When to Bet?

More and more horse bettors are using the internet to bet on the ponies. Using the internet has some fantastic advantages. I know that some of you will point out the opposite also. However, for this article I'll be looking only at the advantages (I'll cover the caveats and opposites at another time.)

When your betting over the internet you have a large variety of options to choose from. First, you have dozens of race tracks to choose from across the country and around the world. This in itself can give you flexibility that you have never had before. Let me give you a few examples. When you were captive in the old days at one race track you had just the races on the card at that track to bet on. The temptation was to bet each race on the card. The choice of not betting on a race because you felt unsure about it was one hard choice to make. You had only eight or nine races to bet on. Fast forward to today's betting over the internet it is much easier to skip that race because you have so many other choices from other tracks. There is no reason to bet on a race that makes you uneasy or about which you feel uncomfortable. You can work in a strategy that allows you to bet only when you feel the odds are with you and you feel comfortable about the bet.

Another example is the fact that over the internet you have so many more tools in front of you to make your betting more deliberate and focused. Let's consider just three tools. Assume that you have a Twinspires account. Here are three things you can use to control your betting. First, you have the Morning Line, the Profit Line, and the Tote to assist you prior to placing a bet. Secondly, you have the ability to place a conditional bet. Thirdly, you can cancel a bet if for some reason the conditions change before the race goes off. (Horse(s) may be scratched, the tote does not respond the way you expect, the horse does not look right in the paddock or when (s)he comes out on the track, etc.)

There are many more tools but I think you can see that with just the few that I have mentioned that 'When to Bet' can be much more than a guess. It can be a choice that can put the odds more in your favor.

I will be writing more about this so stay tuned. I also have a poll on the side of my blog. Feel free to let me know how you bet.

Conditional Betting

What is conditional betting? Recently Twinspires offers the capability of making conditional bets. These are bets that are only executed if the condition you specify is satisfied. Why would you want to make a conditional bet? Some horse players already watch the toteboard to see if certain conditions are met before they place a bet. This is a rather intensive activity that can play upon your emotions. Many times not a good situation to be in. Also waiting to right before the race starts, 1 or 2 minutes before, you may not be able to get to a window at the track to place the bet. Rather than having to watch the toteboard constantly you can enter the conditional bet and not even be where the toteboard is available to you. You can be at home and enter the bet over the internet. Then you can check later and see what the result is.

So what does a conditional bet look like? Here is an example.

Race #3 07/01/2008
Philadelphia
$20.00 Win (6/5 @ 2mtp)
#4
$20.00

In race #3 on the 1st of July at Philadelphia Park I entered a $20 win bet on the #4 horse with the condition that the tote must be 6/5 or lower with 2 minutes to post. If that condition was satisfied then the bet was entered and executed.

Right now you can place conditional bets on win, place and show bets and exactas. The restriction on exactas is that the bet is a simple exacta bet like horse A with horse B. No boxes or key exactas can be conditional. This doesn't keep you from making multiple simple exactas however. That's a little laborious to do but it can be done if you have the patience.

I am experimenting with strategies that include conditional betting. I'll report back to you later on how well the strategies work.

Stay tuned.