Is it Possible?

[proximity]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

The problem, of course, is that...in THIS case, we cannot point to the "thousands" that are already doing what Patrick is attempting to do...

but dick mitchell himself did know "hundreds" of winners nationwide!!

[pktruckdriver]

Originally Posted by WinterTriangle

PTtruckdriver, I saw this today and thought it the perfect thing to post to you.

I can't judge whether your "dream" is rational or foolhardy, as I realized that would make me your judge, which nobody can be. You will learn by either your success, or failure, in this endeavor. That is the important part.

But here is the poem:

The dangerous people are not the ones

Who hit you with clubs or rob you with guns;
The thief won't attack your character traits
Or belittle your abilities to your face.
It's likely to be a 'well-meaning' friend
Who merely crushes your will to win.
No, he doesn't rob you at the point of a gun -
He simply says: "It can't be done!"
When pointing to thousands who already are
He smiles and says: "Oh they're superior"
It matters not that his words are untrue,
For you feel others must know you.
So you're robbed of your dreams, your hopes to succeed,
Robbed of material blessings received,
Robbed of your faith that says "I can!",
And robbed by an ignorant gunless friend.
So the deadliest of men is not he with the gun,
But the one who tells you it can't be done -
For that taken by burglars can be gotten again,
But who can replace your will to win?

~Anonymous~

I think it say a lot about a lot of things.

[Bruddah]

Originally Posted by WinterTriangle

PTtruckdriver, I saw this today and thought it the perfect thing to post to you.

I can't judge whether your "dream" is rational or foolhardy, as I realized that would make me your judge, which nobody can be. You will learn by either your success, or failure, in this endeavor. That is the important part.

But here is the poem:

The dangerous people are not the ones
Who hit you with clubs or rob you with guns;
The thief won't attack your character traits
Or belittle your abilities to your face.
It's likely to be a 'well-meaning' friend
Who merely crushes your will to win.
No, he doesn't rob you at the point of a gun -
He simply says: "It can't be done!"
When pointing to thousands who already are
He smiles and says: "Oh they're superior"
It matters not that his words are untrue,
For you feel others must know you.
So you're robbed of your dreams, your hopes to succeed,
Robbed of material blessings received,
Robbed of your faith that says "I can!",
And robbed by an ignorant gunless friend.
So the deadliest of men is not he with the gun,
But the one who tells you it can't be done -
For that taken by burglars can be gotten again,
But who can replace your will to win?

~Anonymous~

I think it say a lot about a lot of things.

My friend, thank you for the best post in this thread. You get a Big Amen Bruddah!

[castaway01]

The most frustrating thing about this thread is that every time there is good advice and logic presented (and there was a lot of that, don't get me wrong), someone comes back with the idea that those who are telling Patrick not to immediately attempt to be a professional horseplayer are "crushing his dreams." This situation is NOT the same as, for example, telling someone not to go to school to become a doctor because it takes too long, or not to try to accomplish any other goal THAT THEY ARE CAPABLE OF with hard work. Anyone who equates this situation to "crushing someone's dreams" is, at best, ignoring reality and, at worst, you're the "friend" pouring a shot of whiskey for the recovering alcoholic.

Sorry if that's melodramatic, but it's certainly no more out of place than that poem.

[kid4rilla]

Originally Posted by newtothegame

While the rest of us slugs fight to maintain, you have the luxury of no worries at this point.

I like this. That's what I was thinking. It's why the huge poker tournaments have so many 20 year olds.

They have no responsibilities.....no nut!

If you don't have any kids or others who rely on you, then why not go with it. Good advice in this thread, but you're going to go hard at it until it's gone anyway. Might as well swing real hard.

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by castaway01

The most frustrating thing about this thread is that every time there is good advice and logic presented (and there was a lot of that, don't get me wrong), someone comes back with the idea that those who are telling Patrick not to immediately attempt to be a professional horseplayer are "crushing his dreams." This situation is NOT the same as, for example, telling someone not to go to school to become a doctor because it takes too long, or not to try to accomplish any other goal THAT THEY ARE CAPABLE OF with hard work. Anyone who equates this situation to "crushing someone's dreams" is, at best, ignoring reality and, at worst, you're the "friend" pouring a shot of whiskey for the recovering alcoholic.

Sorry if that's melodramatic, but it's certainly no more out of place than that poem.

I personally thought that the poem was meant as a joke. If it was actual advice...then I'm at a loss for words.

Even under ideal circumstances...the chances of succeeding as a professional horseplayer are very small.

When you consider that this man has no place to stay, no bankroll, and no savings whatsoever for his living expenses...advising him to give it a go as a pro horseplayer is the equivalent of sending him in the ring against the heavyweight boxing champion of the world...and having him chant "I can do it, I can do it."

There is a big difference between positive thinking, and wishful thinking...

[kid4rilla]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

I personally thought that the poem was meant as a joke. If it was actual advice...then I'm at a loss for words.

Even under ideal circumstances...the chances of succeeding as a professional horseplayer are very small.

When you consider that this man has no place to stay, no bankroll, and no savings whatsoever for his living expenses...advising him to give it a go as a pro horseplayer is the equivalent of sending him in the ring against the heavyweight boxing champion of the world...and having him chant "I can do it, I can do it."

There is a big difference between positive thinking, and wishful thinking...

Shadows and Dust, Maximus

Shadows and Dust

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by kid4rilla

I like this. That's what I was thinking. It's why the huge poker tournaments have so many 20 year olds.

They have no responsibilities.....no nut!

If you don't have any kids or others who rely on you, then why not go with it. Good advice in this thread, but you're going to go hard at it until it's gone anyway. Might as well swing real hard.

Patrick is not 20 years old...he is in his late 40's. If he doesn't get serious now about aquiring some of the necessities of life, like a real job and a place to stay...then, his future is looking mighty bleak indeed...

Like a wise man said:

"Dying broke is easy...it's LIVING broke that worries me!"

[Cardus]

Originally Posted by WinterTriangle

PTtruckdriver, I saw this today and thought it the perfect thing to post to you.

I can't judge whether your "dream" is rational or foolhardy, as I realized that would make me your judge, which nobody can be. You will learn by either your success, or failure, in this endeavor. That is the important part.

But here is the poem:

The dangerous people are not the ones

Who hit you with clubs or rob you with guns;
The thief won't attack your character traits
Or belittle your abilities to your face.
It's likely to be a 'well-meaning' friend
Who merely crushes your will to win.
No, he doesn't rob you at the point of a gun -
He simply says: "It can't be done!"
When pointing to thousands who already are
He smiles and says: "Oh they're superior"
It matters not that his words are untrue,
For you feel others must know you.
So you're robbed of your dreams, your hopes to succeed,
Robbed of material blessings received,
Robbed of your faith that says "I can!",
And robbed by an ignorant gunless friend.
So the deadliest of men is not he with the gun,
But the one who tells you it can't be done -
For that taken by burglars can be gotten again,
But who can replace your will to win?

~Anonymous~

I think it say a lot about a lot of things.

An uplifting poem that inspires me not to be deterred by others' words. You cannot be "embarrassed" or "diminished" by others' words.

[LottaKash]

Originally Posted by castaway01

The most frustrating thing about this thread is that every time there is good advice and logic presented (and there was a lot of that, don't get me wrong), someone comes back with the idea that those who are telling Patrick not to immediately attempt to be a professional horseplayer are "crushing his dreams." This situation is NOT the same as, for example, telling someone not to go to school to become a doctor because it takes too long, or not to try to accomplish any other goal THAT THEY ARE CAPABLE OF with hard work. Anyone who equates this situation to "crushing someone's dreams" is, at best, ignoring reality and, at worst, you're the "friend" pouring a shot of whiskey for the recovering alcoholic.

Sorry if that's melodramatic, but it's certainly no more out of place than that poem.

Castaway, that says it all.....

Patrick, nice dream, but a reality check is in order....Meaning, there are simply no shortcuts to your dream....You "have" to learn how to make a lot of money betting the ponies, before you "have" to make a lot of money playing the ponies....Simple...

Cerainly, you can earn while you learn, but it takes a lot to go where you want to be...

best to you,

[Pell Mell]

Having read this whole thread and many others by Patrick, and myself being an old man that's seen a lot of life, I can only come to one conclusion: Patrick is lazy and is looking for some easy way out of life's responsibilities. Even though he has no one depending on him he has a responsibility to himself.

I have detected in him an insidious moocher attitude in which he tries to elicit sympathy from others in order to take advantage of their good nature.

The world is against him and he can't catch a break, etc. I would bet that all his life he's had grandiose ideas of making it big in business ventures but could never garner the capital necessary and nobody would ever give him a leg up. But I'm willing to bet that plenty of people have fallen prey to his bullshit and given him a helping hand.

My advice to Patrick is to grow up and be a man and get off your fat ass and take responsibility for your self.

[Cardus]

Originally Posted by Pell Mell

Having read this whole thread and many others by Patrick, and myself being an old man that's seen a lot of life, I can only come to one conclusion: Patrick is lazy and is looking for some easy way out of life's responsibilities. Even though he has no one depending on him he has a responsibility to himself.

I have detected in him an insidious moocher attitude in which he tries to elicit sympathy from others in order to take advantage of their good nature.

The world is against him and he can't catch a break, etc. I would bet that all his life he's had grandiose ideas of making it big in business ventures but could never garner the capital necessary and nobody would ever give him a leg up. But I'm willing to bet that plenty of people have fallen prey to his bullshit and given him a helping hand.

My advice to Patrick is to grow up and be a man and get off your fat ass and take responsibility for your self.

I see that Winter Triangle's poem didn't move you much, did it?

[Dave Schwartz]

This thread just gets curiouser and curiouser.

It began with Patrick asking if winning on a professional level was possible, although I think he was really looking for justification for doing what he had already decided to do.

Now we have progressed to where there are two sides to the answer: the pragmatic side (whose position is that it is difficult under the best of circumstances) and the dreamer side (whose position is that you've got to go for the dream).

This is turning into something larger that it began.

How about a new thread with a poll? We could even take bets and Patrick gets the 18% takeout.

[Space Monkey]

Wow, has this thread taken off. I'm not as hard on Patrick as Pell Mell, and not as idealistic as WT's poem. I know PT has been trying this for awhile without much success. To be a successful handicapper is akin to being an elite athlete. You have to excel in many categories. Not having ever met PT, I can't make a call as to my opinion on his chances of success. I have known many people thru the years that fit Patrick's mold. They all failed. Dave, I know you've spent a lot of time with him helping with the learning curve of your software. He failed. I think Tom and a few others from upstate NY have met him. I think these people are the ones that can advise him the best. I know if I spent 30 minutes with him after the races pounding down a few, I could tell if he's got a chance. Not many do.

[Bettowin]

It's hard enough to make a simple profit using money one can afford to lose not to mention enough of a profit to use to live AND grow a bankroll. Very slim chance of making that work.

Better off getting a online stock account and start daytrading. The takeout is less and IMO you would have a much better chance of making money or have a longer time before going broke.