You don’t need the rabbit’s foot, as it sure didn’t do the rabbit any good. – Luck is a frame of mind. – Just like Mom use to say; “see it and you will be it.” Before you can ever achieve anything in your life you first have to see it. – Take Race #3 at Where-Ever Downs. You look over the race and get a visual picture on how the event should take shape. From there, you act accordingly to your best interest. – Just in case you may have forgotten, or life has you busy against the grindstone. Here are three simple ways to becoming the luckiest handicapper you can be.

1. – Write down everything. What your beginning bankroll will be, what races you like today, and how much you’re willing to wager. – Sounds easy enough, but do you know how many times you leave your best bet because you got caught up in the action ? Plenty. – You have to re-direct your thoughts and commit them to writing. It can be on a tablet, your phone, or the folded paper in your pocket. – This is the first step in identifying what you want to do with what you have to do it with.

When you are finished at the end of the day. You should look back over your notes and compare to the results to what transpired. This is how you’ll find a path that works for you, and it is as simple as writing them down. – Nobody is perfect, and this one small task can help you with money management, planning your wagers, controlling impulse betting. –  Every great handicapper has kept notes, and they go back and identify where they could have capitalized.

2. – Take it easy on yourself. – Many times we get in a rush, run out the door and expect to handicap along the day. – This is usually the best way to find yourself broke before the day is over. Take your time and have a handicapping plan going into the day. Which races look the best, find the ones that offer the value you’ll accept, and ready yourself to implement your plan into action. – Give yourself plenty of time to understand your materials. If you have downloaded the E-Z Win Forms, take some time to digest the easy-to-use material. They won’t tell you who to bet and how much, but they will uncover the mystery and give you a clear picture on how the race will set-up. – For the million times I have rushed in and tried to do it on the fly, I have won just a small sampling. Oh, it happens to everyone, and a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in awhile. – Time can be your best friend or worst enemy. It is up to you to keep the distractions to a minimum and get yourself mentally ready. – I’ve never met an unhappy winner in all of my years of gambling, but there are plenty of sour puss losers who didn’t put the time in and expected to come in cold. – Take it easy, be happy, and keep distractions to a minimum.

3. – Keep it on the down-low. The Wagering Gods have a bad taste for the bragger, the idiot who proclaims to have the winner after each race, and the unprepared. – Handicapping is a cerebral art of bringing together a marriage of knowledge, patience, money management, and planning. If they all intersect with a little blessing from the Wagering Gods. Good things will happen. – This is not smoke and mirror logic. How many times have you had the best day at the races being prepared, waiting for your best bet, and keeping control of how much you bet ? – You may not have thought about it deeply, but the best days in your gambling life have been when you are ready to win. – Just having a need, or “baby needs a new pair of shoes” will not do the trick. You have to quiet your mind and prepare for battle. Sometimes the hardest things to conquer when making a wager are not the ponies, but controlling our impulses.

There are a million other ways to get the job done. I know plenty of people who take home the form only to toss it on the coffee table and grab it as they run out the door. – For the may years I have played the races, and the many others where I have worked around some of the best players. Time and patience are your allies. There is something unsettling about just running in and firing away. It doesn’t feel right, and at the end of the day you’ll know that it isn’t. – Follow the above, and incorporate them into your daily plans. Let us know how you’re doing. – You are in the right place for having the best info to prepare your day, and all you have to do is control the rest and put in the time. – One of the best gamblers I’ve ever known said; “Gambling is harder than any job. But if you put in the time and keep control. You’ll have the best reward you could ever ask for.”