NHC Free Members Contest

[Parkview_Pirate]

Originally Posted by Robert Fischer

Never been able to afford (buy ins) the big Contests, so I've never seriously investigated.

Talked to some of the past winners, and they are legitimately strong players. Able to fully debate a scenario or a ticket structure.

-This has changed my negative outlook on the contest games, and I'd be interested if I could first see the big picture regarding rules, multiple entries, team-play, actual outlay cost, and then determined that the contest allowed for a relatively merit-based 'fair' playing field, and a positive expectation.

There's quite a few factors to weigh on contests to find the right one for you. Years ago the entry fees for the qualifiers and the travel required restricted me to no more than 3 attempts per year at the NHC. Now I can play a half dozen feeders online over a weekend at $18 a shot, and only need to find one playable horse in all those races to bet real dough and pay for the entries. I've found the contests have improved my real money play, and I've been able to qualify for the NHC two out the last three years - and if Washington State hadn't shut down my account in 2017, I might have made it then too.

My take on tourneys is something like:

- bankroll is much tougher vs the simple mythical $2WP bet
- single track contests are tougher, with one hot horse able to swing the whole day
- multi-track, feature races with big fields are my favorite - appear to have the most level playing field
- team play and collusion is present in many contests, whether allowed or not, IMHO, based on observations in live tourneys onsite and in "odd" results online - especially with the big purses
- solid individual player still has a good chance in some of the medium purse contests ($1K to $30K), with anything under $1K up for grabs.

The survivor, pool style and head-to-head formats offer other ways to play - I like the pool style low takeout ones, and have also done well in some of the H-2-H contests.

But for me the biggest advantage of the contests is the ability to handicap the races, and THEN decide how many contests to enter and how much to invest. About once every other month I like the 10-12 contest card a lot, and will invest in several hundred dollars of contests for the same set of races. Other weekends I might invest in a single $4, $9 or $12 tournament if I don't like the races in the contest much. That kind of flexibility just isn't possible with the onsite tourneys, unless you live near the track and can afford the full entry fees. For me, with a 3+ hour drive to the nearest track, the online tournaments have really been a way to keep me in the game....

[ReplayRandall]

Originally Posted by cj

Student Body fit the bill for you?

Congrats if you caught that at $24.80.....$2 ex--> $187.20....

[cj]

Originally Posted by ReplayRandall

Congrats if you caught that at $24.80.....$2 ex--> $187.20....

No exacta, was just curious if that was the thing I mentioned that you liked. Maybe I'm off base.

[ReplayRandall]

Originally Posted by cj

No exacta, was just curious if that was the thing I mentioned that you liked. Maybe I'm off base.

Hot-Hot…..If we're on the same page.

[TheOracle]

Originally Posted by ReplayRandall

HAHa...Now look who the clever funny one is.....I don't need you, YOU need me...

Hey Replay

Believe me I don't NEED you hahaha lol!!!

Btw, may the 4's be with you hahahahaha lol !!!!

Well at least for a couple of weeks anyway hahaha lol!!!

[mowens33]

Originally Posted by Parkview_Pirate

There's quite a few factors to weigh on contests to find the right one for you. Years ago the entry fees for the qualifiers and the travel required restricted me to no more than 3 attempts per year at the NHC. Now I can play a half dozen feeders online over a weekend at $18 a shot, and only need to find one playable horse in all those races to bet real dough and pay for the entries. I've found the contests have improved my real money play, and I've been able to qualify for the NHC two out the last three years - and if Washington State hadn't shut down my account in 2017, I might have made it then too.

My take on tourneys is something like:

- bankroll is much tougher vs the simple mythical $2WP bet
- single track contests are tougher, with one hot horse able to swing the whole day
- multi-track, feature races with big fields are my favorite - appear to have the most level playing field
- team play and collusion is present in many contests, whether allowed or not, IMHO, based on observations in live tourneys onsite and in "odd" results online - especially with the big purses
- solid individual player still has a good chance in some of the medium purse contests ($1K to $30K), with anything under $1K up for grabs.

The survivor, pool style and head-to-head formats offer other ways to play - I like the pool style low takeout ones, and have also done well in some of the H-2-H contests.

But for me the biggest advantage of the contests is the ability to handicap the races, and THEN decide how many contests to enter and how much to invest. About once every other month I like the 10-12 contest card a lot, and will invest in several hundred dollars of contests for the same set of races. Other weekends I might invest in a single $4, $9 or $12 tournament if I don't like the races in the contest much. That kind of flexibility just isn't possible with the onsite tourneys, unless you live near the track and can afford the full entry fees. For me, with a 3+ hour drive to the nearest track, the online tournaments have really been a way to keep me in the game....

PP, thanks for taking the time to summarize your take on tournament play! I've been an NHC member for the last 2 years and have yet to qualify. I play mostly 5 to 10 person live matches (between $20 to $60). I’m not real big on the pick and pray format which seem to be the majority of the contest online.
Thanks again, Mike

[Parkview_Pirate]

Originally Posted by mowens33

PP, thanks for taking the time to summarize your take on tournament play! I've been an NHC member for the last 2 years and have yet to qualify. I play mostly 5 to 10 person live matches (between $20 to $60). I’m not real big on the pick and pray format which seem to be the majority of the contest online.
Thanks again, Mike

You're quite welcome. Played one cheap tournament on Saturday, and liked Sunday's card a bit more, entering five - three feeders for the NHC and two for cash, finishing just high enough in one of the cash contests to pay for all my entry fees.

The difference between P&P and live is an interesting dynamic. I thought it pretty obvious the live format would lead to higher scores, but my dual-seat NHC buddy firmly believes changing your mind will only lower your score. The live format of course allows you to see the tote, account for late scratches, and see the post parade, but maybe he's right. Too much info can be dangerous.

Got an email today that the next Free NHC tourney will take place in two rounds. When reading the fine print of the rules, the "tournament officials" can DQ anyone they want, for any reason. So playing "4's are wild" or some other single number for all legs might not the road to the NHC any longer.....

The problem I have with that is now it requires me to get lucky TWO days in a row....

[TheOracle]

Originally Posted by Parkview_Pirate

You're quite welcome. Played one cheap tournament on Saturday, and liked Sunday's card a bit more, entering five - three feeders for the NHC and two for cash, finishing just high enough in one of the cash contests to pay for all my entry fees.

The difference between P&P and live is an interesting dynamic. I thought it pretty obvious the live format would lead to higher scores, but my dual-seat NHC buddy firmly believes changing your mind will only lower your score. The live format of course allows you to see the tote, account for late scratches, and see the post parade, but maybe he's right. Too much info can be dangerous.

Got an email today that the next Free NHC tourney will take place in two rounds. When reading the fine print of the rules, the "tournament officials" can DQ anyone they want, for any reason. So playing "4's are wild" or some other single number for all legs might not the road to the NHC any longer.....

The problem I have with that is now it requires me to get lucky TWO days in a row....

Hey Park,

Can you imagine someone wins the tournament and then they get DQ'd for no reason since

• the "tournament officials" can DQ anyone they want, for any reason.

That would be a shame but according to the fine print it can happen

[Parkview_Pirate]

Originally Posted by TheOracle

Hey Park,

Can you imagine someone wins the tournament and then they get DQ'd for no reason since

• the "tournament officials" can DQ anyone they want, for any reason.

That would be a shame but according to the fine print it can happen

They ended up changing the rules a smidge, and instead of resolving the 7 way tie in "Fourgate" with a random drawing, they had another 12 race online playoff:

https://www.ntra.com/fourgate-about-...f-tie-breaker/

The eventual winner of the seven-player playoff on March 16 was Kevin Kilroy, a 40-year-old father of three, who built a respectable winning total of $77.40 in the 12-race tie-breaker. Kilroy’s key horse was his pick of America’s Tale $24.40 to win and $12.40 to place) in Gulfstream’s Inside Information Stakes. This was Kilroy’s first NHC qualifying berth.

The list of four other NHC qualifiers is rounded-out by Jerry Stone ($65.60), Jerald Segall ($53.70), Kenneth McMahan ($44.60), and Michael Lamorte ($38.00). As for the other two members of the all-4s club, their luck ran out. Joseph Green and Nick Bristow finished 6th and 7th in the tie-breaker playoff and settled for $500 site credits on HorsePlayers.com as consolation prizes. Incidentally, none of the seven players used the same all-4s strategy in the playoff. If they had, they would have finished with $25 – not enough to qualify.

All seven players in tie breaker earned 2,961 NHC Tour points apiece for winning the original March 2 contest.

In case you were wondering, the highest scoring non-all 4s player in the March 2 contest was Joseph Eckert, a former NHC qualifier who this time had to settle for eighth. His finish was good for 2,811 NHC Tour points.