Handi-Fast

[Light]

Originally Posted by ranchwest

Okay, I saw your response to Jeff. Do you care to respond to my question?

Well,do you agree with what I said so far? If not what do you disagree with? Respond in the Jeff thread. Ill discuss it there.

[Light]

Originally Posted by hcap

Yes I did screw up the sumif formulas.
I still think both had respectable showings. But we all agree17 races are pretty meaningless.
And we would need many hundreds to come to any conclusions.

Attached corrected spreadsheet. To rank 4

Thanks hcap. Generally I agree with your top 4 criteria except in certain situations.I know you have a homemade program. What do you think of all this? How would you improve it?

[Vinnie]

Originally Posted by Handiman

As I said before I have written many programs over the years. And many of those were paceline selection driven. But in the programs I designed, The user just had to check a box next to a paceline he wanted and the program retained all the information in variables for that horse. Then onto the next one. I never had to write anything down, everything was done by the program. Even multiple pacelines if I wanted per horse.

Once I get the program to the point where I want it to be, if there is a demand from users to take it further into paceline selection, I will do that too, assuming I'm still alive.

Where I stand now is a program with one screen allowing user to load up to 6 different tracks. Do scratches after race selection and then display summary info. It is set up so by just one click of a radio button, you can toggle between all 6 tracks, or however many are loaded. You can also close out a track when it's done and load another in it's place without closing the program or affecting other tracks already loaded and in play.

I am coding right now the ability for the user to create a custom setting for each of the 6 tracks, and storing that setting and ability to reload that setting next time program is used. Or the User may just click a button and use the default settings.

What may be done by the user in regards to the custom setting is, using a slider, select point value for any category they choose and then to select which categories to include in the setting by checking box next to the chosen category. So a mix and match ability will be available.

I've got a fair amount of the coding done already but still quite a bit to do before it's ready to go.

Handi

Handi:

Take Good care of yourself first and foremost. What you Doug and Headhawg have already done in making Handifast what it has become is "UNBELIEVABLE"!
You are in my prayers and I know that you will only continue to recover until you are back to feeling 100% or darned near everyday going forward. A Big salute goes out to you and your continued improving health Handi. Thank you so much for all the work that you guys have done and continue to do with your excellent handicapping program.

[Handiman]

Vinnie and all the others that have shown their appreciation for our little program. I say ours, but in all reality, the kudos should go to Doug and for the most part, his lovely wife for bringing forth their baby allowing Head and I a chance to get in and tickle it a bit.

I am very thankful, for the main reason that it has given me some direction and meaning back to a life which before heart trouble set in, was jam packed with work, Youth football coaching, hours of Harley riding and Golf. But now all of that is gone, and I'm a bit large to be a jockey. Once I flew past 200 pounds I figured that dream was over...

Having a project to tinker with almost daily, like Doug's F.A.S.T. program, makes getting out of bed everyday much easier and rewarding. And I am making some wonderful friends.

Thanks again to everyone who has sent well wishes. It means the world to me to have such caring people express their concern for my well being.

Handi

[jk3521]

I have never bet any horses using any software as a "Black Box". I take what the programs spit out for their top four selections and take a closer look at those horses. Handifast is one of the better tools that I have had the opportunity to try out using that method....and the price just can't be beat! Thank you Doug, Handi, and Hawg for my new toy.

[headhawg]

Originally Posted by Light

Ummm. You're not paying attention. I ran 2 of the programs here against mine for a tiny sample study that I uploaded and hcap has responded to. How could I have done that without using the program?

Umm...you fired it up. You didn't use it. So...still not qualified to critique it. Having trouble understanding -- again?

[douglasw32]

It is hard to make criticism sound friendly in print so let me begin this with that fact.

now the "test" of the two programs itself has a flaw, light's program works with pacelines, this one does not, we will never know if it improves or not until it is available and someone excludes pacelines compared to letting it average.

The whole idea of the average came from watching an inexperienced, noob that could only read speed figures because they were BOLD print (lol)

I watched in amazement as someone with a week of experience would toast my 20 years on a weekly basis, I started making her tell me what she saw in the pick that beat me and it defied handicapping logic, she was looking at the speed figures and dismissing the fastest and slowest (averaging them) never going past 6 races.

I programmed her brain into the program and I started picking horses that if I looked at in the form would have been dismissed immediately based on turf records on dirt, sprinters going long, poor jocks, poor trainers or both, etc etc etc

I say we throw it in when possible then compare until then the way it works out IMHO is that the averages are just that averages, knowing that allows you to dismiss one that looks like it is based on crap lines, however, trust me it will bite back.

I will be the first to admit it seems like nonsense, but it works and many times at a good price, i think because it picks horses that based on common handicapping look ugly but on a good day have the raw ability to jump up and win, most likely for no real good reason other than on average they run fast enough and the others fail to do to form or bad placement.

it is what it is, it picks winners often enough to be worthwhile, can it be improved ? of course, that is the whole reason it is free.

the added fact that it has given handi some joy makes it worthwhile no matter what criticism it gets.

[headhawg]

There shouldn't have to be a comparison test, Doug. The only test that counts for me is if Handifast users are doing things like jk3521 or lsosa are doing -- looking at the Top4 (or the top 3 FAST or PWR figs or whatever) and taking a second or third look at those horses that they might not have normally considered. And many users seem to be doing just that and that makes Handifast a useful tool.

As Handi has said adding a paceline selection option is not hard to do; a fair amount of coding, yes, but not difficult. But I have not seen posts by regular users clamoring for that option. Personally, it would be low on my to-do list. I would make the argument that finding a good set of weights is tantamount to selecting the "proper" paceline anyway so why bother? The "there's more than one way to skin a cat" adage applies here which is the major point that I have been trying to make with a certain someone who just can't see past his own narrowmindedness.

[Light]

Originally Posted by douglasw32

The whole idea of the average came from watching an inexperienced, noob that could only read speed figures because they were BOLD print (lol)

I watched in amazement as someone with a week of experience would toast my 20 years on a weekly basis, I started making her tell me what she saw in the pick that beat me and it defied handicapping logic, she was looking at the speed figures and dismissing the fastest and slowest (averaging them) never going past 6 races.

Wow.So I wasn't losing my mind. I knew your method was weird and unheard of.Yet everyone was acting like it was perfectly normal. Thanks for finally making it's source clear. And it does probably pick some nice prices simply because nobody else would use something like this.

At this point I dont really care what you do with your program. I was only making a suggestion I would think was pretty common knowledge. It was bizzarre to me how they thought my way was bozo and yours was mainstream.

Well, looks like I will be co playing with a partner for 1/2 million in the DRF tournament this January,and my partner wants the output from my program for the drf contest. At least one person thinks my way has merit.

[headhawg]

Light,

You clearly don't read anyone's posts. And you continue to twist things into some kind of weird "you against everybody else" whining session.

Good luck to you and your partner (Is it your big ego?) in the contest.

[Handiman]

Light,

You have been handed the torch and now either you run with it or get burned. I have read your posts and understand exactly what you have been trying to say, albeit in the most unfortunate way.

You are an ass kicking handicapping machine, with the key to the vault, which apparently is desperately needed by your handicapping partner. And as you have eluded to many times here, picking the right paceline to you is as easy and natural to you as breathing is to me.

So let's be made aware of your contest moniker when the DRF contest starts, so we can all, while perched on the edge of our handicapping chairs, keep track of your journey as you knock over winner after winner and climb that ladder to handicapping immortality.

And when you reach the pinnacle of the handicapping world, we mere mortals can cheer and all rise up and carry you about on our shoulders, at least in the ether world!

Handi

[Speed Figure]

He's not going to do anything! action speaks louder than words. He's got all the words, but NO ACTION!!

[lsosa54]

Originally Posted by douglasw32

The whole idea of the average came from watching an inexperienced, noob that could only read speed figures because they were BOLD print (lol)

I watched in amazement as someone with a week of experience would toast my 20 years on a weekly basis, I started making her tell me what she saw in the pick that beat me and it defied handicapping logic, she was looking at the speed figures and dismissing the fastest and slowest (averaging them) never going past 6 races.

Doug: I don't even look at the speed figures and only take a cursory glance at the FAST # and don't include it in my points. Don't underestimate the power of the FM and PC ratings and the CC and PS HH came up with to point out contenders not really gettable unless you're using the best paceline in 10 for everyone, and even then they may not come up.

[lsosa54]

Originally Posted by Speed Figure

He's not going to do anything! action speaks louder than words. He's got all the words, but NO ACTION!!

Well said in 2 sentences. While I hate to put anyone with dissenting opinions on "ignore", Darkness contributes nothing in a positive manner.

[fight]

i notice if you leave all zeros in youget 4 horses with no points. where are those 4 horses selected from or how? ty