ONE: STOP PLAYING EVERY RACE!
It doesn’t matter what your skill level is. It doesn’t matter what method you use. If you’re using software or scratching the program with a pencil, this tip will instantly help you start losing LESS and start earning MORE.
When you play all races, your advantage (or disadvantage) changes with each race. You are dividing your playing bankroll between races where you can have a big advantage with races where you can have a ZERO advantage. STOP!
Let’s say, for example, you have a gaming budget of $ 100. On average, 15 race cards give you $ 6.66 per race. In my experience, you will rarely be able to gain an advantage in more than 2 or 3 races per card. That is my average and I am VERY GOOD at what I do. So let’s say you have a probability close to ZERO in 12 of those races (it may be even more, but I’ll be generous in this example and I assume you have a 3-race lead). So you have 3 races where you have a real advantage. These are races where you have a huge advantage over a winner. And you also have great prospects in some secondary corridors that will allow you to play the exact or trifecta for a reasonable price. Let’s compare the possible result.
Estimated advantage of 25%. This is a fictitious advantage, but I think it is reasonable and we need something to work with.
12 runs played at $ 6.66 per run NO advantage means you lose $ 79.92
3 runs played at $ 6.66 total $ 19.98 played. With a 25% advantage it means a profit of $ 4.99.
$ 19.98
+ 4.99
———
$ 24.97 win + original bet
-79.92
——–
– $ 54.95 for a losing day
Now let’s play MY way. Choose your 3 BEST races and play them. It doesn’t matter if you win 1, 2 or all 3 races. You know you have a 25% advantage in your best races if you ONLY play them
3 races were played for a total of $ 100.
The 25% advantage means a profit of $ 25.
$ 125 for a winning day
As you can see … math doesn’t lie. PLAY LESS RACES !!! EARN MORE MONEY !!!
TWO: HAVE A PLAN
Do you have a plan? A plan based on your funds, ability, goals? Even people who play casino games where the house ALWAYS wins can often “stay in the game” for a long time just by having a plan. In greyhound racing, the house doesn’t always win. Players do it. So having a plan will put you light years ahead of the other players. What kinds of things should be in your plan? Here are some
To finance
How much can you afford to play per month? Break that down by week, day, and race. Then go ahead with this plan. ONLY play that amount per race and don’t change. At the beginning of the next month, if your bankroll has increased, evaluate again by month, week, day, career and stick to that plan again.
Method
Find out what you do best. The stick with it. Don’t be really good at exact and suddenly decide to play a super game one day. You haven’t tried your superfecta strategy yet. Work on it. And in the meantime, keep playing what you do best.
The better your plan, the better your results. Guaranteed.
THREE: GAME ON PAPER
I am a professional. Playing greyhounds is what I do. I still play on paper. I mainly play trifecta, but I am always looking for ways to increase my winnings. I am currently researching the profitability of playing to exact. So while I play for real money for a living, I also keep track of the exact ones on paper. When and if I find it profitable, I will start playing for real money. One thing I’ve learned over the years … someone who doesn’t have the discipline to play the role doesn’t have the discipline to be a profitable player. What kind of player do you want to be?
FOUR: PLAY ONLY RACES WITH FULL INFORMATION
Then you run into a race with a monstrous key dog. You really want to play a trifecta and pocket a ton of cash !! There is a problem in this race. It is a road race and 4 of the other greyhounds in this race have never run the road distance. So try in every possible way to find out how these 4 greyhounds will run in the race at this new distance. You make your move and your key wins by a mile! Great! But you didn’t have the trifecta. Not even close. Why? You played a race that you didn’t have enough information about to make a good decision. STOP DOING THIS!
FIVE: ONLY PLAY RACES WHEN YOU MEET THE WINNER
Every time I say this to a player, they laugh at me. “If I knew who the winners were going to be without a doubt, I’d be rich!” Obviously, you cannot know with 100% certainty that a greyhound will win. But you CAN know if you have a likely winner. And you should play with that winner.
Some players look at a race and their logic goes something like this …
IF the 1 is broken, you could win. IF the 8 reaches the railing, you could win. IF the 5 is behind the 1 before the turn, he will pass the stage and win. So I should play a 185 on top with blah blah blah. THEY DO NOT KNOW which dog is going to win in this scenario. They MUST not be playing this race.
SIX: KEEP RECORDS … ALWAYS
How much money did you lose playing greyhounds last year? How much did you earn? You don’t know
DO.
And every player who wins knows EXACTLY how much they won or lost last week, last month, last year, and 5 years ago.
Without logs, you CANNOT know if it is getting better, worse, or the same.
Document each race you play on a spreadsheet. Document how you played it, how much, and what the result was. Do this every time you play.
The ONLY way everyone will know what works for you and what doesn’t is by keeping records.
KEEP RECORDS!
SEVEN: PLAY WHERE YOU GET A REFUND
There are several places to play greyhounds online. Some of them offer you a refund for every dollar you bet. Some of them don’t. In fact, the largest online ADW site offers you nothing for your business.
I get 14% of every dollar I bet! They deposit it directly into my account the next day … every day.
If I have a month where I have a 60% ROI on my bets … it’s actually a 74% ROI due to the refund.
If you are a balance player … you could actually be a winning player. By simply calling your bets, you could actually be earning 14% on your stock. That is better than any CD rate you will get by putting your money in a bank.
PLAY WHERE YOU WILL RECEIVE A REFUND!
EIGHT: DON’T CHECK LOSS
So you lost all your money in race 12. But if you deposit another $ 50 or go to the ATM on the track and get another $ 40, you can bet it on race 14 and WIN!
WRONG!
You lost today. You played the races where you had the best advantage because you had a plan (remember tip # 2?)
If you have a plan and it goes bust today, stop. Your day is over. The only thing you will do chasing losses is dig a deeper hole to get out. Keep the hole shallow. That is your best chance to win.
NINE: STOP LYING TO YOURSELF
All the players (including myself) have said this: “I came out the same.” When I started gambling, it seems like I couldn’t even lose every week, every year, for about 5 years. The truth is, when I look back and try to add up my actual results, I lost tens of thousands of dollars.
If you are a winning player, but you have a spouse who does not understand the variations and changes, then it may be okay to tell him that you broke the expenses just to keep the peace. But when you convince yourself that you are always breaking even, then you are fooling yourself out of reality. This reality will drive you to improve, learn more, study, try harder and be determined to win.
I attribute my success to nothing but determination. Over the years, I have worked with many people to help them become winners. The main thing to understand is that you cannot become a winning player in a week. I am sorry! It will not happen.
The “best” of anything takes work. And becoming a winning player takes a lot more than most professions. Not only do you have to acquire the necessary skill to win, you also have to overcome a number of psychological problems. After nearly two decades of being a winning player, I still have to grapple with the psychological aspect of the game. The stripes occur in both directions. Win and lose. I’m not some kind of game god when I’m on an unreal winning streak and I’m not a losing player on an extended losing streak.
What I am … always … is honest with myself. I keep records and review my game. Am I the reason I am losing more than expectations or is it just a variation? These things I must always know as a player.
Be honest with yourself about how well you are playing. Strive to improve.
TEN: LEARN FROM THE WINNERS
One of the most important steps I took on my way to becoming a winning player was meeting someone who was already a winner. LJ was his name. It taught me a lot about the game. I will always remember it. LJ received his reward in 2006, but the impact it had on my life continues.
If you go to the track, everyone has a winner. Ask them. It’s weird how everyone can win when it comes to a zero sum game. In a mutual system like greyhound racing, someone must lose for someone else to win. So I’m not telling you to look to the flashy, loud braggarts on the runway for guidance. I tell you to find a real winning player to help you be your mentor. It will save you a lot of money, time, and hassle in the long run.
We help people become winning players at Greyhound Track Tips. If I can help you, feel free to ask.