Profit Picks: Win bets and exotics

Each week Frank Cotolo employs proven money-management tactics to build exotic-wagering tickets that focus on plump profits.

Most pari-mutuel players waste precious betting dollars on single-race exotics, because they lack a commitment to which horse they have decided will win. Their spendthrift tactics try to cover what may be their mistakes, as opposed to a diligent decision.

There is a simple rule about playing exotics — always have a win bet in play, as well. 

Don’t even consider addressing any single-race exotic wager, unless you have decided upon a win bet. This is an essential element in a profit-based betting campaign. 

Betting for profit requires a commitment for your bankroll to grow. A win bet demands a commitment and has to be the key element to exotics.  

With a key win bet guiding your exotic wagers, you can set up a chain reaction to cash tickets that boosts and doesn't suck dollars out of your account.

If you do not have a win bet, you should not play exotics. Without a win-bet commitment, playing exotics will lead to creating tickets that are rife with guesses — and guesses are not commitments.

Boxing exotic combinations is also not a commitment (we'll discuss more about wasteful tickets in future postings). 

A successful win bet is independent. It does not matter which other horses follow the winner. You win. You may lose exotics using a key that is the only correct positioning on a ticket, but your win bet cannot be denied. 

A win bet represents your “key” in any race you play, so, in a race that also offers single-race exotics (exacta, trifecta, superfecta, pentafecta in most races these days), your win bet is always going to be the key horse that tops your exotics. 

More chances next time.