track you are playing, i like to keep records on everything, how the weather effects the track, what running styles have success in sprints or routes, trainer angles, the percentage of favorites hitting, etc... it's a never ending learning process, the more you know the further you will go.

If i were you i would practice on paper for awhile, it can become very costly to learn with real money. I am by no means a guru and generally fall on my face more often than not, and i have a really good understanding of the track at Woodbine. With the recent addition of fractional wagering at Woodbine it has become inexpensive to play the P3's, but if you can't pick winners your still pissing away money.

p.s. Always keep the chaos factor in the back of your mind, sometimes racing just doesn't make any sense, and that will bring you big prices.

Good Luck

Hoof has provided good advice above. I might add thru painful expierence - be warned Pick 3 and 4's are hard to hit so expect a lot of losing tickets. The other side of the coin is that when they do pay they can be huge. For my first leg I try to get a mid shot (4-1 or higher) and stay away from the ML favorite in the first leg since there will be a lot of folks with that ticket thru the rest of the races. A mid or longshot on the first leg will usually be a good payoff, even with favs coming in the other legs since the first leg shook off a lot of potential winning tickets. I have tried Pick 3 for a while, after some sobering stats I have reverted back to rolling daily doubles. Does not pay as much but better for the psyche when you win more frequently. Good Luck.

[jelly]

If you're looking for a good score on the pk-3.$2,000 plus,avoid the 50-cent tracks.

[WaHoo]

If you're looking for a good score on the pk-3.$2,000 plus,avoid the 50-cent tracks.

I play mostly 50 cent pk3's and pk4's at the OTB, i may play them 3 or 4 times for 50 cents.

i can hit a $301 pk3 for 50cents 2 or 3 times and not get a 1099 at the tax windows.

[DigitalDownsJoe]

In betting pick 3's(dont do the 4's as often) I would say I really dont like betting the favorite in the first leg. I also dont like to play a pick 3 in which one of the races has a HUGE favorite(close or below even money<<unless you think you can beat him>>) The favorite is way often (especially by the casual bettors) keyed on top in the first leg. I think this thins the payouts with the favorites on top of the first leg..I like to leave the fav out in the first leg, get 3 or 4 in the first leg, with 3 or 4 in the 2 second leg, and try and key in 2 horses in the last. In doing so, you get something like a 32 dollar ticket 4/4/2, and if you hit the first 2..you have 2 runners and you will know your payouts. You can then make cover bets with exactas tris or sometimes even with win tickets. Often your payouts will be really good, and you can throw an extra 20 or 30 on some good exactas or even all on another horse to win or what not. I do pretty well with this stategy. You get your two tickets paying 300+ and its not a bad prop to throw an extra 20 or 30(2 or 3 dollars each)to wheel another horse in the exacta..

With that being said, also dont be afraid to go to the self serve machines and use the exacta power tool, and look for a wheel with some good layovers payouts. Ive actually missed the pick 3 and made a few hundred on nice exactas this way. If you wheel a ten to one shot and you get some bomb to come in second, you will be pleasantly surprised when your exacta pays more then your 2 pick payouts :) Hope this helps...Some might disagree and let the 2 horses ride, it depends all to me on the payouts of the pick 3's..If they are not paying that big, or i feel super strong one of them will win, i will either let it ride, or even double up with some win/exacta bets :)

[redeye007]

It's never a good idea to use a single in a maiden race.Go deep. European shippers can have a lot of value in turf races especially if they are fillys that have proven that they can beat half the field in wide open races that include males. when you can beat the public out of their favorites the prices skyrocket. when you believe in your selection method and you believe you have the winner, single it. :)

[tanner12oz]

in my opinion the pick bets are the most profitable bets in racing...

the way the races are carded for the sequence is the biggest key in my opinion....i like to see a solid clear cut winner in a pick 4 or pick 5 which i can single and then gives me the ability to spread very wide in the rest of the legs that have weak favorites or are wide open.


if you can't find a single then you should sit it out....

[castaway01]

in my opinion the pick bets are the most profitable bets in racing...

the way the races are carded for the sequence is the biggest key in my opinion....i like to see a solid clear cut winner in a pick 4 or pick 5 which i can single and then gives me the ability to spread very wide in the rest of the legs that have weak favorites or are wide open.


if you can't find a single then you should sit it out....

I agree---I don't do the TVG-style Pick 3s with 3 horses a leg. I need to have a single where I can maximize my profits or I'm not playing.

[ElKabong]

Wwhen playing a pick 4 I'm looking to ADD horses to a ticket. Not limit the ticket cost.

I only play p4's that have (a) 2 beatable favorites, (b) 2 races with longshot scenarios. When I do put in a ticket I make darn sure I'm covered. By not "covering" the ticket you're dancing between the raindrops imo.

Play p4's sparingly, hit big when you do play it.

[Figaro]

This pic just showed up today on Woodbine Racetrack's website so I'm plugging the 20 cent Pick 3 and Pick 4 again because I'm addicted to them now. :D

http://www.woodbineentertainment.com/Woodbine/Betting/PublishingImages/NewWageringStrategies-June-WebPage-700x891.jpg

[burnsy]

this is a trick i use when there will be a horse that is way over bet in ALL pools. it helped me hit the pic 3 when smarty jones lost and when big brown lost. i will be using it again when belmont day comes because i would be a fool not to...its worked good for me numerous times when big chalks fail on big days. i single a logical horse on the undercard, go two deep in another leg and hit the all button in the big race with the over bet favorite...the ticket will be AB/A/ALL or A/AB/ALL. this ticket has given me beauties like birdstone beating smarty and d'tara a horse i would of never used in a million years. at saratoga i used it to get persistantly home over rachel. i call it the pool buster play. its cheap but deadly when the big horse flops and when you catch it.........these are monster pic 3 scores. you have to have a good single in the undercard....everyone else is singling the quote, "sure thing" because of the hype....this leads to highly exagerated payouts. the only reason i mention it is because most people won't even bother or they think it does not work. the big brown (d'tara) score gave me bankroll through the year and i go to saratoga almost every day.

[Figaro]

this is a trick i use when there will be a horse that is way over bet in ALL pools. it helped me hit the pic 3 when smarty jones lost and when big brown lost. i will be using it again when belmont day comes because i would be a fool not to...its worked good for me numerous times when big chalks fail on big days. i single a logical horse on the undercard, go two deep in another leg and hit the all button in the big race with the over bet favorite...the ticket will be AB/A/ALL or A/AB/ALL. this ticket has given me beauties like birdstone beating smarty and d'tara a horse i would of never used in a million years. at saratoga i used it to get persistantly home over rachel. i call it the pool buster play. its cheap but deadly when the big horse flops and when you catch it.........these are monster pic 3 scores. you have to have a good single in the undercard....everyone else is singling the quote, "sure thing" because of the hype....this leads to highly exagerated payouts. the only reason i mention it is because most people won't even bother or they think it does not work. the big brown (d'tara) score gave me bankroll through the year and i go to saratoga almost every day.


On paper this looks like a very good strategy. I'm going to try it out during live racing at Woodbine Racetrack this Sunday June 3 for our Woodbine Oaks stakes race with the 20 cent Pick 3. If I'm successful and come out a winner I'll try it out for the $1 Pick 3, the following weekend for the simulcast of the Belmont Stakes. If Lady Luck is on my side I'll most definitely use your strategy again for our 20 cent Pick 3 at Woodbine's Queen's Plate live racing on June 24th.

Thanks for the tip and hopefully I'll come out on top. ;)

[JohnGalt1]

I'm not a fan of $.50 pick three's and 4"s, BUT, the way I play them is two $.50 tickets.

Ticket one has all horse that could win, ex. 3x3x4= $18

Ticket two has the horses that should win, (any of the 4 in the last leg could win.) 1x1x4=$2

This way if my A horses win all legs I win for a dollar. If my third choices win all three races, or any cobination of my horses, I win for $.50. Those that advocate multiple tickets with singles on every ticket would not win anything if their third choices win all three legs.

If I need a ticket where 4x6x5 horses could win, I don't play.

If a should win horse is the obvious favorite, I don't play, unless the other two legs have should win horse that are long shots.

[sammy the sage]

this is a trick i use when there will be a horse that is way over bet in ALL pools. it helped me hit the pic 3 when smarty jones lost and when big brown lost. i will be using it again when belmont day comes because i would be a fool not to...its worked good for me numerous times when big chalks fail on big days. i single a logical horse on the undercard, go two deep in another leg and hit the all button in the big race with the over bet favorite...the ticket will be AB/A/ALL or A/AB/ALL. this ticket has given me beauties like birdstone beating smarty and d'tara a horse i would of never used in a million years. at saratoga i used it to get persistantly home over rachel. i call it the pool buster play. its cheap but deadly when the big horse flops and when you catch it.........these are monster pic 3 scores. you have to have a good single in the undercard....everyone else is singling the quote, "sure thing" because of the hype....this leads to highly exagerated payouts. the only reason i mention it is because most people won't even bother or they think it does not work. the big brown (d'tara) score gave me bankroll through the year and i go to saratoga almost every day.

You MUST be damn good at capping the UNDER card... I hope you don't MIND sharing THIS year... :rolleyes:

[fmolf]

I have just started playing p3's as well and i have had success looking for sequences that include a single,perhaps 2 or 3 in another leg and most importantly a chaos race.Maidens going long,wide open allowance race,usually turf races work for me.

[teddy]

The best way to play the pick 3 or 4 is to have at least two $10 horses like I did at Hol yesterday in the late pick 3. Then play it 3 or 4 times. Playing against the chalk in the feature is very smart, the logic of the public is that it will be the most likely winner because its the better horses.

For some reason it underpaid drastically. Most likely because the fav was overbet in the feature.

[castaway01]

The best way to play the pick 3 or 4 is to have at least two $10 horses like I did at Hol yesterday in the late pick 3. Then play it 3 or 4 times. Playing against the chalk in the feature is very smart, the logic of the public is that it will be the most likely winner because its the better horses.

For some reason it underpaid drastically. Most likely because the fav was overbet in the feature.

If you had two $10 horses, why not just blast them to win and maybe in exactas/trifectas rather than HOPE that just maybe there will be longshots winning the other races (not to mention that both $10 horses win).

[teddy]

My crystal ball was on the blink.