Playing To Win

PICK 3 ADVANCED STRATEGIES

Part wheels and keys

The table above was an example of a "pick three part wheel". Part wheel refers to picking multiple horses, but not all, in a race. If you select just one horse in one or two of the races, you are "keying" that horse. Formulating your pick three part wheel ticket is just like figuring your win bet for a single race, only you are combining your selections into one bet.

Part wheels and keys give you the option of spreading your money in many different combinations. The best way to keep the cost of your ticket down is to identify a key horse; one you think has the best chance of winning. Any time you can put a factor of "1" into your ticket, the cost is kept down. As a result, the key horse lets you go deeper in the other races, putting more horses on your ticket in those spots. Keying a big favorite is always popular, particularly with bettors who play at high dollar increments, and as is the case in all pari-mutuel bets, this drives down the payoff price when the favorite wins.

So when you sit down to handicap, the best way to approach it is race by race. For each race, identify whom you think you can win, then figure the cost of your ticket. As a rule of thumb, any ticket that is $30 or less is considered a "small ticket", in other words, you are spending enough to give yourself a good shot at cashing a nice ticket without going overboard on the cost.

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• -Life Cycle

Pick 3 Topics

• Pick 3 Intro
• Typical Strategies
• Advanced Strategies