I got a good tip one time on betting on the horses. I was told to allocate a certain reasonable affordable amount of money for the day and consider it an entertainment expense. Once that money (and any winnings along the way) is gone, your day is done. If you get to the end of the racing day and you have money left, it’s like found money.
What professional gamblers will do is bet a small amount of their own money. If they win, they pocket their own money and bet with just the House money. Any winnings they take are funded by the House.
We only lived a few blocks from Arlington track.
On the last race of the day, my dad won 500 dollars.
My mom was over joyed, my father looked at her and
said, “We broke even”.