Win or each way?
Ever wondered what on earth John McCririck is babbling on about at the races in what appears to be a totally alien language? If so, it's likely that you, along with countless others are gambling novices.
But if there's one race in a year that it's nice to have a flutter on whilst understanding the parameters of what you're doing, it's the Aintree Grand National. As having a bet on the horses should be fun rather than complicated, here are some basic guidelines to help you understand betting.
Betting terminology:
Stake: Your stake is simply the amount of money you are prepared to gamble - be it a conservative £1 or generous £500.Odds: Your winnings (or 'returns') are calculated according to your horse's odds. The odds are a way of expressing the perceived probability of a horse winning a race and it's at this value which a bookmaker will lay his bets. Prices can be odds against, even money or odds on.
Odds against: The bookmaker offers a return which is more than double the amount staked for a win. If your stake is £1, a winning bet at 2/1 (pronounced two-to-one bet) will return you £2 plus your original stake of £1, making a total of £3.
Even money (or Evens): The bookmaker offers a return which is double the amount staked on a win. If your stake is £1 the bookmaker will return £1 plus your stake, making a total of £2.
Odds on: The bookmaker offers a return which is less than double the amount staked for a win. A successful £1 bet at 1/2 (pronounced two-to-one-on), will return just 50p plus your stake, making a total of £1.50. The word 'on' indicates that the odds are reversed.
Long Odds or Short Odds?: Sometimes, instead of a horse's odds being expressed as a fraction, you might hear that they are simply 'long' or 'short'. Long odds (e.g. 50/1) point to the fact that a horse is very unlikely to win the race. Conversely, short odds (e.g. 2/1) indicate that a horse has a good chance of winning.
Types of bet: Win Pick the winner of the race.
Place: Pick a horse to be placed in the race. Your horse gains a placing according to the number of runners in a race.
Up to 4 runners - no place betting 5 - 7 runners - 1st & 2nd 8+ runners - 1st, 2nd & 3rd Handicap 16+ runners - 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th
Eachway: A very popular way of betting, this is simply a win bet and a place bet on the same horse.
Exacta: Pick the horses to finish 1st & 2nd in the correct order. You can also try a reverse exacta or a combination exacta to increase your chances and although more difficult than picking the winner, the rewards are potentially greater
Placepot: Pick a horse to be placed in each of the six placepot races (normally the first six races on the card). You can choose more than one horse in any of the races to increase your chances of winning.
Quadpot: Pick a horse to be placed in each of the four quadpot races which are normally races 3, 4, 5 and 6.
Jackpot: Pick the winners of the six jackpot races at the nominated jackpot meeting each day. You can choose more than one horse in any of the races to increase your chances of winning and the rewards can be huge.
Scoop6: Pick at least one horse in the six nominated televised races each Saturday. Get all six winners to scoop a potentially massive dividend AND qualify for a big money bonus. Even finding a placed horse in every race pays an average dividend of over £500 to a £1 stake.
Studying the form: 'Form' is simply the information and facts about a horse's past performances. Simple horse form guides can be found in the national newspapers and more detailed analysis in specialist guides, such as the Racing Post that offers a wider range of statistical information. If you attend a race in person, you can buy a racecard which contains basic form. Some factors worth taking into consideration when looking at form is whether the horse has won previously over a certain distance.
