What Is Dutching Betting? Complete Guide & Calculator

Ad Disclosure

Here at ThePuntersPage.com (TPP) we’re dedicated to building a trustworthy brand and strive to provide the very best content and offers for our readers. Please note that some of the links included on TPP may be affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission (at no additional cost to you) if you click on a link and subsequently open an account. We only recommend products and companies we use and trust. To learn more, visit our About Us Page. 

Last Updated on: 05.04.2023

Dutching strategies are most common in sports with multiple possible winners. In this article, we will discuss Dutching in horse racing and football, and introduce several variations of Dutch betting.

DUTCHING CALCULATOR
Odds format:
Decimal
Fractional
American
Total Stake
Odd 1
Stake per bet
00.00
Odd 2
Stake per bet
00.00
Odd 3
Stake per bet
00.00
Odd 4
Stake per bet
00.00
Odd 5
Stake per bet
00.00
Odd 6
Stake per bet
00.00
Odd 7
Stake per bet
00.00
Odd 8
Stake per bet
00.00
Odd 9
Stake per bet
00.00
Odd 10
Stake per bet
00.00
Profit if any bet wins:
00.00
RESET

How To Use The Punters Page Dutching Calculator

  • Choose your preferred odds format
  • Insert the total stake
  • Insert the odds of your chosen bets
  • Insert the stake per bet

Your total profit if any bet wins will then be calculated automatically.

Should you wish to use the Dutching Calculator for a new calculation, simply tap the RESET button in green. You can also click on the yellow ‘i’ in the top right hand corner for instructions.

Best Betting Sites for Betting on Multiple Outcomes

#1
Betfair logo
Betfair
  • Free £20 Exchange Bet
  • Create your own odds at the exchange
  • Great traditional sportsbook as well
T&Cs APPLY, 18+ ONLY

New customer offer. Place a min £10 bet on the Sportsbook on odds of min 1/2 (1.5), get £30 in Free Bets. Rewards valid for 30 days. SMS verification required. Only deposits via cards or Apple Pay will qualify. T&Cs apply. Please Gamble Responsibly.Full T&Cs apply. BeGambleAware.org #ad

#2
bet365
  • Huge variety of betting markets
  • Great welcome offer
  • Live streaming on a huge variety of sports
T&Cs APPLY, 18+ ONLY

18+ - Offer for new customers at bet365. Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and Full T&Cs apply. Registration Required. BeGambleAware.org #ad

#3
Unibet
  • Huge variety of betting markets
  • Free bet up to £40, plus a free £10 casino bonus
  • £10 free in-play bet every week for selected sports
T&Cs APPLY, 18+ ONLY

18+ begambleaware.org. New customers only. Min deposit £10. Money back as bonus if first bet loses. Wagering requirements: sportsbook 3x at min. odds of 1.40 (2/5), casino 50x. Unless forfeited the sportsbook bonus must be wagered before using the casino bonus. Bonus expires 7 days after opt-in. No deposit required for NI customers. Call 08081699314 to claim. Full T&Cs apply. BeGambleAware.org #ad

What is Dutching?

Dutching is actually an umbrella term for any set of bets that are guaranteed to give you a profit (or at least break even) as long as you win at least one of them. That includes arbitrage betting, though it is not limited to it.

Backing more than one horse in a race or more than one outright winner in a tournament increases your chances of winning, without having to risk too much more.

Dutchy Schultz

The name Dutching has nothing to do with people from the Netherlands. Rather, the term comes from Al Capone’s accountant Dutchy Schultz. As part of his racket, he would bet just enough to change the handle in the numbers game, (which involved betting on the last three digits of the “handle”, or the amount of money bet on a single racing event). This meant he could control the outcome of the draw, ensuring there would be fewer winners.

While Dutching is named after Dutchy Schultz, it has nothing to do with his racket.

Dutching for horseracing

Dutching is a very common strategy in horse racing. It simply means betting on multiple horses. As long as one of your bets wins, you make a profit.

If you bet on three horses at 7/1, 5/1 and 10/1 and win just one of your bets, you will still reap some success. While winning is not guaranteed, betting on more than one horse means you have more chances to win, and one win can make up for several losses as long as the odds are high enough.

Dutching in football

When wagering on the best football betting websites, Dutching can also be a valid strategy. Betting every possible outcome in a football match (such as win, lose or draw for the same match) will ultimately lead to a loss, though, because of bookie’s margins. An exception to this is, of course, arbitrage betting.

However, you can easily back multiple game outcomes – even in a single match – and still make a profit, as long as you limit your selections and the odds are high enough. A common market for Dutching in football are match scores.

Backing Multiple Scores

Let us say you are confident in your teams winning, and assume there will be multiple goals. Instead of placing a single bet, you can place multiple bets on several possible scores.

You can back a set of scores; for example, 2 – 0, 3 – 0 and 2 – 1.

As long as the odds are high enough and your bets are sufficiently large, you can make a profit as long as one of your selections wins.

Outright Winners

Another great market for Dutching is outright winners. In the beginning of the season, it can be hard to accurately predict a winner, for bookies and punters alike. Backing multiple winners of the Champions League or Premier League is a valid betting strategy. If one of your picks is successful, it can often easily compensate for money lost on other bets.

Dutched markets

Dutched markets are markets where the odds for two outcomes are merged. Most punters are already familiar with this in the form of Double Chance betting.

Types of Dutch betting

While Dutch betting can be simple, there are several variations.

  • Arbing (Each Way Dutching)

While arbing is a betting strategy in its own right, some consider it a form of Dutching, or even a synonym for Dutching. Some also use the term ‘each way Dutching’ for arbing. Arbing or Arbitrage Betting means backing every possible outcome of an event for guaranteed profit. This usually only works if the odds are contradicting. An example would be if two different bookies had different favourites for the same event.

  • Simple Dutching

Simple Dutching means that you keep the same stake on each bet or reduce your stake to keep the same profit.

Equal Bets

  • Bet £10.00 on horse A at odds 4/1 | Potential Return: £50.00
  • Bet £10.00 on horse B at odds 4/1 | Potential Return: £50.00

Total stake = £20.00

Profit if at least one wins: £30.00 (£50.00 Return – £20.00 Bet)

Reduced Bet

  • Bet £10.00 on horse A at odds 4/1 | Potential Return: £50.00
  • Bet £5.00 on horse B at odds 9/1 | Potential Return: £50.00

Total stake = £15.00

Profit if at least one wins: £35.00 (£50.00 Return – £15.00 Bet)

  • Set amount (stake limited)

If you have a set amount that you wish to bet, you can divide it according to our Dutching formula above.

If you have a stake limit of £20 to divide between two horses at 4/1 and 9/1, it would look like this:

  • Bet £13.36 on horse A at odds 4/1 | Potential Return: £46.67
  • Bet £6.67 on horse B at odds 9/1 | Potential Return: £46.67

Total stake = £20

Profit if at least one wins: £26.67 (£46.67 Return – £20 Bet)

  • Set profit

If you want to keep the same size of profit as you increase the number of bets, you will need to increase your bet size as you add more selections. If not, you cannot guarantee a profit. In this example, we will demonstrate the difference between betting on two or three horses at the same time.

Two bets

  • Bet £10.00 on horse A at odds 4/1 | Potential Return: £50.00
  • Bet £10.00 on horse B at odds 4/1 | Potential Return: £50.00

Total stake = £20.00

Profit if at least one wins: £30.00 (£50.00 Return – £20.00 Bet)

Three Bets

  • Bet £15.00 on horse A at odds 4/1 | Potential Return: £75.00
  • Bet £15.00 on horse B at odds 4/1 | Potential Return: £75.00
  • Bet £15.00 on horse C at odds 4/1 | Potential Return: £75.00

Total stake = £45.00

Profit if at least one wins: £30.00 (£75.00 Return – £45.00 Bet)

How to Calculate Dutching Stakes Manually

Calculating Dutching stakes the old-fashioned way is actually very easy. Below, we've described each step in detail, which you should find fairly straightforward and simple to follow.

Dutching Calculator Formula

In our example, you chose three horses at 4/1, 5/1 and 6/1. You have £100 you wish to bet to make a guaranteed profit if at least one of them wins.

To make the mathematics simpler, we will use decimal odds. That gives us 5.00, 6.00 and 7.00. Feel free to use our Odds Conversion Calculator to make things even easier.

Step 1

Divide the total stake by each of the odds:

  • £100 ÷ 5.00 = 20.00
  • £100 ÷ 6.00 = 16.67
  • £100 ÷ 7.00 = 14.29

Step 2

Add the three results together:

  •  20.00 + 16.67 + 14.29  = 50.95

Step 3

Divide each of the results by the total:

  • 20.00 ÷ 50.95 = £39.25
  • 16.67 ÷ 50.95 = £32.71
  • 14.29 ÷ 50.95 = £28.04

These are your stake amounts. As you can see, they will each give you the same profit:

  • £39.25 × 5.00 = £196.26
  • £32.71 × 6.00  = £196.26
  • £28.04 × 7.00  = £196.26

If any of your selections win, you will be up £196.26. If these horses are all in the same race, only one can win, though you can also bet on multiple races.

For more information on bet calculators check our post about Bet winning calculators.

Dutching software

While you can easily use the Dutching Calculator to calculate your stakes, there is betting software out there that can do this, as well as help you find opportunities for arbing, value bets, bots, and more.

1. Rebel Betting

Rebel Betting has software that automatically detects the highest value bets by comparing odds over various bookies. It also has the Sure Betting solution, which tracks down arbitrage opportunities.

2. Trademate Sports

Trademate Sports also offers software for arbing and value betting. This browser add-on will send you an automatic message every time they detect a value opportunity.

Dutching Betting FAQs

Dutching is essentially backing multiple outcomes of a match, so that you make a profit if at least one of your selections wins. Examples of this are betting on multiple horses, betting on multiple possible final scores, betting on outright winners and more.
Yes. Each bet you place is a single bet, separate from the others. As long as betting is legal in your jurisdiction, placing multiple bets on the same event is also legal.
Being ‘gubbed' means your account is limited at a bookie. Bookies can do this for a number reasons, and it is entirely up to them. While most forms of Dutching are not against their terms and conditions, bookies can gub you, and will likely do it if you are an obvious arber. Of course, bookies are free to gub anyone at any time, and will do it to anyone who is winning large amounts consistently. One way to avoid this is to place smaller wagers, and spread your bets over multiple bookies.
Dutching is a valid betting strategy, and works for many punters. Whether you can make money with it depends on your choice of bets, and how you calculate your stakes.
We’ve developed our own state-of-the-art Dutching calculator – click and start calculating your Dutching bets now!

ThePuntersPage Final Say

Dutching has different definitions, depending on which source you use. Some see it as synonymous with arbing. However, it is most prominent in terms of horse race betting, where punters frequently bet on multiple horses. While this can decrease your total profit, it also gives you more chances to win. It is a valid betting strategy for horse racing, greyhounds, outright betting, Formula 1, many Olympic sports, Tour de France betting and more.