Bet With Your Head And Not Over It!

by Ed Meyer

posted on August 5, 2010 in General Discussion, Help/Educational Articles | No Comments >>

How many times have we come to the track or O.T.B, and lost a nice wager?  We have this odd feeling that we are “on” and it is time to make a big bet to get all even and a few bucks ahead. In poker, it is called steaming, and in racing it is called “Betting Over Your Head.” Keep your cool, and know you can come back. Those words can be hard, but just have patience and you’ll do just fine.

The stories are endless. We had a player who came to the track. I won’t mention any names, but you may know him as the “Hit King” or the guy who broke Cobb’s record. No names, and who knows? I am not a baseball fan anyway… I may just have the wrong patron. He would come in with a HUGE check. It was a few months salary for me, and he would “tap dance” and bet everything that moved. He didn’t care, and if it ran, he had a bet on it…

The race had a horse 8 on top, and he was stacked high on the bet….. He looked at me at the 1/8th pole, and said they don’t get beat from here that often… To my sorry, big mouth, I agreed…. Do I need to tell you that the runner that gunned him at the wire was 20-1, and ran like Silky Sullivan? He was so mad about this loss, that he threw away any betting strategy and fired with both hands. That one loss had him walking to the car about 30 minutes later…..

My pal comes to the track once a week. He is a damn good capper, and would come more if the Mrs. allowed his visits…. He came up to me one night, and bragged about defying her asking. He just left, and said he was going out to work out…. He lost one race, two races, and knowing that he couldn’t stay long, it drove him into the wall by making huge bets to play catch up. He did get a workout… He lost major weight in his wallet, and had to walk out to the car with the weight of the world on his shoulders.

This other good player had the day to his own. His son was at his grandparents, and he was in no hurry…. He made a hasty play without looking at his data. No big deal, and he turned around and did it again…. Now, the count was o-2 and he was wanting to get even so he could restart his day. He let a few losses go to his head. He ended up leaving the track early on that beautiful fall day at Keeneland. I never had such a far walk to the car. It didn’t seem that way on the drive down, but it felt like a marathon. I just wanted to go home and go to bed early. All for a few bad bets, and I bet over my head and lost my bearings… I try and apply a betting plan no matter how much I am wagering.

If you think back, I am sure you either know someone or you made few bad moves. Just take your time, do your homework, and stick to your plan. Losses are inevitable, but we can stem the bleeding by keeping a cool head.