Dutching is a betting method which involves backing multiple selections in the same event. The stakes which are spread across the selections are often calculated so that there is an equal return no matter which one wins. Most commonly used on horse racing but also on other sports such as football, dutching is a valuable method to learn and can be a good additional income stream for matched bettors.
Dutching doesn’t require the use of a betting exchange as no lay bets are placed. Instead, a number of back bets are placed across different bookmakers. Sometimes it may be possible to cover the entire field and lock in a profit regardless of the result and sometimes only a portion of the field is covered. For example, if a bookmaker is offering generous odds on a horse, instead of backing that horse to win and hoping that it does, it may be possible to spread that value across the field and make a smaller profit regardless of which horse wins. In other cases, you may be confident that only three out of the seven runners have a chance of winning the race and instead of backing just one horse, you back all three in a way that there is an equal profit should any of them win. There is some risk when doing this as you’re not guaranteed to win but if the odds are favourable, there can be value in these bets in the long term.
Finding the right events to dutch is essential as it’s not possible to make a profit dutching every horse race, football match or other sport. You either need to be confident that the selections you back stand a good chance of winning or be able to cover the entire field and lock in a profit regardless of the result. Ultimately, it comes down to the prices offered on each selection across different bookmakers. When the prices are favourable, dutching opportunities occur.
Types of dutching
1. Equal Stakes
As the name suggests, with this strategy, you place equal stakes on each of your selections. You can do this when the odds of your selections are the same.
Example:
You back two horses in a race.
- Place a £10 bet on Horse 1 @ odds of 3.0
- Place a £10 bet on Horse 2 @ odds of 3.0
- Total stake = £20
- Total returns = £30
- Total profit = £10 whichever horse wins.
2. Varied Stakes
With this method, we adjust the stakes for each selection based on the odds to ensure that an equal profit is made regardless of which one wins.
Example:
- Place a £10 bet on Horse 1 @ odds of 3.0
- Place a £5 bet on Horse 2 @ odds of 6.0
- Total stake: £15
- Profit if Horse 1 wins: £15 (£30 returns – £15 total stake)
- Profit if Horse 2 wins: £15 (£30 returns – £15 total stake)
As you can see, our stakes were different but we make the same profit regardless of the outcome.
3. Stake Limit
With the ‘stake limit’ method, our total stake across all selections is a set amount. Therefore, the more selections which are backed, the smaller the stake will be.
Example:
We have a total stake limit of £50 and want to back two horses.
- Place a £28.57 bet on Horse 1 @ odds of 3.0
- Place a £21.43 bet on Horse 2 @ odds of 4.0
- Total stake: £50
- Return if either selection wins: £85.71
- Profit if either selection wins: £35.71
4. Profit Target
You may have a specific profit target should one of your selections win. If so, then you need to adjust the stakes of your individual selections so that they all return the set amount.
Example:
We have a profit target of £30.
- Place a £24 bet on Horse 1 at odds of 3.0
- Place an £18 bet on Horse 2 at odds of 4.0
- Total Stake: £42
- Return if either selection wins: £72
- Profit if either selection wins: £30
Whichever selection wins, we will make our profit target of £30.
Calculating your stakes
The above examples are pretty easy to follow but it can be difficult to manually calculate the ideal stakes in real life circumstances. Especially if you are backing multiple selections and have limited time to do so in order to place your bets at the given odds before they change. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to use a dutching calculator. Profit Squad members have access to such a tool which allows you to calculate the ideal lay stakes when backing multiple selections at different odds.
Dutching Matched Betting
So, we’ve explained the basic principles of dutching but how does it differ from matched betting? A lot of matched bettors dabble in dutching at some point but it is considered a more advanced strategy due to a number of factors. The majority of the time, it is not possible to lock in a profit on every horse race or football match that you dutch. It can be a great method if you are confident that two or three runners are likely to win the race and instead of backing one of them, you back all three to spread the risk and the profit. However, on the occasion that none of your backed selections win, you will lose money. With matched betting, this generally isn’t the case as you’re able to lock in a profit regardless of the result.
Arbitrage Dutching
Every now and again, you may come across a bookmaker offering higher than normal odds on a selection. If you can find a couple of bookmakers offering generous odds across a number of selections in the same race or match then you may be able to spread the value across the field and lock in a profit by backing all selections. This is also sometimes possible when a bookmaker is offering a promotion such as enhanced odds.
Example:
Arsenal are playing Liverpool and ‘Bookmaker A’ is offering enhanced odds of 4.0 on Arsenal to win, boosted from 3.0.
First, let’s take a look at dutching the standard odds.
- Bet £16.36 on Arsenal to win @ odds of 3.0
- Bet £14.02 on Liverpool to win @ odds of 3.5
- Bet £19.63 on the draw @ odds of 2.5
- Total Stake: £50
- Total returns regardless of the outcome: £49.07
- Total Profit: -£0.93
As you can see, using the standard odds, we would make a loss of £0.93 whatever the result. Now let’s take a look at dutching with the boosted odds on Arsenal.
- Bet £13.36 on Arsenal to win @ odds of 4.0
- Bet £15.27 on Liverpool to win @ odds of 3.5
- Bet £21.37 on the draw @ odds of 2.5
- Total Stake: £50
- Total returns regardless of the outcome: £53.44
- Total Profit: £3.44
By using the enhanced odds, we’re able to lock in a profit of £3.44 regardless of the result.
Opportunities such as the above can occur not only when bookmakers are running promotions such as enhanced odds but also when the bookmakers’ standard odds are favourable compared to odds on other possible outcomes at different bookmakers. Therefore, dutching can be a good stand-alone method and also when combined with promotions.
Best Odds Guaranteed Dutching
Another strategy with dutching is using Best Odds Guaranteed which is offered by numerous bookmakers. Bookmakers who offer Best Odds Guaranteed, also known as ‘BOG’, will pay your bet out at either the price you backed your horse at or the starting price of your horse, whichever is higher.
For example, if you backed a horse on the morning of the race at odds of 3.0 and when the race started in the afternoon the odds on that horse were 4.0, if it wins, you’ll get paid out at 4.0.
To use Best Odds Guaranteed when dutching, you simply bet on different horses in a race at bookmakers which offer Best Odds Guaranteed. If one of your horses wins and the starting price is greater than the price you backed them at, it’s likely that you will end up in profit.
The amount of profit you can make with this strategy will vary based on what the EV is of the dutching opportunity with the standard odds which you determined your lay stakes from and how much the odds have increased on the winning horse from the point at which you placed your bet and the starting price.
Best Odds Guaranteed can be considered a bonus when dutching as you still want to make sure that there is value in your bets at the original odds should either your selections not win or their odds don’t increase.
Each Way Dutching
https://youtu.be/cP5tZAHP4DU
Each way dutching is a strategy where you back multiple selections each way rather than to win. Again, no lay bets are needed and you will be covering the field in an attempt to lock in a profit regardless of the outcome.
It works in a similar way to win-only dutching in that you’re taking advantage of favourable odds from the bookmakers except with each way odds rather than win odds.
When profitable each way dutching opportunities arise, you’ll generally break even if the favourite wins the race and make a large profit if an outsider wins and make a moderate profit should a horse win somewhere in between.
Like all dutching opportunities, you won’t be able to apply this method to every horse race and so finding the right races to apply the method to is the key. Many of the top matched betting sites provide Each Way Dutching software, including Profit Squad.
Using Each Way Dutching software is essential as it would be extremely difficult to find profitable opportunities and calculate the ideal stakes manually. Profit Squads Each Way Dutcher finds these opportunities, displays the return should each horse win or place and calculates the ideal lay stakes for each selection at each bookmaker.
With horse racing taking place every day but with relatively few each way dutching opportunities, the Each Way Dutching tool is a very handy piece of software. Especially when you are able to find risk-free opportunities with the potential of big returns.
Extra Place Dutching
A common bookmaker promotion is to offer additional each way places on specific horse races. They’re available most days of the week but you’ll find an even greater number of places offered for big racing events such as Cheltenham and the Grand National. Bookmakers offering extra places on races will pay out each way bets on more horses than normal but at the same odds.
For example, if the standard number of places was 3 at 1/4 odds, the bookmaker would pay out on the first 3 horses to cross the finish line. However, if they were offering extra places, they may pay out on the first 4, 5 or 6 horses but still at 1/4 odds.
This gives us the opportunity when dutching to be paid out on places for more horses. As we are covering the entire field, we’re guaranteed additional winnings and so it’s possible to lock in a profit regardless of the result.
Conclusion
Dutching can be an extremely profitable method but does require some knowledge and research which is why it is considered an advanced strategy. However, most matched bettors should be able to learn the basics with the right training and will gain more experience over time.
