This Time Of year.Lesson Learned.

[CincyHorseplayer]

Reached a conclusion today and wanted your guys and gals thoughts.

After having a solid string of success since late July,with a few hiccups thanks to synthetic tracks,I'm done for the year.Barring maybe a few around Christmas ventures strictly about the 2yo's.

I have had this happen before and I'm not going to indulge it.On strictly dirt I had a run of 35-40% winners at an average mutuel of 4-1.The Breeders Cup was a major success and I was fairly conservative.Then it stopped on a dime.I know why.California to polytrack.Beulah Park after 1 time seeing shippers=odds plummet.New York to Aqueduct always spells the end for me.My go to's are gone.The weather is coming.And I'm not ready to process layoffs for 6 weeks in Florida.It's frustrating.I had a ridiculous 117% ROI going for a few weeks after a nice flow beforehand.Then it literally stopped.I don't think it's a natural cycle.It's this time of the year.After a horrid year in exotics I end with an 8% ROI.Fine with me.Stopping now brings me to my next point.

Midseason burnout.The last few years I played from fall all the way through winter into spring into summer.After the Triple Crown i was so burnt out I didn't want to play at all and ended up hanging out at Sunlite Pool.Which is fine,when it's one of the world's largest pools and you are landlocked!But it's the heart of live racing here and right next door.200 yards away.I want to be fresh enough next year to do it all summer.

Lesson learned.I'm pulling my bank out and going Christmas shopping for everybody this week!Basically what I want to know from you guys is have you had this type of experience?I don't doubt what I'm doing in the least.In fact,I'm glad and relieved.Just wanted some feedback from some players of all sorts.No matter what you might think of me,I regard you as my horseracing family.

Love,

Rod

[JustRalph]

Love Rod?

Gotta love Saturday nights around here :lol:

Congrats on a great year!

[Greyfox]

It's frustrating.I had a ridiculous 117% ROI going for a few weeks after a nice flow beforehand.Then it literally stopped.I don't think it's a natural cycle.It's this time of the year.After a horrid year in exotics I end with an 8% ROI.Fine with me.Stopping now brings me to my next point.

Midseason burnout.The last few years I played from fall all the way through winter into spring into summer.After the Triple Crown i was so burnt out I didn't want to play at all ....
Rod

Good on you.
Taking a break from the action is always a good idea, and a significant slump is usually a signal that one should do so - either bet less or not at all.

Also, you've realized that until you've spent your winnings elsewhere than the track, you haven't won anything. Good on you again. :ThmbUp:

[raybo]

Rod, you know I am a true believer in staying fresh! When the game becomes a grind, it's time to get away from it, otherwise you end up getting lazy, making stupid mistakes, and developing bad habits, especially on the wagering side.

That said, my personal philosophy regarding playing sessions, is to tag the tracks and meets you do the very best at, and play only those tracks and meets.

I used to "head for the house" for the winter but discovered that DeD and OP are excellent betting tracks, so I look forward to this time of year now. PS: I never play the northeastern tracks at any time of the year, ever! There's just too much competition up there, and a lot more really good players playing there. I'll just stick to my low to mid-grade tracks with the cheap claimers and keep my bankroll healthy.

Have a great winter and get fresh for spring/summer! This game is supposed to be fun.

[CincyHorseplayer]

Love Rod?

Gotta love Saturday nights around here :lol:

Congrats on a great year!

Love?Absolutely!This post was about an hour after the Churchill was done so it's not like I was sittin at the pub for 6 hours reveling in this masterpiece!:cool:

Besides,I think I have a good balance of passion and reason.I'm smart enough to walk away from a trap situation I've been in.Plus love for the game still intact that will reenergize.

Thanks man.I actually did have a good ROI win/place betting.

[CincyHorseplayer]

Good on you.
Taking a break from the action is always a good idea, and a significant slump is usually a signal that one should do so - either bet less or not at all.

Also, you've realized that until you've spent your winnings elsewhere than the track, you haven't won anything. Good on you again. :ThmbUp:

Thanks Greyfox.It's good to hear.

That it's this time of year.That my absolute scalding hot streak stopped so abruptly after a nice ascending status,I don't think it's random distribution of events.I just think the options right now stink!

I'm going to enjoy the hell out of myself doing the Christmas shopping this week.I'm usually last minute Joe.Spending winnings on people I love is doubly satisfying!Have yourself a good holiday man.

[CincyHorseplayer]

Rod, you know I am a true believer in staying fresh! When the game becomes a grind, it's time to get away from it, otherwise you end up getting lazy, making stupid mistakes, and developing bad habits, especially on the wagering side.

That said, my personal philosophy regarding playing sessions, is to tag the tracks and meets you do the very best at, and play only those tracks and meets.

I used to "head for the house" for the winter but discovered that DeD and OP are excellent betting tracks, so I look forward to this time of year now. PS: I never play the northeastern tracks at any time of the year, ever! There's just too much competition up there, and a lot more really good players playing there. I'll just stick to my low to mid-grade tracks with the cheap claimers and keep my bankroll healthy.

Have a great winter and get fresh for spring/summer! This game is supposed to be fun.

Ray,some of the best efforts I have made in this game were when I wasn't playing.You know this from your experience before you started playing.My mind will be all over the game.I've got about 5 books to read on it and other than betting records I haven't done an overall evaluation for even 2011.I look forward to that.There has been some good work in there.

I hear you about targeting tracks.This whole idea is just that.I feel in my comfort zone from about mid February/March til about mid November.And it's definitely rhythmical.I go from station to station starting with the Triple Crown chase quite well.Totally mentally stimulated.That right there is huge.I do way better when I'm turned on.I really ruined my year in some respects playing all through last winter.Not next year bubba!

About northeastern tracks,don't be so timid bro!Seriously.For as many smart guys that play like say NY,there is a ton of dumb money that just play connections.I won more money this year on that circuit than anywhere else other than about 6 days at Santa Anita.Kentucky is what is really tossing my salad!

As always I appreciate your comments Ray.I'll be in touch here or email.Now I've got an unlived rest of life to live and books to choose from.Don't know if I want to go Aion by Jung or Life On The Mississippi by Twain,either way I'm getting my kayak on the Ohio River and might even hit Louisville if I'm in a good mood.Rent a car on the way back!Not to mention I'll be 40 in a few weeks and I'm ready to party with my 20 and 22 year old kids!!It's going to be fun.Have a good holiday and see you soon.:)

[Track Collector]

Congratulations CincyHorseplayer!

It is a very difficult thing to know when to play and when to stop. Good for you deciding to stop and enjoy your well-earned profits. I would venture to say that most folks would have continuing playing, and while a few many have added more to their current profit level, many more would have ended up with less than you have now, even to the point of giving it all back and then some.

Taking a break and spending even more time with your family is much better for your well-being, and will help you to be sharper when you decide to return.

As for having this (burnout) experience myself, I play almost every day of the year, but I do go thru periods of low energy. Sometimes I am able to re-charge with these trips I like to take to visit small racing fairs around the country. :)

As it has been said by others here on the forum, serious, regular handicapping is every bit as much work and stress as a what others would call a "normal" job.

[overthehill]

without knowing how you play . its hard to tell what the cause is. but certainly players have different strengths and barns and jockey grow hot and cold. at various times of year i have noticed that step ups perform way better than other times of year. for myself i when i was regular ny player i was much more profitable on the main dirt track at aqueduct and at saratoga than at belmont where over bet horses seemed frequently unbeatable. I think that in new york this is the time of year where form is less predictable.

[1GCFAN]

Staying fresh is key even for a weekend player like me. Missed the NY winners at Holly because I simply glanced at the PP's.

Already ordered the latest handicapping books and bought a few for friends. Time to regroup and prepare for the triple crown trail!:)

[jk3521]

I've learned that after a good hit, for me at least,to play more conservatively for a while. Sometimes I got the idea that I was on a hot streak,a nothing can stop me now attitude and would throw my bankroll away . So it is good to take a break every so often winning or losing.

[Capper Al]

Enjoy your break and your winnngs. Racing is pretty dead until th Sunshine stakes in early January.

[CincyHorseplayer]

without knowing how you play . its hard to tell what the cause is. but certainly players have different strengths and barns and jockey grow hot and cold. at various times of year i have noticed that step ups perform way better than other times of year. for myself i when i was regular ny player i was much more profitable on the main dirt track at aqueduct and at saratoga than at belmont where over bet horses seemed frequently unbeatable. I think that in new york this is the time of year where form is less predictable.

I posted this knowing this time of the year has done this to me before.When I went back to look and be specific,dating back to 2001 I have gone on 6 losing streaks after the Breeders Cup,only had 2 years where I played well in 01 and 04,and was about .500 the other 3.This year after playing well the week after the cup at Beulah,the dropoff began again and I wasn't going to play into it.Every page of bets in my records had at least a win percentage of at least 23%,the last 2 pages were 17% and 13%.I had played evenly to real good for a tad over 3 months.With the rest of the year as a contrast,something beyond my control was going on.I think it's this time of the year,trainers playing out the string,something.Chalk mixed in with nonsense.Like you said NY was one of them.To me I didn't like any of the EST racing options and wasn't willing to switch to nights or time zones.Just my take on things.

I just bought one of those nice Cambridge journal notebooks and am going to look back on the 2011-12 season and keep a horseplayer's diary.I'll wait til mid February-March to start betting.I think it will do me a world of good.