Should I bet to Win, Place or Both?

Tag: Betting

  • Should I bet to Win, Place or Both?

    Should I bet to Win, Place or Both?

    When thinking about what to bet on… DO NOT bet on ANTHING unless you can afford to. Betting on horses should be fun and pressure free. If it is not then please do not bet at all.

    There are no rules when it comes to how you should invest your hard-earned cash when having a bet.

    We strongly believe, the only real way to have any chance of making a profit, is to have a solid staking plan and proper bankroll management.

    It also helps to have a great rating system such as TrackMate to steer you in the right direction when deciding what to invest in.

    Here’s what this page will discuss:

    Win or Place?

    We have many members who bet in all sorts of different ways in order to gain an edge when backing horses.

    Some back mostly “place only” and prefer lower returns but with more consistent and regular “winning” bets. Others bet “win only”, preferring to have slightly lower strike rates but larger returns. Both methods will work and can be very profitable if staked correctly.

    At TrackMate we like to mix it up a bit and we use a combination of the above when making our investments.

    Our standard stake is 1% of our current bankroll with incremental stake increases at pre-set targets. We also set minimum price targets for our investments. For us, this is a minimum price of 2/1 (3.0) on Win bets and Evens (2.0) for Place bets. We have more information on these methods if you read the bankroll management article.

    Win Only Bets

    Many people prefer to only place “win only” bets. This is fine as long as you are staking properly and your bankroll and you can handle long losing runs. This will happen and you need to be prepared.

    We suggest that you place “win only” bets when the selection is too short (low odds) in the market and there is no value in a place bet. Normally these selections will fall into the 2/1 – 4/1 price range.

    Once the price of your selection reaches 4/1 and above you might decide that “win & place” is the way to go.

    Place Only Bets

    There are more options for punters available these days and the betting exchanges are a good option for using a more cautious approach with your bets.

    The number of runner in a race determines the number of places that will be paid. 7 or less runners will normally pay out for top 2 places. 15 or less will normally pay out on the top places. Over 15 runners normally pays out on the top 4 places.

    The ability to back horses to “place only” gives us the opportunity to play a more cautious game when protecting our bankroll.

    Win & Place Bets

    If you think your selection can win the race and the price offered is large enough you might decide to back your selection both to “win” and to “place”.

    This is similar to an “each/way” bet except that if you so desire you can place more on the place side of the bet than on the win side. Potentially locking up a profit as long as your selection places.

    For example:

    If your stake is £5 (recommended with a £500 bankroll) A more cautious approach to backing your 10/1 shot would be to stake £3 to place and £2 to win. You can change the ratio to suit your style of betting. Maybe 80/20 or 70/30 suits you more.

    myTrackMate Profit & Loss Statistics

    Remember you can follow your stats and your “profit & loss” figures in your myTrackMate page where your stats are automatically updated daily.

    This is an incredible tool for you to monitor your bets, streamline your betting techniques, and spot leaks in your strategy. Just add the odds taken and your stake and TrackMate will do the rest! You can read more about how myTrackMate works here.

  • Be Cautious When Seasons Change

    Be Cautious When Seasons Change

    Unless you are new to this wonderful sport then you will be aware that there are two definite seasons to the horse racing calendar. Each of which is preceded by a “settling in period”. This period is dangerous to all punters and should be treated with caution.

    Table of Contents:

    Summer Season

    You will see three types of racing during the summer season which kicks of in April with the early flat turf racing and end in November. Here are the types:

    • Flat Racing on Turf (Flat)
    • All-Weather Flat Racing (AW)
    • Summer Jumps Racing (National Hunt / NH)

    The Change-Over Period

    As mentioned the summer season for flat turf racing starts in April and runs until November (a long summer!). This means that for the early part of the season (at least 4 weeks) the ratings will be few and far between and form will be limited until the majority of horses have started running on a fairly regular basis.

    The TrackMate ratings are predominantly based on recent form and the more form the system has the better and more accurate the ratings will be.

    We understand this can be frustrating but it is very important we make use of this time by making notes, tracking horses who run well and maybe going over historical races and test your ratings systems on past races. This is a great way to get a feel for the race cards and ratings for reading future cards.

    There is no point in backing a horse in an 8 runner race when only 2 of the runners have any recent form. You do not know how fit the horses are and generally, horses will improve for their first race and sometimes will not reach peak race fitness for at least a couple of races. When looking to invest in a race you should make sure there is enough available form to make a reasonable assumption that most of the horses in the race have valid rateable form.

    We generally advise that it is best to only back horses after they have had at least 2 runs during the current season. This will normally mean they are fit and raring to go and there will be meaningful form to compare with the other runners in the race. This is not a rule though. Quite often horses are fit and ready when the season kicks off and if this is the case then a well-rated horse might well be worth considering if its first run of the season is trustworthy in the context of the race you are looking at.

    Change-Over Danger Periods

    These are times of year to be cautious… read on to learn why for each type.

    Flat (Turf)

    Early Season – April / May:
    • Lack of current form for flat turf analysis
    • Horse race fitness concerns
    Late Season – Oct / Nov:
    • Inconsistent ground conditions
    • Horses who have “Had enough” or gone over for the season

    National Hunt (Jumps)

    Early season – Oct / Nov:
    • No real form yet for analysis
    • Race fitness concerns
    Late season – April / May:
    • Horses who have “Had enough” or gone over for the season
    • Poorer quality “summer” jumpers starting to appear.

    Every race is different but we should be aware that the more races we choose to invest in that have little or no form will only harm our strategy in the long run. It is not a winning strategy. There is so much racing available to us these days that patience will always be rewarded.

    Be as selective as you can when there are lots of races to choose from.

    Use sensible bankroll management and you will reap the long term rewards. Start “gambling” on races with no recent form and you will quickly become disillusioned with the whole thing and just make more mistakes.

    Be aware of the time of year and make your investments with that knowledge firmly at the front of your decision making process.

    Winter Season

    The national hunt season starts for real at the beginning of November and runs until the end of April. There are two types of racing in the UK during the winter months:

    • National Hunt Racing (Jumps)
    • All-Weather Racing (Flat – Artificial Surface)

    It is a similar story to the flat racing in the summer. At the start of the season the vast majority of horses will need their first couple of runs to reach peak race fitness. There is no need to jump in early and start betting in races with no form. Wait, watch and enjoy the spectacle until there is plenty of form available for you to use your edge.

    All Weather Racing

    We are very fortunate that we have a full and regular schedule of all-weather racing in this country. These tracks race all year round and have some good quality racing to keep you amused during the “off-peak” periods for turf racing. This type of racing can be very profitable. Generally, especially during the winter months, the same group of horses tend to run on the same tracks. This makes it easier to get a grip on the form and can be very profitable. Some of the big yards now regularly send quality horses to the better meetings and most All-Weather tracks offer very fair surfaces that tend to suit most horses.

    There are similar periods of time to be a little cautious with the all weather ratings and form.

    Early season – Nov / Dec

    From about November through to December the new batch of winter all-weather horses start to appear. Some of them will be fit from the flat but this also means that they might be a little “jaded” after a long season. Fresher horses that have been prepared for a winter all-weather campaign will be in the same position as the flat turf horses in the spring and will need a little time for the form to settle down.

    Late season – April / May

    Many trainers will send their horses to the local All-Weather track early in, or just before the start of, the new season to warm them up for the coming months. This can be a difficult time of year for the punter as these horses coupled with the ones who have now passed their best and are thinking of their summer break make reading races a lot harder. So please be careful.

    Conclusion

    Always know your seasons. Also what period you are in of that season. Early or late can make a difference to performance. Being caution in these seasons can help you make the right choices at the right times.