subject: Three Steps to Horse Racing Handicapping Success [print this page] While handicapping horse races and making a profit is not easy, there are certain steps that you can take that will make it easier. The most important thing that you can do, before you read the rest of this article, in fact, is to write down your goals for your handicapping. For instance, if you want to make $400 per week, write it down. If you want $500 a month from horse racing betting, write it down. In order to take these steps and reach your goal, you have to know what your goal is and though that may sound simple, many people do not think that part of the process through.
Now that you know what you want, let's start with a disclaimer of sorts. These are very basic steps in what can be a complicated, difficult, and risky endeavor. We are simply outlining the basics in the broadest steps.
Step 1. You are the person who is totally responsible for all aspects of your handicapping venture. Before you go any farther, make sure you understand what that means. You have complete autonomy and that can be good or bad, depending on the kind of person you are. From now on, if you make a mistake, you own it, don't blame a jockey, trainer, the guy who prints the programs, someone who gave you a tip, etc.
Since you are responsible, however, you get to choose the tracks you handicap, the past performances or computer programs you use, and the types of bets you make. For your first step, write down the tracks you want to play and why. Write down which sources of information you will use and why. Finally, write down the types of bets you will use and why.
Step 2. Now that you know where you want to go and what tools you will use to get there, the next step is to practice rating horses in a race and to get better than the crowd. That means, using the tools you have chosen at the tracks you have chosen, practice making a morning line for each race and then check the charts to see what the horses actually went off at and if any of your choices would have made you money at the odds you thought were fair odds.
You are developing the ability to spot a good deal. The key to making money betting on horses is to be able to accurately determine what odds you need on a horse in order to make a profit over the long run. For instance, if you bet a certain type of horse 10 times, will you make enough to pay for your bets and also show a profit? Once you have done this often enough to feel confident it is time for step 3.
Step 3. In step three you will start betting small amounts and learn to manage your funds. Allocate a certain amount of your bankroll for each day and then set a bet amount as well. For instance, if you have $1,000 you may want to set your daily limit at $100 and your bet limit at $20. Be conservative and only7 start to bet real cash when you have satisfied yourself that you can determine fair odds for a horse.
While these steps may seem incredibly simple, if you want to make a living or a profit handicapping horse races, this is how it is done.
