Laziness and Gambling Go Hand in Hand, But Good Horse Racing Handicappers Aren"t Lazy
The lure of easy money and getting something for nothing is at the heart of gambling.
Scientific tests have shown that humans get a thrill out of hitting a jackpot on the slot machines and will keep playing to get that thrill over and over again, even though they are losing in the long run and their bankrolls are steadily being depleted.
I doesn't make sense, but like many things in human nature, common sense or rationality have little to do with it.
It is easy to fall into the gambling trap and lose sight of your goals, especially in horse racing.
Go to any race track and you will find people just playing their house numbers, lucky numbers, kid's birthdates, or any irrational combination that has some superstitious meaning to them.
Many of those losers are people who tried to handicap the horse races and found out it was real hard work.
Some of them even became good handicappers, good enough to pick winners in horse races, but still didn't make enough money to motivate them to stay at it.
For some people who hit a losing streak, it seems that fate is against them and they abandon their dreams of making a profit from horse racing.
Handicapping horse races is no different from any other difficult human endeavor, most people quit when they find out how hard it is and the few who succeed are the ones who are smart enough to learn but too dumb to quit.
One of the signs of laziness that I have noted is the across the board bet.
You hear people make this bet all the time because they want to cash a ticket on a racer they think can win or at least hit the board.
They are betting on the horse and not giving any thought to the profitability of the wager.
There is twice as much breakage on a place bet and three times as much on the show pools.
While there are certain times when these bets can be profitable, overall they are poor choices, but they do appeal to gamblers who just want the thrill of cashing a ticket, even though their bankroll is being depleted.
Deciding whether you are a gambler or a handicapper or a professional horse player is important.
The gambler takes chances despite the ratio of risk to reward, just for the thrills.
The handicapper enjoys figuring out which horse will win and gets a thrill out of cashing a ticket and seeing his or her horse win the race.
The professional horse player takes pride in handicapping well but also realizes that the real test of success is making a profit for your efforts and that is the greatest thrill of all.
Scientific tests have shown that humans get a thrill out of hitting a jackpot on the slot machines and will keep playing to get that thrill over and over again, even though they are losing in the long run and their bankrolls are steadily being depleted.
I doesn't make sense, but like many things in human nature, common sense or rationality have little to do with it.
It is easy to fall into the gambling trap and lose sight of your goals, especially in horse racing.
Go to any race track and you will find people just playing their house numbers, lucky numbers, kid's birthdates, or any irrational combination that has some superstitious meaning to them.
Many of those losers are people who tried to handicap the horse races and found out it was real hard work.
Some of them even became good handicappers, good enough to pick winners in horse races, but still didn't make enough money to motivate them to stay at it.
For some people who hit a losing streak, it seems that fate is against them and they abandon their dreams of making a profit from horse racing.
Handicapping horse races is no different from any other difficult human endeavor, most people quit when they find out how hard it is and the few who succeed are the ones who are smart enough to learn but too dumb to quit.
One of the signs of laziness that I have noted is the across the board bet.
You hear people make this bet all the time because they want to cash a ticket on a racer they think can win or at least hit the board.
They are betting on the horse and not giving any thought to the profitability of the wager.
There is twice as much breakage on a place bet and three times as much on the show pools.
While there are certain times when these bets can be profitable, overall they are poor choices, but they do appeal to gamblers who just want the thrill of cashing a ticket, even though their bankroll is being depleted.
Deciding whether you are a gambler or a handicapper or a professional horse player is important.
The gambler takes chances despite the ratio of risk to reward, just for the thrills.
The handicapper enjoys figuring out which horse will win and gets a thrill out of cashing a ticket and seeing his or her horse win the race.
The professional horse player takes pride in handicapping well but also realizes that the real test of success is making a profit for your efforts and that is the greatest thrill of all.
