Spock, I am sure that someone will tell you how dumb it is to play pars. Let me explain the fault in this statement. Most books pay 40-1 on 6 teams. In other words if you played 30 you would get back 1230.
Here's the beauty of the par that I don't hear anyone but me mentioning. The odds are based on your chances of hitting the first game being 50%, that you hit the first and the second, 50% of 50% or 25% and so on. I don't recomend pars unless you can capp at 60% or better. I'm talking about year in and year out. Now, if you can, the odds are changed dramatically. The first game becomes 60% and so on. This plays havoc with the established odds. The more consistant and better you are as a capper (per centage wise) the more sense it makes to play pars.
Here's some common mistakes that I see even good cappers make with pars.
They're not in it for the long haul. A couple of times a week they play a 5 teamer and after a couple of weeks they haven't hit so they think it's a bad bet. This is usually when I hear, "I went 4-1 twice". Remember, 5 teamers pay 20-1. You only have to hit 1 in 20 to be ahead (no juice). If you were going to hit one in every five you could retire. Work up your plays, straight bet them, then par them for something. When I first started I put 1/4 unit on all my plays as a par. I am now playing 1 unit.
Don't manufacture games just for the par. This is something I still catch myself doing and I know better. Sometimes I have 2 plays that I really like but being the greedy SOB that I am, I want at least a 3 teamer that night. I take a play I sorta like and so I'll have 3 teams to play (I also have caught myself doing it with 4. Four seems to be my point of satisfaction). Then when I go 2-1 I kick my rear (not my word of choice). Don't play something just to have a play. Today I passed and would have had a nice easy little 2 teamer but there's another game or two tomarrow.
Keep the number of games you play down. The more games you play the more chances you have for a loser. If you can play the money line you can get away with playing more games but usually a six or seven teamer will only pay like a normal 3 or 4 teamer. I love bb for the pars (Raymond kills them). Ray likes fav. I like a live dog and some totals. I hit a 6 teamer last year that paid 80 to 1 because of a +200 dog. But even in bb I keep my plays down.
These are the three pitfalls for people playing par. Now here's my thinking on betting them.
My mentality is the same as I use for playing Keno in Vegas. I dearly love to play Keno, knowing it is the worst bet in Vegas. I play it at breakfast and anytime I take a break during the serious stuff. I came up with a system that keeps me close to even until I hit something good. I try to stay at least even until I hit the par. I have been tracking a trend for 2 months that involves three games. It comes up about 4 out of every 5 days. If you had played the totals in those games for 1 unit each and par them for one unit you would be up over 50 units. Over a unit a day. The beauty is, if you don't win (all three), you break even over 90% of the time. After the all-star break I'm going to track it for about a week and start playing it separate from my regular plays. This turned into more than I intended to write but it is something I have wanted to say everytime an arguement gets started about pars.
Remember. if you can't cap at 60% or better, this might not be for you and don't expect to win every day. You'll be disapointed.
Good luck everyone
