David Milch Lost $100 Million at the Track

[SuperPickle]

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/fea...gambled-866184

[LottaKash]

excerpt:
"He was one of the most devoted gamblers," says John Perrotta, an author and adviser on that show. "He was very serious about it, and he was a very good handicapper."

excerpt:
Perrotta saw that brilliance, too. "David was really good at handicapping — he was very, very good at picking winners," he says. "With such a complex mind, he could do these exotic bets. But it's what holds every gambler back: In the end, you do it too much."

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by LottaKash

excerpt:
"He was one of the most devoted gamblers," says John Perrotta, an author and adviser on that show. "He was very serious about it, and he was a very good handicapper."

excerpt:
Perrotta saw that brilliance, too. "David was really good at handicapping — he was very, very good at picking winners," he says. "With such a complex mind, he could do these exotic bets. But it's what holds every gambler back: In the end, you do it too much."

If you are "very good" at picking winners...then doing it "too much" shouldn't be a problem.

The problems start when we aren't GOOD ENOUGH.

[Stillriledup]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

If you are "very good" at picking winners...then doing it "too much" shouldn't be a problem.

The problems start when we aren't GOOD ENOUGH.

This game isn't about picking winners, it's about investing money in expert fashion. Plenty of 'good handicappers' get crushed by bad betting, not knowing how to handle money.

[EMD4ME]

When you are betting for action, you will LOSE ALL your hard earned smart money (smart because you properly handicapped a race or series of races).

I'm not ashamed to admit it, I lost a ton of hard earned smart money in my 20's. Glad I did, taught me to pass pass pass pass as the years went by.

Only bet when you KNOW more than 90% of your competition does.

This guy seemed to just love to pound it in ALL the time instead of sending it in when he has a truly informative opinion.

[Shemp Howard]

I hear he's ahead for the meet.

[LottaKash]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

If you are "very good" at picking winners...then doing it "too much" shouldn't be a problem.

The problems start when we aren't GOOD ENOUGH.

I put the emphasis on "doing it too much", because it is about "greed" and the sickness of gambling that did or does him in, imo...

The guy had $100 million, so what was the "real need" in the first place...?

[Tom]

Does he sell his picks anywhere?

[JJMartin]

The problem with this clown is that he thinks he has some sort of gifted intuition in picking horses. It's obvious he either sucks at handicapping or he's just a lost cause gambler.

[Sinner369]

You can be a great picker of horses and still lose because you do not have good money management skills.

Money management and self control are the other traits you must have to make money at the track.........just picking winners does not guarantee making a profit from your endeavours.

[Track Phantom]

Originally Posted by Sinner369

You can be a great picker of horses and still lose because you do not have good money management skills.

Money management and self control are the other traits you must have to make money at the track.........just picking winners does not guarantee making a profit from your endeavours.

[thaskalos]

Guys...let's get real here. This is the exact quote given by Tom Quigley, the VIP player concierge at Santa Anita, when describing David Milch as a horseplayer:

"His personality is that of a mad genius, and his approach to gambling is the same. What makes Kobe Bryant a great basketball player is the same thing that makes Milch a creative wizard at the racetrack."

When you lose $100 million at the track, you are no "creative wizard"...nor do you deserve to be compared to Kobe Bryant. These are just the words of encouragement from a gambling host...whose job is to make sure that the VIP players bet as much money as possible.

Another falsity in the article is the assertion that only 1% to 2% of the gamblers have a "gambling disorder". If only 1-2% of the gamblers are afflicted with this disease...then I've met every single one of them.

[Track Phantom]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

These are just the words of encouragement from a gambling host...whose job is to make sure that the VIP players bet as much money as possible.

Another falsity in the article is the assertion that only 1% to 2% of the gamblers have a "gambling disorder". If only 1-2% of the gamblers are afflicted with this disease...then I've met every single one of them.

Funny, thought the exact same thing about these two observations when I read the article.

[Track Phantom]

Here's another thing that reads very oddly.

Perrotta saw that brilliance, too. "David was really good at handicapping — he was very, very good at picking winners," he says. "With such a complex mind, he could do these exotic bets. But it's what holds every gambler back: In the end, you do it too much."

If you're so good at doing something, isn't the whole idea to do it as often as possible?

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by Valento

Here's another thing that reads very oddly.

Perrotta saw that brilliance, too. "David was really good at handicapping — he was very, very good at picking winners," he says. "With such a complex mind, he could do these exotic bets. But it's what holds every gambler back: In the end, you do it too much."

If you're so good at doing something, isn't the whole idea to do it as often as possible?

That's what I said in my initial post here...and the consensus reply that I got was that you can destroy yourself at the track, even if you are the "Kobe Bryant" of horse betting.