Nice well done, though you make it sound as if risk is a bad thing ;) :)

I simmed up four UK races last night using your beginners method. Won on the first then lost the next three straight. :D

I didn't really get involved. Traded a few place markets, but was too busy building a book on the Interdominion.

I understand completely, no other band of winners does as much damage as a run of short favourites when laying the field to fixed liability. Added to that the market percentages have tightened up significantly.
You can limit this as outlined previously.

I tried your beginner method Mark but I just couldn't get it happening. As they say, each to their own. ;)

As Maxwell Smart said (or maybe not) "If only he'd used his risk for niceness instead of evil".

I'm not completely against risk I just prefer the steady income without the ups & downs.

Mark I can absolutely see the value of this type of method if it's income you're after. At my current stage in life I'm after growth so am willing to accept the risk that goes along with that.

As I suggested to Chrome earlier I gave the lay the field method away as I'd regularly see weekly bank balance swings of +/- 2 or 3k only to end up with $70-$80 for my troubles. That's not enough margin for me Chief.

I've been running a simulation since Sunday, playing around with banded staking (Maria). I'll wait till I get next Saturdays results and will post these up. Thought it might be of some small interest to show what I'm up to these days.

Hi Angry Pixie,

(lowers the cone of silence, and brings in Heimy).
KAOS has changed the SP market.
Heimi has been laying the field for me Chief, but KAOS has the claw (not the craw) to skim off the margins, hence Agent 13 (Angry Pixie) was only making $70 - $80 for his troubles.

So Max did a little investigation and asked K9 to sniff out the problem.
It seems Larrabee has been laying outsiders pushing the SP out on those horses.
K9 also reports that the massive swings comes from runs of favourites getting up.
They are profitable though, you just need to distribute the liability better.
Something along the lines of Mark's staggered staking.

For example, if there is an odds on favourite in the race and normally you'd lay the field to $30 liability. I lay every other horse to $60 liability, but only those in single figures, if there are any.

Siegfried has been doing this for a while and the rollercoaster smooths out considerably.

*TRIVIA: Don Adams father appeared in the episode "The not so great escape" as the oldtimer.

Hahaha. :D

Missed it by that much.

I hope I wasn't out of line with that crack about missing it.

Would you believe....?

:D