The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-01-14
THE B%OOKMAKER'S PROFIT.
Why HE WINS Ar THE RACE TRACK
AND THE ~ TER DOESN'T.
The Bettor's Habit of m His system
when lie Loses Lesson of tho Averages
Relation of Capital to hisk
Innrl of One Mailing ON Another,

xi, N, Morris Park 4" OF Il always lose at Sleeps
hsad Hay" and has closed has ears TO oNplana'
tons az 20 why he did lose or win the curious
run Of the sequence which brought about The
result. As ma tier OF fact oven the much abused
Shcepshcad track has It's good tunes. only lust
now it Is passing through tho shadow which
comes 10 all. A glance Mt sA years, back TO
1894, Inclusive, shows = variation at The spflnS
meeting from the 50 per cent u 1898 10 the ~
Der cent Of lSD5. III" banner spring score OF That
year, barring Brooklyn. Turning to the fall
meeting records for the shme years one mas n
iange from tie 81 per cent Of 1899 to the 40 per
cent Of 1904 and the % per cent. oil 1896 Here
are good averages enough in all conscience, but
the average man loses sight entirely 81 the obvious
fact that because he has won at Morris Park,
spring. thus eyidcnclng either a succession oil
fnyortcs or the success Of his personal choices,
the natural maturing Of chances has returned
the pendulum On a backward swing. far over
70 the losing side at SheepsheHd, ready for tho
high percentage due either at Brighton Beach
or Saratoga, generally at the latter. II a close
analysis. was made il would be found that when
on individual lost at Morris Park he would win
Al Sheepshead bu, Of this no one could convince
him. This was being discussed the other night
and one man said:
~ " oil OnS'u a VIII pch any man M uuS'
or every day tina, he cannot name the winner
Of race after race, $50 on each bet win or lose,
and | have never met yet a man who would take
ME on"
He evidently thought this argument was a
rlinchcr, and il was evident it was not the FIRST
time he had brought it out The answer came
from an unexpected quarter
"Do you know why you never found a taker''
no"
"Well, simply because you are only Offering even
money, whereas on your stool At the track you
will be Offering an average OF 10 against the favor
ties, and If the mans choices should not lie favor
ties you will probably he offering an average
Of up to lOl. He would he a fool to take your
oIcr OF evens. I'll tell you what | will do Send
out for two new packs of cards. These contain
fifty two red and Gfty-two black cards. Take
out twenty.six Of the black, leaving twenty-six
black and N y-two red cards You shall shuttle
them As much as you like, and then lay them.
backs upprrmost, on the table, turning the cards
one by one, will make a bet with you before
each card il turned and | will back the black,
the IS per cent. end, mind, on n scaled bet no
doubling. aud III win the shirt Oft your back
in half a dozen rounds"
This was done. The first bet was $40 and a
WV NHA W NA'' AA'N A''aAA'A We "' NAAAa - AN ~ y
the bookmaker was SSH to the bad, As matter
Of fact he surrendered at the tenth bet and The
game was continued on paper, for fun. At rs.
the average iavorte odds. tho winnings would
have been possibly two or three times as much.
Then arose tho question: lit works thst way
why do not men break the ring by winning oil
the time? The reason is simply that with the
seventy eight shuHncd cards the sequence wes
an unnatural one. The play showed an even
ness impossible to DO found IN any C,rrrsp1 IN l..
ing number Of races on the trath without tr,-
Cipitating later a maturity ul losing chances
similar t. the run At Monmouth ana BrEAton
Beach recently described IN these articles NJ
the track results come around in a perfectly
natural way, and IN u legitimate and traCrahl,
sequence. The winter track, crrhtIc ~ Il is. t.
a certain extent governs the results found IN the
earlier spring tracks. II the Hvcthce Of favor
ties at New Orleans closing should have hccn.
SAY, 81 per cent IN the last eight days, II Is GER
tain TO prcClpltatc n corresponding low Hyrrap,
at the next meeting, and the way these sequences
have run will mark the average ipr A~g4Dluct,
which Will III turn mark Morris Park AMI 50 on
from meeting - meeting, MT definitely ChNnciu-
the grand average percentage of each u'cr,lu;
TO 50 great an extent ash viii change the winning
and losing blocks " f~avprites. placing them ono
year at the beginning, at another in the nIddlc,
and at still another at the end. This being how
the bad days ~ lirpOkiyn and Shccpsheai heyc
been calculated and tOrctOld lnIIE suns racing
system articles. for the past five NJ six years
This peculiar feature IL found running cIcar
through each years record, WORKING along all
through the varying scale in the gross totals
shown in the Rrophlyn meeting by the yearly
percentages " a per cent in the fall 81 1891.
~ per cent in the fall ri 1895; 80 per cent IN
1896; IS per cent. in 1897: - per cent in lS9s
and 20 per cent in 1899 tail meeting Here comes
the reason why the betting ring il n It Ir ,kcu
rs these strcakS NJ high pet. rntnrcs due Z,
maturing t%aVurltcs come around tie plu;cr
walks on air; he says he cannot lose. his inends
follow him, he not pnlv PLAYS his system, hut
he takes liberties with 1t in the maj1rtv " Ca,cs
and where ne has been starting with the idea
Of So bet . a 5000 capital, he secs Morris Park
and Bropklyn pass with, possibly, never $500
wanted, and his $500 has grown e. $1,000. and
he thinks, This /, foolish" increases tie hct
70 $50, more likely e. S25, and back swings tho
pendulum az Shrcpshctd in a wv average wear
and where Is The puntct' In 1898 y eystcm was
explained in TlIE SUN by which a man in the
preceding year said he had made $4,000 and
Undoubtedly he made much money. It CON
sisted in playing bets u IS. $40, $50 and 500
turning back at each win 10 the 81. and also
t'ter four CONSECUTIVE" uses turning back ~ the
first bet Starting at Morris Park a we'll kn1Vn
advertising man played this system and et tho
close Of ShccrSh"at srrlnF. which that year
scored - per cent % winning f~'yoIitcs, he vas
81, 200 ahead he thought be was losing great
md golden opportunities lcCausc his capital
bad not boon callcl for t. one half its limit. and
he increased his hct t. follow tho Morris PARK
tsad i5 per cent If th0t spring ~ strike tie 20
Icr cent OF BnEhton Icacn aud then 70 end his
correct cognpmcn wos "ncnnia He then
blamed, his system but not himself
Right here the ho"kmak"r9 make their harvest.
They have the capital 10 stand n steady ard a
long drain; at least the older established men have.
those with whom the discriminating tlrfncn
and large bettor docs business, and their maturity
Of chances culninetcS in n reverse direction.
The puntcr is looking for winners. the hoakmakrr
for losers. The puutcr il WORRYING his RAY
matter rs to all kinds Of factors. according tn his
lights, but the sits and waits. certain
that sooner or later sure rs rent laN and death.
the tide will come his WY, when not only HE
money he has paid out will como ha. L. hut also
al the original money 81 the undcr-capital1,d
puntcr, and all the money won from the bp.L.-
makers who, through insufficient capital Sc.
have gone broke themselves and helped L. swell
the immense floating sum which forms the lfn
blood OF tho rlnE, ~" average pUuter does not
at that stage Of knowledge b. makes good money.
the bookmakcr knows littlc about mcrldiar,,
maturing Of chances, &c. ana cares lcsS hut
steadily takes wagers either way. 'r or arrir.t
realizing that the great bulk II plav, csucri,ly
on Saturdays and holidays, ia on the fnvoy too
end the second and tNIri choices. and Ne trrstq
g tho majority playing The wrong no ~ Two
ctlai horses, or striking tho won. division NJ u
CiticAl time, and he lpcs MT ask more thon ~
occasional monthly ~ Yearly mistake or r,is,gI-
collation. on the part ~ the moving ones pLAf inc
an average ot . against Surr things. understood.
ing that 70 keep ah"ad tho i'al bet puutsr mr.
win 40 per cent Thu, - and - win CIt ~
three losses make Sl5 all the year round 1ro
knows that, sooner ~ later, ~ the pun,cr wins
he Will inCreaS" his bet md Mat when Ito ircr.
table reaction comes, as II DOES IN MI. il viU conc
at tho maximum hot. instead ~ ~ the rlirlmrn
a. is aimed nj by the INTEGRAL s-Stcn and otLrr
methods Of scaling bets aud IN that case tho end
II Ger oil.
Wear after year the same bookmakers arc s.c,
complaccnt, we'll fed, well dressed. r-1rnrr,rs
Year nitcr wear the iHrc- AMONG 'hr nu-trrg
change and change with IN" exception " tie Old