mamojica
05-31-2009, 07:54 PM
Way back in September 2006, Richie started a thread with the above title. Every aspiring matcher should read it. When I started matching a few months ago, I religiously followed his advice. I kept the past performances of the races in which I selected the winner, and shredded the pp’s of the races which I lost.
Unfortunately, my curiosity got the best of me. I started looking through races that I lost. I didn’t spend a lot of time on them, but I did re-read my notes and looked again at the race winners. I would spend 5 or 10 minutes at most, and then I would shred the pp’s.
Five or 10 minutes was all that was needed. All of a sudden, I started second guessing myself. Things I was sure of before I became uncertain about afterward. I wasn’t as confident in my wagers. And, as a result of ignoring good advice, I started a losing streak. Whether it was for real at the track or for practice at home, I couldn’t pick a winner for a couple of weeks.
It was my own fault. I knew I was being naughty. I was only taking a peek (just like an adolescent youth looking at a hidden stash of Playboy magazines). But it messed with my head. Lesson learned. For the past week or so, I have been running to the shredder to turn the pp’s of lost races into confetti.
Things turned around for me today. I played the first nine races at Belmont and won four of them. No big payouts, just between $4.50 and $6.60. But it was a needed boost to my confidence.
Why shouldn’t we go back and see what we did wrong in the races we lose? First of all, how do we know we did anything wrong? For example, today I lost two bets by less than a length. In the first race, I bet #3 Irish Majesty, who battled for the lead for the last 8th of a mile, only to lose by half a length. In the ninth, I bet #6 Fluke, and he was caught in the last 16th and lost by three-quarters. Did I do anything wrong in either race? I don’t think so. As they say in NASCAR, it was just one of them racing deals.
I hope all beginning matchers follow this bit of advice from Jim Bradshaw and RichieP. If you must go back, study what you did right in the races you win. Don’t try to figure out what went wrong in the races you lose. It messed with my head and will probably mess with yours.
Regards,
Marc
Unfortunately, my curiosity got the best of me. I started looking through races that I lost. I didn’t spend a lot of time on them, but I did re-read my notes and looked again at the race winners. I would spend 5 or 10 minutes at most, and then I would shred the pp’s.
Five or 10 minutes was all that was needed. All of a sudden, I started second guessing myself. Things I was sure of before I became uncertain about afterward. I wasn’t as confident in my wagers. And, as a result of ignoring good advice, I started a losing streak. Whether it was for real at the track or for practice at home, I couldn’t pick a winner for a couple of weeks.
It was my own fault. I knew I was being naughty. I was only taking a peek (just like an adolescent youth looking at a hidden stash of Playboy magazines). But it messed with my head. Lesson learned. For the past week or so, I have been running to the shredder to turn the pp’s of lost races into confetti.
Things turned around for me today. I played the first nine races at Belmont and won four of them. No big payouts, just between $4.50 and $6.60. But it was a needed boost to my confidence.
Why shouldn’t we go back and see what we did wrong in the races we lose? First of all, how do we know we did anything wrong? For example, today I lost two bets by less than a length. In the first race, I bet #3 Irish Majesty, who battled for the lead for the last 8th of a mile, only to lose by half a length. In the ninth, I bet #6 Fluke, and he was caught in the last 16th and lost by three-quarters. Did I do anything wrong in either race? I don’t think so. As they say in NASCAR, it was just one of them racing deals.
I hope all beginning matchers follow this bit of advice from Jim Bradshaw and RichieP. If you must go back, study what you did right in the races you win. Don’t try to figure out what went wrong in the races you lose. It messed with my head and will probably mess with yours.
Regards,
Marc