Racing tips and the art of Dutching’s £100,000 a year
Dutching is a method of betting that can be very successful, I am living proof of this, but it is often overlooked as a serious means of profiting from horse racing by people who have been brought up with “betting.” on the nose”, “never back down the odds on the favorites” nonsense. You know who I mean, you find them every day in the bookmakers always ready to tell you the next winner. I hope you find this article a bit different and somewhat helpful in deciding if Dutch is for you!
So you’ve got the morning paper, you’ve looked at the cards or maybe you’ve gotten your racing tips for the day and there’s a race you just can’t get an angle on. Have you ever felt torn between two selections when placing a bet?
Most of us have been in this situation at some point, and Murphy’s Law dictates that the non-supporter always wins.
If you find yourself in a situation where you can’t make up your mind, one option, and sometimes the best, is to leave the race alone, but occasionally, and this is becoming more and more common, depending on prices, there can be value. had in the support of 2 or more selections in an event.
This is what is commonly known as ‘Dutching’ and from which I have been making a successful betting career for the last 20 years.
So what are these Dutch bets all about?
Simply put, Dutching is the name given to betting on 2 or more horses in a single race to improve your chances of finding the winner. Betting on 2 horses in a field of 9 runners is a Dutch bet as is betting on 7 horses in a field of 9 runners. These selections may be your own or provided by a racing advice service. I am sure that, like me, you have had many occasions where you have been able to highlight some ‘standout’ horses in a race, but have found it difficult to identify the strongest and most likely winner. This is where dutching becomes a sensible and viable betting approach. Dutching, in its simplest form, as explained above, means betting the same amount on each horse, regardless of price; this is commonly known as “level stakes” dutching. What we will do no. When it comes to dutch correctly, bets are calculated so that the performance is the same as long as one of your selections wins, of course.
How should you bet when making dutch?
Depending on the number of horses I am going to back and the odds available to them, I use 2 betting methods. The first is simply ‘Level Bets’ and I tend to use this method if I’m only on a couple of horses and the odds for them are similar. Obviously, this method will generate different profits depending on the odds of the winner, but it is a quick and easy method.
Recommended: A more sensible approach is to ‘split your bets’ so that you get the same profit regardless of the odds of the winning horse you have lost. If you are worried that this method is too complicated, don’t be, as you can look for a simple free calculator that will show you how much to put on each of your selections based on your odds.
Important staking rule
One very important point to make at this point is that you should decide on a total amount that you feel comfortable betting on ‘per race’. By this I mean that if you normally bet €50 on each race, this should be the total amount you bet between all your Dutch horses. You should never leave yourself in a position where you can lose more than this. All bets are risky and even if you have selected the horses that you think are the most likely winners in your Dutch bet, there will be times when none of them win…
Warning about horses with odds
I tend to stay away from the dutch in races where there is a strong odds favourite, as it is usually difficult to rule out the favorite from your list of possible winners and therefore the available odds will drastically reduce your winnings, even if your other horses are available at good prices. A general rule of thumb I use is to only play races where my picks or race tips are 6/4 (2.5) or higher. But this can be adjusted according to your hit rate, which will of course depend on your experience and judgement.
Let’s see some examples
Dutching can be done in most sports that offer fixed odds and a series of outcomes. To give an example, I’ll use a horse race, which is where I have the most experience: Let’s say you’ve read the form or have your race tips and you feel that two horses have particularly good chances compared to the opposition, but you can’t decide between both. If prices for both horses are high enough, this offers a good Dutch opportunity. The first step is to take note of the prices.
In this example, we will assume that:
– Horse A is 2/1
– Horse B is 4/1
Next, you need to decide how much to bet in total for the bet. We will assume that the total amount you are willing to risk is £10.00.
The last step is to split the bet between the two horses and place £6.25 on horse A and £3.75 on horse B (total cost of the bet is £10.00)
If horse A wins, you win £12.50, but lose the £3.75 wagered on horse B. Total profit £8.75
If horse B wins, you win £15.00, but lose the £6.25 staked on horse A. Total profit £8.75
So, as you can see, it doesn’t matter which one of them wins, as you win £8.75 either way.
Wow that sounds so simple but complicated to solve I hear you say! Note that most Dutch calculators use decimal odds (the type of odds used on betting exchanges like Betfair or Betdaq), so if you normally use traditional odds, you’ll need to convert by adding one. (5/1 becomes 6.0, 8/1 becomes 9.0, 5/2 becomes 3.5, etc.)
But not everyone has access to a computer all day and may need to calculate the Dutch bet manually. Don’t panic, here are the sums explained:
Again, using a horse race as an example:
Dutch wants 3 horses using £10.00.
Horse A = 5/1
Horse B = 7/1
Horse C = 5/2
The first step is to convert the odds to decimal odds by adding one.
Therefore;
Horse A = 6.0
Horse B = 8.0
Horse C = 3.5
Next, convert the odds to their probability percentage by dividing by 100:
Horse A = 16.67% (100 divided by 6 equals 16.67)
Horse B = 12.5% (100 divided by 8 equals 12.5)
Horse C = 28.57% (100 divided by 3.5 equals 28.57)
The third step is to add the percentages: 16.67 + 12.5 + 28.57 = 57.74%
Finally, to find out how much to bet on each bet, divide the horses’ individual odds percentage by the overall percentage, then multiply it by the total amount you want to bet on the event (£10.00 in this example).
Horse A… 16.67 divided by 57.74 equals 0.29. 0.29 multiplied by 10 equals 2.9 Bet on horse A: £2.90
Horse B… 12.5 divided by 57.74 equals 0.22 0.22 multiplied by 10 equals 2.2 Bet on Horse B: £2.20
Horse C… 28.57 divided by 57.74 equals 0.49 0.49 multiplied by 10 equals 4.9 Bet on Horse C: £4.90
Total cost of bets: £10.00
Profit if any selection wins: £7.32
How to use your racing tips for dutch
By far the best method I have found to date of making profitable Dutch bets at Betfair is to use the BethAngel. It really is the ultimate dutch tool. It calculates bets for you automatically based on your chosen ‘total risk’ and will place all your bets at the click of a button. It also does much more than this, including Trading, Stop Loss, Simplified Hedging, Charts. The list goes on…
Summary
Dutching your own selections or racing tips is an often overlooked method of profiting from horse racing betting, but it can offer a simple and effective means of making money when taken seriously. I tend to have a number of bets each day where I am on 2 or more horses in the race. Not only have I found it to be a profitable way to bet, but it also has the great advantage of increasing your hit rate, which is a key factor in managing the nerves and betting stress that we all feel from time to time. And there you have it, an easy way to calculate a Dutch bet the next time you can’t make up your mind.