Certainly. If you gamble on one thing, your going to gamble on something else too. I think for the most part horse players, who do both, tend to be "squares" imo. When I am at the turf club watching games, I hear the common "square" catch phrases, like "They're gonna kill em" or "It won't even be close." These are the same regulars who are there each and every day and give their hot tip to be a 2-5 shot at Philly Park. There are "sharp" horse players out there though, and thus I think they are "sharp" sports bettors as well b/c they KNOW how to gamble.
I would have to disagree with you JJ, as any serious horseplayer's reason for being is maximum value. If you could bet a $1 tri key with the Patriots over the Eagles, Jets, Giants, Packers, and the Carolina over for $20, every single NFL fan would be a bettor. A sharp sports bettor knows that the track offers value betting more than any other gambling medium. I do agree that horseplayers who also bet football are mostly squares, as I usually hear them touting Indy, NE, and Philly no matter what the line is. They are also more inclined to lay a bad number because they use a local. But there are some sharps.
I agree with you to a point. Personally, I tend to do better at the track when I go with less money than going with a dime or two and sending it in on a race I don't really have a strong conviction on. And I don't bet $5 to win. You are right, you can't make any money that way. But you are sure can on tri's and exactas, if played correctly.
And for the record, a pretty sharp horseplayer friend of mine just put in a reverse: NE -6.5 1st half
NE -10 game
A square's position
And for the record, a pretty sharp horseplayer friend of mine just put in a reverse: NE -6.5 1st half
NE -10 game
A square's position
I started off with horses and have developed that into my bread and butter. I was always a poker player and with the advent of online poker, I developed that as a reliable source of income. I diversified into sportsbetting this year, and to my surprise I have done very well. I was expecting a larger learning curve, but it has proved to otherwise.
Of the sharpest sportsbetting pros and BMs that I've seen, the majority of the ones that dabble in horses and Poker, do so mostly as way of amusing themselves with profits generated by the sharps/wiseguys sportsbetting profits, plus the BMs pen-to-pad square money, and usually for much smaller plays ,as outside of the fewer larger plays or tipped spot-plays via movers(best source for a true horse move in LV), and larger stateside offices in years past, or lastly The Derby and Breeder's Cup weekends..it is done with lowered expectancy and play size
But of the same crowd listed above, when residing in LV, or sitting in NYC offices, or in large stateside offices..the danger of degeneracy doubles..as sheer exposure and environs create a more dangerous bait.
Tracks getting their own shows all over the big dish, and the arrival of TVG haven't done lose-handed and well-bankrolled pros and BMs any favors, as some I've known now have action on slower days that once provided fewer distractions.
Some of the same crowd have been "having a lil' more something to sweat" since the explosion of CNBC and other market shows popped up, along with the growth of day-trading.
There are some sharps that cap most everything, but specialists are where most of the connected and in-the-know crowd make their best money..all the way down to the very sport, league, city, team, race track, game,etc..it's too much for a generalist to keep up with nowadays..and burnout is always a possibility without breaks(most take 'em at the All-Star break each summer)..
Just as in the yesterdays, when for example, Pro football = Tiger, PittsJack, Baxter,etc....College Football= Computer, Doc M, Lunatic,etc...MLB = Kosher, Chip/Poker,etc...NBA=Chinaman,BB,etc....NCAA Hoops= Herbie Hoops, Buddy/Jamie,etc..it will be the same in the future with the next generation..as the names will change(and already have a bit), but the way to success in the game will remain the same(get a bread-and-butter sport, then go from there)..and he whom sits with the most and best smart-marks(Large Offshore BMs nowadays), with the largest bankrolls(BW, Spiros, H, Aussies, BB,etc..) and access to movers/beards/outs(any of the aforementioned) will win the most.
But of the same crowd listed above, when residing in LV, or sitting in NYC offices, or in large stateside offices..the danger of degeneracy doubles..as sheer exposure and environs create a more dangerous bait.
Tracks getting their own shows all over the big dish, and the arrival of TVG haven't done lose-handed and well-bankrolled pros and BMs any favors, as some I've known now have action on slower days that once provided fewer distractions.
Some of the same crowd have been "having a lil' more something to sweat" since the explosion of CNBC and other market shows popped up, along with the growth of day-trading.
There are some sharps that cap most everything, but specialists are where most of the connected and in-the-know crowd make their best money..all the way down to the very sport, league, city, team, race track, game,etc..it's too much for a generalist to keep up with nowadays..and burnout is always a possibility without breaks(most take 'em at the All-Star break each summer)..
Just as in the yesterdays, when for example, Pro football = Tiger, PittsJack, Baxter,etc....College Football= Computer, Doc M, Lunatic,etc...MLB = Kosher, Chip/Poker,etc...NBA=Chinaman,BB,etc....NCAA Hoops= Herbie Hoops, Buddy/Jamie,etc..it will be the same in the future with the next generation..as the names will change(and already have a bit), but the way to success in the game will remain the same(get a bread-and-butter sport, then go from there)..and he whom sits with the most and best smart-marks(Large Offshore BMs nowadays), with the largest bankrolls(BW, Spiros, H, Aussies, BB,etc..) and access to movers/beards/outs(any of the aforementioned) will win the most.
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I spend quite a bit of time in Casinos as a poker player (40-50 hours a week ) and i see a tremendous crossover among horse/card players........that being said, as about 80% of the people i see are long term losers in poker, those same people lose about 80% in the racebook ............on the flip side, long term winners in poker seem to search for value and win more than they lose in the racebbok ....................the common denominator that both share however, is the losers (squares) play too many hands in cards, and take too many "shots" and play way too many races, whereas the winners show patience at the tables and cherry pick for value by demanding a fair price (overlays) on their horses and bet into low takeout pools . and carryovers in pick 6's and overlays in pick 4's ...........................I think there are "gamblers" and "investors" , and this is true in all three , and the percentage of winners vs losers is the same in all three ............it's all about being patient and finding the value in whatever you're doing .............
Growing up, most of the guys in my family and their friends were horse owners and/or players. They would travel to the local tavern to get down bets on horses daily, but I never heard much ballgame talk at all from them. Maybe an occasional Indy/KY basketball wager for a bottle of whiskey or something simple like that, but very rare.
