Some sportsbooks offer multiple betting strategies, often called lines, such as the Banker, Player and Tie Bet. Each strategy has its pros and cons, and sometimes there is no clear winner. Choosing the correct line can affect your chances of winning big. In this article, we explain the differences between these three betting options and why they matter.
Banker/Player (Betting strategy one)
If you think a given horse will win by 5 or more lengths, then you are likely to wager on that horse. You might also have confidence in the ability of a jockey to control his horse over longer distances; perhaps because he’s won multiple races before. That’s what you do with a banker — bet a long shot that wins very easily. On the other hand, if you think the horse will win by less than five lengths, then you are probably willing to take some risks. You may believe that even though it seems unlikely that a particular horse will win, you’ll come out ahead simply through chance. This is where the player comes in: put $10 here and wait for a horse that could win by five or six lengths, but isn’t guaranteed to. The player is the middle-ground bet, but it’s risky — because nothing is guaranteed that horse will win. It’s only safe if an exacta or trifecta happens, which means you get paid twice.
Tie (Betting strategy two)
A tie is when two horses finish dead even. You might look at the odds for both horses, decide not to risk your money on either of them and just place a bet that pays off if neither wins. Or, you may see an advantage for one horse and feel confident enough to move all your bets — including those tied together — to the favoured horse. This is a good way to avoid losing any of the funds on your original wagers, especially if the favourite wins and you want to keep the rest of the money. However, you shouldn’t bet too much into a race where the final results are so close unless you know something about the horses. Because not every horse runs evenly matched races, oddsmakers can shift their money around when the last few horses enter the starting gate. When a tight race comes down to the wire, the bettors who backed the early favourites are usually disappointed.
Player
Usually used in conjunction with the banker strategy, the player takes on some of the risks of the banker. But instead of backing a single horse, you back many horses, each worth a fraction of a dollar. So, although you don’t expect to pay out more than 1.0¢ per selection, the chances of paying out a total of 10¢ are higher than they would be with just one horse. The player allows you to spread your risk across several entries, making things safer. Also, you can use the same amount of money for each entry, thereby reducing the potential loss. However, if you make a mistake and one horse ends up winning, then you lose the entire amount you spent on that horse, plus the “player charge.” The player has a reputation for being tricky, as some people try to manipulate the system. For instance, they may place a large number of small bets with different amounts, hoping that one of them comes up big. Then, when one of those bets does pay, they can claim their winnings from that horse without having placed any of their own.
Exacta (Betting strategy three)
With this betting strategy, you select two horses from separate fields and join them together, creating an extra payout. For example, if you choose the first four finishers of the seventh race at Aqueduct, the exacta would consist of the first four horses in the ninth race, and the first four horses in each of the next six races (with an option to bet again after the sixth), and the second four finishers in the eighth race (the ninth race). If you were right, then you’d earn 3.5¢ on each of the horses involved in the exacta, plus an extra 0.7¢ for joining them together. There are often ways to increase the odds of such an exacta happening, which means the payoff is greater than it appears at first glance.
Trifecta (Betting strategy four)
A trifecta consists of selecting three horses from different races, which creates a larger payout. For example, let’s suppose that you choose the first four horses in four different races, the second four horses in another four races, the third four horses in yet another four races, and the fourth four horses in another four. Since you’ll have chosen sixteen horses overall, you’re likely to get the best possible result (one triple-payout combination) when five or six of those horses end up finishing in the top eight positions. To achieve that result, however, you must bet on the correct combination of 16 horses. In other words, it’s impossible to predict what combinations will occur. That means that your chances of success are slim; but because there are so many combinations available, a lot of gamblers still try to find a profitable one.
In conclusion, betting strategies are not only effective in sports betting but also useful in predicting the outcome of random events. You should know all of these betting practices before using them. Otherwise, you might end up losing a lot of money!