Betting on multiple horses in a race revisited

After receiving a very strong response to last week's article about backing multiple horses in a race we have penned this article to:

• Answer your questions on the betting method;
• Explain when and how we will provide access to the multiple bets calculator; and
• Highlight a way that one punter is getting the most out of the approach.

Interestingly only one person competing in last week's multiple bet Facebook competition made a loss, out of 8 contestants highlighting the reduced risk associated with this betting approach.

 

Betting on multiple horses in a race - your questions answered

After receiving a strong response to the article we thought it best to group the common questions and provide responses here for everyone to see.

 

Q. Is there a recommended approach towards selecting the horses to include in your multiple bets?

I mentioned that the professional punters who adopt these approaches usually work on two key parameters. Firstly they look to include value runners in the race, which is those runners whose odds are greater than their chance of winning. Secondly they look to include runners that have a reasonable chance of winning. Other considerations might be to include a range of selections with a reasonable price range from the shortest to the longest priced horse. A large range increases the potential return that you stand to receive from the multiple bets. The example I gave in the Sangster Stakes on Saturday included the two favourites in the race both paying around the $5 mark, and Wawail which was paying around the $17 mark. The range or prices produced a 117% return from cash outlayed, which is a pretty good result when you consider that the two favourites were selected. That is the effect of getting a sizeable range between the shortest and longest priced horses amongst your bets, and is recommended if you are looking for a good return.

Q. What is the optimal number of bets to have in a race?

That's a tough question to answer as it requires some assumptions to be made about the risk appetite of the punter. Backing more horses in a race reduces the returns but increases the chance of being in the money. Backing less horses in a race, say two, has the opposite effect. The punters that I know who use this approach don't like to back more than 25% of a field and prefer to aim for about 20%. That means in a 15 horse field they prefer to only back 3 to 4 runners. This should only be a guide however. If you can't find 3 or 4 to back then don't or if you have identified say five horses then there is no harm in adding an extra one into the mix.

 

Q. Are there calculators for great numbers of bets in a race?

Yes there is. We will be coming back to you with access to an online calculator that covers between 2 and 5 bets shortly.

 

Q. Can you use this approach for sports betting too?

Yes, however you need to consider markets where there are enough possible outcomes to make it worth while. One example of a potential market is the 10 point margin market where there are 21 possible outcomes. As an example a punter might be confident about Sydney Roosters winning this weekend and wants to rule out any unlikely margin outcomes for example.

The would enter the four odds amounts into the four bet calculator and receive stakes to place on each to receive a return on the match.

 

When will the calculator become available to punters?

We have successfully convinced the development team to incorporate the betting calculator into our new upgrade of theGreatTipOff.com which is due to be released in June. The calculator will complement the vast number of other features that the new upgrade includes. We've been working on it for a while now, so expect it to be very big.

 

Backing multiple horses with mates

One punter emailed us to inform us that he has set-up up a punters club with two of his mates, dedicated to the multiple bet approach. The two punters not betting in a particular round post their picks for a particular race on the club wall. The member who is betting puts these two selections into the calculator and adds their own, third selection and then places the bets using the amounts advised by the calculator for each of the three selections.

Mike Steward