What are the worst mistakes a bettor can make?
 

For me the worst mistake bettors make is betting with the ticket sellers. I am as tight as it comes when tipping I would still do it once in a while. You can't tip on a regular basis and be a successful bettor. Second I think is trying to force a bet when the race is not betable. My racetrack buddy will do this when he will run out of his prime bets and comes out losing money. He then starts looking at the others race trying to find a race that will get him even or ahead. Sometimes he will comes out further in the hole and sometimes he is successful. I don't know how he comes out in the long run, but I don't think it is a good practice.

The worst mistakes are obvious.
1. Bet more than you can afford to lose.
2. Bet someone elses selections,
especially if they post 4 picks per race & never post results.
3. Think that you can win every race & use too many entries.

Looking at a small number of races and believing that those races can be used to predict what will happen in a larger number of races.

Selectively isolating a small number of races with one or two unusually high mutuels and believing that those aberrant mutuel payoffs will be evenly distributed throughout a larger number of races.

"Accentuating the positive" in the sense of only studying races that were won and totally ignoring races that were lost.

Not having any discipline to sit out a race, a sequance or even a card that you don't like or feel like you don't have a good handle on.

If you're a winning bettor, the last thing you should be worried about is whether you need to throw someone a couple bucks for a tip now and then. To me, if that's your number one concern, your priorities are out of whack. Whatever you believe about tipping, if you're winning that much then it's a good problem to have.

The biggest mistake anyone can make is chasing losing bets, trying to get it all back before the end of the day. There will always be more days, and more races, so don't force it. Well, until you're dead, then there won't be any more races, but your ROI won't matter much at that point anyway.

Changing off your horse or bet.
 

Formulating a bet at home and then changing it at the track, with respect to horse, size of bet, or type of bet.
Typically this mistake is made when one sees the tote board. When the odds are too low or too high, the bettor wavers.
Occasionally you may see a reason to change the bet as a result of information gained from the Paddock or Post Parade.
But that should be a very rare occasion.

Having too much on losing tickets, and not enough on winning ones :)

Perfect!

:lol:

The worst mistake the bettor can make is to continue using the same handicapping and betting methods, even though he has been losing with them for years.

And yet...this behavior is commonplace.

Tipping???? You can't tip on a regular basis and be sucessful??? :bang: Lord...i have heard it all now.

Perhaps he got this game confused with blackjack...

I hope you "open up" when you go to eat in restaurants...

I'm of the opinion there are 2 worst mistakes a gambler can make.


1) Not knowing when to stop wagering!

That includes not only knowing when to stop during a day of wagering but also not being able to step away from betting for a period of time in order to regroup....like a batter in an extended slump will get pulled from the lineup by the manager and will ride the bench so he can do some thinking without the pressure of worrying over his next at bat....ride the bench away from the pressures of being in the game for a day or two so he can regroup.

2) The other is listening to a TIP...I don't mean not paying attention to other handicappers and their selections....For example, in the SELECTIONS sub-forum here there are a number of real good handicappers whose "picks" can be profitable..

I mean more about the guy at the local OTB that walks up to you and says..."psst buddy, I got a tip for ya...Bet Snowplow in the 5th" and he walks away....

As was mentioned before:
- chasing your losses
- using the same handicapping method for years and still in the red
- betting too many races/tickets (e.g. "you should try to bet every race because someone has to win" - the MOST STUPIDEST REASON EVER)

Also, one of the biggest assinine things to do is to say I WON without having any consideration of how much you have already spent to get there.


But the biggest mistake to me is someone being to lazy to do their own handicapping and just relying on the tips of others. Then when those tips lose, he blames the person making those tips and then says "he sucks". Well, then, get up off your own ass and do your own handicapping.

Bottom line: If you are not willing to learn, then you don't deserve to win.

Here are two more mistakes, for which I have paid a heavy price over the years:

1.) Don't allow some "hot" horse on the board to change your mind about your own wager in a race. Our selective memory tells us that these horses win "most of the time..."

They DON'T!

2.) Never lend "serious" money at the track...even to your friends.

It seems that many people don't consider money lent at the track to be a legitimate debt.

Maybe they feel that this money was won at the windows...so it should be freely shared.

I've had "friends" tell me that they will pay me back the next time they "hit"...

Don't lend the money in the first place...and save yourself the aggravation.