Horse Racing Handicapping Golden Rules - Rule Number Three Make a Money Management Plan
Posted by: willie in Horse Racing Handicapping, Where's Willie, horse racing systems, horseracingHere is the next in the series of what I call my golden rules in horseracing handicapping or how to pick winners without losing your shirt or your mind. That may sound a bit ominous, but let’s face it, this game can drive you crazy unless you set a few simple rules for yourself.
Of course money management is one of the top priorities in anything we do in life that requires an outlay and risk. But nowhere in life is the need for money management more important than in gambling, even recreational gambling. Some people who make a living trying to teach other people how to handicap horse races would have you believe that betting on horses is an investment, not a gamble. I say it is an investment with a lot of risk, therefore a gamble.
It is speculation and speculation involves risk. We do our best to limit the risk and hedge our bets, but in a free market like horse racing, we compete against other people and though you may be pretty sharp and good at finding value plays, there are a lot of sharp tacks in the box and they are doing the same thing. What that means is that in order to profit from this business or game, you need to take a chance. That is gambling.
So managing your money is a key factor in staying in the game long enough to learn the game and make a profit. I say, handicap aggressively and wager cautiously. Go for value and take the risk but do so with an amount of money that isn’t going to crush you no matter how great the return may appear to be.
Set loss limits and stick to them and keep track of how your bets and decisions are doing and also the fluctuations in your bankroll based on your decisions and the races and other factors in your play. One good way to do that is with a visual system such as Ladder Handicapping
If you can quickly look at the bets you have made and the changes in your bankroll by holding two ladders side by side it illustrates the strengths and weaknesses in your play and helps you to make changes that will improve your winning percentage and lessen the strain on your bankroll. For instance, after 100 bets you have four ladders that show four different kinds of bets you have made and the dates you made them. You also have a ladder that shows the changes in your bankroll. By comparing each bet ladder to your bankroll ladder you realize that two of the bet categories show more profit but grater losing streaks, too, while the other two show one winner that has a high strike rate and small fluctuations in your bankroll and one loser. You drop the losing category from your betting strategy and increase your bets with the high strike rate bets. You drop the amounts on the other two categories just in case the losing streaks get a little longer and threaten your bankroll all together.
As a result your ROI goes up and there is less wear and tear on your nerves. All because you have observed Rule Number Three Make a Money Management Plan and Stick to it.
The most consistent horse racing systems have to have the basics and a handicapper must understand the basics. I have been around horse racing for 50 years including as an owner. Without the basics the rest is not going to do any good. If you want to learn how a horse owner and insider handicaps just go to True handicapping and get the truth.
Bill Peterson is a former horse race owner and professional handicapper. He comes from a horse race handicapping family and as he puts it, “Horse Racing is in my blood.” To see all Bill’s horse racing material go to Bill’s handicapping store
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