What percent of the people that gamble win consistently

[ClockerQ]

I'll put my ten cents in ddog. i don't look at the bet as my main way to wager to make my $ at the track. I like to speculate with it after i make my serious wagers on a race. i consider myself a "medium" bettor. I usually bet around $30 a race. If I like some price horses, the field is good sized and I think the fave is beatable, then I'll box 4 for $2.40 and hit repeat a few times. I've stumbled on some pretty good payoffs this way. Another way I'll play it is I'll key a horse or 2 on top and box 4 or 5 underneath. If you like some price horses in a race its a cheap way to make some serious cash.

[CincyHorseplayer]

As much hoo haa as been made on here,there is still no definitive measuring stick;

Define success?????

Everybody can talk about the controversy of if it exists but I think it is the least the naysayers can do is define what is credible.

If you are up in arms and trying to prove a point you at least have to have a point of emphasis.

Saying everybody is losers with no point of reference reeks of vagueness and biased BS.If you lose,your bad.If ANYBODY else wins it's not your responsibility to rain on their parade.Get out of their business.

Shut your piehole and define success???

[badcompany]

Originally Posted by CincyHorseplayer

As much hoo haa as been made on here,there is still no definitive measuring stick;

Define success?????

Everybody can talk about the controversy of if it exists but I think it is the least the naysayers can do is define what is credible.

If you are up in arms and trying to prove a point you at least have to have a point of emphasis.

Saying everybody is losers with no point of reference reeks of vagueness and biased BS.If you lose,your bad.If ANYBODY else wins it's not your responsibility to rain on their parade.Get out of their business.

Shut your piehole and define success???

You basically have two different groups: recreational and professional. Each has a different measuring stick.

For the former group success would be having a good time without jeopardizing one's financial well being. For the latter, success is measured in dollars and cents as that group NEEDS to make money from gambling.

[badcompany]

Originally Posted by Overlay

As I think has been noted in previous threads on the subject, for every horse with odds that go down at the last flash, others in the race will go up. If you've retained visibility of the winning chances of every horse in the field (rather than concentrating only on finding the one horse that has the highest probability of winning), and bet as late as possible, those breaks will be more likely to even out over time.

I grant your point about exotics for which advance payoff information is not available, but having a full-field oddsline provides a basis for calculating the probabilities associated with combinations, and a means of guiding wagering activity and judging value based on records of personal past performance. (And, as you noted, advance probable payoffs are available for exotic wagers such as exactas, quinellas, and daily doubles, allowing value determination.)

Finally, what's the alternative to taking value into account in some fashion (either intuitively or quantitatively)? Any approach geared solely to isolating selections without regard to odds will eventually be bet into obsolescence.

You argument seems to be that with the right approach one can take the gamble out of horse racing.

I disagree. While I don't deny the intellectual aspect of the game, when push comes to shove, you're still a guy with an opinion on an event: a horse race, and, once you put your bet down, you have no control over that events' outcome. To me, that's gambling.

[Overlay]

Originally Posted by badcompany

You argument seems to be that with the right approach one can take the gamble out of horse racing.

I disagree. While I don't deny the intellectual aspect of the game, when push comes to shove, you're still a guy with an opinion on an event: a horse race, and, once you put your bet down, you have no control over that events' outcome. To me, that's gambling.

I agree with you that horse races are events where the individual bettor cannot control or guarantee the outcome of any single race, and that betting on race results therefore constitutes gambling in that sense. My main point is that the nature of pari-mutuel wagering, and the presence of consistent probabilities associated with aspects of thoroughbred performance, allow for the occurrence, detection, and long-term exploitation of wagering situations that are favorable to the bettor, unlike a game where probabilities are set by unchanging mathematical laws; the outcome is totally determined by random chance; and the return that a winning bettor receives is always less than the amount that would reflect the fair odds of winning the bet.

[riskman]

"To win without risk is to triumph without glory"

Pierre Corneille (1606 - 1684),

[Rook]

Originally Posted by ddog

Do you have a "take" on the dime supers everywhere these days?

like or no?

If I had a choice, I would like to play $1 supers every race instead of dime supers. Back in the good old days, it was great fun sweeping pools and cashing in on ALL payoffs. Anybody who bets more than a few hundred $ a race should feel the same way.

So for me personally, the dime bets stink but they are good for the small bettor and have undeniably improved the popularity of supers.

[foz1210]

If everybody won consistently Vegas would be out of business. I think the best horse handicappers probably win 40-45% of the time and that is probably selecting the races they play not playing full cards. If the betting public can make a post time favorite and it wins around 33% of the time then pro's should be a little better. Foz

[saevena]

If a person spends a number of years in higher education training for work in a specific field (jobs are available), then when he/she graduates, (fully qualified to do the job) and finds that he/she is unable to get a job in the field because there are few, if any, jobs available in the field, was he/she gambling by spending their money in expectation that he/she could get such a job?

[raybo]

Originally Posted by saevena

If a person spends a number of years in higher education training for work in a specific field (jobs are available), then when he/she graduates, (fully qualified to do the job) and finds that he/she is unable to get a job in the field because there are few, if any, jobs available in the field, was he/she gambling by spending their money in expectation that he/she could get such a job?

I won't answer yes or no, however, one could reduce the amount of chance involved, in not being able to find a job, by doing some research on the availability of jobs versus the number of qualified applicants prior to choosing his/her course of study or specialty.

If, for example, one wants to enter the IT field then they would truly be "gambling" that they could find a job, as that field is jammed full of qualified job hunters.

[twindouble]

Originally Posted by saevena

If a person spends a number of years in higher education training for work in a specific field (jobs are available), then when he/she graduates, (fully qualified to do the job) and finds that he/she is unable to get a job in the field because there are few, if any, jobs available in the field, was he/she gambling by spending their money in expectation that he/she could get such a job?

Selecting a career one has to do some serious ''handicapping," including yourself. There's an element of risk in everything we do. The foundation for anyone's success is doing something you enjoy doing, even if the risk is higher than other jobs or endeavors. There's talent in everyone of us unless your unfortunate to be challenged by a disease or abuse and abuse doesn't just come from the home environment.

When your already invested in your education and the job market has declined just because of an economic down turn, that don't mean you still don't have a future in that field. An educated person has many options to see it through. Those that settle for less than what they are capable of will never be happy, regardless of what they do. Many people change careers, some more than once through out their life, even hobbies. No one tattooed your degree on you and said, this is it for you. So if you see no future in that field, change it, that's what handicapping is all about. We call it picking a winner.

Good luck,

T.D.

[bobphilo]

Originally Posted by Robert Fischer

technically the term gambling is inclusive of wagering on uncertain events.

however most for-profit players do not consider themselves to be "gambling"

gambling has gained an unfair negative connotation.

In the movie Havana a reporter asks Robert Redford:

Reporter: So, you're a professional gambler?

Redford: I try to keep the gambling to a minimum.

Reporter: And how do you do that?

Redford: By being very good at it.


Bob