Betting Odds

pb21

Can someone explain to me how betting odds work.

I heard a good tip for a horse at the weekend and the guy who told me put his money where his mouth was, so I thought it was worth a shot myself. The horse was 16/1 and I put £12.50 each way so I spent £25.

The horse won! And I got £275 back, so I made a profit of £250. I can’t figure out how this come about though.

Allez Mark

If you backed each way then £12.50 went on the win and £12.50 went on the horse to be placed. You would normally get 1/4 of the odds on the place bet. So.

12.5 x 16 = 200
12.5 x 4 = 50

plus you get your £25 stake back

200 + 50 + 25 + 275

SpinningJenny

I think it works like this.

£12.50 x 16 = £200 plus your stake of £12.50 = £212.50

You placed a second bet for 'places' (1st, 2nd or 3rd), so it seems you placed your bet at 1/4 of the original odds - ie, 4/1 (this fraction depends on the number of runners and type of race).

£12.50 x 4 = £50 plus your stake of £12.50 = £62.50

£212.50 + £62.50 = £275

Well done you!

pdstsp

£12.50 goes on the horse to win so pays 12.50 x 16 = £200
the other £12.50 goes on it to get a place (top thre or four depending on the race) and you get 1/4 odds so £12.50 x 4 = £50.

Thats £250 back plus stake = £275

And congratulations. Nice one.

pb21

Thanks for clearing that up. I didnt realise you got both the win and the placing.

Wish I had put more on now. :roll:

SpinningJenny

Yeah, but if you had put more on, sod's law would have kicked in and you'd have lost the lot