Should I bet to Win, Place or Both?

Tag: Win Only

  • 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.