Joel Stein: "Now I get it"

[pmayjr]

But also...

How do you get... just 1 out of every 10 casual fans that go to the track on a big day- Derby, BC, or even something like Extreme Race Day that draws in as many fans as whatever local track's biggest stake day is, to come back again. To learn to read a pp? To become a somewhat regular bettor?

Most of those people that come can't read a PP. So they're picking numbers.A name they like. No real educated guess. It's just a novelty to them. That doesn't do all that much good for the longterm health of the sport.

If casual fan looks at a PP for the first time, they most likely see- 1 part stock market report, 1 part Swahili and 1 part something from the Matrix (the movie). And you're dealing with a lot of people where they lose interest quick when they realize that they can't learn it in 5 minutes.

To me that's the challenge. How do you educate people without them losing interest? I mean, the fact that you're making an educated decision in your gambling should appeal to some (as opposed to hoping the dice roll right, or that the dealer busts). But I try to emphasize to new people I try and teach the game to, that if you read a pp, and you see the one stat or angle that -gives you the long-shot winner, that good feeling you get is way better than getting a blackjack or hitting a flush on the river.

But I still struggle with what is the best way to teach these things. There's a few vids on how to read a past performance on youtube, and they're either too dull, dry, and sometimes too unclear to wanna watch them... tough... sorry, rambling, but I think if we can find a way to get 1 out of every 10 casual fans to become regulars, that would be huge. Not sure it's possible?