How much is too much?

[pweizer]

Originally Posted by asudevil

Well my ROI has improved dramatically with the information that is now provided. Was I an extremely average handicapper/bettor before? Sure feels like it now. I still may be one given the company I keep.

The point of my initial post was to gather information and share experiences so that I can become better given all the information available. I find it very intriguing that some, for example, may wager the exact tickets that a Steve or Gus provide. Or others may take Andy's 3, 4, or 5 selections per race and bet pick 3's and 4's or box them in the various exotics. I have found myself, especially at Saratoga, blending Steve and Andy's picks. That has worked both positively and negatively. This is not to say that I haven't been succussful selecting on my own. At times I most certainly have. Look, to me it's gray. There's no right or wrong, it's just refinement.

Taking someone else's selections will not make you a better handicapper. It might improve your ROI. But that would only be the case because the people whose picks you take do the hard work, learn the game, and thus profit from it.

Handicapping is not playing Steve's picks (of those of Gus or Andy). Handicapping is learning from these people so you can intelligently make your own picks.

You started this thread asking for how much information one can use in handicapping. But, to quote Andre the Giant from the Princess Bride, I don't think that word means what you think it means.

There is a big difference between going to the track and betting (which is lots of fun even if you pick names or colors) and actual handicapping which is much more rewarding.

Paul