TempletonPeck wrote: This is an *incredibly* important point: Frank saved ~35% by playing structured ABC tickets rather than Cavemans. In this game if you can find 2% you're a genius, so who can afford to give away 35%?



However it's still a question of strategy because nothing comes for free. If you're going for the big jackpot or the sequence is particular tough there would be situations where "caveman style" could be the winning approach, because what you lose by playing ABC is the possibility to hit two of your least regarded contenders (and probably, many others "least regarded contenders"). It might be expensive and you might feel that you're paying a lot for a little by playing caveman, but I don't think one can be sure that those 2 % extra edge never lies in buying those expensive combinations of horses that very few "shrewdies" have. Maybe even there would be situations where "teaming up" with other players to play one huge system would be the right move. "50 systems" can be expensive too. So I guess you're right that there are 1000 situations which will demand different strategies, and I think a good bettor is one who have a lot of these in his or hers arsenal. Also, remember that this is a competition and the value is always in playing in a way that makes room for hitting (a lot of) combinations that (relatively) few others have. This is where one applies creativity.