The Parimutuel Betting System
So you wake up feeling lucky one morning and decide to head to the tracks. You see a horse’s name with high odds and know that this one’s a winner. The horse in question has 8/1 odds, so you’re sure you’ll make a killing if and when it wins. Before the race starts, the odds of your sure horse plummet to 4/1! What could’ve happened? These situations are more common because sports like horse racing calculate the odds of bets based on the parimutuel system. Before moving forward, please note that the same way the odds of a bet can drop before a race starts is how it can rise exponentially. With this in mind, let’s delve into what makes up parimutuel betting.
How Parimutuel Sports Betting System Works
When you place a bet in a casino, the entity that takes the other of that wager is the “house.” When you do the same with a typical sportsbook, the bookie also takes the other side of the bet. In games like poker, however, the other players in the pot take your bet. The same thing is applicable with parimutuel betting on the race track. All the wagers placed on a particular racing event are in a pool together. From this pool, the house will deduct its commission. Depending on various factors like the taxation laws in your region and the specific type of wager you placed, this commission can be as high as 15 to 20%. What is left is subsequently averaged out among the winning bettors.
Example Of The Parimutuel Sports Betting System In Action
There’s a spartan horse race with just five horses competing. Now, assume that 100 betters place a $2 wager each on their steed of choice. Should the race commence, the bet distribution given might appear as:
Horse One – 40 bets each of $2 to win totaling $80
Horse Two – 10 stakes each of $2 to win totaling $20
Horse Three – 30 chances each of $2 to win totaling $60
Horse Four – 15 stakes each of $2 to win totaling $30
Horse Five – 5 chances each of $2 to win totaling $10
As you know, the total wagers placed here amount to $200.
If the house commission or takeout for this event is 15%, what’ll be left for winning bettors to share here is $170. Now, should Horse One win, the 40 bettors who bet on it will split the remaining $170 evenly, which will amount to a $4.25 payout for each individual on the $2 bet placed. On the flip side, if the underestimated Horse Five were to win, then the five bettors who stake on it get to share the $170. It will yield them $34 each for the $2 bet they placed.
Conclusion
Provided you understand the principle of this betting system, it holds the potential to yield you a sizable sum of money!
