These ideas/rules are not mine. I have collected them from this forum and made them concise in this post.

There is more to testing systems then throwing a bunch of rules and then hoping for them to hold up in the future. Look for posts by Angry Pixie and wesmip1. These two seem to know how to analye systems.

A couple of pointers.

1. The number of selections needed to cofirm a system is usually effected by the odds of the selections. A system based on favourites might only need 2000 selections for confirmation. I system on long shots might need 10,000.

2. Use the chi square test to determine how luck has affected the results.

3. Test over at least a years worth of results and check the progression holds especially over the last month or two. If your lost in the last month of testing be very careful with it.

4. When testing over at least a years worth of results you want to see at least 8 or more months showing a profit. Preferably 10 or more.

5. Plot out the bar graph of X bets of the POT and check it looks like a bell curve. If its not showing a bell curve you have not tested enough. If it does show a bell curve check the middle of it sits to the right (positive) of 0. X bets should be at least 30 bets or 5/(1/[average odds]) and no more then 5% of the total number of bets.

If it passes all the above tests then you have found a long term keeper.