Please, Someone Just Shoot Me

[the_fat_man]

I think this thread goes a good way towards exposing the pick4 (or 3,5,6) as a poor bet. Perhaps it's a very good way to play if one is focusing on a single track that offers good wagering opportunities. Unfortunately, presently, there isn't a track in the US that does this consistently. Most tracks (with very few 'minor' exceptions) just don't have large enough field sizes OR consistently competitive fields. HOL this past Friday night is a good example of a card with VERY LIMITED wagering opportunities. Maybe there were a couple of one number exacta plays that were worth playing but the card overall wasn't worth staying up for.

With so many tracks running and with so many limited plays at each of them, the way to go, IMO, is identifying the races that are competitive, that offer good opportunities, at these tracks and going VERTICAL. What's a better play: working a bunch of hours to play a pick4 at a track and getting back 3:1 or losing money; or hitting a one number, cinch exacta that pays 6:1 and takes all of a few minutes to handicap? (Of course, much time needs to be spent to find these 'bettable' races.)

For those wishing to stick to the original method, might I suggest WO, where the racing is competitive (for the most part) and the fields (relatively) large.

[pweizer]

I hit the late pick four at Monmouth yesterday and got $59 back on a $60 ticket. The four races in the sequence all had large fields and all seemed competitive on paper. Yet it chalked out. That happens sometimes.

What makes the pick four a good bet is that it spreads the takeout over four races so the house edge is lower. This is especially attractive in the Monmouth Pick five which is a fifty cent bet and has a 15% take out to start.

I do agree with TFM that playing a pick four just because it is there is not smart. Playing a pick four where you can identify a shaky favorite or two can pay well above the parlay and thus is generally a good play.

Paul

[timmgirvan]

It's called a moral victory.....no guns needed

[Port Conway Lane]

New York racing offers the lowest takeout in the country on daily doubles. In the first leg of either pick 4 the bettor has probables to gauge the value of their choices.

If the ticket layout is 1,2/1,2,3/1,2,3/1,2,3 ($54) it is equivalent to six $9 daily doubles.

If you spot an overlay on any of the six daily double combinations it makes more sense to pull that particular combination(s) from the pick 4 and make a $9 DD wager. This will give you money in the bank if it comes in and the option to parlay all or some of the payoff into the 3rd and 4th legs in another daily double.

While I agree with Steve that the combinations can grow exponentially you are assured of an overlay on your daily double and in the next two legs you will again have the option to view which of your combinations offer the best value.