The Winning Room
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Betting exchanges are a recent introduction into the betting world that
have taken the UK gambling community by storm. In the past, bets had
to be placed with bookies, where the punter would back a team or entity
and the bookie would lay the bet. In this system, the bookie would lay
the bet backed by the punter and offer the odds. Betting exchanges cut
out the bookie and allow punters to both back and lay bets and offer
odds. In this sense, they work not unlike stock exchanges. This article
will primarily discuss bet laying on races and how to effective use a
horse racing system to find your horses and lay the right odds to
maximize the opportunity for a payout.

It is probably worthwhile at this point to discuss what is meant by
“laying a bet.” When you lay a bet, you are betting that a particular
horse will lose. This is the position that the bookie typically takes.
Betting exchanges seek to hook up those who back and lay a horse and
allow them the opportunity to agree on odds. At this point, simple math
comes into the equation, and it is time to find a strategy. Any horse
racing system that focuses on lay betters needs to keep several
considerations in mind.

The first thing any horse racing system will tell you is that you
should never stake more than you can afford to lose. Betting is at its core
a game of chance and even the most careful horse racing system will
experience bad luck occasionally.

Another thing to keep in mind when building your horse racing system is
to remember that you don’t have to bet on every single race. Do your
homework, study the horses, study the tracks, and study the conditions
forecasted for race day and when you find that backers are willing to
take odds that you feel are in your favor, then it is time to lay your
bets. If you cannot get odds that you feel are favorable, it is best to
sit that particular race out.

Another thing to remember when consulting or forming your own horse
racing system is that you should not throw good money after bad. After
experiencing a run of bad luck, a punter may feel inclined to place
larger and larger bets in an effort to recover monies lost. While this
strategy may get you out of trouble on the rare occasion, it is almost
always a sure loser. Remember, in the game of gambling, losing money is a
part of life and a run of bad luck should not cause one to change their
strategy. Any horse racing system that changes based on the results of
a few previous races is a weak one at its foundation and it should be
discarded for a more consistent horse racing system.

It is possible to make money laying bets, but it is always necessary to
do your homework and be prepared for losses. Gambling in any form is
not for the faint hearted. Now, go out there, pick those sure losers,
offer odds and have fun! In the end, you may be able to make a little
bit of money as well.

Jay A has created a Horse Racing
Systems which Selects UK horses to Lay on Betting Exchanges ,visit his
website
http://www.horselayingsystem.com for more details.

After a hand is completed in online poker you’ll never find me showing my cards, win or lose, to the rest of the table. I always muck. In fact my settings are pre-selected to “always muck”. You pay to see my cards, and if I’ve lost a hand online there can be no reason to show my beaten hand. But now I ask myself if this is the best strategy? Because there are times in poker when it pays to show. That’s certainly true in live-game poker, but what about the online variety, which is a very different animal? Let’s look at this in more detail, especially as it pertains to online poker.

There are three very good reasons to show your hand when you have won a pot. The first is to create confusion in the minds of your foes. The second is to provide disingenuous information. The third reason is to get under everyone’s skin, and hopefully push some poor rube over the edge and on tilt. An example is when you win a hand with a stone bluff. You advertise those rags. Players are wondering how you could stay in with such slop, never mind bet, raise, or re-raise. Players might wonder out loud, and even get slightly miffed. All the better.

There are times when you want to show only one of your hole cards, something you cannot do on any of the online poker rooms, at least not to my knowledge (as yet – note to poker software developers: add that functionality, namely “show one hole card only”. It could be to online poker what the double-click was to computers, and if there are any royalties you know where to find me.) So this is a tactic of misinformation that only works in a live-game, and it can work very well.

Showing your cards can also be a forward-thinking strategy at your local card room in that it helps to create a table persona for you. Players now think you play very loose based on that bluff, and next time you come out firing it will be tough for them to put you on any hand. This is advisable if you’re about to spend a long session facing a mostly unchanging table.

Now for the cons of showing your cards online. First of all the value of a table persona is diminished in online poker because of the incredibly high rate of player turnover. You’re advertising for people who won’t be there in five minutes time, let alone five hours time, and who probably are not paying attention in any case. The fact is that in a number of online games the only players who will notice your hand are those still in the pot. The others have run to the kitchen before the cards are in the air for the next hand. Showing your cards online frequently looks like inexperience and nothing more.

I think a good player gains a lot by seeing other player’s cards at the conclusion of a hand, and my advice to rookies or even intermediate online players is to never show unless you are compelled. The good players already have an edge over you – why give them an even bigger advantage? There is no greater sign of weakness then when a beaten player still feels the urge to show the table his second-best hand. Your K9 outkicked by a KA? Don’t show me that in the misguided hope that I’ll feel sympathy for your plight. All I’ll feel is delight that you handed me a glaring weakness in your game, and the next time you play with a weak kicker like that pathetic 9 I’ll be right there to pick up the pieces.

You can read Marc’s general musings about online poker at http://www.online-poker-insider.com. Marc is a poker nut, there’s no other way to put it.