Product Description

The professional gambler at the Thoroughbred racetracks needs certain qualities of mind in order to prevail. In The Psychology of the Winning Horseplayer I analyze these qualities and suggest ways to acquire and improve them. Having a good method of selection and sound money-management skills although crucially important will not be enough to keep a horseplayer in the black during a long season at the track. What he needs are the psychological insights that will enable him to develop good control, steel discipline, and presence of mind when the pressure is on. The ideas in the twenty chapters of this book are indispensable to the gambler who intends to be in the racetrack game a long time and make substantial money along the way.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #416916 in Books
• Published on: 2008-12-15
• Released on: 2008-12-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 148 pages

About the Author
A professional gambler at Thoroughbred racetracks across the country for many years, the author has soaked up a lot of knowledge about what makes winning players.

Customer Reviews

A helpful book for the advanced player
The table of contents made me think that this was going to be a textbook, but it is a long way from that. What is obvious right from the first chapter is that the writer has been around racetracks and gambling for a long time. He writes in the language of racetrackers, not the broken-down kind that Damon Runyon used to write about, but in the language of smart racetrackers who know how to find their way to the cashier's window.

Even though the sense of humor of the author made me smile at times, what makes this book valuable are the insights into the gambling process at the track. These insights I am sure are going to make me a stronger horseplayer because they will keep me from doing the foolish things year after year at the track that I was not even aware of.

All twenty chapters in the book develop useful concepts, but I thought the chapter on statistics was especially helpful. It showed with examples from Chicago racetracks how statistics can enable a horseplayer to develop rational methods of selection and minimum odds requirements when possibly betting on these selections. This chapter needs working through closely. A single reading is not enough. In fact, many chapters need more than one reading. This is complex material. But betting on Thoroughbreds is a complex game. A simplistic formula will not get the job done. There are no simplistic formulas in this excellent book.

Not much for a serious horse racing fan
I am a bit disappointed with this book. As a serious horse racing fan, I cannot find anything in this book helpful to my handicapping or money management skills. The topics which are covered by this book are quite basic and I believe all serious handicapper knows these psychological effects and impacts.

Groundbreaking Book !
A practical book on the psychology of betting thoroughbreds that was obviously written by an experienced horseplayer. After collecting and reading several hundred books on thoroughbred handicapping and betting, I would rate this as one of the best I've encountered.

For me making consistent money at the track consisted of 2 steps.

The first step was accumulating the knowledge and experience to be profitable on an annual basis betting part time. There are a whole bunch of books and people available to help make this possible. I profited for a decade betting when my jobs allowed me time. Believe it or not, this is the easy step.

The second step is hitting the track every racing day with adequate capital and turning this activity into a real income. After a while it was evident that I was gaining a much deeper knowledge of the game and that betting had become mostly a psychological battle against my own human nature. At this point until this book came out, you were basically on your own at the beginning of a painful journey.

I've seen a bunch of good handicappers lose this battle before I tried. At the end of an 8 month period of tackling this problem from every possible angle I discovered this book. I mean I looked at this thing from every possible angle including consulting a shrink that I brought into the process. After reading and internalizing the information in this book, I finally started reaching my full effectiveness in betting.

After incorporating the information in this book, I had a horse I bet to win by my method that went off at 80-1 and lead the whole race only to be beaten by the favorite at the wire. No emotional effect at all. Several racing days later I had a horse I bet to win by my method that went off at around 9-1 or 10-1 I thought. I went and used the restroom and when I came out my horse and one of the low odds horses hit the wire for a photo decision. I was looking at the next race when I saw the order of finish and my horse had won at 23-1 because of all the late money bet on the favorite. Again, No emotional effect at all.

This is an extreme situation but it made me realize that this book helped me change the track from a somewhat emotional activity to place where I conduct my business. If you're trying to become a profitable bettor and are willing to do whatever it takes, this book is a real find.