Some horseplayers on social media and via our email have said they dislike the double change in California. Although they are happy the payouts are increased (the takeout was reduced), they liked the convenience of betting doubles in more than select races.
A horseplayer has started a petition to bring back rolling doubles. If you are interested in signing it, you can here.
Note: At HANA, we have not surveyed our membership on this question, so we just link this with that caveat. Clearly, if rolling doubles are returned, we are for them with the higher payout rate to increase churn and make the game more enjoyable for all of us, the customers.
3 comments:
Wagering menus need to be pared somewhere. One good thing California has is relatively low straight pool takeout. I get it, fields are small and it's hard to find bets. Paring the menu in an attempt to create better pool equity, if that was the motivation, is not a bad thing.
What bothers me 10x more than the new DD format is the Pick 5 positioned in the mostly unplayable short fields of the first 5 races.
Move this wager to the much more desirable last 5 races and get many of the players back. So tired of the TOC and the CHRB offering a product that nobody wants. Exotic wagers with high takeouts and too many races with short fields.
It is a pretty sad day when 18% (plus breakage) is touted as a player-friendly wager. Nevertheless, I was initially enthusiastic about the change. Unfortunately, the takeout adjustment lost nearly all of its luster when you consider they only applied it to three races. The first two races only attract five or six entrants, so the move only offered a meaningful takeout reduction on two races - at most. Furthermore, by eliminating rolling doubles they force more action towards other horizontals, which have a higher takeout. The current scenario allows them to create the appearance of doing something meaningful for price-sensitive bettors, while actually doing virtually nothing to lower their blended takeout rake.
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