Betting mistakes - Just because you have the winner all picked out that does not guarantee you will make money in the race! Don't make these betting mistakes. Getting Shut Out When you wager on horse racing long enough, you get shut out at the betting window (the race goes off before you could bet on it). In fact, you probably get shut out a lot. When you do get shut out, often your first inclination is to blame the mutuel clerk, the bettor in front of you, or the racetrack or race book for not having enough windows open. You shouldn't blame other people, however, because getting shut out is something you can control by standing in the betting line early enough and adjusting if the betting lines are long. If you intend to make a serious wager, don't wait until one or two minutes to post and take the high risk of not getting your bet in. Not getting the race day changes - This is why after the scratches have been posted, we send out our 'UPDATED PICKS' One of the first things you should do as a horseplayer is check the late changes for the racetracks you want to bet. In Las Vegas race books, you can get these changes off the boards. But if you're at a racetrack or OTB (off-track betting parlor), you probably need to monitor the television simulcast signals. You get up-to-the-minute information about scratches, rider changes, overweights, equipment changes, and other factors that may heavily influence your handicapping. Not following through on checking the race changes can be an expensive lesson. For example, imagine if you handicap a turf race, make your bets, and then watch in horror as the horses are loaded into the starting gate on the main dirt track. Tracks switch races from grass surface to dirt surface during wet weather. This is the kind of change you need to pick up on before you even think about betting. Bad Money Managment Everyone stumbles in the money management department at some point. When you go to the racetrack or OTB, the key is to have a finite amount of money in your pocket to gamble with. It doesn't matter if the amount is $100, $500, or more as long as you don't spend more money than what you've allotted yourself. If you do some preparatory handicapping, you know which horses and races look best to you. Good money management dictates that you reserve enough money to make your strongest bets. You can make some action bets - small plays just to have something to root for - but you must get your primary bets in on the horses and races you like the most to maximize your chances of winning. Bad money management is going through your bankroll before your strongest plays come up. Not saving your money for your best bets shows a total lack of discipline, which prevents you from becoming a winning horseplayer. And using your bank ATM card as a crutch to get more cash is bad money management too. Chasing your losses by betting more money Anyone who gambles will inevitably enjoy winning streaks and suffer from losing streaks. The nature of gambling is to have peaks and valleys. When you do run into a losing streak, I advise you to cut back on the size of your wagers. Not only does your bankroll shrink when you're losing, but you also often have bad karma going on. Bad karma can come in many forms. Perhaps the horse you like wins but gets disqualified. Or the horse you like gets a terrible ride and just misses. Or maybe you handicap and bet a race correctly, but some impossible 50/1 long shot beats you out. Betting lower amounts will at least slow down the spiral until the situation improves, and the situation will improve. The only time you should increase your wagers is when you're winning. If you're playing within a measured percentage of your bankroll, your bets are getting bigger because your bankroll is growing. A point may come when the size of your bets reaches the top of your comfort level. A veteran horseplayer once told me early in my gambling career that if you're a $2 bettor, just because you hit a hot winning streak, you don't automatically become a $10 or $20 bettor overnight. He said you are what you are, and you'll know when the stakes get too high. A common betting mistake is to increase the size of wagers when you're losing. The idea is to win back your losses as quickly as possible. This seldom works because you're betting under pressure and your decision making may get clouded. Overlooking a winning horse- Anytime we don't have the winner of a race, we take time to go back to the past performaces, watch the runners previous races and study until we can answer the questions- How did he win? Bettors often overlook a horse that just won its last race. Why's that, you ask? Invariably a horse that just won is moving up in class in its next start. The belief is the horse can't run back and win again. Another reason bettors may overlook a horse that just won is because a win may earn a horse a top Beyer Speed Figure (see Chapter 11) and maybe even a career best. Some people call this kind of horse a bounce candidate and therefore don't want to bet on it. Although many reasons exist to knock a horse that just won, the fact is that any horse that won its last start should be in good condition. An animal moving up in class should help, not hinder, the parimutuel value. And you should like the fact that the horse wanted to pass or run away from other horses in his last race. Betting a horse that just won is a simple and solid betting angle. This type of no-brainer bet can snap you out of a losing streak, because this type of horse often wins at fair odds. Forgetting to check your tickets- With the many different online betting services to chose from, it is important to chose one with a simple betting interface. We love Bodog click here You see signs at the betting windows reminding you to check your tickets, and even the mutuel clerk or ticket writer says, "Check your tickets please" before you leave the window. But how many times do you actually look over your tickets? Not too often I bet.