Everyone wants to make money when playing the ponies.  But how come some people are better at it than others?  Is it luck, inside information, or do they have a better understanding of the ins and outs of horse racing?  Part of this comes down to how you bet, as a $2 bet could have a big payout if you play it correctly.  With that in mind, here is your guide on how to win big at the track while staying home.

1) Manage Your Money

You can’t win big if you don’t have cash and the first thing to keep in mind when it comes to winning big is that you need to manage your money.  This starts by learning about what is known as ‘Optimal Betting’.

This is a betting strategy that is based on mathematic principals with the idea being that you only bet based on your edge.  In this case, the edge is the percent of horses that will win a rate less the percent of horses that will not race divided by the average payout.

Using this formula will help you to determine how much to bet at any given time and it is something that you can also use for other games of chance.  The key to using Optimal Betting to your advantage is to always know your edge.  If not, then you are relying on blind luck which any experienced gambler can tell you is a sure-fire way to lose everything you have.

In addition, to knowing your edge, you want to adjust your edge over time.  A good rule of thumb is every 200 to 300 bets.  The reason for this is that your edge can increase (or decrease) over time.  Keep in mind that even though your edge might increase over time, you might not want to increase the size of your bets as a percentage of your bankroll, though this will depend on the other elements of your strategy.

2) Bankroll, Bankroll, Bankroll

You’re looking at today’s horse racing cards and trying to determine which horses to pick.  One thing to keep in mind is that you can only bet what you have in your ‘bank’.  As such, you not only need to manage the size of your bets, but you also need to make sure you have adequate bankroll needed to cover your bets.

According to most experts, a good starting point is $2,000.  Assuming your bets are limited to 2 percent of that amount per race, then you are placing $20 bets on average.  Though keep in mind this will only limit you to 50 bets, so you want to make sure you have a strategy that works or you will be watching the races from the sidelines in no time at all.

3) Put Value First

You want to get the most bang for your buck.  As such, place your bets with an eye towards value.  This means that you don’t always need to pick the winning horse, instead, you want to place a bet that will have the best chances of paying out.

Often this is not the presumed winner of the race, but rather the horse bet value and price – for example, a horse with 5-1 odds.  Just remember to do your homework and get all the information you need before placing your bet.

4) Don’t Feel Compelled to Bet

There are races, even days when the field is not that good and in these situations, it might be better for you to sit on your money than to place bets which won’t pay off.  As such, don’t feel compelled to bet as some races are better opportunities than others.

5) Handicap Your Handicap

Ok, this might sound a bit circular, but the concept is simple – to win big, you must take an honest look at your ability handicap races.  If not, then you are fooling yourself when it comes to rating your ability to size up horses.

Fortunately, you are not alone.  The sad reality is that most punters are very bad at rating horses and they are even worse at measuring their own ability.  This is an opportunity for you as a marginal improvement will help to put you at the head of the pack.

6) Don’t Let Your Emotions Get in the Way

Another challenge that most gamblers face is keeping emotions out of their bets.  While this can be difficult, it is not impossible and it starts by having a plan for every race.  This starts by know what kind of punter you are and then keeping within your comfort zone.  From there you will want to record everything so that you can figure out what works best for picking winners, betting structures, and even money management.

As you can see, betting is not something you do on a whim.  Instead, it is a methodical process which when followed can lead to big returns over time.