The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-07-07
KING OF PLUNGERS,
"PITTSBURG PHIL"
Successful Backer of Race Horses Tells
Of His Methods.
ADVISES OTHERS NOT TO FOLLOW
His System Is Peculiar to Himself
and Requires Lots of Money and
Nerve..He Follows His Own Judg.
ment and Places No Dependence on
TOuts..Began with SO Capital.

"Pittsburg Phil" the pale, smooth
faced and boyish looking plunger at
the race tracks. is known by reputation
the world over. for. although but "a
years of age, he has visited every track
of any consequence, and generally with
success as player of odds. For the
first time he has written of his methods
and this Is wha: he says:
mo man every made money by fol-
lowing me. and no man ever will, un-
less he is possessed of very good capf-
tai and copies my tactics through the
entire season. Encouraged and misled
by my frequent streaks of luck, my
friends often decide to follow me and
bet as l do. l plead with them and
tell them not to, for the chances will be
a hundred to one that they will lose.
MY losings are vastly more'in num-
Der, but not in amount, than my Win
nings. and almost invariably my fol-
lowers will get discouraged at just the
wrong time.
l make calculations which they cam
not understand; they disregard my
opinion. which is always based on
judgment of all the essential condi-
tions. l have picked the winner; they
lose. l make enough out of the race
to cover my losses, often more, while
they are deeper in the mire than ever.
Then, a new crowd of Pittsburg Phil
followers tag me. and lead themselves
to the same fate.
BACKS OUTSIDERS HEAVILY.
1.-The explanation of this state of af-
fairs is simple. 1 always bet heavily
on outsiders. My whole success in the
business. outside of my careful judg-
ment, of course, lies in the fact l
back more outsiders than any man who
plays the races In the country. / will
bet just as much money on an to
chance as l would on an even chance.
Thus 1t Is that when I do win l usually
make big money.
Il have price on every horse, based
on my judgment of the horse, its train
er its jockey. etc. But l never make
bet before the preliminaries. l find
that 1t Is not safe. After seeing the
horses canter up to the post frequent
ly have occasion to change my mind.
Then again. even il my favorite does
show up we'll in the prelminaries. l
find upon going into the ring that the
betting has boosted his price beyond
that which l had set for him, perhaps
from 3 to l, to to l. / Immediately
drop him and take the longer odds on
the horse which shows up next best
alongside my erstwhile favorite. I am
a strong believer in betting on long
odds.
II hold that there is no surer way for
a fair-mnded man with a fair amount
of capital to make money than by play
ing the races. But there is only one
way to make money at the business.
That is by relying solely upon ones
own judgment and betting only in pro-
portion to ones capital.
SIXTEEN YEARS A PLUNGER.
81 am "a years old. 1t was 16 years
ago that l began betting on horse
races and l then had only about $40 or
SIS. l did not make my first wager
until had studied the horses thorough
ly and formed my own judgment l
was thoroughly convinced that / had
picked the winner. but | bet accord
ing to my little capital-just a few dol
lars.
IL was successful and have been sue
cessful ever since-without doubt the
most successful man who ever played
the races in this country ! went from
my $40 bet to 800 wager. then to $500
and quickly into the thousands.
During all these years have listen
ed to no advice. though it has been
offered to me by the wholesale. have
listened to no tips from the stables.
have stayed from the stables. l have
listened to no owners or Jockeys. Their
opinions are always biased. l have re-
lied solely upon my own judgment.
formed by carefully watching the
horses and knowing them absolutely
by heart-knowing their records in all
the races they have ever run and ascer-
tanning their exact condition upon en-
tering the track.
The only men who ever made money
at the business are those who have
done exactly as l have done-formed
their own opinions and listened to no
one. I could name so such men. Among
the most notable are George Wheelock,
Fred Cowen, Cad Irish. Jack Nc