Sagarin Question from a Noob

**THE PROFIT** · 12-17-09, 07:10 PM

Not trying to be a smartass, but that's what Sagarins program has done to get these results. Now you're wanting to take these results & do what with them exactly?

**MrX** · 12-17-09, 07:41 PM

Originally posted by cappinthepigs

So I've noticed that lots of people build their own programs to run off his stats and ratings, but to a total noob, can anyone tell me where I'd even begin?

I can run most software and am proficient with all the basic stuff, but I've never programmed anything in my life, what would be a good starting point if any of the great think tank minds wouldn't mind helping out?

Thank You

Whether or not you end up using it for handicapping, learning a programming language is a great idea.

It's not as hard as you'd think and you'll be able to do a lot of fun things and impress your friends. If you do get serious about handicapping, it will be invaluable for running Monte Carlo sims (one of the easiest and most powerful programming tasks), scraping data, managing databases, and much more.

There are many to choose from, and whatever you choose will be fine. If you don't mind spending a little money (or downloading pirated software), I'd recommend getting Visual Studio and a learn to program book for Visual Basic. Visual Basic is probably the most intuitive language (that I'm aware of, anyway) for a non-programmer and it will do anything you need. The Visual Studio environment will make even your simplest programs easy to use and professional looking.

Feel free to PM me for help. You might have some frustrations early on, but once you get rolling, you'll probably love it.

**Jimbo42** · 12-17-09, 09:22 PM

^^ Wow... that was a nice response AND helpful to him...