Sunday, May 18, 2014

Don't Recycle Your Winnings

Everyone wants to come out ahead when the races are over and you are through betting for the day.  The truth of the matter is that for the majority of horse players this is not the case.  I have been friends with many horse players for the last 30 years plus.  My observations have been that most people who play the horses lose money the majority of time.  It's kind of like fishing.  Most of the time you don't catch any fish.  The fish may just not be biting.  However, every so often you catch a big one and it entices you to come back again.  So it goes with the horse player.  So is there a plan that can turn this around?

I hate to say this but many horse players go to the track unprepared.  Sure they may have their Daily Racing Form and maybe have done some handicapping.  However,  how many have thought seriously about how much money they are taking with them to bet with.  Have they thought though what's the appropriate 'bankroll' for today's betting.  Is the money in that bankroll what they can afford to lose or is this money they may need for other purposes.  It's important to know whether you're just going to bet to have fun or just for the action.  Or, are you going to win and increase your
bankroll or at least  keep your winnings for the day.

Here is an approach that can keep you from losing your whole bankroll and to keep the proceeds of your winning bets.  There's a saying at the track: "you can't win them all but you can lose them all".  Let's say you go to the track with a $200 bankroll and there are 10 races on the card for the day.  That gives you $20 on average that you can wager on each race.  The approach I'm suggesting is quite simple (but hard for some horse players to follow).  Decide ahead of time that you will only cycle through your bankroll one time.  Decide that you will keep the proceeds from each winning bet.  When you are right with your bets, collect the winnings and don't use that money to place more bets.  In other words don't recycle your winnings.  The worse thing you can do is to keep betting with the money you have won.  This is a recipe for losing your whole bankroll for the  day.  This is also a sign that you may be a real loser.

Be a winner and come home with your winnings for the day even if you have depleted part of your bankroll.