Make A Living Betting Horses?
 

If Anyone Can Tell Me They Make A Living Betting Horses, It Is Rubbish! I'd Like To See It............

After the beating I took today...the horses are making a living off me.:( Taking the next 3 weeks off and recharge my batteries (and my bank account) for Toga.

Bad day guys?

school bus yellow?:D

Sorry to hear about the rough and tough days. It certainly ain't easy making a living playing the horses.

Eric

I swear i could have hit the all button in every race today and somehow still lost....

I tried that starting June 19th...lasted until Sunday, and played again today :o
My "better half" called me a fibber, because I said I wouldn't play from 6/19 til opening day.

Ever since I got back from Vegas I am COLD as hell. haven't hit a ticket. Expecting to turn that around tomorrow through Sunday with STRATEGICALLY placed large win wagers....

LOL. I remember years ago, a friend of mine (a professional, one of the maybe 10 or so guys I personally know who make a living playing the horses) and me were sitting in the track kitchen at the Meadowlands. We were talking about being a professional, the life, etc. Anyway, this guy, even when he was in a slump, not doing well, etc. -- he always maintained an "even" demeanor. So, we're sitting there and he said something about how it's so very different (how you view, treat, respect, etc. money when it's your livlihood -- as opposed to it not being your real living). He looks up and points to a sign that has been hanging in the kitchen for as long as I can remember. The sign says:

You can always eat your betting money . . . but you should never bet your eating money.

Seemed more thought provoking at the time, LOL.

Eric

I Started Getting Hot Tonight At Australia And The Video Went Out, So Im Done For The Night.

i've kept track of every bet i've made since 1999.

i can show you i've lost money betting horses every year except one.

i can't imagine i could make a living doing this. but i haven't extrapolated that conclusion as far as you have. why couldn't someone make a living doing this?

there is no law of large numbers like with most casino games and slots. you are betting against other players. the house takes an egregious rake but there is nothing that says a skilled player can't overcome 15-25% off the top.

i think it would be a miserable grind. i think the emotional toll of a losing streak when it's your livelyhood would be a nuke compared the the m-80 i feel when i lose disposable income.

but it's not beyond imagination that someone smarter than us, more dedicated than us, whose emotions can take the swings, and whose sole focus is racing couldn't make some kind of living at it.

There is no such thing as a professional gambler

i dont know, commentator was one of the worst heavy favorites in years today, making that race pretty obvious.

also, if you believed that nobiz is one of the 2-3 most overhyped horses of this crop (there are 2-3 every year!), then the dwyer was pretty simple as well.

Identifying false favorites and making money over long term doing so are two very different things.

Tough way to make a living, but a select few do. A lot of time, patience, knowledge, and of course, luck. It's a very tedious job that you would have to invest probably 70+ hours a week, 7 days a week doing.

I'm content being a "weekend warrior".

anything good running today?:o

I know Carla would.

Knew a guy in Saratoga played only pick sixes and was a pro gambler. Won a couple a year at big prices. I would say he earned about 60 grand in pick sixes alone he hit, not to mention all the pick 5's. Invested around 400 a day.

Been on a "freshening" since the Sunday after the Belmont for the same reasons. Looking forward to July 25th.

You Fibber!! Good NIght Boys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !

What the poster is trying to say is that pros are not gamblers because gambling relies strictly on luck. . . No professional horseplayer would consider themselves a gambler because they rely on edge and skill rather than randomness. . .

About six months ago, back when "He Who Must Not Be Named" (i.e., Oracle) was still here, I started a thread on a topic close to this one. Some interesting thoughts were expressed:

http://www.derbytrail.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7997

Most pros wouldn't. . . I can quote "Six Secrets of Successful Bettors" if you'd like. . .

I know of at least one and maybe two on this board that make a living at it. Obviously they don't wish to chime in. I think I could do it being very good with numbers, but I don't wish to spend 16 hours a day every day trying. You can't treat handicapping as a second job.

Without offending professionals, I think this debate is merely a matter of semantics.

Eric

What else could he/she have been saying?

rephrase, A professional horseplayer makes a living investing.

What is the difference between a stock trader (buying and selling shares in a company) and a professional horse player (buying shares in a horse for 1-2 minutes)?

WE all gamble, the professionals invest.

There is a difference between gambling and investing.

When I gamble, I am pissing money away for the juice and capping with 2mtp

When I invest, I carefully calculate my risk and plan out my attack, sometimes 3-4 days in advance.

Like today until Saturday night, it is investing time. I have 6 plays that I am dropping a dime on each of them. If I hit 3 of them I will be even, if I hit 5 of them I will turn 6k into about 16k....PARTY TIME HOSS, PARTY TIME

Jest wonderin'
 

Are day traders in the stock market investors or are they gamblers???

Me thinks they are at least partly gamblers...as imho is anyone who tries to make a living playing the ponies...

I've been cold lately, too - feel like I could "tri-box-all" an Australian field of 14 2-year-olds and still lose.

At first I wondered if it was only the three-year-old races (as they often take huge jump-ups in ability during the summer), but nah, it's everything. I'm still handicapping the same. It's not synthetic surfaces. Didn't go through a summer slump last year, so don't know, but yeah, I've noticed a difference in my bottom line ....

I think I'd have to push at least half a million through the windows a year, to make 100K

If I had a 1/2 million to push through the windows, I wouldnt need to bet the horses.:D

I'd pursue my dream of following the pro-golf tour year-round .... :p

following...or playing?