Commonsense Betting [Hardcover]

Dick Mitchell (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow & Co; 1st edition (August 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688133967
• ISBN-13: 978-0688133962
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #490,037 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Explains the science behind the term, July 18, 2001

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Commonsense Betting (Hardcover)

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.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Yes., December 22, 2003

By 

Robert P. Beveridge "xterminal" (Lakewood, OH) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Commonsense Betting (Hardcover)

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. ****

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Attach value to your bets, January 13, 2010

By 

Kari Kalliojarvi (Finland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Commonsense Betting (Hardcover)

This is a very good book on attaching value to your horse racing (and other) bets. It goes through in detail the different bet types, showing the reader how to calculate your "fair odds". I have had this book several years, read it through several times, and on each reading found out something new (further insight, points to take into account in your decision making etc). I can fully recommend this book to anyone who is interested in improving their success in horse race betting.