Get By With A Little Help

By Craig Walker - TrackMaster, An Equibase Company

For an everyday handicapper or even a weekend warrior, there are many times when the grind of handicapping the races and making wagering decisions can wear one down. I find that it is helpful to discover and use handicapping tools or selection products, as well as utilizing other methods to ease the burden of burnout and make betting the races more profitable.

One avenue to pursue is to form a group with your handicapping buddies and discuss the upcoming racing cards. I once attended a sales conference where one of the exercises was that each individual took a test answering questions about what to do after surviving a plane crash in the desert. We then formed into groups of six and answered the same questions as a group after a brief discussion on each question amongst the group. Every group scored significantly higher than the highest score of the individual highest score of anyone at the conference. This opened my eyes to the possibilities available when combining people with different perspectives and various life experiences to solve problems.

Years ago when I was an everyday horse player, I utilized this concept by leading an informal group that partnered to play Pick 6 tickets together with great success. Of course in this day and age, one can put together a text group to make communicating back and forth even easier. One of the benefits to having a handicapping group is that the brainstorming that goes on can lead to some inspired selections. Stating the case for certain choices and making the case against others, strengthens the process of putting tickets together. It is a tough chore for one person to come up with six consecutive winners. Many times a horse that was playable for someone else is the key to having that last winner that you would have missed by playing on your own.

Along those lines, I also recommend getting an outsiders point of view, by using one of our handicapping tools or one of our selection products. When playing exotic wagers, it helps to have a different perspective to cash in on the big money on a regular basis. No matter how strong a handicapper you are, you still have a certain style of handicapping which may cause you to overlook or minimize certain types of information. This limitation may be fine for straight win betting, but can cost you dearly when you tackle the exotic wagers. Many times one of the winners in a Pick 5 or one of the slots in a superfecta is a horse that couldn't be picked using your normal methods. It isn't your third or fourth rated horse that beats you, but some outsider who may have virtues you might have overlooked. A handicapping tool with an emphasis on information different from your usual methods or the selections of another solid handicapper or algorithmic selection product can help alleviate this roadblock.

A solution to get helpful information is to use one of our selection products. There are free samples from the previous day for you to check out. Finding a handicapper that picks winners you have missed is a sign that the selection product chooses contenders differently than you do. Purchasing those selections to help round out your exotic bets can be very helpful. Purchasing selections is also a great idea when you don’t have time to do full blown handicapping or decide last minute to play a race card.

ATTENTION! We are pleased to announce a reduction to the regular price of Winner's Circle Selections (Turf Club Analysts / Walker Group) and F.A.S.T. Sheets selection products from $12.75 to $10.00.