What is the golden rule of handicapping? What one thing should every person who has ever placed a bet on a race know? That is a tough question and before I answer it, do yourself a favor and ask yourself, "If a friend asked me for just one piece of information, just one golden rule of horse racing, what would it be?"
Your answer will probably be based on one bad bet or bad beat that you received. Perhaps you bet an exacta straight with a longshot in it and had the exacta come in backwards. The lesson you learned was that you should always box or back up your bet. If a long shot is good enough to come in second at long odds, then it is good enough to win, sometimes. It's those sometimes that get us and make us wonder why we play the races.
Another candidate for GR status is based on a bad move that we have all probably been guilty of at one time or another. It's the old, "Don't try to make up your losses on one big bet at the end of the day." To compound the infraction we also often will bet the favorite figuring it has a better chance to win, right? There is so much money on it, it must be a good horse. That is the worse logic going. The reason it is being pounded by the bettors is because a lot of other players are trying to recoup their losses as well.
The truth of the matter is, some days you are going to lose. Chasing losses with bad bets and lousy decision making only compounds the problem. Unless you have a good bet in the last race and you can get the odds you need, pass the race. There's always fresh (tomorrow).
Yes, "Don't' try to make up your losses with bad bets made out of desperation," is another good candidate for the golden rule.
No article on horse racing's golden rule would be complete without a mention of money management. Money management is the single most important factor in gambling and horse playing success. Now I'm not saying you have to be a cpa or bean counter to survive in this tough game, but you do need a plan and you have to stick to it pretty well or you'll blow any chance of making a profit.
Therefore, perhaps another good one is, "Plan ahead and set limits, and use good money management."
While any one of these suggestions would be good advice for your friend, how about this, there is no absolute golden rule, but you should be aware that it is the situation and race that demands you to use good judgment based on the conditions of the day?
If you want to learn how a horse owner and insider handicaps just go to http://horse-racing-handicapping.co/ and get the truth about betting on horses and winning. Bill Peterson is a former race horse owner and professional handicapper. To see all Bill's horse racing material go to Horse Racing Handicapping, Bill's handicapping store.
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