Placepot betting (a form of tote betting) is a type of pool betting for horses. To place a placepot bet, you must select six horses to place at the first six races of a particular meeting. You win the bet if all six of your selections place. In this article, we will discuss every aspect of this popular betting category, what it is, how it works, and the betting strategy behind it.
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How Placepot Betting (Tote Betting) Works
This kind of betting works similarly to pool betting in football on football betting sites. The more people who take part in a particular pool, the larger the pool and total prize will be. Since the winnings are divided between the players with the correct score, the fewer people who predict the correct score, the larger their individual prizes will be.
Placepot Pools
To place a bet on a Placepot pool, choose one of the above bookies and click on Totepool, or find it in the horse betting section. There, all you need to do is:
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choose a meeting;
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choose at least one horse per race at the meeting;
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choose your total stake per line.
Once you've completed the above steps, you will need to wait until the first 6 races of a meeting have finished.
Placepot Rules
Placepot betting has very simple rules, and even a beginner can understand them very easily. You should keep in mind that every selection you add creates at least one more line, and that the prize is divided between all winners.
Tote Placepot Cost
The total cost of your Placepot depends on how many lines you chose. If you choose an additional horse, you will have an additional line, on which you will of course need to bet. The more horses you choose, the more lines on which you bet. All bookies that offer Placepot betting come with an automatic Placepot calculator, which will tell you how many lines you are betting on in total. Keep in mind that each line is a separate bet, with an identical price. The total cost is your bet per line multiplied by the number of lines you choose.
For example: If you select 2 horses per race in a meeting with 6 races, you will have a total of 64 (2 to the power of 6) lines.
The minimum stake is generally £0.10 per line.
Determining Tote Placepot Places
This form of betting uses the same rules to determine placing, as you will find on most meetings. The amount of places depends on the number of runners. If you have ever placed an each-way bet or place bet, you will already be familiar with this.
| Number of Runners | Place that count |
|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | Winner only |
| 5 to 7 | First 2 |
| 8+ | First 3 |
| 16+ (Handicap races) | First 4 |
Tote Placepot Prize Pool & How It Is Divided
After the race is complete, the bookie takes 27% from the total pool and divides the remaining 73% between the players with the correct score. If, for example, the total pool is £1,000,000, then £730,000 will go to the winners, which will be equally divided per winning line. This is usually expressed in dividend per unit.
For example:
A. Dividend of £398.30 to 179.79 units
B. Dividend of £11.70 to 4074.65 units
If fewer favourites win, the dividend will generally be higher (example A). This is because Placepot players generally pick favourites. Thus, the prize will be shared between fewer players.
If more players have correct predictions, the dividend is generally lower per unit (example B).
Calculating Your Placepot Winnings
Placepot results show how much a winner gets in return for a winning bet of £1. How much you win depends on how many of your lines were correct, and how much you staked per line.
Multiply your winning lines by your stake per line multiplied by the dividend, and you have your total winnings.
What If One of My Tote Placepot Picks Is a Non-Runner?
If one of your picks is a non-runner, your bet will not automatically be voided. Instead, it will automatically switch to the SP favourite. In the case of joint or co-favourites, the horse with the highest race card number will be selected.
For example, if your horse is a non-runner and Number 1 and Number 3 are joint-favourites, your pick will automatically move to number 1.
Placepot Live
If you are looking for live results for today’s Placepot, we suggest looking at Betfair or Betfred, as these bookies will have updated results for your bets, as well as the most options for Placepot betting. You will find today’s Placepot results for UK races, as well as Irish Placepot results.
Placepot Strategy & Tips – How To Choose a Winning Placepot Line
While it may seem as random as choosing the numbers in the lottery, there is actually a lot of strategy involved when it comes to Placepot betting. Here is our guide to choosing a winning placepot line.
Choosing the Number of Lines in Your Placepot
Some punters choose a single line, and only choose one horse to place in each of the 6 races. This is a simple approach, and does not cost very much. Still, there have been several instances where a punter won big from a single placepot line.
For example, a punter managed to win £182,567.80 off a £2 bet on the 2019 Cheltenham Festival; naturally, luck did play a sizeable role in this bet as well. This particular race saw plenty of upsets, and the dividend paid out at a whopping £91,283.10 to a £1 stake. Since that punter bet £2 on a single line, he got the double payout.
Of course, the above result is an exception. You should keep in mind that every line represents another chance to win, and one line does not exclude another, since more than one horse can place per race. Betting on multiple lines automatically gives you a better chance of winning.
Banker Legs
Even though more selections means more chances to win, each extra selection increases your total lines exponentially. Thus, experienced Placepot players usually recommend keeping your number of lines per race to a reasonable amount.
In cases where there is a clear favourite to win, or at least place, opt for a single pick. This can help you keep your number of lines down, so you can use them to select multiple horses in a more competitive leg.
Underdogs and Vulnerable Favourites
Just like in straight betting, underdogs come with bigger potential payouts. Another strategy is to look for vulnerable favourites and strong underdogs. Once you have selected your banker legs, keep an eye out for favourites who you think have a good chance of losing. Avoid these, or combine them with strong underdogs.
This may not increase your odds of winning, but it will increase your prize pot if you win. As we mentioned before, most punters only choose favourites, and a winning line with a few underdogs will generally have a much higher dividend.
Big-field handicap races are the best choice for this strategy, as favourites do not place there as often as in races with fewer horses.
Choosing Multiple Lines in Competitive Races
Since you have fewer lines (thanks to one or several banker selections), you now have extra space to select multiple horses on one of the more competitive races in the event. Remember that extra picks mean extra chances to win, and you need at least one placing horse in each race to win a dividend.
This is especially important in races like the Cheltenham Festival betting sites handicaps, where you can often see 20 or more horses aiming for one of four qualifying places.
Check the Odds
While this may seem obvious to the experienced Placepot punter, it is very important to check which betting odds that bookies are offering for horses to win or place. When filling in a Placepot form, you usually do not get any information on whom the favourite is, or at which odds. Part of your pre-betting strategy should be to research which horses you will back for each race, and take into account both their strengths and weaknesses.
Make sure you get the latest information on Horse Racing Racecards & Results by checking our updated racecards for the day.
Popular Races for Placepot Betting
Placepot betting is available for all major UK meetings. Of course, the more popular the race, the bigger the total prize pot.
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Lingfield Placepot
Lingfield is one of the most popular racing venues in the UK. It hosts several of the most important UK races, including Lingfield Derby Trial, Spring Cup and more.
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Cheltenham Placepot
Cheltenham is home to one of the most popular meetings in the world, the 4-day Cheltenham Festival. The Cheltenham Placepot is generally the biggest placepot in the UK, as it attracts plenty of casual bettors.
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Ascot Placepot
Ascot hosts some of the most popular and exciting races, such as the Victor Chandler Chase and the Gold Cup. These also see huge Placepots being offered.
Other Tote Bet Types
Placepot is just one of many Tote bet types. Here are a few others:
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Tote Jackpot: You must pick six winners at today's Jackpot meetings.
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Tote Quadpot: Here you are required to pick a horse to be placed in races 3, 4, 5 and 6.
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Tote Exacta: For this bet type, you need to choose the horses to finish 1st and 2nd.
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Tote Trifecta: Select the horses to finish 1st, 2nd and 3rd.
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Tote Win/Place: Pick a horse to win or place.
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Tote Scoop6: Choose 6 winners in nominated races.
Placepot Betting FAQs
A Placepot bet means selecting at least 6 horses to place at the first 6 races of a meeting. If your bet is correct, you will win a share of the prize.
A placepot bet can be an excellent bet, as you can win big from very small stakes. In 2019, a punter managed to win £182,567.80 from a £2 placepot bet on the 2019 Cheltenham Festival.
To calculate your bet, multiply your stake with number of lines. To calculate your winnings, multiply dividend with number of winning lines with stake per line.
Tote placepot is another name for a Placepot bet. However, there are several other types of Placepot bet.
Tote pays for horses that place. The number of places depends on the number of horses in the race.
It can be difficult to choose between tote betting and fixed odds betting. Tote betting is usually done for smaller amounts, meaning you risk less money. However, payouts can be massive if you pick underdogs correctly. With fixed odds betting, the risk is usually lower, though you may need to wager more to win big.
ThePuntersPage Final Say
Placepot betting is a bit like a lottery to some, as your winnings may be relatively large or small, even for a £1 or £2 bet. Still, it is a bet type where plenty of strategy can be involved. If you are already into horse racing, this kind of betting can be a fun and casual addition to add to your overall betting strategy. It is also great for beginners, though the element of luck will play a much bigger part.