anyone ..tourney play..

hoovesupsideyourhead · #1 11-29-2006, 02:02 PM

looking into getting in a tourney after the 1st of the year..some of you have been ..what to expect ..also can you tell me where the best ones are mostly vegas .....maybee a dt "team"...and can you have a team as an entry...

Kasept · #2 11-29-2006, 02:06 PM

Hooves..

Handicapping World Series is a buy-in ($1,000) in addition to the qualifiers,
and the NHC is strictly qualifiers.

HWC is individual... The guy who knows the tourneys is Swede, my man "Send it in' Willie" Anderson... He'll chime in or drop him a PM..

hoovesupsideyourhead · #3 11-29-2006, 02:09 PM

thats drf right gold coast and others have them no,,also the turf viver,,,,and thanks steve

Bravado2112 · #4 11-29-2006, 04:29 PM

Here are a couple of good resources for tournament info:
http://www.horseplayerdaily.com/cat/...Home+Page.html
http://www.powerpicks.com/webcontest.asp

Expect there to be a big learning curve. Strategy and understanding *how* to play is every bit as important as handicapping. Most contests have slightly different formats so one of the key factors is figuring out what it's going to take to win or hit the board. You can look at past results or apply standard guidelines. Tournaments are far more about finding playable mid-priced horses and longshots than about picking winners. You may have to pass on a 6-1 shot you like or even a 4-1 absolute cinch because you need 10-1 winners to compete. You also need to be able to adjust your strategy based upon where you are in standings as it gets late. The biggest issue is to make the transition from looking for winners and profit (betting approach) to a tournament approach where it's more of an all or nothing. ie - You don't get rewarded for coming in 23rd out of 200 and showing a flat bet profit. You're simply not going to win tournaments with a number of solid 3-1 or even 6-1 winners - no matter how confident you are of their chances. Goes against what you're used to. At the same time, stabbing entirely at longshots won't get the job done either. You have to find the right medium - but it really is a totally different mentality than what works for betting and it takes time getting used to.

hoovesupsideyourhead · #5 11-29-2006, 04:41 PM

thank you..thats great info...

#6 11-30-2006, 12:28 AM

Somethings to consider.
1 - decide what format of contest is for you. there are 2 types, A. - real money contests where you pay an entry fee and then another couple hundred for a live bankroll. You have to play like a minimum of 10 $20 bets. This of course means that it comes down to the players who are good , and have the biggest cahones. Check out Delaware Park contests on their website. In the last contest it came down to 2 fellows who bet ona $37. maiden, one bet $600 to win and the other $400. You are also playing vs, owners, trainers, agents etc. and you go home with whatever bankroll you accumulate and part of the purse too. - B - the other type is entry fee only and you make $2 win,place bets on a set number bets on say 3 tracks, with odds capped at 25/1. With no real money bet, you win a portion of the total purse.
2. only play in tourneys that payout all the entry fees taken in from entrants.
3. only play circuits you feel comfortable playing, I've played in NY, VA, Del. Wa. Did lousy in VA and WA . as I wasn't as familiar as local regulars.
4. play in a couple of each and see what you feel comfortable with. Choose smaller tourneys to practice in first, before taking on the top tourney pros in Vegas et al. There is a large learning curve to this type thing and to me its foolish to toss money away just so I could say I was in this or that big tourney.
5 - Good Luck !

pweizer · #7 11-30-2006, 08:58 AM

Tournaments are the best value in racing because there are so many of them where there is no take out and some where there is a positive return. There is no better way to have fun and beat the take out than tournament play. I participate in about 20 a year and have twice qualified for the national handicapping championships.

If you want to talk about any specific tournaments, PM me and I will be glad to provide you info.

Paul

philcski · #8 11-30-2006, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hoovesupsideyourhead

looking into getting in a tourney after the 1st of the year..some of you have been ..what to expect ..also can you tell me where the best ones are mostly vegas .....maybee a dt "team"...and can you have a team as an entry...

There's a big one at Keeneland on Saturday, I'll be there. Only my 2nd time ever attempting a tournament so I don't expect much. Go to their website for more info.

hoovesupsideyourhead · #9 11-30-2006, 11:28 AM

good luck im sure you will do well

philcski · #10 11-30-2006, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hoovesupsideyourhead

good luck im sure you will do well

Thanks, the first one I played was a disaster, it was at Monmouth (on travers day, this year, 5 races at Mth and 5 at Sar). i followed everyone's advice to play longshots- and as you probably remember Mth/Sar that day was literally like 17 out of 20 winning favorites. I think if there's "required" races this time i'll try to sniff out probable winners instead of shooting for the fences on those. That's about all I can offer as far as real-experience advice.

disappearingdan_akaplaya · #11 11-30-2006, 04:13 PM

hooves, hawthorne has a$200 buy in this saturday and sunday with cash going to the top 15 and the top 4 going to the world series. i was gonna enter but were gettin a snow storm and with racing cancelled today, training 2morrow already and maybe racing the track will be in horrible shape most likely here all weekend

Zaf · #12 11-30-2006, 04:26 PM

Hooves,

There are still a few more chances to qualify for the HWS,

http://www.coastrace.com/hws-calendar.html

I tried one in Albany a few weeks ago but did not suceed as I finished in 10th place.

Zaf · #13 11-30-2006, 04:32 PM

Excellent site for tourney information:

http://www.horseplayerdaily.com/cat/...Home+Page.html

hoovesupsideyourhead · #14 11-30-2006, 04:40 PM

thanks again,,,

NoCarolinaTony · #15 11-30-2006, 11:45 PM

Folks...there is so much more to contest play than what I've seen here.

I belong to a "group" of excellent and experienced contest players. I would recomend reading Noel Michael most recent DRF publication as well as Horse Player Magazine and it's online website & blog. There is so many interesting blog items written on that site by many of the best contest players, it will blow your mind. There are also many other great products to use to help find those "optional races" whereby you can find value. Using the traditional proucts like DRF and Bris plus speed (TG or RAGS) & pace figure info is critical to finding value. There is another great product out there called HTR. I would suggest any serious player to get it. (Not cheap but not overly expensive either)

http://horseplayerdaily.21publish.com/Mall

Kasept may want to pay attention to an entry about halfway down the blog

Never play optional races with less than 8 entries usually try to target 10 entrants or more. The key is finding the races where you think there may be value (in your optional plays).

I recently qualified for the NTRA/DRF tournament coming up in January and I own parts of 3 other entries. A team approach with a quarterback on site, a lot of strong organization skills works best. If you want any more info please PM me.

If you ask me the Beaulah contest next weekend has 6 qualifying spots available, and that is the one I would target to play if I were you. I'll be there trying to qualify my wife, with a few known to be serious players, including one you can see on the TVG DRF contest commercial slapping his program and rooting home a winner.

NC Tony