I get asked all the time to help people find profits in the exotic wagers. A lot of them think it's their handicapping process that's the problem, but the majority of the time it's poor investment strategy.
Exotic bets are a high risk investment, yet the fundamental problem with most handicappers is that they risk significantly more money in their exotics versus their straight wagers. Often due to using way too many combinations.
Using too many combinations defeats the purpose of making this kind of investment. I see it all the time people scoring a nice Pick 3 or 4 that paid out $500, only to see that they risked $250. So, even money winner? Yawn.
I tell them to play the exotics as they were intended. Small risk, high reward. Structure your tickets so that when you cash you get at least 10 to 1 on your return.
This seems to alleviate their problems when they stick to it.