Beat the Bookies [without Playing Cards]

'Beat the Bookies!' is two things in one. Firstly it enables you to stage any horse race, flat or National Hunt, straight from the racing page of your favourite newspaper, either before or after the event, in approximately ten to fifteen minutes - flat races are the quickest to run and playing time also depends on the number of runners so to stage, for example, the Grand National may take as long as thirty or even thirty-five minutes.

Secondly, you can use the system to actually pick winners for some gentle 'fun' betting.Because most winners come from the first four in the S.P., and we use the S.P. as the basis for the system, we will find you some winners, and also some losers of course ! No-one should ever bet more than they can afford to lose - a cardinal rule for all forms of gambling - and we do not put 'Beat the Bookies!' forward as an 'infallible' system (there can never be such a thing) but we have constructed the design in such a way that, if you like a little flutter and know a thing or two about racing, you can build in your own favourite factors in picking winners, for example runners who are running again within say ten days of their last race, Course and Distance winners, horses favoured by the current going, horses ridden by the top (or your favourite) jockey at the course in question, horses top-rated (if your newspaper provides a Rating service), Nap selections of your favourite tipster, etc., etc. We offer a full list of possible factors to build into your races if you are using the design for betting purposes in the main body of the Rules.

The system we use for 'Beat the Bookies !' is what we call the 1/5/6 system, utilising a pack of ordinary playing cards and three six-sided dice, one white and two yellow. The playing cards are used to identify the horse that is subject to some backwards or forwards 'movement' during a race, the white die to direct you to a specific Movement Card, and the total of the two yellow dice to read off a result on that Card. The race itself is controlled either on a Race Control Sheet (clever title that !) or if you own 'Sport of Kings' or 'Two Furlongs from Home' by moving the horse figures on the Track included in those games. Even if you use the Track display you will need to record the Class Factors that apply to each horse, and strike them through as they are used. The Class Factors are determined by each horse's SP (Starting Price) and Special Factors in the form of dice roll modifiers can apply when the horse starts as favourite (or joint-favourite) and for some of the reasons mentioned in the previous paragraph.

One of the most interesting ways to use this system is to 'run' two or three races each day and based on the results select your Nap selection for the day, and over the course of a week of so see if your selections have made a paper profit to, say, a £10 win stake. Or compare your results with your newspaper's leading tipster's Nap selections over the same period, maybe you're find that he needs a copy of 'Beat the Bookies !' too !

Have fun !