Handicapping or System Betting?

Are you a handicapper or a system player? There is a division between people who prefer systems and those who prefer to handicap in the more traditional way. Which method is better? Each method has its own upsides and downsides like most things and here I am going to look at some of them.

System Betting

PROS

Research can be done at any time

System can be quick to find selections

You always use exactly the same method to find the selections

Emotion cannot be involved if you stick to the rules

You can quickly test the system over historical data and estimate its performance level

CONS

It can be hard to find a working system

Working systems need to be monitored to make sure the edge is still there

Systems usually focus on a specific area of racing

You are likely to need a portfolio of them to make a serious profit

Managing a portfolio may take more time than originally intended

Handicapping

PROS

You use your own skill to find an edge and it is unlikely anyone else will have the same edge

ROI can be higher than system betting

You gain more knowledge about racing as opposed to statistics

The knowledge is easily transferrable to racing around the world

An increased confidence in your ability

CONS

It takes time to learn the skill of handicapping

It cannot be done automatically or rushed

Confidence can take serious hits during long losing runs

The method cannot be easily tested on historical data

Emotions can become involved

Above are some of the pros and cons of handicapping and system betting. Betting successfully is all about finding out what suits your personality and comfort level of risk. For some people this will be system betting and for others it will be handicapping. There are very few people who combine both of these methods into one method and this can be a good solution for a lot of people as it provides the ability for you to handicap and increase your skills in this area but you shortlist your horses each day using a systematic process.  An easy way to start doing this is to use a system that you may already use successfully. If you have been using the system for a while then you will already know what kind of losing runs you can expect, what kind of return-on-investment and winning strike rate you are getting. If you now start to handicap the selections that are given by this system and bet or paper trade them alongside the normal selections. Over a period of time, as long as you keep analysing where you are going wrong in your handicapping, you will find that you can now make a better ROI by using the system to shortlist the selections and then handicapping these selections to remove the horses you don’t think have as strong a chance of winning as they should.