When you learn how to master horse racing you never forget it! http://forums.raceclubs.com/Posts.aspx?fid=38&tid=286007&iv=y

The Great Skill Versus Luck Debate - Where Do You Stand?

The ancient Chinese military general, Sun Tzu once said, "For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill." The influential strategist and philosopher is believed to have authored "The Art Of War", an influential ancient Chinese book on military strategy. Ok, so RaceClubs.com isn't war, although it is a battle at times but Sun Tzu's writings are relevant when it comes to strategy. Most trainers would regard strategy as skill, me included but where does the luck factor play a part in the game, we all love to hate, sometimes. Of course we are not going to win 100 hundred races or subdue our enemies into surrender. In reality we all have luck, it stands to reason, skill on the other hand, well that's a different story altogether.

So where do you stand in the "Luck Versus Skill" debate? Are you a great believer in the term, you make your own luck or do you think that some people are just generally luckier than others? Well let's examine the facts and relate some of these well known theories to the game play at RaceClubs.com. If I toss a coin five times and hit a head every time, some would say that luck has played a major part in the outcome, however, I believe that I have acquired a skill that will benefit me in a 50-50 chance! Of course that is not the case, I was merely pointing out that in everything we do, success does come with a bit of luck. Look at Richard Branson for a moment. Is it luck where he finds himself today? Well, if he hadn't been in the right place at the right time to discover Mike Oldfield and press the album "Tubular Bells", it's conceivable that he wouldn't be the mogul he is today. Or, if the door of opportunity opened and He passed on it, I am 100% sure he would still be as wealthy as he is today, because he was willing to learn and work hard.

RaceClubs.com is a skill that you can learn. It's like riding a bike. When you get the hang of it you'll never forget how to do it. If you are willing to work hard, study and learn from mistakes then you will see a dramatic turnaround on every aspect of your stable. Of course there is luck. Every time we dip into the sales ring we are dabbling with fortune. Every time a race goes off we find ourselves praying for a top random, fingers crossed, lucky horseshoe and rabbits foot all in hand. The English dictionary defines luck as, "...a combination of circumstances, events, etc., operating by chance to bring good or ill to a person" ring any bells? When it comes to being a successful trainer at RaceClubs.com, if you work hard then you'll start to understand the complexities of the challenges that lie in wait for you. The game evolves around skill with a bit of luck thrown in for good measure. It's a recipe that is always changing and finding the key ingredients is paramount. That's why I believe 80% of what happens here is skill and the rest luck. To be the best you have to think, act and learn from the best. Excellence comes at a price but success is measured by the amount of work you put into it. It's an attitude. If you think you can do better then you most likely can. If you don't, then maybe you should think differently!

The first major step to success on RaceClubs.com is to learn how to learn. For without knowledge you may as well pack your bags and venture into the wilderness. Thinking you can step in and be the champ is the wrong attitude to bring to the game. Baby steps is the name of the game. Find an area of the racing community that you wish to learn about, stick to it, learn as much as you can about it, then move on to the next topic. I have said it many times in the past but I will re-iterate. When I came back to the game, so many things had changed. I felt at a loss when my B grade nag did nothing but come last. So I decided there and then to invest time and not money into the game. One year later I finally started to invest my small fortune in the game. I am still learning to this point, new things come every day. It's not just about, "this horse can do these TTs", far from it. There is a whole new world of discovery out there, if you are willing to be patient. I mean, would DNA have been discovered if James Watson and Francis Crick hadn't worked and had the patience to build their first model of the double helix? Only those at RaceClubs.com who have the patience to do the simple things perfectly will advance to make the difficult things easier. It's an art form in it's own definition. Good things come to those who wait.

Skill could also be defined, when it comes to racing your horses as good judgement. If you don't place your horses well, then you are already fighting a losing battle. Knowing what your horse can do is so much more a part of the game than knowing what it's best time trial is. Let's face it, how will you know if you like cheese if you don't try it? We often hear the term referring to a horses innate ability. Yes it is an element of the game and yes it is there in every horse and yes you have to experiment with all tracks and goings, but can it be found? I'll let you answer that question. So what we really have here is a situation where a lot of owners look at "so called" time trial guides and immediately gun down their horse without a second thought. Which brings me back to the original question, how will you know if you like cheese if you don't try it? Use the guides that you have for reference only, they are not true of the game in any case and are not to be relied upon.

It is true to say that eventually luck will change. We are all too cynical of conspiracy theories when it comes to the random your horse gets in a race. Well, you are going to get bad randoms and that’s why it is called the random. "I keep getting bad randoms all the time and the bigger stables always hit top randoms" is something we are accustomed to here at RaceClubs.com as the most popular moan on the forums, funnily enough, closely followed by the sales ring grunts. Notice a pattern here. They are both random elements of the game and yes we are a society that doesn't like to lose. Herein lies the answer. Move on! Get over it! Don't take it too serious, in fact get determined to do better. The preparation of a horse in any race of any grade is a skill you need to tune. All these factors are considered as part of the random element when allocation of the jockey occurs. If it's not prepped correctly, then you have no excuse if it runs a bad race. If you have the passion for the game then you have the right tools to gain the necessary experience. Let's not think that stables get beneficial effects of the random, look at it as, been there, done it and wearing the T-shirt! The only thing that overcomes bad luck is hard work. Remember, some trainers have been here from the very beginning of virtual racing time. Do you think they have luck on their side or have, over the years acquired a skill to succeed? I know what I think!

Member Submission: Moletown 

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