Is pushing the all button a bad wager? - Horse Racing Forum - PaceAdvantage.Com

only11 · 03-26-2010, 01:16 PM

Crist says this a lazy way of wagering...the last 2 months i have had tough beats in the last leg of a pick 3 and 4....
Is it a bad wager pushing the all button?
Any input will be appreciated?

kitts · 03-26-2010, 01:28 PM

I kniw a guy who is successful and he bets a trifecta or he passes the race. His trifecta bet is always Key-All-All; All/Key/All; All-All-Key which often ties up $200+ in $1 tris. Nor for me but he makes money.

Fingal · 03-26-2010, 01:46 PM

Depends on the type of race, is it formful older established horses or a field of confirmed losers that seem to take turns beating each other ?. On March 13th @ Santa Anita, the last race of the day was a 12,500 claimer won by a horse that paid over $ 75. Unless one was either a Victor Espinoza or Henry Moreno fan or had a thing for the # 12, there was virtually no logic to it's winning the final leg of whatever horizontal exotic bet this was the part of. Unless one did a massive spread or hit the all button, they would have missed it. There is a time for everything- saying that using the " All " is taking the easy way out is questionable. Blanket statements are dangerous.

46zilzal · 03-26-2010, 01:57 PM

Not at all I often do very well isolating a single maiden that WILL hit the board with a bunch of unknowns.

Johnny V · 03-26-2010, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by only11

Crist says this a lazy way of wagering...the last 2 months i have had tough beats in the last leg of a pick 3 and 4....
Is it a bad wager pushing the all button?
Any input will be appreciated?

It can be a useful wager depending on the situation. I very seldom use the all button but I have hit a few very nice trifectas betting it as A/BC/ALL.

TizTheOne · 03-26-2010, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by only11

Crist says this a lazy way of wagering...the last 2 months i have had tough beats in the last leg of a pick 3 and 4....
Is it a bad wager pushing the all button?
Any input will be appreciated?

If Crist said this he is simply wrong. There are clearly races where the outcome is essentially up for grabs, often in larger fields which can make the ALL button expensive but also very rewarding. If you play Pick 4's, or Pick 6's, even Pick 3's you often have little choice but to use the button or simply hope for a certain outcome.

I hit a $315 pick 4 at Aqueduct last weekend using some chalky horses in a few races with the ALL button.

It all depends on how you use it, and I have to admit there have been quite a few times I used it only to watch chalk run 1,2,3. But I am a believer that using it in the right races makes sense, especially some turf and maiden races that are simply not playable without using it.

InTheRiver68 · 03-26-2010, 04:23 PM

"ALL" isn't a bad choice at all, but whenever I use it, I also go back and pick a few likelies to put extra money on. I've hit some killer exactas with the ALL, but if a low-odds horse comes in with my pick, I'm going to have it more than once.

- InTheRiver68

Stillriledup · 03-26-2010, 04:30 PM

I think if you have time to 'eliminate' a few horses, you do it. What happens if you're in the process of making your wagers (via phone, internet, live teller, SAM, etc) that you are sort of not really even close to being finished and you want to do some sort of partwheel, "1 with 2 with 3 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 12 13" and you want to eliminate the 8 horse? What do you do? YOu have to hit "All" because there's really no time to call out or type 10 individual numbers. The All button gives you more time.

So, if using the all button is a TIME issue, i believe that its ok to do it. In my above example, the "all" button only costs you 1 more dollar, but you save precious seconds in the wagering cycle.

Deepsix · 03-26-2010, 04:34 PM

Years ago I went through a growing phase (or so I believed) that I'd handicap my heart out, spending many hours dissecting, and I'd craft a narrow tri/super bet designed around minimal cost and "best handicapping". Well, after many losing tickets I slowly began to use the "all button" in certain situations (where some of my buddies typically used the "all" button ALL the time and I had resisted), and I did improve on my results. I guess my view is that the "all button" is not a short-cut to the pay window BUT it will get you to the window when used judiciously.

broadreach · 03-26-2010, 04:35 PM

By clicking 'All' you're wasting $$$ on combinations that have very low probability.

Zippy Chippy · 03-26-2010, 04:43 PM

By pressing the all button you are giving yourself a chance at a big score. You aren't going to include the 70-1 shot on your own

Greyfox · 03-26-2010, 04:45 PM

I don't use it often.
However, there are many times that I wish I had.
My problem with the "All" button is that when I hit it the chalk favorite runs in.
When I don't hit it a trainer with one win a year gets his only win.
I got my biggest return ever on the "All" button on the final leg of a Pick 4
when I couldn't make heads nor tails of the race. A 26-1 winner ran in and I scored in the 5 figure range.
In general though, I think that you should put a lot of thought in before you take the board. Then if you can't figure it out, go for All.

Stillriledup · 03-26-2010, 04:48 PM

What if you're a bettor who takes 5 minutes to make all his complex wagers and is running out of time and still has a few more bets to place? is it ok to "eat" a few combos you don't want, or should you just 'specialize' by eliminating a few horses and get shut out on all the bets you still have to make?

Also, i've found that people who specialize and don't use the all button are normally tossing out the 1 or 2 longest shots. I think that there's really no "edge" in tossing out a couple of 50-1 shots. If you can safely eliminate a 5-1 shot (for example), than i say do it because your edge could be the elimination of the short priced horse. If you're just tossing out the two longest shots, maybe ALL is the better way to go. If you toss out the two longest shots, you don't really have an EDGE per se, you're just tossing two bombs to save money.

I think the key to the ALL button is that you have to toss out horses that you actually don't like and think are underlaid, as opposed to tossing out a couple of bombs to save money. Make this an "Edge" issue and not a "money" issue.

Saratoga_Mike · 03-26-2010, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zippy Chippy

By pressing the all button you are giving yourself a chance at a big score. You aren't going to include the 70-1 shot on your own

Or you can just play the lottery.

WinterTriangle · 03-26-2010, 06:32 PM

The ALL bet is if for those willing to put their hard-earned money on idea that ALL horses have an EQUAL chance of being in a certain spot (1st, 2nd, 3rd).

I have never found that to be true once I efficiently/effectively handicapped a race.

So, it's a huge waste of money.

If you cannot figure out which horse(s) will be where, then I say pass the race and wager one you're more sure about.

Using all means either you haven't handicapped right, or it's a chaos race / dartboard race