Bet calculator: work out returns on any horse racing bet

How do you use a bet calculator?

Choose the bet type, enter the unit stake and whether it is each way, then add each selection's price and result. The calculator shows total stake, total return and which bets paid.

Every calculator follows the same steps, and knowing them lets you check any result by hand. The unit stake is multiplied by the number of bets to give the outlay, doubled for each way. Each selection's price is turned into a decimal, then the calculator works through every single and multiple in the bet, keeps the ones where all legs won or placed, and adds up their returns.

Which each way terms does the calculator apply?

Each way terms depend on field size and race type: win only up to 4 runners, one quarter for two places with 5 to 7, one fifth for three places with 8 or more, and one quarter in big handicaps.

Handicaps of 12 to 15 runners pay three places at one quarter, and handicaps of 16 or more pay four places at one quarter. Enter the terms the bookmaker actually offered, since extra place promotions and enhanced fractions change the settlement.

Worked example: £5 each way at 10/1 with one fifth odds. If the horse wins, the win part returns £55 and the place part returns £15 at 2/1, a total of £70 for a £10 outlay. If it is placed but does not win, only the £15 comes back.

Which full cover bets can the calculator settle?

A calculator settles every full cover bet from Trixie to Goliath, with or without singles, by listing each double, treble and larger multiple that paid.

The bet count comes from combinations of the selections. Once the winning legs are known, only the multiples made entirely of winners pay, and each pays the unit stake times the product of its decimal prices. A £1 Lucky 15 at 2/1, 3/1, 4/1 and 5/1 with the first two winning returns £19: singles of £3 and £4 and a £12 double.

How does a calculator apply Rule 4 and dead heats?

A Rule 4 deduction reduces a selection's winnings, not its stake. A dead heat divides that selection's stake by the number of horses sharing the place.

Rule 4 deductions run from 5p to 90p in the pound, depending on the price of the withdrawn horse. £10 at 4/1 with a 20p deduction wins £40 minus £8, so returns £42. In a multiple, the reduced return from that leg is what rolls on to the next.

For a dead heat, £10 at 4/1 sharing first becomes £5 at 4/1, returning £25. When both apply to the same leg, the dead heat is applied to the stake and the Rule 4 to the winnings on the stake that remains.

Can the calculator take fractional, decimal and SP odds?

Prices can be entered as fractions such as 11/4 or decimals such as 3.75. An SP bet uses the returned starting price once the race has been run.

To convert a fraction, divide the top by the bottom and add one: 11/4 is 2.75 plus 1, which is 3.75. Evens is 2.0 and 4/6 is about 1.67. An exchange price or Betfair SP can be entered as a decimal directly, but exchange commission is charged on net winnings and has to be allowed for separately.

Rounding is the one place calculators disagree. Some convert fractions to decimals to two places before multiplying, others keep the exact fraction. On a big accumulator that can move the return by a few pence, which is why a slip and a calculator rarely match to the penny on multiples with awkward prices such as 8/13 or 15/8.

How do you check a settled bet against your betting slip?

Enter the same stake, prices, results and deductions shown on the slip. Small differences usually come from rounding, a Rule 4 or a price concession applied by the bookmaker.

Start with the obvious checks: each way terms for every leg, any non-runner, and whether you took an early price or SP. A best odds concession pays the bigger of the price taken and the SP, which can make a slip return more than your own sum. Bookmakers also round at different stages, so a few pence either way is normal on a complex multiple.

• Each way places and fraction for every race
• Non-runners made void, multiples reduced
• Rule 4 applied to winnings
• Dead heats applied to stake
• Price taken against SP

Keep reading