Commonsense Betting

Rating:
Summary: Yes.
Review: Dick Mitchell, Commonsense Betting (Morrow, 1995)

When one picks up a handicapping book by Dick Mitchell, one can be assured one is getting good stuff. Mitchell, a college statistics professor, knows his math. Granted, his style of relation may be annoying at times (after the fiftieth sentence starting with the word "please," perhaps one will pick up on the not-so-slightly condescending tone), but if you can get past it, the information to be found here is great stuff. (And really, Mitchell's not as bad as some other handicapping writers.)

If you've read a number of handicapping books, especially Mitchell's other works (and Winning Thoroughbred Strategies is one of the best handicapping books on the market, and should be read by every horseplayer, casual and serious), much of what's here is going to be another look at the tips and techniques we've seen before, but through the lens of money management as applied to various types of bets (exactas, pick threes, etc.); stuff the average player could probably figure out given an unlimited amount of time, computer power, and the knowledge of the right questions to ask. But why expend the energy? Get back to handicapping and let Papa Dick do the work for you.

The book's real gem, though, is the last chapter. (And this will probably be a controversial paragraph with horseplayers, who are wondering why the thing was even in the book in the first place.) Mitchell abandons handicapping, racing, the whole bit altogether, and gives the punter a lesson in money management 101 for the time you spend outside the racetrack. As with his work on handicapping, Mitchell documents everything he says nicely and leaves a long, glowing trail of other reading for the handicapper to pursue; the only difference here is that Mitchell is praising the likes of Bill Donoghue rather than the likes of Jim Quinn. One you've figured out that the last chapter ain't about horses, please, don't skip it. In fact, even if you couldn't care less about horses, beg, borrow, or steal a copy of this book and read the last chapter (unless you're already familiar with outside-the-racing-world money management books by authors like Donoghue and Peter Lynch); it's stuff we could all use, and most of us don't. ****

Rating:
Summary: Explains the science behind the term
Review: This book explains the science and mathematics of "Wager Value" like no other. After reading this excellent book you will understand why the secret of handicapping is NOT determing the horse most likely to win and then betting on that horse (and you will learn Dick's number one rule... "no value, no bet"). As a student of probability I found this work top notch and consider it one of the most overlooked handicapping books ever published. ...it is worth every penny.