When I started last year I concentrated on trifectas, and lost
a bit. Since I retooled for exactas, I am up a little. Net, still
slightly down, but I have just finished another (final, I hope)
retooling and hope to get into the black permanently in the near
future. We are talking makeing minimum bets here so as not to
affect the odds.
I agree, the simulation of jai alai is far from ideal. Most maddening
is trying to get a read beforehand on the payouts for particular
combinations, the key to estimating expected return on a bet.
I extended Skiena's system to take into account relative player
skill as well as historical average (I use median) payout for
a combo into its estimation, which helps somewhat.
Anyway, I really enjoy the sport, and statistical computing is
both my vocation and my avocation, so I can say I am not disappointed
by the results. I figure my hobby has cost me a hell of a lot
less than, say, collection antique cars!
NF
