subject: A New Horse Racing Book to Help You Learn How to Handicap [print this page] A New Horse Racing Book to Help You Learn How to Handicap
While learning by experience is sometimes the best method, it can be a long and drawn out process and also an expensive one, especially if you are learning how to handicap horse races and how to make money betting on horses. On the other hand, since experience is the best teacher and we all need to learn as much as we can about handicapping in order to profit from our wagers, it is necessary to get experience. The best method I have found to learn anything is to find someone who has already done it and learn from him or her.
There are several ways to "get" experience. One way is to actually go out and live the experience. Another way is to buy the experience by paying the experienced person to share his or her knowledge with you. I have thoroughly enjoyed the time I have spent learning how to handicap horse races but it was a very expensive education. I have also enjoyed learning from the great books I have found from some of the top horse racing handicappers in the world.
If anyone was to ask me how to become a successful horse bettor, I'd have to say it takes a combination of experience and learning. The experience is what you get when you go to the race track or OTB and place bets based on your own opinions. There is no substitute for that and you can't pay someone to do it for you and get the same feelings and conditioning.
Learning is a different story. You can learn by sitting down with a top handicapping book and reading it and digesting the lessons inside. Of course, you still have to go out and prove those lessons to yourself. You have to apply what you've learned. Have you ever read a good handicapping book? Did you instantly go out and make a profit from the lessons? If you said, yes, I've read a few good books but no, I haven't gone right out and started making money, don't feel bad. None of us have been able to instantly convert the lessons into cash.
On the other hand, having read the books, I have been able to bring my handicapping up to a higher level and eventually, using the lessons and my experience, have managed to join the few who have made a profit from the races. Don't be discouraged if you don't instantly make a profit after reading a book by a top horse player. Just take it slow, if you make bets, make small ones, and get the experience. Along the way you will have a few, Aha, moments when what you've read will click for you and you will gradually put it all together.
