Easy as 1.. 2.. 3.. 4: Tips for the Pick 4
By Craig Walker - TrackMaster, An Equibase Company
The Pick 4 is a staple at thoroughbred and harness tracks across the country. This bet offers a great wagering opportunity for the small player to make a nice score. By using the Pick 4 Template provided, an affordable set of tickets can be played to give you a better chance at cashing in on this terrific investment.
Click Here for the Pick 4 Template. (Have access to the template to follow the information below most effectively.)
This Pick 4 Template is a guide to constructing a series of tickets to play the Pick 4 efficiently. You will be marking nine different tickets and spending a total of $13 on $.50 Pick 4 combinations. Your single can be in any leg of the Pick 4. Designate this race as "Race x". The three remaining races will then be "Race a", "Race b", and "Race c." For example, if the Pick 4 is in Races 5 thru 8 and your single is in Race 6, then Race 5 is Race a, Race 6 is Race x, Race 7 is Race b, and Race 8 is Race c. If you are using betting cards, it is easiest to mark the horse that is your single (Race x) on all nine tickets, and then proceed to mark the tickets one by one. You can of course, also use a touch screen self-serve betting machine or ADW interface to make your wagers.
The template is laid out to make playing your tickets as easy as possible once you have ranked your contenders. Your single of course must win in order to have a chance to hit all four winners. Depending on the ranking of your contenders, you have a good chance of winning if one of your contenders wins each race. However, since we are not covering the races with a 4 x 4 x 4 x 1 ticket ($32), not all combinations of your contenders winning their races will hand you the Pick 4. We have attempted to optimize your money using the template.
You can use these four easy steps to play the Pick 4 like a professional.
- Handicap the races and make a contenders list.
- Rate the contenders.
- Use the template to construct your tickets.
- Make your wagers and enjoy the races.
Step 1. Handicap the races, as you normally would, with any of your favorite methods, information sources, etc. We also recommend getting another point of view as well, as outlined in our “Get By With A Little Help” article. When playing the exotics, it helps to have a different perspective to cash in on the big money on a regular basis. The opinions of another solid handicapper or handicapping resource can be very helpful.
Step 2. Solidify your contender's list and rank the horses. When using the template, you will need four contenders in three of the races and one single. Take your time and go over the reasons why you think each horse is a contender. How you rank each horse in each race is very important, since the higher ranked horses will be included on more tickets. It is important to have a strong single, which you believe has an excellent chance of winning. The single should not be the morning line favorite. If you can get a nice price on your single it is a bonus. If you can’t find a non-morning line favorite to single, then just pass on the Pick 4. It is also best if at least one of the A contenders in the a,b, and c races is not the morning line favorite. Also, if a B contender and C contender are virtually equal, make the longer priced horse the B contender and the other horse the C contender, especially if the longer priced horse is likely to go off at odds of 10/1 or higher. Only do this if your B and C contenders are closely matched in your opinion and it is hard for you to figure which one is better than the other. Ranking contenders and finding value will help you learn to construct better tickets in your horizontal wagers.
Step 3. Follow the template provided to put your tickets together. You will be marking nine different tickets and spending a total of $13 in $.50 combinations. When at the track, I recommend using betting cards or a self-serve betting machine to make your wagers.
Step 4. Double-check your tickets, making sure all tickets were processed correctly and that the correct program numbers are on your tickets. Those of you betting from home are urged to double-check your tickets as well.
Here is an example of how to use the template to create tickets for the Saturday, June 10th, Belmont Park, Pick 4 in races 6 thru 9.
Race a: (Race 6) Contender A: #4 Bright Future 4/1 Contender B: #7 Warrant 5/2 Contender C: #2 Red Run 6/1 Contender D: #8 Lone Rock 6/1 Race b: (Race 7) Contender A: #2 Search Results 4/1 Contender B: #4 Secret Oath 2/1 Contender C: #6 Clairiere 6/5 Contender D: #5 Played Hard 6/1 Race x: (Race 8) $ingle: #1 New York Thunder 12/1 Race c: (Race 9) Contender A: #9 Nothing Better 8/1 Contender B: #12 Caravel 3/1 Contender C: # 5 Dr Zempf (GB) 8/1 Contender D: #13 Front Run The Fed 30/1
Here are the nine tickets to play in $.50 combinations:
Ticket #1-Cost $6.00 Race 6: #4, #7, #2 Race 7: #2, #4 Race 8: #1 Race 9: #9, #12 Ticket #2-Cost $2.00 Race 6: #4, #7 Race 7: #6 Race 8: #1 Race 9: #9, #12 Ticket #3-Cost $2.00 Race 6: #4, #7 Race 7: #2, #4 Race 8: #1 Race 9: #5 Ticket #4-Cost $.50 Race 6: #8 Race 7: #2 Race 8: #1 Race 9: #9 Ticket #5-Cost $.50 Race 6: #4 Race 7: #5 Race 8: #1 Race 9: #9 Ticket #6-Cost $.50 Race 6: #4 Race 7: #2 Race 8: #1 Race 9: #13 Ticket #7-Cost $.50 Race 6: #2 Race 7: #6 Race 8: #1 Race 9: #9 Ticket #8-Cost $.50 Race 6: #4 Race 7: #6 Race 8: #1 Race 9: #5 Ticket #9-Cost $.50 Race 6: #2 Race 7: #2 Race 8: #1 Race 9: #5
Using this template is a good introduction to learn the basics of how to efficiently bet the Pick 4 and other horizontal wagers. Finding value is most important and learning to skip the Pick 4, when all or most of your top contenders are either, the morning-line favorite or low morning-line odds horses, is a good lesson to learn as well. It is a mind-set that will be helpful as you expand your investments and become more comfortable investing larger sums.
