Beyer, who understands the psychological urge to get into the game, advises players to accommodate it by dividing their strategy between action bets and prime bets. Prime bets are reserved for serious players when two conditions occur: (1) confidence in the horse’s ability to win is high, and (2) payoff odds are greater than they should be. Prime bets call for serious money. Action bets, as the name implies, are reserved for the long shots and hunches that satisfy the psychological need to play. They are smaller bets and never are allowed to become a large part of the player’s betting pool.
